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Abstract Background: Lithium (Li) remains the treatment of choice for bipolar disorders (BP). Its mood-stabilizing effects help reduce the long-term burden of mania, depression and suicide risk in patients with BP. It also has been shown to have beneficial effects on disease-associated conditions, including sleep and cardiovascular disorders. However, the individual responses to Li treatment vary within and between diagnostic subtypes of BP (e.g. BP-I and BP-II) according to the clinical presentation. Moreover, long-term Li treatment has been linked to adverse side-effects that are a cause of concern and non-adherence, including the risk of developing chronic medical conditions such as thyroid and renal disease. In recent years, studies by the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) have uncovered a number of genetic factors that contribute to the variability in Li treatment response in patients with BP. Here, we leveraged the ConLiGen cohort (N=2,064) to investigate the genetic basis of Li effects in BP. For this, we studied how Li response and linked genes associate with the psychiatric symptoms and polygenic load for medical comorbidities, placing particular emphasis on identifying differences between BP-I and BP-II. Results: We found that clinical response to Li treatment, measured with the Alda scale, was associated with a diminished burden of mania, depression, substance and alcohol abuse, psychosis and suicidal ideation in patients with BP-I and, in patients with BP-II, of depression only. Our genetic analyses showed that a stronger clinical response to Li was modestly related to lower polygenic load for diabetes and hypertension in BP-I but not BP-II. Moreover, our results suggested that a number of genes that have been previously linked to Li response variability in BP differentially relate to the psychiatric symptomatology, particularly to the numbers of manic and depressive episodes, and to the polygenic load for comorbid conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings suggest that the effects of Li on symptomatology and comorbidity in BP are partially modulated by common genetic factors, with differential effects between BP-I and BP-II.

Introduction The discovery of MAPK/ERK pathway mutations has revolutionized the care for patients with histiocytic neoplasms. However, mutational analysis on biopsy specimens is often limited by low tumor cellularity leading to testing failure or disease involvement of difficult-to-reach sites (e.g., central nervous system). Recently, molecular analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has shown promise as a viable tool for discovering driver mutations in multiple cancers. A recent study of mainly BRAF-mutated non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) showed 50% concordance between tumor and plasma cfDNA analysis for BRAF-V600E. However, it is unknown whether cfDNA has a role in the evaluation of cases that harbor mutations beyond BRAF-V600E. We conducted this study to address this unanswered question using a large cohort of individuals with diverse histiocytic neoplasms from a tertiary-care institution. Methods We included 40 cases with histiocytic neoplasms with stored plasma and germline DNA in this study. Tissue molecular analysis was conducted using a targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) using commercial assays or whole exome sequencing (WES) using an in-house assay. A custom panel of 226 genes, including exonic and intronic regions, was used for the cfDNA assay in this study. To avoid cfDNA false positives, germline mutations identified from normal DNA sequencing were filtered using a BostonGene ®-developed error reduction algorithm.The total length of the analyzed genomic regions was 1.56 MB. For samples with an input greater than 30 ng, a 0.2% variant allele frequency (VAF) limit of detection (LOD) was used; a 0.4% VAF LOD was used for samples less than 30 ng. Results The final analysis cohort included 38 patients with histiocytic neoplasms after exclusion of 2 cases (failure of germline DNA library preparation and mismatch of germline and somatic DNA, respectively). Disease types included Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD; n=13, 34%), Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH; n=13, 34%), and Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD; n=12, 32%). 24 cases were multisystem (63%), and the remaining were single-system. Commonly involved organs included bone (n=25, 66%), kidney (n=12, 32%), skin (n=8, 21%), central nervous system (n=7, 18%), and pituitary (n=7, 18%). Most cases (n=31, 82%) underwent plasma collection pre-treatment, 5 cases underwent collection after histiocytosis-directed therapy, and 2 while on treatment. Tissue NGS/WES data were available for 28 (74%) cases; 5 cases (13%) had insufficient tissue cellularity, and 5 (13%) did not undergo any tissue sequencing. Among those who underwent successful tissue sequencing assays, the most common common driver alterations was BRAF V600E (n=5, 26%). Other alterations included those in MAP2K1 (n=4, 21%), BRAF-fusions (n=3, 10%; partners UBDT2, RNF11, and LMTK2, respectively), and single cases of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF indel, respectively. cfDNA analysis showed at least one variant in 23 cases (60%). Correlation between tissue and cfDNA for known driver mutations was poor and concordant findings were only seen in one case with ECD harboring BRAF V600E in tissue as well as plasma (VAF 0.5%). Among the 5 cases where tissue mutational analysis had failed, cfDNA showed mutations in MUTYH, PTCH2, NOTCH3 SDHD, and TMEM127, respectively (Figure 1). Among the 5 cases where tissue molecular assessment could not be undertaken due to various reasons, cfDNA showed alterations in 4 cases, encompassing NOTCH1, TET2, BRCA1, MSH6, PIK3CD, and FUS genes. Conclusions In a large cohort of adults with diverse histiocytic neoplasms, we found poor correlation between tumor and plasma cfDNA molecular findings. The reason for the lack of correlation may be related to low tumor shedding especially among non- BRAF V600E cases. cfDNA analysis may have a role to identify potential drivers of pathogenesis among cases that are unable to successfully undergo tissue molecular analysis. Further studies are underway to characterize other novel alterations that were discovered in the cfDNA analysis.

Background Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Rituximab is approved for treatment of B-cell lymphoma and severe rheumatoid arthritis and used off-label as a treatment for AIHA, including CAD. There is limited real-world evidence on patterns of rituximab use, safety, response rate and duration of response among patients with CAD. Objectives The key objectives were: 1) to characterize patients who initiated rituximab and examine their treatment patterns; 2) to describe the incidence of serious infections (SIs) prior and post rituximab treatment; 3) to assess the rate and duration of response to rituximab using hemolytic markers. Methods This retrospective, cohort study included adult (aged ≥18 years) patients with CAD from Optum's de-identified Market Clarity Data (2007-2021). Patients with CAD (Cohort 1) were indexed on their CAD diagnosis date. Cohort 1 patients who had ≥1 rituximab infusion (Cohort 2) were indexed on their 1 st rituximab infusion date ( Figure 1). Patients with cold agglutinin syndrome associated comorbidities on or before their index date were excluded. For each cohort, demographics, and clinical characteristics at index date, and for Cohort 2, clinical characteristics during 1 year before index date were described. Data for rituximab treatment patterns included number of courses, treatment type (monotherapy or combination therapy), complete or incomplete course, and the use of blood transfusion (BT) as rescue therapy. In Cohort 2, the incidence rates of SIs per 1000 patient-years before and after treatment (within 6 months of 1 st infusion) were assessed. Response to treatment was assessed using hemolytic markers (hemoglobin [Hb], bilirubin, and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH]). From baseline, a change of ≥2 g/dL was considered a Hb response, while a decrease of 50% was assessed as proxy for a bilirubin or LDH response. Relapse was defined as the reversal of biomarker levels below the minimum response threshold. Response duration was the period from the date of response to that of relapse. Results A total of 611 CAD patients were identified (Cohort 1); 94 of them received rituximab (Cohort 2). Median time from CAD diagnosis to rituximab initiation was 43.5 (Interquartile range [IQR]: 13.0-308.3) days. Overall, Cohort 2 had a more severe disease status at treatment initiation than all patients with CAD (Cohort 1) at diagnosis (higher comorbidity scores, rates of health care resource utilization, lower Hb, and more severely elevated hemolytic markers; Table 1). In Cohort 2, the mean (SD) number of rituximab courses per patient was 1.45 (1.16); 24 (25.5%) of patients had ≥1 incomplete course; 37 (39.4%) required BT rescue therapy, and the median time from rituximab initiation to 1 st BT was 31 (IQR: 1.5-110.5) days. Combination therapy was rarely used (3/94; 0.03%); only 1 patient completed. The incidence rate (95% CI) of SIs (per 1000 patient-years) post CAD diagnosis in Cohort 2 was ~3 times higher in the 4 to 6 months after rituximab initiation (637.1 [242.2-1032.0]) than before (245.4 [125.1-365.6]). Proportion of corticosteroid use was the same during 1 year prior to rituximab initiation and concomitantly with rituximab (54/94; 57.4%, both). For patients in Cohort 2 with available data, 69.5% (41/59) had a Hb response, 59.6% (28/47) had a bilirubin response, and 31.3% (10/32) had a LDH response to the 1 st course of rituximab (median [IQR] time to response: 48.0 [33.5-85.0], 68.0 [33.3-199.8], and 67.5 [45.3-211.3] days, respectively). Among patients who responded to the 1 st course, Hb relapse occurred in 68.3% (28/41), bilirubin relapse in 53.6% (15/28), and LDH relapse in 80.0% (8/10) of patients (median [IQR] time from response to relapse: 44.0 [13.3-90.8], 98.00 [29.0-257.0], and 93.00 [21.3-161.8] days, respectively). Conclusions The findings highlight outcomes of rituximab use for treatment of CAD in a real-world setting. Patients who initiated rituximab had more severe disease compared to all patients with CAD. Rituximab was predominantly given as monotherapy, with an average of 1.45 courses per patient. About 25% of patients had ≥1 incomplete rituximab course, and rescue therapy with BTs was often required. Patients receiving rituximab experienced 3 times more SIs after initiating rituximab than before treatment. Although responses to rituximab were commonly observed, duration of response was short, and the rate of relapse was high.

Purpose: The understanding of cardiac-involved ECD (ECD-CV) and how this affects outcomes and pre-existing diseases remains limited. We aimed to determine the association, burden, and severity of pre-existing and de novo cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities with ECD-CV compared to patients (pts) without cardiac-involved ECD (ECD-noCV). Methods: Records of pts with ECD diagnosed from Jan-1990 to Dec-2021, consecutively seen at Mayo Clinic, AZ, FL, and MN were reviewed. Cardiac involvement was diagnosed by imaging. CV comorbidities were captured before and after ECD diagnosis. CTCAE v3.0 based grading system was used to assess CV comorbidities which graded the conditions as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), severe (grade 3), and life-threatening or disabling (grade 4). Chi-square test was used to determine if having ECD-CV worsens pre-existing CV comorbidities in pts with ECD. As per the established methods, the cumulative CV disease burden was defined after considering 8 CV morbidities that are known to have direct structural and functional implications on the heart, including hypertension (HTN), coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction (MI), congestive heart failure (CHF), atrial fibrillation (afib), pericardial effusion, valvular disease, and conduction disorders. A composite CV morbidity grade was assigned based on the highest grade in one of the 8 CV comorbidities (Oeffinger, NEJM, 2006). Lastly, a multivariant analysis was conducted using the presence of BRAFV600E mutation, smoking, age ≥ 60 years (yr), conventional vs targeted therapy, and ECD-CV in pts with a composite grade of 4. Results: Among 106 ECD pts, 38% (n=40) had cardiac involvement. The median age at diagnosis of ECD was 57 yr (range: 49-67); 61% were males. The median follow-up was 5 yr (95% CI: 3.5-6.1), and 4.1 yr (95% CI: 3.2-6.5) for ECD-CV and ECD-noCV pts, respectively p=0.92. The median time of CV diagnoses for the entire cohort before and after ECD diagnosis was 4.8 yr (range: 0.06-42.5) and 3.4 yr (range: 0.05-18.7), respectively. BRAFV600E mutation was present in 65% (n=26) of ECD-CV vs 42% (n=28) of ECD-noCV, p=0.02. Eight pts with ECD-CV died; one from sudden cardiac death, while 9 ECD-noCV pts died, p=0.39. Smoking was present in 43% (n=18) of ECD-CV pts compared to 24% with ECD-noCV (n=16), p=0.05. In comparison to ECD-noCV pts, increased prevalence of pre-existing HTN [59% (n=23) vs 35% (n=23), p=0.016] and MI [10% (n=4) vs 2% (n=1), p=0.046] was seen in ECD-CV. There was no difference in hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, CAD, CHF, valvular disease, afib, and conduction disorders among the two cohorts. After ECD diagnosis, de novo diagnosis of hyperlipidemia [67% (n=26) vs 38% (n=25); p=0.004] and CHF [35% (n=14) vs 7% (n=5); p=<0.001] was seen more frequently in ECD-CV pts compared to ECD-noCV. Following the diagnosis of ECD, the severity of pre-existing conditions did not change in pts with or without ECD-CV. ECD-CV pts had a greater cumulative CV disease burden as the total number of CV morbidities was greater in ECD-CV pts both before and after ECD diagnosis (Table 1). Additionally, pts with ECD-CV had greater severity of CV morbidity (composite grade ≥4) than ECD-noCV before (35% v 3%; p=<0.001) and after (42.5% vs 7.6%; p=<0.001) ECD diagnosis. The composite grade of 4 before ECD diagnosis was most attributable to pericardial effusion (42% in pts with ECD-CV vs 0% in pts with ECD-noCV) and CAD (50% in pts with ECD-CV vs 100% in pts with ECD-noCV); after ECD diagnosis pericardial effusion (42% in pts with ECD-CV vs 0% in pts with ECD-noCV) and CAD (41% in pts with ECD-CV vs 100% in pts with ECD-noCV). After considering BRAFV600E mutation, age ≥60, smoking, ECD-CV, and first-line therapy (conventional vs targeted therapy), ECD-CV was the only factor independently associated with a composite grade of ≥4, before (OR 25.6, 95% CI: 4.8-137) and after (OR 9.7, 95% CI: 3.0-30.8) ECD diagnosis. Nonetheless, smoking, age >60, and ECD-CV were independent factors associated when considered a composite grade of ≥3, before and after ECD diagnosis. Conclusion: ECD-CV did not prognosticate pts and did not worsen the pre-existing CV conditions compared to pts with ECD-noCV. However, ECD-CV pts had a higher cumulative CV disease burden and a higher grade of pre-existing and de novo CV morbidities compared to ECD-noCV. The presence of cardiac involvement in ECD was independently associated with a severe cumulative CV disease burden grade.

Introduction Indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) is a rare clonal mast cell disease driven by the KIT D816V mutation in nearly all patients. Patients with ISM can present with debilitating acute and chronic cutaneous, gastrointestinal, neurocognitive, and systemic symptoms caused by the release of inflammatory mediators from abnormal mast cells. In some patients, symptoms are not adequately controlled with best supportive care (BSC) medications. Elenestinib (BLU-263) is a novel, investigational, oral, next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor that potently and selectively inhibits KIT D816V with limited central nervous system penetration and pharmacokinetics (PK) that support once daily dosing. HARBOR (NCT04910685) is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2/3 study assessing efficacy and safety of elenestinib in patients with ISM. Methods Eligible adult patients with ISM, confirmed following central review of bone marrow (BM) pathology, clinical, and laboratory findings per World Health Organization criteria and a moderate-to-severe symptom score based on minimum mean total symptom score (TSS) of the ISM-Symptom Assessment Form (ISM-SAF©2018), were stratified by baseline serum tryptase (<20 ng/mL vs ≥20 ng/mL) and randomly assigned 3:1 to elenestinib 25 mg, 50 mg, or 100 mg once daily + BSC (“elenestinib”) or placebo + BSC (“placebo”). The primary objective of Part 1 was to determine the recommended dose based on safety, PK, and pharmacodynamics. Secondary endpoints included changes in biomarkers of disease burden (serum tryptase, KIT D816V variant allele fraction [VAF], and BM mast cells) and ISM-SAF TSS. Three additional open-label PK groups enrolled patients at 50 mg, 75 mg, and 100 mg to further characterize PK and safety. Results As of data cutoff on July 3, 2023, a total of 122 patients with ISM have received their assigned treatment in Part 1 of the study; 39 were blinded and randomized to elenestinib or placebo, and 83 were treated with open-label elenestinib in the PK groups (21 patients at 50 mg, 34 patients at 75 mg, and 28 patients at 100 mg). Baseline demographics were similar to those reported for the general ISM population. After 12 weeks of therapy, symptom improvement was observed for all dose cohorts, and symptom reduction by TSS was greater for patients on elenestinib versus placebo in the blinded portion of Part 1. Patients receiving elenestinib at 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg doses showed reduction (mean percent) from baseline for tryptase (-15.4%, -50.9%, and -68.4% vs 3.3%, respectively) and KIT D816VVAF (-37.5%, -70.3%, and -77.0% vs -2.5%, respectively) as compared to placebo. Similar reductions in TSS and disease-related biomarkers were observed in the open-label PK cohorts. After a median treatment duration of 35.3 weeks, elenestinib was well-tolerated at all dose levels. There were no treatment-related serious adverse events and no treatment-related adverse events that led to drug discontinuation. Conclusion Elenestinib at all tested doses demonstrated beneficial effects on disease-related symptoms and biomarkers of mast cell burden in this large and maturing cohort of patients with ISM with a moderate-to-severe symptom burden. Elenestinib was well tolerated across all dose levels with a promising early benefit-risk profile in ISM. These preliminary findings will inform dosing for the planned Part 2 of HARBOR, which will examine elenestinib versus placebo in a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled setting.

Background: To be useful across the broadest range of patients and clinical settings, clinical prediction models should be externally validated in different data sets and clinical settings and refined over time. In 2022, the HoLISTIC Consortium (www.hodgkinconsortium.org) developed and validated the A-HIPI model via TRIPOD guidelines for adults 18-65 with advanced stage classic Hodgkin Lymphoma (AS-HL) (Rodday et al., JCO 2023). The A-HIPI model, based on individual patient (pt) data from more than 5000 patients (pts) from North America, Europe, and Australia, predicts progression-free survival and overall survival within the first 5 years (PFS5 and OS5) based on pre-treatment pt and disease characteristics (www.qxmd.com/calculate/calculator_869/a-hipi). In collaboration with Brazilian clinical experts and researchers, we describe the performance of the A-HIPI in the Brazilian Prospective HL registry. Methods: The Brazilian Prospective HL registry (NCT02589548) was originally established in 2009 with the goal of evaluating risk factors, treatment, and disease outcomes. By 2022, 1357 pts with classic HL were registered with a median follow-up of 5 years for surviving patients (Biasoli I. HemaSphere 2022). 5-year PFS and OS were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Using the methodology for validation and calibration outlined in by Rodday et al., calculated risk scores were calculated for PFS5 and OS5. Harrell c-statistic and the Uno c-statistic were calculated to evaluate discrimination (i.e., differentiation of those at higher risk of having an event from those at lower risk) and plots of deciles of predicted vs. observed outcomes were created to assess calibration (i.e., how similar the predicted absolute risk of the model is to the true (observed) risk in an external cohort). In the primary A-HIPI analysis, laboratory values outside of permitted range were excluded and not imputed. This was checked in sensitivity analysis using multiple imputation for missing values; no substantial differences were noted. Thus, in the current validation, out-of-range lab values were excluded. There were no exclusions in the current analysis for early death, defined as deaths that occurred from the onset of first treatment until 30 days after its end. Pts with HIV were excluded from the assembled cohort. Results: 694 patients with AS-HL with the inclusion criteria of the original study were included in the present study. The median age was 30.9 years (range, 18-65) at diagnosis with 46% of the pts being female. 230 (33%) patients were classified as Stage IIB, 190 with Stage III (27.4%), and 274 (39.5%) with Stage IV. Bulky disease (>10 cm) was present in 226 patients (33%). Median hemoglobin was 11.6 g/dL (8-16.3), median albumin 3.63 g/dL (1.41-5.46), and median lymphocyte count was 1.5 x 10 3 µL (0.10-4.76). The 5-y PFS (PFS5) in the A-HIPI Brazilian validation dataset was 68.4% (95% CI: 64.7-71.9%) and the 5-y OS (OS5) was 86.0% (95% CI: 82.8-88.6).Harrell c-statistics for the A-HIPI model were 0.60 (95% CI, .56-.64) for 5-year PFS and 0.69 (95%CI, .64-.74) for 5-year OS and Uno c-statistics for the A-HIPI model were 0.63 (95% CI, .58-.68) for 5-year PFS and 0.72 (95%CI, .65-.78) for 5-year OS. Calibration plots (see figures) show the predicted A-HIPI model estimates were well calibrated with the observed outcomes in the Brazilian HL registry. Conclusions: Despite important differences between the original development cohort for A-HIPI and the Brazilian registry in patient and clinical characteristics (e.g., younger age at diagnosis, greater proportion of Stage IV disease) and the well characterized impact of income maldistribution and socio-economic status on clinical outcomes (Biasoli et al., Int J Cancer 2018), the A-HIPI clinical prediction tool performed well in the Brazilian Prospective Registry. This included evidence of adequate discrimination and calibration. Future studies are planned, including the impact of treatment selection and response, use of interim imaging, and supportive care may underscore important differences in outcomes among adults with AS-HL.

Background Post-traumatic headache is very common after a mild traumatic brain injury. Post-traumatic headache may persist for months to years after an injury in a substantial proportion of people. The pathophysiology underlying post-traumatic headache remains unknown but is likely distinct from other headache disorders. Identification of brain areas activated in acute and persistent phases of post-traumatic headache can provide insights into the underlying circuits mediating headache pain. We used an animal model of mild traumatic brain injury-induced post-traumatic headache and c-fos immunohistochemistry to identify brain regions with peak activity levels across the acute and persistent phases of post-traumatic headache. Methods Male and female C57BL/6 J mice were briefly anesthetized and subjected to a sham procedure or a weight drop closed-head mild traumatic brain injury . Cutaneous allodynia was assessed in the periorbital and hindpaw regions using von Frey filaments. Immunohistochemical c-fos based neural activity mapping was then performed on sections from whole brain across the development of post-traumatic headache (i.e. peak of the acute phase at 2 days post- mild traumatic brain injury), start of the persistent phase (i.e. >14 days post-mild traumatic brain injury) or after provocation with stress (bright light). Brain areas with consistent and peak levels of c-fos expression across mild traumatic brain injury induced post-traumatic headache were identified and included for further analysis. Results Following mild traumatic brain injury, periorbital and hindpaw allodynia was observed in both male and female mice. This allodynia was transient and subsided within the first 14 days post-mild traumatic brain injury and is representative of acute post-traumatic headache. After this acute post-traumatic headache phase, exposure of mild traumatic brain injury mice to a bright light stress reinstated periorbital and hindpaw allodynia for several hours – indicative of the development of persistent post-traumatic headache. Acute post-traumatic headache was coincident with an increase in neuronal c-fos labeling in the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal caudalis, primary somatosensory cortex, and the nucleus accumbens. Neuronal activation returned to baseline levels by the persistent post-traumatic headache phase in the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal caudalis and primary somatosensory cortex but remained elevated in the nucleus accumbens. In the persistent post-traumatic headache phase, coincident with allodynia observed following bright light stress, we observed bright light stress-induced c-fos neural activation in the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal caudalis, primary somatosensory cortex, and nucleus accumbens. Conclusion Examination of mild traumatic brain injury-induced changes in peak c-fos expression revealed brain regions with significantly increased neural activity across the acute and persistent phases of post-traumatic headache. Our findings suggest mild traumatic brain injury-induced post-traumatic headache produces neural activation along pain relevant pathways at time-points matching post-traumatic headache-like pain behaviors. These observations suggest that the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal caudalis, primary somatosensory cortex, and nucleus accumbens may contribute to both the induction and maintenance of post-traumatic headache.

Abstract Background Guidelines recognize the role of exercise stress testing in evaluating functional capacity in patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS). Exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) allows the detection of pulmonary congestion with B-lines by lung ultrasound (LUS). Aim To identify the prevalence, determinants, and functional correlates of B-lines during ESE in asymptomatic severe AS. Methods We enrolled 35 asymptomatic patients (age= 69±16 years, 69% male) with severe AS, aortic valve area (AVA) <0.6 cm2/m2, mean aortic gradient (MAG) ≥ 40 mmHg, left ventricular ejection fraction ≥55%. All patients were referred for ESE (treadmill in 1, bicycle in 34 patients) in 7 experienced centers from 4 countries between 2021-2022. ESE assessment at rest and peak stress included global longitudinal strain (GLS), left atrial volume index (LAVI) and cardiac output (CO). B-lines were assessed by simplified LUS from 4 lung zones across the third intercostal space (2 on each side). Heart rate reserve (HRR) was measured as the peak/rest heart rate. CO reserve was calculated as the difference between peak stress CO and rest CO. Results B-lines (≥2) were present in 2 patients at rest and in 15 patients during ESE (6% vs 43%, p<0.001). When compared to patients without B-lines during ESE (Group 1, n=20), patients with B-lines during ESE (Group 2, n=15) were older (Group 1= 64±18 vs Group 2=75±8 years, p=0.030) had larger LAVI, higher logNT-pro-BNP and a trend to higher systolic pulmonary artery pressures (SPAP), see Table. The 2 groups showed similar values of resting AVA (Group 1= 0.52±0.11 vs Group 2=0.47±0.15 cm2/m2, p=0.311), stress AVA (Group 1= 0.45±0.09 vs Group 2=0.49±0.13 cm2/m2, p=0.663), resting MAG (Group 1= 45±15 vs Group 2=46±10 mm Hg, p=0.491), and stress MAG (Group 1= 59±19 vs Group 2=58±11 mm Hg, p=0.665). Patients with B-lines during ESE showed lower HRR and CO reserve, with a trend towards lower peak GLS, see Table. Conclusions Exercise-induced pulmonary congestion as evidenced by development of sonographic B- lines on LUS were present commonly (43%) among patients with "asymptomatic" severe AS undergoing ESE. Patients with exercise-induced B-lines have larger resting LAVI, higher NT-pro-BNP levels, lower CO reserve, and blunted HRR. Exercise-induced B-lines might provide an early sign of cardiac decompensation in "asymptomatic" patients with severe AS, which is an important factor to consider in the decision to intervene.TableFigure