Citations

Introduction: mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are very safe, but rare adverse events such as transverse myelitis have been reported after COVID-19 vaccination. Case Description: We report the case of 50-year-old man who presented with progressive lower extremity weakness, back pain and urinary retention after his second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. MRI of the spine revealed longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). He recovered completely after treatment with intravenous methylprednisone and physical therapy. Discussion: This case highlights the rare association between LETM and COVID-19 vaccines and encourages clinicians to maintain a high index of suspicion for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

PURPOSE CARTITUDE-1, a phase Ib/II study evaluating the safety and efficacy of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, yielded early, deep, and durable responses at 12 months. Here, we present updated results 2 years after last patient in (median follow-up [MFU] approximately 28 months), including analyses of high-risk patient subgroups. METHODS Eligible patients had relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, had received ≥ 3 prior lines of therapy or were double refractory to a proteasome inhibitor and immunomodulatory drug and had received prior proteasome inhibitor, immunomodulatory drug, and anti-CD38 therapy. Patients received a single cilta-cel infusion 5-7 days after lymphodepletion. Responses were assessed by an independent review committee. RESULTS At a MFU of 27.7 months (N = 97), the overall response rate was 97.9% (95% CI, 92.7 to 99.7); 82.5% (95% CI, 73.4 to 89.4) of patients achieved a stringent complete response. Median duration of response was not estimable. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were not reached; 27-month PFS and OS rates were 54.9% (95% CI, 44.0 to 64.6) and 70.4% (95% CI, 60.1 to 78.6), respectively. Overall response rates were high across all subgroups (95.1%-100%). Duration of response, PFS, and/or OS were shorter in patients with high-risk cytogenetics, International Staging System stage III, high tumor burden, or plasmacytomas. The safety profile was manageable with no new cilta-cel–related cytokine release syndrome and one new case of parkinsonism (day 914 after cilta-cel) since the last report. CONCLUSION At approximately 28 months MFU, patients treated with cilta-cel maintained deep and durable responses, observed in both standard and high-risk subgroups. The risk/benefit profile of cilta-cel remained favorable with longer follow-up.

Background: Cranial dural arteriovenous fistulas with cortical venous drainage are rare lesions that can present with hemorrhage. A high rate of rebleeding in the early period following hemorrhage has been reported, but published long-term rates are much lower. No study has examined how risk of rebleeding changes over time. Our objective was to quantify the relative incidence of rebleeding in the early and later periods following hemorrhage. Methods: Patients with dural arteriovenous fistula and cortical venous drainage presenting with hemorrhage were identified from the multinational CONDOR (Consortium for Dural Fistula Outcomes Research) database. Natural history follow-up was defined as time from hemorrhage to first treatment, rebleed, or last follow-up. Rebleeding in the first 2 weeks and first year were compared using incidence rate ratio and difference. Results: Of 1077 patients, 250 met the inclusion criteria and had 95 cumulative person-years natural history follow-up. The overall annualized rebleed rate was 7.3% (95% CI, 3.2–14.5). The incidence rate of rebleeding in the first 2 weeks was 0.0011 per person-day; an early rebleed risk of 1.6% in the first 14 days (95% CI, 0.3–5.1). For the remainder of the first year, the incidence rate was 0.00015 per person-day; a rebleed rate of 5.3% (CI, 1.7–12.4) over 1 year. The incidence rate ratio was 7.3 (95% CI, 1.4–37.7; P , 0.026). Conclusions: The risk of rebleeding of a dural arteriovenous fistula with cortical venous drainage presenting with hemorrhage is increased in the first 2 weeks justifying early treatment. However, the magnitude of this increase may be considerably lower than previously thought. Treatment within 5 days was associated with a low rate of rebleeding and appears an appropriate timeframe.

PURPOSE Antitumor activity in preclinical models and a phase I study of patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DD-LPS) was observed with selinexor. We evaluated the clinical benefit of selinexor in patients with previously treated DD-LPS whose sarcoma progressed on approved agents. METHODS SEAL was a phase II-III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients age 12 years or older with advanced DD-LPS who had received two-five lines of therapy were randomly assigned (2:1) to selinexor (60 mg) or placebo twice weekly in 6-week cycles (crossover permitted). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Patients who received at least one dose of study treatment were included for safety analysis (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02606461 ). RESULTS Two hundred eighty-five patients were enrolled (selinexor, n = 188; placebo, n = 97). PFS was significantly longer with selinexor versus placebo: hazard ratio (HR) 0.70 (95% CI, 0.52 to 0.95; one-sided P = .011; medians 2.8 v 2.1 months), as was time to next treatment: HR 0.50 (95% CI, 0.37 to 0.66; one-sided P < .0001; medians 5.8 v 3.2 months). With crossover, no difference was observed in overall survival. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade versus grade 3 or 4 with selinexor were nausea (151 [80.7%] v 11 [5.9]), decreased appetite (113 [60.4%] v 14 [7.5%]), and fatigue (96 [51.3%] v 12 [6.4%]). Four (2.1%) and three (3.1%) patients died in the selinexor and placebo arms, respectively. Exploratory RNA sequencing analysis identified that the absence of CALB1 expression was associated with longer PFS with selinexor compared with placebo (median 6.9 v 2.2 months; HR, 0.19; P = .001). CONCLUSION Patients with advanced, refractory DD-LPS showed improved PFS and time to next treatment with selinexor compared with placebo. Supportive care and dose reductions mitigated side effects of selinexor. Prospective validation of CALB1 expression as a predictive biomarker for selinexor in DD-LPS is warranted.

Abstract: The liver is exposed to several harmful substances that bear the potential to cause excessive liver damage ranging from hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to extreme cases of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver ailments have been effectively treated from very old times with Chinese medicinal herbal formulations and later also applied by controlled trials in Japan. However, these traditional practices have been hardly well characterized in the past till in the last decades when more qualified studies have been carried out. Modern advances have given rise to specific molecular targets which are specifically good candidates for affecting the intricate mechanisms that play a role at the molecular level. These therapeutic regimens that mainly affect the progression of the disease by inhibiting the gene expression levels or by blocking essential molecular pathways or releasing cytokines may prove to play a vital role in minimizing the tissue damage. This review, therefore, tries to throw light upon the variation in the therapies for the treatment of benign and malignant liver disease from ancient times to the current date. Nonetheless, clinical research exploring the effectiveness of herbal medicines in the treatment of benign chronic liver diseases as well as prevention and treatment of HCC is still warranted.

Background: Cellular transplantation has emerged as promising approach for treating cardiac diseases. However, a poor engraftment rate limits our understanding on how transplanted cardiomyocytes contribute to cardiac function in the recipient’s heart. Methods: The CRISPR/Cas9 technique was employed for stable and constitutive gene expression in human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). Myocardial infarction was induced in adult immunodeficient mice, followed by intramyocardial injection of hiPSC-CMs expressing either CCND2/channelrhodopsin 2 (hiPSC-CCND2OE/ChR2OECMs) or CCND2/luciferase (hiPSC-CCND2OE/LuciOECMs). Six months later, hemodynamics and intramural electrocardiogram were recorded upon blue light illuminations in anesthetized, open-chest mice. Results: Blue light resets automaticity of spontaneously beating hiPSC-CCND2OE/ChR2OECMs in culture, but not that of hiPSC-CCND2OE/LuciOECMs. Response to blue light was also observed in mice carrying large (>106 cells) intracardiac grafts of hiPSC-CCND2OE/ChR2OECM but not in mice carrying hiPSC-CCND2OE/LuciOECMs. The former exhibited single premature ventricular contractions upon light illumination or ventricular quadrigeminy upon second-long illuminations. At the onset of premature ventricular contractions, maximal systolic ventricular pressure decreased while ventricular volume rose concomitantly. Light-induced changes reversed upon resumption of sinus rhythm. Conclusions: We established an in vivo model for optogenetic-based modulation of the excitability of donor cardiomyocytes in a functional, reversible, and localized manner. This approach holds unique value for studying electromechanical coupling and molecular interactions between donor cardiomyocytes and recipient hearts in live animals.

Background and objectives Documentation is important for quality improvement, education, and research. There is currently a lack of recommendations regarding key aspects of documentation in regional anesthesia. The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for documentation in regional anesthesia. Methods Following the formation of the executive committee and a directed literature review, a long list of potential documentation components was created. A modified Delphi process was then employed to achieve consensus amongst a group of international experts in regional anesthesia. This consisted of 2 rounds of anonymous electronic voting and a final virtual round table discussion with live polling on items not yet excluded or accepted from previous rounds. Progression or exclusion of potential components through the rounds was based on the achievement of strong consensus. Strong consensus was defined as ≥75% agreement and weak consensus as 50%–74% agreement. Results Seventy-seven collaborators participated in both rounds 1 and 2, while 50 collaborators took part in round 3. In total, experts voted on 83 items and achieved a strong consensus on 51 items, weak consensus on 3 and rejected 29. Conclusion By means of a modified Delphi process, we have established expert consensus on documentation in regional anesthesia.

Abstract Introduction: Treatment resistance remains a challenge that most patients (pts) with MM will encounter in their disease course. With each subsequent line of therapy (LOT), pt outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) worsen. Pts with MM who are refractory to immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors (PIs), and anti-CD38 antibodies (triple-class refractory; TCR) have a poor prognosis and the holistic burden is not well understood. To capture these features, the ongoing prospective Connect ® MM Disease Registry was used to report treatment patterns and outcomes in pts with TCR MM. Methods: Data from September 28, 2009 to February 4, 2021 were used. Eligible pts were ≥18 years of age at first documented diagnosis of MM, which became TCR during their disease course. MM was defined as refractory to therapies based on the International Myeloma Working Group Criteria. Index date was defined as first record of TCR during the disease course. Data analyzed included pt characteristics, treatment patterns pre- and post-index, overall survival (OS), healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and HRQoL. General HRQoL was captured by EQ-5D-3L utility index (range −0.11-1, higher score indicated better HRQoL), EQ-5D visual analog scale (VAS) score (range 0-100, "worst imaginable" to "best imaginable" health status), and FACT-G total score (range 0-108). Disease-specific HRQoL was measured by FACT-MM total score (range 0-164), FACT-MM Trial Outcome Index (TOI) (range 0-112), and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain item (range 0-10, "no pain" to "worst pain you can imagine"). Higher scores indicated better HRQoL for all FACT-related index scores. Cohort-level clinically meaningful change in HRQoL during post-index year 1 was defined as 0.08 for the EQ-5D utility index, 7 for the EQ-5D VAS, and 6-8 points for the FACT-G total score. Validated thresholds were unavailable for other index scores. All statistical analyses were descriptive. Results: This analysis included 240 pts identified from the Registry. Mean age at index date was 68.1 (standard deviation [SD] 10.4) years. Mean time from initial MM diagnosis was 64.1 (SD 26.9) months. 63.3% of pts had prior stem cell transplantation. Mean number of prior LOTs was 4 (SD 1.7). 64.6% of pts had received a subsequent MM LOT since index date. Median follow-up time post-index date was 4.6 months. Treatment pattern analysis of post-index treated pts (Table A) revealed that retreatment with an immunomodulatory drug, PI, or anti-CD38 agent post-index date was common, led by carfilzomib (47.1%) and pomalidomide (40.0%). However, no therapeutic combination was preferred in this pt population. Regarding their index therapy (first post-index LOT), 70.3% and 22.6% were on triplet and quadruplet combination therapy; 3.2% initiated belantamab mafodotin, selinexor, melflufen, and/or idecabtagene vicleucel; mean duration of treatment was 5.6 (SD 6.1) months. For all pts, median OS was 8.9 months; median OS for those who received &lt; 4 prior LOTs (43.8%) versus those who received 4 or more prior LOTs (56.2%) was 10.0 and 8.0 months, respectively. Regarding HCRU during the post-index follow-up, all-cause and MM-related hospitalizations were observed in 49.6% and 23.8% of all eligible pts, respectively. Among these pts, annualized mean number of all-cause/MM-related hospitalization and length of hospital stay were estimated as 8.5 (SD 18.2)/11.0 (SD 25.2) and 64.0 days (SD 80.0)/ 69.2 days (SD 83.7), respectively. Analysis of HRQoL showed a numerical decline in HRQoL relative to index during the 1-year post-index period across all studied HRQoL instruments. There was a clinically meaningful decline in HRQoL from baseline following the index date based on the EQ-5D utility index, EQ-5D VAS, and FACT-G total score (Table B). Conclusion: Pts with TCR MM experienced poor survival, substantial hospitalizations, and a clinically meaningful decline in HRQoL. 35.4% of pts did not receive any new LOTs since the disease became TCR. Among those who did receive subsequent LOTs, re-treatment with an immunomodulatory drug, PI, or anti-CD38 antibody therapy occurred, showing a lack of novel treatment options. This study suggests novel tolerable and efficacious therapeutic agents are needed to address the burden of illness in pts with MM. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Tang: Bristol-Myers Squibb: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hari: Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Adaptive Biotech: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Oncopeptides: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Millenium: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Ramasamy: Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene - Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Weisel: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy; Novartis: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria. Joshi: Bristol Myers Squibb: Current Employment. Liu: Bristol Myers Squibb: Current Employment. Che: Bristol Myers Squibb: Current Employment. Hernandez: Bristol Myers Squibb: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Abonour: Jensen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene-BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Hardin: Bristol Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Rifkin: Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; McKesson: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Fresenius-Kabi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Coherus: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb (Celgene): Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Ailawadhi: BeiGene, Ltd.: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Ascentage: Research Funding; Medimmune: Research Funding; Cellectar: Research Funding; Xencor: Research Funding; GSK: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; Oncopeptides: Consultancy. Lee: Legend Biotech: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; Oncopetides: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Regeneron: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Research Funding. Terebelo: Pharmacylics: Speakers Bureau; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy; Takeda: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Speakers Bureau. Durie: Amgen, Celgene/Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen, and Takeda: Consultancy; Amgen: Other: fees from non-CME/CE services . Narang: Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; TG Pharma: Consultancy. Toomey: Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy. Gasparetto: Oncopeptide: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Gsk: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Wagner: Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Athenex Inc: Consultancy; Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson: Other: Spouse, previously held individual stocks;. Jagannath: Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Consultancy; Legend Biotech: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy.