Citations

Importance The etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease, is unknown. However, neuroinflammation and complement activation may play a role in disease progression. Objective To determine the effects of zilucoplan, an inhibitor of complement C5, in individuals with ALS. Design, Setting, and Participants Zilucoplan was tested as regimen A of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, a phase 2 to 3 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled perpetual platform clinical trial with sharing of trial infrastructure and placebo data across multiple regimens. Regimen A was conducted from August 17, 2020, to May 4, 2022. A total of 162 participants were randomized to receive zilucoplan (122 [75.3%]) or regimen-specific placebo (40 [24.7%]). An additional 124 concurrently randomized participants were randomized to receive placebo in other regimens. Interventions Eligible participants were randomized in a 3:1 ratio to receive zilucoplan or matching placebo within strata of edaravone and/or riluzole use for a planned duration of 24 weeks. Active drug (zilucoplan, 0.3 mg/kg) and placebo were provided for daily subcutaneous dosing. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was change in disease severity from baseline through 24 weeks as measured by the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale–Revised (ALSFRS-R) total score and survival, analyzed using a bayesian shared-parameter model and reported as disease rate ratio (DRR; <1 indicating treatment benefit). The study included prespecified rules for early stopping for futility. Outcome analyses were performed in the full analysis set comparing the zilucoplan group with the total shared placebo group (n = 164). Results Among the 162 participants who were randomized (mean [SD] age, 59.6 [11.3]; 99 [61.1%] male), 115 (71.0%) completed the trial. The estimated DRR common to ALSFRS-R and survival was 1.08 (95% credible interval, 0.87-1.31; posterior probability of superiority, 0.24). The trial was stopped early for futility. No unexpected treatment-related risks were identified. Conclusions and Relevance In this randomized clinical trial of zilucoplan in ALS, treatment did not alter disease progression. The adaptive platform design of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial made it possible to test a new investigational product with efficient use of time and resources. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04297683

Importance Bioenergetic failure has been proposed as a driver of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). CNM-Au8 is a suspension of gold nanocrystals that catalyzes the conversion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydride into NAD + , resulting in an increase of cellular adenosine triphosphate production. Objective To determine the effects of CNM-Au8 on ALS disease progression. Design, Setting, and Participants CNM-Au8 was tested as a regimen of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, a phase 2/3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind platform trial. The study was conducted at 54 sites in the US from July 2020 to March 2022 (final follow-up, March 17, 2022). A total of 161 participants with ALS were randomized to receive CNM-Au8 (n = 120) or regimen-specific placebo (n = 41). Data from 123 concurrently randomized placebo participants in other regimens were combined for analyses. Interventions Eligible participants were randomized in a 3:3:2 ratio to receive CNM-Au8 60 mg daily (n = 61), CNM-Au8 30 mg daily (n = 59), or matching placebo (n = 41) for 24 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary efficacy outcome was change from baseline through week 24 in ALS disease severity measured by a bayesian shared parameter model of function (based on the Revised Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale) and survival, which provided an estimate of the rate of disease progression measured by the disease rate ratio (DRR), with a DRR of less than 1 indicating treatment benefit. Secondary end points included a Combined Assessment of Function and Survival using a joint-rank test, rate of decline in slow vital capacity (percent predicted), and survival free of permanent assisted ventilation. Results Among 161 participants who were randomized within the CNM-Au8 regimen (mean age, 58.4 years; 61 [37.9%] female), 145 (90%) completed the trial. In the primary analysis comparing the combined CNM-Au8 dosage groups vs the combined placebo groups, the primary end point (DRR, 0.97 [95% credible interval, 0.783-1.175]; posterior probability of DRR <1, 0.65) and the 3 secondary end points suggested no benefit or harm of CNM-Au8. In the active (n = 120) vs placebo (n = 163) groups, the most common adverse events were diarrhea (23 [19%] vs 12 [7%]), nausea (17 [14.2%] vs 14 [8.6%]), fatigue (12 [10.8%] vs 30 [18.4%]), and muscular weakness (24 [20%] vs 45 [27.6%]). Conclusions and Relevance No benefit of CNM-Au8 on ALS disease progression was observed at 24 weeks. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT04297683 , NCT04414345

OBJECTIVE Hounsfield units (HUs) may better predict biomechanical complications of instrumented fusion than conventional bone quality measures. Typically, noncontrast axial slices are used. This study aims to address the influence of reconstruction plane and contrast administration on measured HUs in patients undergoing lumbar spine imaging. METHODS Patients without prior spine surgery, infection, or tumor were identified for 3 groups: 1) 150 patients with high-resolution noncontrast lumbar CT, 2) 109 patients with noncontrast and contrast-enhanced lumbar CT, and 3) 100 patients with noncontrast lumbar CT and lumbar CT myelograms. Noncontrast HU measures in group 1 were compared between axial, sagittal, and coronal reconstructions. HU measures for groups 2 and 3 were compared on axial slice averages. HU measures between groups were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to investigate the presence of a statistically significant difference between groups (α = 0.05). Linear regression was also used to determine the degree of correlation between HU measures on noncontrast axial CT slices and HU measures on other sequences. RESULTS The mean patient age was 58.8 ± 15.9 years for group 1 (54.0% male), 65.5 ± 15.9 years for group 2 (61.5% male), and 65.2 ± 14.2 years (53.5% male) for group 3. Comparison of HU measures in group 1 showed significant differences across measurement modalities with the exception of axial average versus coronal average measures (p = 0.257) and sagittal average versus midsagittal measures (p = 0.726). There were significant differences in average axial HUs for each vertebral body between contrast and noncontrast lumbar CT and between CT myelography and noncontrast CT. Linear regression analysis demonstrated an extremely high correlation between measures for all methodologies (r2 = 0.950–0.986, all p < 0.001), and between contrast-enhanced and noncontrast studies (r2 = 0.870, p < 0.001). Measurements on CT myelography were significantly correlated with those in noncontrast studies, although to a lesser degree (r2 = 0.745, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS HU measures on noncontrast CT appear similar across multiple different planes, suggesting that a simpler methodology such as single-slice measurement on midsagittal reconstruction may allow for more rapid assessment of underlying bone quality. Consistent with prior work, contrast-enhanced CT sequences appear to reliably mirror underlying bone quality, although CT myelogram measures may vary in a more unpredictable way that precludes their use to interpret underlying bone quality. HU measures on contrast-enhanced studies are on average greater, suggesting the need for higher cutoff values.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable plasma cell (PC) malignancy. Despite therapeutic advances that have vastly improved survival, all patients are expected to relapse. Current standard of care includes autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) with high-dose melphalan (HDM) administered as a conditioning agent. Cytotoxic chemotherapies such as melphalan have been shown to drive therapy-induced senescence (TIS) in several tissues. We hypothesize that HDM activates TIS pathways in surviving MM cells and that this may correlate with patient outcomes post-ASCT. We developed an in vitro HDM model using 5TGM1 mouse MM cells treated with vehicle (Veh) or HDM (10µM, IC90) for 6h, followed by co-culture with primary mouse bone marrow stromal cells. Image analysis was performed to quantify proliferation by cumulative population doublings (CPDs) over 10 days, after which 5TGM1 cells were evaluated for cell size, telomere-associated DNA damage foci (TAFs), sensitivity to senolysis, and senescence gene expression (scRNA-seq and RT-qPCR). The effect of HDM on CPDs and cell size was also evaluated in human MM cell lines RPMI-8226 and H929. scRNA-seq was used to analyze CD138+ PCs from MM patients at various timepoints post-ASCT. Longitudinal MM patient iliac crest biopsies (diagnosis, post-ASCT; N=20) were stained for CD138+ PCs; PC burden was quantified by AI-assisted histology. Lastly, we established an in vivo model of induction therapy (bortezomib) followed by HDM/SCT in Vk*MYC mouse MM engrafted C57BL/6 mice. Tumor burden was tracked by serum protein electrophoresis for M-spike using submandibular bleeds. Bone marrow was then flushed from long bones and analyzed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. HDM-5TGM1 showed decreased CPDs (HDM 0.32±0.31, Veh 6.72±0.69, p&lt;0.0001, N=3), increased size (median pixel size: HDM 413.2±99.98, Veh 207±8.88, p&lt;0.05, N=3), and increased TAF+ cells (Percent TAF+ cells: HDM 34.77%±10.74%, Veh 11.41%±1.58%, p&lt;0.05, N=3) consistent with known TIS features. Preliminary assessment (N=1) of human MM cell lines showed similar growth arrest (RPMI-8226 CPDs: HDM 0.058±0.101, Veh 4.185±0.358; H929 CPDs: HDM 0±0, Veh 4.61±0.243) and size increase (RPMI-8226 mean pixel size: HDM 804.1±6.048, Veh 526.9±2.115; H929 mean pixel size: HDM 371.2±26.95, Veh 130.3±41.43), suggesting a translatable mechanism. HDM-5TGM1 cells were more sensitive to senolysis by dasatinib+quercetin (viability: HDM 54.9%±0.09%, Veh 76.0%±0.05%, N=2). scRNA-seq analysis showed that HDM-5TGM1 were enriched for gene sets related to senescence pathways, including the published set SenMayo (FDR&lt;0.25). HDM-5TGM1 cells also exhibited myeloid gene expression consistent with previous publications on MM dormancy. RT-qPCR confirmed significant increases in HDM-5TGM1 (p&lt;0.001, N=3) in senescence markers (Cdkn1a, Cdkn1c, Glb1), senescent cell anti-apoptosis pathway genes (SCAPs, Bcl2l1), senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) genes (Ccl5, Icam1, Mmp13), and myeloid markers (Axl, Fcer1g, Mpeg1). scRNA-seq of patient CD138+ PCs confirmed a myeloid-like cluster that gained prominence in relapsed patients with resistant disease. CD138+ PCs were detected in patient bone biopsies post-ASCT. Interestingly, patients who relapsed (≤3 years, N=9) had a greater percent reduction in PC burden from diagnosis to post-ASCT when compared to patients that did not relapse (N=11) in that time (p=0.02). Further, CD138+ PC burden post-ASCT positively correlated with time in remission in relapsed patients (R=0.697, p=0.03). Bortezomib reduced serum M-spike in Vk*MYC-engrafted mice (p=0.0003); M-spike was further reduced by HDM/SCT compared to Veh-treated mice (p=0.0007). Flow cytometry confirmed a decrease in Vk*MYC cells after HDM/SCT (p=0.0043), and the percentage of Vk*MYC cells with greater size and complexity was increased compared to Veh-treated mice (p=0.0043), consistent with our in vitro data. Vk*MYC cells from HDM-treated mice also trended for more TAF+ cells (&gt;3 TAFs) compared to Veh-treated mice (p=0.0714). Our findings suggest that HDM can induce a TIS and myeloid signature in surviving MM cells. Greater MM burden post-ASCT appears to be associated with longer durable response, again suggesting that these cells may be in growth arrest consistent with TIS. Finally, senolytics may be a novel approach to eliminate surviving MM cells and prevent relapse.

The pathogenesis of asthma in elderly is not well understood. Using a mouse model of asthma, we show that aging results in decreased lung function and less responsiveness to allergen exposure, impacted by locally produced brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Aging also decreases allergen-induced inflammation but increases airway remodeling and senescence. Our results suggest that senescence pathways may contribute to asthma pathogenesis in elderly.

OBJECTIVE Many patients recruited in the Treatment of Brain Arteriovenous Malformations Study (TOBAS) are managed conservatively. The aim of this study was to monitor what happened to those patients. METHODS TOBAS comprises two randomized controlled trials and multiple prospective registries. All patients with brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) can participate. This report concerns patients selected for conservative management. The primary trial outcome measure is related death or dependency (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score > 2) at 10 years. Secondary outcomes include intracranial hemorrhages, nonhemorrhagic neurological events, and serious adverse events (SAEs). For this report, outcome results are presented using patient-years, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and Cox log-rank tests. There was no blinding. RESULTS From June 2014 to May 2021, 1010 patients were recruited, of whom 498 (49%) were proposed the prospective observation registry. After exclusions, 434 (87%) patients remained for analysis. The majority of patients had unruptured AVMs (378/434 [87%]), of which 195 (52%) were low grade (Spetzler-Martin grade I or II). During a mean follow-up period of 3.2 years (total 1368 patient-years), the primary outcome occurred in 23 of 434 (5%) patients, corresponding to an incidence of 1.7 (95% CI 1.1–2.5) per 100 patient-years. For unruptured AVMs the incidence was 1.1 (95% CI 0.7–1.9) per 100 patient-years, and for low-grade unruptured AVMs it was 0.6 (95% CI 0.2–1.7) per 100 patient-years. Poor outcomes were more frequent in patients with a history of rupture (HR 5.6 [95% CI 2.4–13.0], p < 0.001), infratentorial AVMs (HR 2.9 [95% CI 1.1–7.3], p = 0.027), and age ≥ 55 years (HR 3.2 [95% CI 1.4–7.6], p = 0.007). Major intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 35 of 434 (8%) patients (incidence of 2.6 [95% CI 1.9–3.6] per 100 patient-years; 2.0 [95% CI 1.3–2.9] per 100 patient-years for unruptured AVMs and 1.3 [95% CI 0.6–2.6] per 100 patient-years for low-grade unruptured AVMs). Major AVM hemorrhages were more frequent in ruptured (HR 4.4 [95% CI 2.1–8.9], p < 0.001), large (HR 2.6 [95% CI 1.1–6.6], p = 0.039), and high-grade (HR 2.5 [95% CI 1.2–5.3], p = 0.013) AVMs and those with deep venous drainage (HR 2.1 [95% CI 1.1–4.2], p = 0.032). SAEs occurred in 48 of 434 (11%) patients (incidence of 3.6 [95% CI 2.7–4.8] per 100 patient-years). For unruptured AVMs the incidence was 2.8 (95% CI 2.0–4.0) per 100 patient-years, and for low-grade unruptured AVMs it was 1.8 (95% CI 1.0–3.2) per 100 patient-years. CONCLUSIONS Nearly half of TOBAS participants were observed. Rates of untoward neurological events were within expected boundaries.

Abstract Background and study aims Use of fluoroscopy in gastrointestinal endoscopy is an essential aid in advanced endoscopic interventions. However, it also raises concerns about radiation exposure. This study aimed to develop consensus-based statements for safe and effective use of fluoroscopy in gastrointestinal endoscopy, prioritizing the safety and well-being of healthcare workers and patients. Methods A modified Delphi approach was employed to achieve consensus over three rounds of surveys. Proposed statements were generated in Round 1. In the second round, panelists rated potential statements on a 5-point scale, with consensus defined as ≥80% agreement. Statements were subsequently prioritized in Round 3, using a 1 (lowest priority) to 10 (highest priority) scale. Results Forty-six experts participated, consisting of 34 therapeutic endoscopists and 12 endoscopy nurses from six continents, with an overall 45.6% female representation (n = 21). Forty-three item statements were generated in the first round. Of these, 31 statements achieved consensus after the second round. These statements were categorized into General Considerations (n = 6), Education (n = 10), Pregnancy (n = 4), Family Planning (n = 2), Patient Safety (n = 4), and Staff Safety (n = 5). In the third round, accepted statements received mean priority scores ranging from 7.28 to 9.36, with 87.2% of statements rated as very high priority (mean score ≥ 9). Conclusions This study presents consensus-based statements for safe and effective use of fluoroscopy in gastrointestinal endoscopy, addressing the well-being of healthcare workers and patients. These consensus-based statements aim to mitigate risks associated with radiation exposure while maintaining benefits of fluoroscopy, ultimately promoting a culture of safety in healthcare settings.

Our previous study suggests that glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is involved in allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity and remodeling in vivo. Here, we show that GDNF has no direct effects in remodeling of human airway smooth muscle (ASM) but GDNF dysregulates mitochondrial morphology in human ASM in the context of asthma.

The lung is an inherently mechanosensitive organ that can respond to mechanical forces in adaptive or maladaptive ways, including via remodeling resulting in increased fibrosis. We explored the mechanisms that link mechanical forces to remodeling using human lung fibroblasts. We found that mechanosensitive Piezo channels increase with stretch and mediate extracellular matrix formation and the fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition that occurs with stretch. Our data highlight the importance of Piezo channels in lung mechanotransduction toward remodeling.