Citations

ABSTRACT Calcium supplementation is indicated for the treatment of nutritional rickets. Our aim was to determine the optimal dose of calcium for treatment of children with rickets. Sixty-five Nigerian children with radiographically confirmed rickets were randomized to daily supplemental calcium intake of 500 mg (n = 21), 1000 mg (n = 23), or 2000 mg (n = 21). Venous blood, radiographs, and forearm areal bone density (aBMD) were obtained at baseline and at 8, 16, and 24 weeks after enrollment. The primary outcome was radiographic healing, using a 10-point radiographic severity score. The radiographic severity scores improved in all three groups, but the rate of radiographic healing (points per month) was significantly more rapid in the 1000-mg (–0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] –0.13 to –0.45) and 2000-mg (–0.36; 95% CI –0.19 to –0.53) supplementation groups relative to the 500-mg group. The 2000-mg group did not heal more rapidly than the 1000-mg group. Of those who completed treatment for 24 weeks, 12 (67%), 20 (87%), and 14 (67%) in the 2000-mg, 1000-mg, and 500-mg groups, respectively, had achieved a radiographic score of 1.5 or less (p = 0.21). Serum alkaline phosphatase decreased and calcium increased similarly in all groups. Forearm diaphyseal aBMD improved significantly more rapidly in the 2000-mg group than in the 500-mg and 1000-mg groups (p < 0.001). Daily calcium intakes of 1000 mg or 2000 mg produced more rapid radiographic healing of rickets than 500 mg, but 2000 mg did not have greater benefit than 1000 mg. Some children require longer than 24 weeks for complete healing of nutritional rickets. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Tear glucose sensing for diabetes management has long been sought as an alternative to more invasive self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG).

Inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso) has been shown to be a safe and effective addition to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) oral therapies; however, the respiratory‐related safety profile of inhaled treprostinil required further elucidation in the setting of routine clinical care. The objectives of this study were to characterize respiratory‐related adverse events (AEs) associated with current or recent treatment with inhaled treprostinil and to compare the incidence of respiratory‐related AEs in PAH patients treated with inhaled treprostinil with that in patients treated with other Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved PAH therapies. This was a long‐term, prospective, observational study. All respiratory‐related AEs were recorded during the study. The number of PAH patients enrolled was 1,333, 666 treated with inhaled treprostinil and 667 controls (treated with an FDA‐approved PAH therapy other than inhaled treprostinil), for a total of 958 and 1,094 patient‐years of exposure, respectively. In the inhaled‐treprostinil group, 1,281 respiratory‐related AEs were reported in 403 patients (61%), and in the control group, 1,295 respiratory‐related AEs were reported in 388 patients (58%). Cough, throat irritation, nasal discomfort, and hemoptysis were the most common respiratory‐related AEs (occurring in ≥2% of patients in either treatment group) that demonstrated a higher number of events per patient‐year of exposure in the inhaled‐treprostinil group than in the control group (risk ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.487 [1.172–1.887], 3.777 [2.050–6.956], 2.039 [1.072–3.879], and 1.957 [1.024–3.741], respectively). Overall, inhaled treprostinil was well tolerated by PAH patients in routine clinical care, with respiratory‐related AEs consistent with the known safety profile (trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01266265).

AbstractObjectiveThe goal of this systematic review was to assess the effects of contrast media volume on transcatheter aortic valve replacement‐related acute kidney injury.MethodsA literature search was performed using Medline, EMbase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and clinicaltrials.gov from the inception of these databases through December 2015. Studies that reported relative risk, odds ratio, or hazard ratio comparing the risks of acute kidney injury following transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients who received high contrast media volume were included. Pooled risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using a random‐effect, generic inverse variance method.ResultsFour cohort studies composed of 891 patients were included in the analyses to assess the risk of acute kidney injury after transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients who received high contrast media volume. The pooled RR of acute kidney injury after transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients who received a large volume of contrast media was 1.41 (95% CI, 0.87 to 2.28) compared with low contrast media volume. The meta‐analysis was limited to studies using standard acute kidney injury definitions, and the pooled RR of acute kidney injury in patients who received high contrast media volume is 1.12 (95% CI, 0.78 to 1.62).ConclusionOur meta‐analysis shows no significant association between contrast media volume and risk of acute kidney injury after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

ABSTRACTRare variants (RVs) have been shown to be significant contributors to complex disease risk. By definition, these variants have very low minor allele frequencies and traditional single‐marker methods for statistical analysis are underpowered for typical sequencing study sample sizes. Multimarker burden‐type approaches attempt to identify aggregation of RVs across case‐control status by analyzing relatively small partitions of the genome, such as genes. However, it is generally the case that the aggregative measure would be a mixture of causal and neutral variants, and these omnibus tests do not directly provide any indication of which RVs may be driving a given association. Recently, Bayesian variable selection approaches have been proposed to identify RV associations from a large set of RVs under consideration. Although these approaches have been shown to be powerful at detecting associations at the RV level, there are often computational limitations on the total quantity of RVs under consideration and compromises are necessary for large‐scale application. Here, we propose a computationally efficient alternative formulation of this method using a probit regression approach specifically capable of simultaneously analyzing hundreds to thousands of RVs. We evaluate our approach to detect causal variation on simulated data and examine sensitivity and specificity in instances of high RV dimensionality as well as apply it to pathway‐level RV analysis results from a prostate cancer (PC) risk case‐control sequencing study. Finally, we discuss potential extensions and future directions of this work.

OBJECTIVE We compared 3-year achievement of an American Diabetes Association composite treatment goal (HbA1c <7.0%, LDL cholesterol <100 mg/dL, and systolic blood pressure <130 mmHg) after 2 years of intensive lifestyle-medical management intervention, with and without Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, with one additional year of usual care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 120 adult participants, with BMI 30.0–39.9 kg/m2 and HbA1c ≥8.0%, were randomized 1:1 to two treatment arms at three clinical sites in the U.S. and one in Taiwan. All patients received the lifestyle-medical management intervention for 24 months; half were randomized to also receive gastric bypass. RESULTS At 36 months, the triple end point goal was met in 9% of lifestyle-medical management patients and 28% of gastric bypass patients (P = 0.01): 10% and 19% lower than at 12 months. Mean (SD) HbA1c values at 3 years were 8.6% (3.5) and 6.7% (2.0) (P < 0.001). No lifestyle-medical management patient had remission of diabetes at 36 months, whereas 17% of gastric bypass patients had full remission and 19% had partial remission. Lifestyle-medical management patients used more medications than gastric bypass patients: mean (SD) 3.8 (3.3) vs. 1.8 (2.4). Percent weight loss was mean (SD) 6.3% (16.1) in lifestyle-medical management vs. 21.0% (14.5) in gastric bypass (P < 0.001). Over 3 years, 24 serious or clinically significant adverse events were observed in lifestyle-medical management vs. 51 with gastric bypass. CONCLUSIONS Gastric bypass is more effective than lifestyle-medical management intervention in achieving diabetes treatment goals, mainly by improved glycemic control. However, the effect of surgery diminishes with time and is associated with more adverse events.

Background— The CoreValve US High-Risk Clinical Study compared clinical outcomes and serial echocardiographic findings in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a self-expanding bioprosthesis or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Methods and Results— Eligible patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to TAVR with a self-expanding bioprosthesis or SAVR (N=747). Echocardiograms were obtained at baseline, discharge, 30 days, 6 months, and 1 year after the procedure and were analyzed at a central core laboratory. Compared with SAVR patients (N=357), TAVR patients (N=390) had a lower mean aortic valve gradient, larger valve area, and less patient–prosthesis mismatch (all P <0.001), but more paravalvular regurgitation at discharge, which decreased at 1 year. SAVR patients experienced significant right ventricular systolic dysfunction at discharge and 1 month with normal right ventricular function at 1 year. One-year all-cause mortality was 14.2% for TAVR and 19.1% for SAVR patients. Preimplantation aortic regurgitation ≥mild was associated with reduced mortality hazard for both the TAVR (hazard ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.27–0.85; P =0.01) and the SAVR groups (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.32–0.87; P =0.01). Aortic regurgitation ≥mild after TAVR was associated with increased risk for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.08–3.53; P =0.03). Conclusions— In patients with severe aortic stenosis at increased surgical risk, TAVR was associated with better systolic valve performance, similar left ventricular remodeling, more paravalvular regurgitation, and less right ventricular systolic dysfunction compared with SAVR. Despite an overall mortality reduction for the TAVR group, ≥mild aortic valve regurgitation after TAVR was associated with an increased mortality hazard. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01240902.

Abstract Ten case reports of disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infections associated with cardiovascular surgery were published from Europe. We report 3 cases of disseminated M chimaera infections with histories of aortic graft and/or valvular surgery within the United States. Two of 3 patients demonstrated ocular involvement, a potentially important clinical finding.