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Berk, John L

0000-0002-1768-2373

Mayo Clinic

Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Citations 7

Eplontersen for Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis With Polyneuropathy: An Exploratory Analysis of Treatment Effect in Male and Female Patients
Waddington‐Cruz, Márcia , Berk, John L. , Parman, Yeşim , Gertz, Morie, Khella, Sami , Weiler, Markus , Kwoh, T. Jesse , Pola, Maksym , Reicher, Barry , Nåtman, Jonatan , Dasgupta, Noel R., Wixner, Jonas, Gertz, Morie A. , Gertz, Morie A , Nåtman, Jonatan , Dasgupta, Noel , Wixner, Jonas , Berk, John L , Waddington-Cruz, Márcia , Wixner, Jonas

Muscle & Nerve | April 6, 2026 | Volume: 73 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 1118-1127

10.1002/mus.70230 Get It

ABSTRACT Introduction/Aims Eplontersen is approved in multiple regions for adults with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (ATTRv‐PN). This exploratory analysis was conducted to evaluate the treatment effect of eplontersen by sex in patients with ATTRv‐PN from the NEURO‐TTRansform trial (NCT04136184). Methods Participants in NEURO‐TTRansform who received ≥ 1 dose of eplontersen were included in this analysis; participants in the inotersen reference group who switched to eplontersen were excluded. Eplontersen was evaluated in the overall patient population and in a subgroup with cardiomyopathy. Change from baseline in the NEURO‐TTRansform primary endpoints of serum transthyretin (TTR) levels to Week 65, modified Neuropathy Impairment Score +7 (mNIS+7) composite score to Week 66, and Norfolk Quality of Life‐Diabetic Neuropathy (Norfolk QoL‐DN) total score to Week 66 were evaluated. A historical placebo group from the NEURO‐TTR trial (NCT01737398) was included as a control. Results The eplontersen group comprised 100 (69.4%) male and 44 (30.6%) female patients. The placebo group comprised 41 (68.3%) male and 19 (31.7%) female patients. For both sexes, treatment with eplontersen decreased serum TTR levels by > 80% (vs. reductions of 3%–13% with placebo), maintained mNIS+7 scores, and improved Norfolk QoL‐DN scores (vs. deterioration with placebo). The treatment effect of eplontersen was similar in male and female patients with cardiomyopathy. Discussion Eplontersen halted neuropathy impairment and improved quality of life versus placebo to a similar degree in both male and female patients with ATTRv‐PN, including those with cardiomyopathy. These findings support the use of eplontersen as an effective treatment for ATTRv‐PN regardless of sex.
Estimating Meaningful Differences in Measures of Neuropathic Impairment, Health‐Related Quality of Life, and Nutritional Status in Patients With Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis
Folkvaljon, Folke, Khella, Sami, Masri, Ahmad , Maurer, Mathew S. , Wixner, Jonas , Chen, Jersey , Reicher, Barry , Kwoh, Jesse, Berk, John L , Gillmore, Julian D , Gertz, Morie A. , Gillmore, Julian D. , Maurer, Mathew S , Waddington‐Cruz, Márcia , Yarlas, Aaron , Berk, John L.

Muscle & Nerve | November 18, 2024 | Volume: 71 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 96-107

10.1002/mus.28299 Get It

ABSTRACTIntroduction/AimsThe degree of change in neuropathic impairment and quality of life (QoL) that is clinically meaningful to patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (ATTRv‐PN) is not established. This study aimed to estimate the magnitude of treatment differences that are meaningful to patients in measures of neuropathy and QoL and to determine whether eplontersen achieved a meaningful improvement versus placebo.MethodsData from the NEURO‐TTRansform trial on patients with ATTRv‐PN treated with eplontersen (n = 141) or historical placebo (n = 59) were used. Anchor‐based approaches were used to estimate thresholds for meaningful differences in the modified Neuropathy Impairment Score +7 (mNIS+7) composite score, Norfolk QoL‐Diabetic Neuropathy (Norfolk QoL‐DN) total score, Neuropathy Symptoms and Change (NSC) total score, and modified body mass index (mBMI). Differences between the least squares means of the treatment groups were analyzed.ResultsMeaningful improvement in mNIS+7 was estimated as −4.0 points and deterioration as 1.8 points. The estimated ranges of meaningful improvement and deterioration in Norfolk QoL‐DN were −12.8 to −4.0 points, and 5.9 to 14.7 points, respectively. For NSC, ranges were −2.4 to −1.3 points for meaningful improvement, and 0.6 to 5.8 points for deterioration. The estimated meaningful improvement in mBMI was 9.8 kg/m2 × g/L and deterioration was −40.9 kg/m2 × g/L. Improvements in each measure with eplontersen versus placebo were greater than the estimates of meaningful differences.DiscussionEplontersen demonstrated a clinically meaningful effect on neuropathic impairment, QoL, and nutritional status. Such estimates have implications for clinical practice and trials.
Impact of Vutrisiran on Exploratory Cardiac Parameters in Hereditary Transthyretin-Mediated Amyloidosis with Polyneuropathy
García‐Pavía, Pablo , Grogan, Martha , Kale, Parag , Berk, John L. , Maurer, Mathew S. , Conceição, Isabel , Carli, Marcelo F. Di , Solomon, Scott D. , Chen, Chongshu , Yureneva, Elena, Vest, John, Berk, John L , Gillmore, Julian D , Conceição, Isabel , Garcia-Pavia, Pablo , Maurer, Mathew S , Solomon, Scott David , Vest, John, Gillmore, Julian D.

European Journal of Heart Failure | February 7, 2024 | Volume: 26 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 397-410

10.1002/ejhf.3138 Get It

Abstract Aims HELIOS-A was a Phase 3, open-label study of vutrisiran, an RNA interference therapeutic, in patients with hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. This analysis evaluated vutrisiran's impact on exploratory cardiac endpoints in HELIOS-A patients. Methods and results Patients were randomized 3:1 to subcutaneous vutrisiran 25 mg every 3 months or intravenous patisiran 0.3 mg/kg every 3 weeks (reference group) for 18 months. Exploratory cardiac endpoints included change from baseline in N-terminal prohormone of brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and echocardiographic parameters versus external placebo (APOLLO study). The modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population comprised randomized patients receiving any study drug (n = 122). A cardiac subpopulation with evidence of cardiac amyloid involvement (n = 40) was prespecified. 99mTc scintigraphy exploratory assessments in a planned vutrisiran-treated cohort at select sites were compared with baseline. At Month 18, vutrisiran demonstrated beneficial effects on NT-proBNP versus external placebo in the mITT and cardiac subpopulations (adjusted geometric mean fold change ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.480 [0.383–0.600], p = 9.606 × 10−10 and 0.491 [0.337–0.716], p = 0.0004, respectively). Benefits or trends towards benefit in echocardiographic parameters versus external placebo were observed for both populations. In 99mTc scintigraphy assessments, 32/47 (68.1%) and 31/48 (64.6%) patients exhibited reduced normalized left ventricular total uptake and heart-to-contralateral lung ratio, respectively. Perugini grade was reduced or unchanged versus baseline in 55/57 (96.5%) evaluable patients. No increase in cardiac adverse events was observed with vutrisiran versus external placebo. Conclusions Vutrisiran demonstrated evidence of potential benefit on cardiac manifestations in patients with ATTRv amyloidosis with polyneuropathy, with an acceptable safety profile.
TTR gene silencing therapy in post liver transplant hereditary ATTR amyloidosis patients
Moshe‐Lilie, Orly , Dimitrova, Diana, Brannagan, Thomas H., Živković, Sasha , Hanna, Mazen , Masri, Ahmad , Polydefkis, Michael , Berk, John L. , Berk, John L , Brannagan, T H , Heitner, Stephen B. , Gertz, Morie A. , Karam, Chafic

Amyloid | June 24, 2020 | Volume: 27 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 250-253

10.1080/13506129.2020.1784134 Get It