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Abstract Background Adalimumab (ADA) is efficacious and well tolerated in adult patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).1,2 SERENE-UC (NCT02065622) is a study evaluating higher ADA dosing regimens from which induction study results have previously been reported3; here, we report data from the maintenance study. Methods This Phase 3, double-blind, randomised, multicentre study evaluated higher vs. standard ADA dosing regimens for induction and maintenance therapy in adult patients with moderately to severely active UC. Following completion of the induction study at Week 8, all patients were re-randomised 2:2:1 to ADA 40 mg every week (40 EW), ADA 40 mg every other week (40 EOW), or exploratory ADA 40 mg with therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) regimens, stratified by induction treatment regimen, clinical response status at Week 8, and clinical remission (CRem) status at Week 8 among Week 8 responders. Efficacy endpoints were evaluated in Week 8 responders (ITT-RP) unless indicated differently. The primary efficacy endpoint was proportion of patients achieving CRem (full Mayo Score ≤2 with no subscore >1) at Week 52. The endoscopic component of the Mayo Score was scored via central reading. Non-responder imputation was used for missing values. Comparisons between 40 EW and 40 EOW dosing regimens used the Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test adjusted for stratification. Safety assessment included a collection of adverse events (AEs), vital signs, and laboratory data. Results Of 852 patients in the Global (ex-Japan) induction study, 757 were re-randomised at Week 8 and 371 were included in the ITT-RP. In the ITT-RP, induction baseline demographics and disease characteristics were generally balanced across the 3 treatment arms; range across arms for mean UC disease duration was 6.2–7.8 years, 6.8–11.7% had prior infliximab use, and 62.5–63.5% were receiving corticosteroids. The overall mean ADA exposure was 252.2 days. The table displays results for efficacy endpoints. The observed safety profile was similar between maintenance treatment arms, including AEs of special interest (generally <1% across arms). Conclusion In the Global (ex-Japan) study of SERENE-UC, CRem at Week 52 was numerically higher among Week 8 responders in patients receiving ADA 40 EW compared with 40 EOW maintenance regimens (∆ = 10.5%), but not statistically significant. Higher maintenance treatment with 40 EW was generally safe and well tolerated with a similar safety profile to 40 EOW. No new long-term safety concerns were observed. References

Abstract Background Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) experience substantial impairment in quality of life (QOL). Patient QOL endpoints are important measures of treatment outcome. We evaluated the effects of intravenous vedolizumab vs. adalimumab on QOL in VARSITY, the first head-to-head trial comparing the efficacy and safety of biologics in patients with moderately to severely active UC. Methods VARSITY was a phase 3b, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised trial (NCT02497469; EudraCT 2015-000939-33). QOL was assessed using the inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ) at baseline, Week (Week) 30, and Week 52. Endpoints included clinically meaningful IBDQ improvement (defined as an increase in total score of ≥16 points from baseline to Week 52), IBDQ remission (defined as a total score of >170 points at Week 52) and change from baseline in IBDQ-specific domain scores (bowel symptoms, systemic symptoms, emotional function, and social function) at Week 30 and Week 52. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and faecal calprotectin (FCP) were also assessed as indicators of disease activity. Results Among randomised patients, 383 (vedolizumab) and 386 (adalimumab) patients received ≥1 dose of study drug (N=769). At Week 52, clinically meaningful IBDQ improvement was observed in 52.0% (vedolizumab) vs. 42.2% (adalimumab) of patients (treatment difference 9.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7% to 16.7%), while IBDQ remission was achieved by 50.1% (vedolizumab) vs. 40.4% (adalimumab) of patients (treatment difference 9.6%; 95% CI, 2.8% to 16.5%). Mean (standard deviation [SD]) changes in IBDQ total score from baseline for observed cases favoured vedolizumab over adalimumab (Week 30: 61.3 [39.8] vs. 52.6 [42.8]; Week 52: 66.1 [41.8] vs. 60.4 [42.2]; Figure 1). IBDQ subscores showed similar favourable trends for vedolizumab (Figure 2). At Week 52, mean (SD) changes from baseline in CRP for patients treated with vedolizumab vs. adalimumab were –50.9 (174.8) nmol/l vs. –37.2 (169.2) nmol/l and for FCP were –2187.3 (7440.4) µg/g vs. –1846.6 (4560.6) µg/g (Figure 3). Among patients with FCP >250 µg/g at baseline, the proportion of patients achieving FCP ≤250 µg/g was 33.9% vs. 24.5% at Week 30 and 35.2% vs. 28.9% at Week 52 for patients treated with vedolizumab vs. adalimumab, respectively. Conclusion Based on IBDQ total score and subscores, more patients with UC treated with vedolizumab than with adalimumab achieved clinically meaningful improvement and clinical remission. Reduced inflammation, as indicated by improvements in CRP and FCP, was consistent with improvements in QOL.

Abstract Objective: Increasing physical activity (PA) is regularly cited as a modifiable target to improve health outcomes and quality of life in the aging population, especially postmenopausal women who exhibit low bone mineral density (BMD) and high fracture risk. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to quantify real-world PA and its association with BMD in postmenopausal women. Methods: Seventy postmenopausal women, aged 46 to 79 years, received a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan measuring total hip BMD and wore bilateral triaxial accelerometers on the ankles for 7 days to measure PA in their free-living environment. Custom step detection and peak vertical ground reaction force estimation algorithms, sensitive to both quantity and intensity of PA, were used to calculate a daily bone density index (BDI) for each participant. Multiple regression was used to quantify the relationship between total hip BMD, age, step counts, and mean BDI over the span of 7 days of data collection. Results: All participants completed the full 7 days of PA monitoring, totaling more than 7 million detected steps. Participants averaged 14,485 ± 4,334 steps daily with mean peak vertical ground reaction force stepping loads of 675 ± 121 N during daily living. Across the population, total hip BMD was found to be significantly correlated with objective estimates of mean BDI (r = 0.44), as well as participant age (r = 0.285). Conclusion: Despite having higher-than-expected PA, the low stepping loads observed in this cohort, along with half of the participants having low BMD measures, underscores the need for PA intensity to be considered in the management of postmenopausal bone health.

With the development of modern solid-phase assays to detect anti-HLA antibodies and a more precise histological classification, the diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) has become more common and is a major cause of kidney graft loss. Currently, there are no approved therapies and treatment guidelines are based on low-level evidence. The number of prospective randomized trials for the treatment of AMR is small, and the lack of an accepted common standard for care has been an impediment to the development of new therapies. To help alleviate this, The Transplantation Society convened a meeting of international experts to develop a consensus as to what is appropriate treatment for active and chronic active AMR. The aim was to reach a consensus for standard of care treatment against which new therapies could be evaluated. At the meeting, the underlying biology of AMR, the criteria for diagnosis, the clinical phenotypes, and outcomes were discussed. The evidence for different treatments was reviewed, and a consensus for what is acceptable standard of care for the treatment of active and chronic active AMR was presented. While it was agreed that the aims of treatment are to preserve renal function, reduce histological injury, and reduce the titer of donor-specific antibody, there was no conclusive evidence to support any specific therapy. As a result, the treatment recommendations are largely based on expert opinion. It is acknowledged that properly conducted and powered clinical trials of biologically plausible agents are urgently needed to improve patient outcomes.

Abstract Aims The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of aspirin on prognosis in takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Methods and results Patients from the International Takotsubo (InterTAK) Registry were categorized into two groups based on aspirin prescription at discharge. A comparison of clinical outcomes between groups was performed using an adjusted analysis with propensity score (PS) stratification; results from the unadjusted analysis were also reported to note the effect of the PS adjustment. Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE: a composite of death, myocardial infarction, TTS recurrence, stroke or transient ischaemic attack) were assessed at 30-day and 5-year follow-up. A total of 1533 TTS patients with known status regarding aspirin prescription at discharge were included. According to the adjusted analysis based on PS stratification, aspirin was not associated with a lower hazard of MACCE at 30-day [hazard ratio (HR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50–3.04, P = 0.64] or 5-year follow-up (HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.78–1.58, P = 0.58). These results were confirmed by sensitivity analyses performed with alternative PS-based methods, i.e. covariate adjustment and inverse probability of treatment weighting. Conclusion In the present study, no association was found between aspirin use in TTS patients and a reduced risk of MACCE at 30-day and 5-year follow-up. These findings should be confirmed in adequately powered randomized controlled trials. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01947621.

Introduction Genotype-phenotype discordance occurs occasionally in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Its causes are largely unknown. We describe a case of monochorionic, diamniotic twins with discordant clinical presentations of CAH, and show evidence for this being due to mosaicism resulting from a postzygotic full gene deletion of CYP21A2 prior to twinning. Case description A 7-day-old 36-week gestation female infant (Twin A) presented to the emergency department with elevated 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP). Her identical twin (Twin B) had normal 17-OHP on newborn screening. Both twins showed signs of virilization, more pronounced in Twin B. Molecular genetic testing of both twins and their parents showed a WT paternally-inherited CYP21A2 and a maternally-inherited copy containing the c.293-13C>G mutation. Both twins were also found to have a 5′-CYP21A1P/CYP21A2-3′ hybrid (product of the common 30-kb deletion), derived from the deletion of the paternally-inherited CYP21A2. Neither mother nor father carried the deletion. Conclusions The genetic findings are consistent with mosaicism for two CYP21A2 cell lines in both twins. The first cell line is expected, based on parental results, while the second line is due to a postzygotic full gene deletion of the paternally-inherited WT CYP21A2. The resultant genotype, compound heterozygosity for c.293-13C>G and a CYP21A2 full gene deletion, is consistent with a salt-wasting CAH phenotype. Differential distribution of the second cell line between the twins is most likely the cause for their discrepant phenotypes. We believe this is the first report of somatic CYP21A2 mosaicism, and represents a novel cause for discrepant CAH phenotypes in monozygotic twins.

Objective: Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is characterized by acute left ventricular dysfunction, which can contribute to intraventricular thrombus and embolism. Still, prevalence and clinical impact of thrombus formation and embolic events on outcome of TTS patients remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate clinical features and outcomes of patients with and without intraventricular thrombus or embolism. Additionally, factors associated with thrombus formation or embolism, as well as predictors for mortality, were identified. Approach and Results: TTS patients enrolled in the International Takotsubo Registry at 28 centers in Australia, Europe, and the United States were dichotomized according to the occurrence/absence of intraventricular thrombus or embolism. Patients with intraventricular thrombus or embolism were defined as the ThrombEmb group. Of 1676 TTS patients, 56 (3.3%) patients developed intraventricular thrombus and/or embolism following TTS diagnosis (median time interval, 2.0 days [range, 0–38 days]). Patients in the ThrombEmb group had a different clinical profile including lower left ventricular ejection fraction, higher prevalence of the apical type, elevated levels of troponin and inflammatory markers, and higher prevalence of vascular disease. In a Firth bias-reduced penalized-likelihood logistic regression model apical type, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤30%, previous vascular disease, and a white blood cell count on admission >10×10 3 cells/μL emerged as independent predictors for thrombus formation or embolism. Conclusions: Intraventricular thrombus or embolism occur in 3.3% of patients in the acute phase of TTS. A simple risk score including clinical parameters associated with intraventricular thrombus formation or embolism identifies patients at increased risk. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01947621.

Objective This study was designed to evaluate the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in slow transit constipation (STC). Design All human tissue samples were from the muscularis externa of the colon. Expression of 372 miRNAs was examined in a discovery cohort of four patients with STC versus three age/sex-matched controls by a quantitative PCR array. Upregulated miRNAs were examined by quantitative reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) in a validation cohort of seven patients with STC and age/sex-matched controls. The effect of a highly differentially expressed miRNA on a custom human smooth muscle cell line was examined in vitro by RT-qPCR, electrophysiology, traction force microscopy, and ex vivo by lentiviral transduction in rat muscularis externa organotypic cultures. Results The expression of 13 miRNAs was increased in STC samples. Of those miRNAs, four were predicted to target SCN5A , the gene that encodes the Na + channel Na V 1.5. The expression of SCN5A mRNA was decreased in STC samples. Let-7f significantly decreased Na + current density in vitro in human smooth muscle cells. In rat muscularis externa organotypic cultures, overexpression of let-7f resulted in reduced frequency and amplitude of contraction. Conclusions A small group of miRNAs is upregulated in STC, and many of these miRNAs target the SCN5A-encoded Na + channel Na V 1.5. Within this set, a novel Na V 1.5 regulator, let-7f, resulted in decreased Na V 1.5 expression, current density and reduced motility of GI smooth muscle. These results suggest Na V 1.5 and miRNAs as novel diagnostic and potential therapeutic targets in STC.