Citations

Abstract Tumor-induced Osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare condition in which excess FGF23 produced by a tumor leads to renal phosphate wasting, impaired 1,25(OH)2D synthesis, osteomalacia, fractures, weakness, fatigue, and decreased mobility. In an ongoing open-label Phase 2 study (NCT02304367), 17 adults with TIO or cutaneous skeletal hypophosphatemia syndrome (CSHS) were enrolled and received burosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against FGF23. Key endpoints were changes in serum phosphorus and osteomalacia as assessed from trans-iliac crest bone biopsies. This report excludes 3/17 subjects who did not have TIO: 2 subjects diagnosed with X-linked hypophosphatemia post-enrollment and 1 subject with CSHS. Serum phosphorus increased from baseline (BL; 1.60 mg/dL) and was maintained after titration, from Week (W) 22 (2.85 mg/dL, dosing cycle midpoint) to W144 (2.56 mg/dL, dosing cycle endpoint, p<0.0001). Serum TmP/GFR and 1,25(OH)2D also increased with burosumab. Eleven subjects underwent paired bone biopsies at BL and W48. Osteoid volume/bone volume decreased from a mean ± SE of 17.6% ± 5.9% at BL to 12.1% ± 4.7% at W48 (p=0.086). Mean ± SE osteoid thickness decreased from 16.5 ± 3.6 µm to 11.3 ± 2.8 µm (p<0.05). Using imputation (Dempster et al. 2012), mineralization lag time decreased from a mean ± SE of 1598 ± 420 days to 1032 ± 712 days (p=0.41). Osteoid surface/bone surface showed no change from BL (mean ± SE BL: 57% ± 9%, W48: 57% ± 7%). Of 249 areas identified with increased uptake on bone scan at BL, 68 (27%) and 81 (33%) were fully healed at W96 and W144, respectively; 56 (23%) and 32 (13%) were partially healed at W96 and W144, respectively. Mean (SD) Global Fatigue Score decreased from 5.6 (2.5) at BL to 3.5 (3.0) at W48, and to 3.8 (2.2) at W144 (both p<0.01). All 3 domains of the Brief Pain Inventory decreased with burosumab (W144 Pain Severity and Pain Interference p<0.05), indicating reduced pain. The SF-36 mean (SD) physical component summary score increased from 33 (10) at BL to 39 (10) at W48 (p<0.05) and to 41 (12) at W144 (p<0.01), indicating improved physical functioning. The mean (SD) number of sit-to-stand repetitions, an assessment of proximal muscle function, increased from 6.7 (4.2) at BL to 8.5 (4.2) at W48 (n=10; p<0.01). All subjects had ≥1 adverse event (AE). Two subjects discontinued: 1 to undergo chemotherapy to treat an AE of neoplasm progression and 1 failed to meet serum phosphorus dosing criteria and therefore received minimal burosumab dosing. There were 16 serious AEs in 7 subjects, all unrelated to drug. Of the 6 subjects with a serious AE of tumor progression/compression, 5 had a history of tumor progression prior to enrollment. There was 1 death, considered unrelated to treatment. In adults with TIO Syndrome, burosumab was associated with improvements in phosphate metabolism, osteomalacia, skeletal metabolism/fracture healing, physical functioning, fatigue, pain, and quality of life.

Abstract Background: Current methods for molecular-based diagnosis of disease rely heavily on modern molecular biology techniques for interrogating the genome for aberrant DNA sequences. These techniques typically include amplification of the target DNA sequences followed by separation of the amplified fragments by slab gel electrophoresis. As a result of the labor-intensive, time-consuming nature of slab gel electrophoresis, alternative electrophoretic formats have been developed in the form of capillary electrophoresis and, more recently, multichannel microchip electrophoresis. Methods: Capillary electrophoresis was explored as an alternative to slab gel electrophoresis for the analysis of PCR-amplified products indicative of T- and B-cell malignancies as a means of defining the elements for silica microchip-based diagnosis. Capillary-based separations were replicated on electrophoretic microchips. Results: The microchip-based electrophoretic separation effectively resolved PCR-amplified fragments from the variable region of the T-cell receptor-γ gene (150–250 bp range) and the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (80–140 bp range), yielding diagnostically relevant information regarding the presence of clonal DNA populations. Although hydroxyethylcellulose provided adequate separation power, the need for a coated microchannel for effective resolution necessitated additional preparative steps. In addition, preliminary data are shown indicating that polyvinylpyrrolidone may provide an adequate matrix without the need for microchannel coating. Conclusions: Separation of B- and T-cell gene rearrangement PCR products on microchips provides diagnostic information in dramatically reduced time (160 s vs 2.5 h) with no loss of diagnostic capacity when compared with current methodologies. As illustrated, this technology and methodology holds great potential for extrapolation to the abundance of similar molecular biology-based techniques.

Abstract Context Conventional hypoparathyroidism treatment with oral calcium and active vitamin D is aimed at correcting hypocalcemia but does not address other physiologic defects caused by PTH deficiency. Objective To evaluate long-term safety and tolerability of recombinant human PTH (1-84) [rhPTH(1-84)]. Design Open-label extension study; 5-year interim analysis. Setting 12 US centers. Patients Adults (N = 49) with chronic hypoparathyroidism. Intervention(s) rhPTH(1-84) 25 or 50 µg/d initially, with 25-µg adjustments permitted to a 100 µg/d maximum. Main Outcome Measure(s) Safety parameters; composite efficacy outcome was the proportion of patients with ≥50% reduction in oral calcium (or ≤500 mg/d) and calcitriol (or ≤0.25 µg/d) doses, and albumin-corrected serum calcium normalized or maintained compared with baseline, not exceeding upper limit of normal. Results Forty patients completed 60 months of treatment. Mean albumin-corrected serum calcium levels remained between 8.2 and 8.7 mg/dL. Between baseline and month 60, levels ± SD of urinary calcium, serum phosphorus, and calcium-phosphorus product decreased by 101.2 ± 236.24 mg/24 hours, 1.0 ± 0.78 mg/dL, and 8.5 ± 8.29 mg2/dL2, respectively. Serum creatinine level and estimated glomerular filtration rate were unchanged. Treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were reported in 48 patients (98.0%; hypocalcemia, 36.7%; muscle spasms, 32.7%; paresthesia, 30.6%; sinusitis, 30.6%; nausea, 30.6%) and serious AEs in 13 (26.5%). At month 60, 28 patients (70.0%) achieved the composite efficacy outcome. Bone turnover markers increased, peaked at ∼12 months, and then declined to values that remained above baseline. Conclusion Treatment with rhPTH(1-84) for 5 years demonstrated a safety profile consistent with previous studies and improved key biochemical parameters.

Introduction The reasons why women are at higher risk than men for developing dementia are unclear. Although studies implicate sex differences in the effect of stress on cognitive functioning, whether stressful life events are associated with subsequent cognitive decline has received scant research attention. Methods In Wave 3 (1993–1996) of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study, 337 men and 572 women (mean age = 47 years) reported recent (within the last year) and remote (from 1981 until 1 year ago) traumatic events (eg, combat) and stressful life events (eg, divorce/separation). At Waves 3 and 4 (2004–2005), they completed the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a word‐list memory test. Multivariable models were used to examine the association between traumatic and stressful life events at Wave 3 and cognitive change by Wave 4. Results A greater number of recent stressful life events at Wave 3, but not of more remote stressful events, was associated with greater verbal memory decline by Wave 4 in women but not in men. Stressful events were not associated with change in MMSE, and there were no associations between traumatic events occurring at any time and subsequent memory or MMSE decline in either sex. Conclusions Unlike men, middle‐aged women with a greater number of recent stressful life events demonstrate memory decline over a decade later. Sex differences in cognitive vulnerability to stressful life events may underlie women's increased risk of memory impairment in late life, suggesting that stress reduction interventions may help prevent cognitive decline in women.

AbstractIntroductionThis study combined data across four independent cohorts to examine the positive and negative predictive values of an Alzheimer's disease (AD) blood test if implemented in primary care.MethodsBlood samples from 1329 subjects from multiple independent, multiethnic, community‐based, and clinic‐based cohorts were analyzed. A “locked‐down” referent group of 1128 samples was generated with 201 samples randomly selected for validation purposes. Random forest analyses were used to create the AD blood screen. Positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values were calculated.ResultsIn detecting AD, PPV was 0.81, and NPV was 0.95 while using the full AD blood test. When detecting mild cognitive impairment, PPV and NPV were 0.74 and 0.93, respectively. Preliminary analyses were conducted to detect any “neurodegenerative disease”. The full 21‐protein AD blood test yielded a PPV of 0.85 and NPV of 0.94.DiscussionThe present study creates the first‐ever multiethnic referent sample that spans community‐based and clinic‐based populations for implementation of an AD blood screen.

Expression silencing of junctophilin-2 (JPH2) in mouse heart leads to ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2)-mediated sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ leak and rapid development of heart failure. The mechanism and physiological significance of JPH2 in regulating RyR2-mediated SR Ca2+ leak remains elusive. We sought to elucidate the role of JPH2 in regulating RyR2-mediated SR Ca2+ release in the setting of cardiac failure. Cardiac myocytes isolated from tamoxifen-inducible conditional knockdown mice of JPH2 (MCM-shJPH2) were subjected to confocal Ca2+ imaging. MCM-shJPH2 cardiomyocytes exhibited an increased spark frequency width with altered spark morphology, which caused increased SR Ca2+ leakage. Single channel studies identified an increased RyR2 open probability in MCM-shJPH2 mice. The increase in spark frequency and width was observed only in MCM-shJPH2 and not found in mice with increased RyR2 open probability with native JPH2 expression. Na+/Ca2+-exchanger (NCX) activity was reduced by 50% in MCM-shJPH2 with no detectable change in NCX expression. Additionally, 50% inhibition of NCX through Cd2+ administration alone was sufficient to increase spark width in myocytes obtained from wild-type mice. Additionally, superresolution analysis of RyR2 and NCX colocalization showed a reduced overlap between RyR2 and NCX in MCM-shJPH2 mice. In conclusion, decreased JPH2 expression causes increased SR Ca2+ leakage by directly increasing open probability of RyR2 and by indirectly reducing junctional NCX activity through increased dyadic cleft Ca2+. This demonstrates two novel and independent cellular mechanisms by which JPH2 regulates RyR2-mediated SR Ca2+ leak and heart failure development.

Better tools for assessing cognitive impairment in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are required to enable diagnosis of the disease before substantial neurodegeneration has taken place and to allow for detection of subtle changes in the early stages of progression of the disease. The National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association convened a meeting to discuss state‐of‐the art methods for cognitive assessment, including computerized batteries, as well as new approaches in the pipeline. Speakers described research using novel tests of object recognition, spatial navigation, attentional control, semantic memory, semantic interference, prospective memory, false memory, and executive function as among the tools that could provide earlier identification of individuals with AD. In addition to early detection, there is a need for assessments that reflect real‐world situations so as to better assess functional disability. It is especially important to develop assessment tools that are useful in ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse populations as well as in individuals with neurodegenerative disease other than AD.