Citations

ABSTRACT Introduction Etripamil is a fast‐acting intranasally self‐administered calcium‐channel blocker developed for termination of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). Prior studies have demonstrated safety and efficacy of etripamil for PSVT termination following an initial medically supervised test dose during sinus rhythm. NODE‐303 is an open‐label, single‐arm study that evaluated etripamil for multiple, at‐home PSVT episodes, without test dose before first use. Methods Patients applied an ECG monitor at symptom onset and self‐administered etripamil (70 mg) if a vagal maneuver was unsuccessful. ECG monitoring occurred for ≥ 1 h following study drug administration. A repeat 70‐mg dose was introduced during the study for symptoms persisting 10 min after the first dose. Safety measures included treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and ECG arrhythmia‐surveillance. Efficacy measures were captured for PSVT termination during treatment of each of the multiple episodes. Results 1054 perceived PSVT episodes were etripamil‐treated in 503 of 1116 patients enrolled. TEAEs within 24 h were mostly mild or moderate and localized: 30.2% of patients experienced nasal discomfort, nasal congestion (13.9%), rhinorrhea (13.1%), epistaxis (7.4%). TEAE frequencies decreased across multiple PSVT episodes and were similar for single versus repeat doses. For first PSVT episodes, 70.5% of patients converted to sinus rhythm by 60 min post etripamil (median time to conversion = 18.3 min [14.2–25.6]). Conversion in earlier episodes was consistently predictive of conversion in subsequent episodes. Conclusions Etripamil nasal spray self‐administered in a real‐world setting was well tolerated, effective, and had a consistent safety profile as a single‐ or repeat‐dose regimen across multiple PSVT episodes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04072835

Importance Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with or without prostate biopsy, has become the standard of care for diagnosing clinically significant prostate cancer. Resource capacity limits widespread adoption. Biparametric MRI, which omits the gadolinium contrast sequence, is a shorter and cheaper alternative offering time-saving capacity gains for health systems globally. Objective To assess whether biparametric MRI is noninferior to multiparametric MRI for diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants A prospective, multicenter, within-patient, noninferiority trial of biopsy-naive men from 22 centers (12 countries) with clinical suspicion of prostate cancer (elevated prostate-specific antigen [PSA] level and/or abnormal digital rectal examination findings) from April 2022 to September 2023, with the last follow-up conducted on December 3, 2024. Interventions Participants underwent multiparametric MRI, comprising T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted, and dynamic contrast–enhanced (DCE) sequences. Radiologists reported abbreviated biparametric MRI first (T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted), blinded to the DCE sequence. After unblinding, radiologists reported the full multiparametric MRI. Patients underwent a targeted biopsy with or without systematic biopsy if either biparametric MRI or multiparametric MRI was suggestive of clinically significant prostate cancer. Main outcomes and measures The primary outcome was the proportion of men with clinically significant prostate cancer. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of men with clinically insignificant cancer. The noninferiority margin was 5%. Results Of 555 men recruited, 490 were included for primary outcome analysis. Median age was 65 (IQR, 59-70) years and median PSA level was 5.6 (IQR, 4.4-8.0) ng/mL. The proportion of patients with abnormal digital rectal examination findings was 12.7%. Biparametric MRI was noninferior to multiparametric MRI, detecting clinically significant prostate cancer in 143 of 490 men (29.2%), compared with 145 of 490 men (29.6%) (difference, −0.4 [95% CI, −1.2 to 0.4] percentage points; P = .50). Biparametric MRI detected clinically insignificant cancer in 45 of 490 men (9.2%), compared with 47 of 490 men (9.6%) with the use of multiparametric MRI (difference, −0.4 [95% CI, −1.2 to 0.4] percentage points). Central quality control demonstrated that 99% of scans were of adequate diagnostic quality. Conclusion and relevance In men with suspected prostate cancer, provided image quality is adequate, an abbreviated biparametric MRI scan, with or without targeted biopsy, could become the new standard of care for prostate cancer diagnosis. With approximately 4 million prostate MRIs performed globally annually, adopting biparametric MRI could substantially increase scanner throughput and reduce costs worldwide. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04571840

Abstract Background This study simulates how assay-specific bias influences the diagnostic performance of 0/1-h accelerated diagnostic protocols (ADPs) for 3 different high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assays. Methods We included 1493 patients presenting with chest pain. hs-cTnT (Roche Diagnostics), hs-cTnI from Abbott Diagnostics (hs-cTnI-A), and Siemens Healthineers (hs-cTnI-S) were measured at admission. The absolute total error observed in a state-of-the-art EQA study were added to the admission concentrations, producing 6 new variables being adjusted for maximum possible bias (if analytical variation is 0) (+biasmean, +biasmax95%CI, +biasmin95%CI, −biasmean, −biasmax95%CI, −biasmin95%CI). The influence of this “worst-case scenario” bias was compared after calculating sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values, and rule-out proportion for 30-day myocardial infarction or death for the observed and bias-adjusted hs-cTn concentrations. Results For 0-h rule-out, hs-cTnI-S and hs-cTnT had a sensitivity of >99.0%, compared to 97.7% for hs-cTnI-A. After adding the bias, sensitivity was unchanged for hs-cTnI-S (99.5%), but lower for hs-cTnT (95.5%), and hs-cTnI-A (96.2%). For the 0-/1-h algorithm, adding bias reduced sensitivity to 95.5% for hs-cTnT, while both hs-cTnI algorithms were unchanged (100.0%). Rule-out proportions for 0 h ranged from 0% to 60.0% for hs-cTnT, 28.2%–62.7% for hs-cTnI-A, and 3.5%–35.5% for hs-cTnI-S. For the 0-/1-h algorithm, ranges were 57.7%–75.8% (hs-cTnT), 52.8%–67.5% (hs-cTnI-A), and 45.7%–61.2% (hs-cTnI-S), Conclusion Analytical bias of hs-cTn assays affects the clinical rule-out rate of the 0/1-h ADPs more than the diagnostic sensitivity. Bias may have a greater influence on the proportion of patients requiring hospital admission and may contribute to the heterogeneity of the reported rule-out rates of current ADPs. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration Number: NCT02620202

Abstract Background: Black or African Americans (AA) with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are underrepresented in both care and research and experience significant health disparities. The existing literature provides limited guidance on how to enhance the engagement of AA individuals in PD care and research, particularly from the perspectives of AA patients, care partners, and healthcare providers. This project aimed to (1) describe the use of Community Engagement (CE) Studios as a community-engaged research approach to inform culturally appropriate and inclusive research and (2) examine factors influencing AA engagement in PD-related activities. Methods: We conducted three CE Studios: one with AA with PD and care partners (N = 6), one with healthcare providers of AA with PD (N = 8), and one with AA with PD, care partners, and healthcare providers (N = 4). Results: The CE Studios informed the design (e.g., cultural appropriateness) and conduct (e.g., accessibility) of the planned PD project, as well as identifying stakeholders to engage with, improving alignment between research and the AA community. We highlighted the importance of multifaceted factors, including environmental (e.g., segregation), biological (e.g., symptoms), sociocultural (e.g., not being invited), and behavioral (e.g., empowerment) domains, which influence AA engagement. Conclusions: The CE Studios method is a feasible and useful approach for understanding the perspectives of AA in PD. It is possible to conduct an in-depth exploration of community perspectives by synthesizing comprehensive analyses and leveraging additional frameworks. These efforts include identifying barriers to engagement, recognizing locally relevant individuals, and refining PD-related care to enhance cultural appropriateness.

This study presents the first in vivo intraoperative measurement of the kinetic properties of spastic human muscle. Despite slower relaxation in spastic biceps, the force-frequency relationship was similar to that of the healthy gracilis muscle. This suggests that spasticity does not substantially alter frequency-dependent force summation, possibly due to similar fiber-type compositions and limited changes in calcium handling or myosin isoforms in human spastic muscle.

Cervical arthrography was performed on 13 patients with putative cervical facet symptoms. Under fluoroscopic control, injection of radiopaque dye, local anesthetic, and depot steroid into the affected joint capsule was performed without complication. Eleven of the 13 patients had partial to complete pain relief during the 2-week to 6-month followup period.

ABSTRACTAimTo report a novel case of biopsy‐proven, mass spectrometry‐confirmed, wild‐type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt) in nerve.MethodsThe patient was identified and evaluated in the peripheral nerve clinic. Our nerve laboratory's pathology database and the literature were searched for prior evidence of pathologically confirmed cases of ATTRwt.ResultsA 94‐year‐old man with a history of lumbar spinal stenosis presented to the neurology clinic with subacute‐on‐chronic progressive, upper limb predominant weakness along with numbness and tingling paresthesia. Electromyography (EMG) revealed multiple mononeuropathies involving the right median nerve at the wrist, right ulnar nerve, and right distal radial nerve superimposed upon an axonal predominant peripheral neuropathy along with multilevel lumbosacral radiculopathies. Extensive serology for causes of neuropathy and multiple mononeuropathies returned unremarkable. A diagnostic right superficial radial nerve biopsy was performed and showed congophilic material within a small epineurial vessel wall in the nerve tissue. Amyloid typing by mass spectrometry was performed and revealed ATTRwt. TTR gene sequencing returned normal. The patient was diagnosed with ATTRwt neuropathy and started on diflunisal therapy for neuropathy treatment.ConclusionThis case confirms the presence of ATTRwt deposition directly in nerve tissue as the likely cause of the patient's large fiber and multiple mononeuropathies, expanding our current understanding of ATTRwt‐associated disease. Proving the direct association of ATTRwt and neuropathy may open up amyloid‐specific treatments for this disease.