by
Werner F. Blum;
Jurgen Klammt;
Serge Amselem;
Heike M. Pfaeffle;
Marie Legendre;
Marie-Laure Sobrier;
Marie-Pierre Luton;
Christopher J. Child;
Christine Jones;
Alan G. Zimmermann;
Charmian A. Quigley;
Gordon B. Cutler;
Cheri L. Deal;
Jan Lebl;
Ron G. Rosenfeld;
John Parks;
Roland W. Pfaeffle
Background: Pituitary development and GH secretion are orchestrated by multiple genes including GH1, GHRHR, GLI2, HESX1, LHX3, LHX4, PROP1, POU1F1, and SOX3. We aimed to assess their mutation frequency and clinical relevance in children with severe GH deficiency (GHD). Methods: The Genetics and Neuroendocrinology of Short Stature International Study (GeNeSIS; Clinical Trial Registry Number: NCT01088412) was a prospective, open-label, observational research program for pediatric patients receiving GH treatment, conducted in 30 countries between 1999 and 2015. The study included a sub-study to investigate mutations in the genes listed above. PCR products from genomic blood cell DNA were analyzed by Sanger sequencing. DNA variants were classified as pathogenic according to the recommendations of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Demographic, auxologic, and endocrine data at baseline and during GH treatment were documented and related to the genotyping results. Findings: The analysis comprised 917 patients. In 92 patients (10%) 33 mutations were found, 16 previously described and 17 novel (52%). Mutation carriers were significantly younger, shorter, and more slowly growing than non-carriers. In general, their peak values in GH stimulation tests were very low; however, in 15/77 (20%) patients with GH1, PROP1, and SOX3 mutations they were only moderately diminished (3-6 μg/L). Two patients with a GH1 mutation developed TSH deficiency and one ADH deficiency. Using logistic multi-regression analysis, significant indicators of a mutation were combined pituitary hormone deficiency, greater patient-parent height difference (SDS), low GH peak, and young age. Final height SDS gain in mutation carriers (mean ± SD 3.4 ± 1.4) was greater than in non-carriers (2.0 ± 1.4; P <.001) and in patients with non-GHD short stature. Interpretation: DNA testing for mutations in children with severe GHD shows a positive finding in approximately 10%. Phenotypes of mutation carriers can be variable. The benefit for clinical practice justifies DNA testing as an important component in the diagnostic work-up of patients with severe GHD. Fund: Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA. ClinicalTrials.com registration: NCT01088412.
Exposure to cocaine and amphetamine structurally reorganizes excitatory neurons in the medial and orbital prefrontal cortices (mPFC and oPFC), inducing dendritic spine proliferation in the mPFC and eliminating spines in the oPFC. Modifications may be causally associated with addiction etiology. Certain cytoskeletal regulatory proteins expressed in the oPFC and implicated in postnatal neural development also regulate behavioral sensitivity to cocaine, potentially opening a window of opportunity for the identification of novel pharmacotherapeutic targets in the treatment of drug abuse disorders. Addiction is characterized by maladaptive decision-making, a loss of control over drug consumption and habit-like drug seeking despite adverse consequences. These cognitive changes may reflect the effects of drugs of abuse on prefrontal cortical neurobiology. Here, we review evidence that amphetamine and cocaine fundamentally remodel the structure of excitatory neurons in the prefrontal cortex. We summarize evidence in particular that these psychostimulants have opposing effects in the medial and orbital prefrontal cortices ('mPFC' and 'oPFC', respectively). For example, amphetamine and cocaine increase dendrite length and spine density in the mPFC, while dendrites are impoverished and dendritic spines are eliminated in the oPFC. We will discuss evidence that certain cytoskeletal regulatory proteins expressed in the oPFC and implicated in postnatal (adolescent) neural development also regulate behavioral sensitivity to cocaine. These findings potentially open a window of opportunity for the identification of novel pharmacotherapeutic targets in the treatment of drug abuse disorders in adults, as well as in drug-vulnerable adolescent populations. Finally, we will discuss the behavioral implications of drug-related dendritic spine elimination in the oPFC, with regard to reversal learning tasks and tasks that assess the development of reward-seeking habits, both used to model aspects of addiction in rodents.
Background: Several studies have examined reversibility of tardive syndromes (TS), primarily in psychotic patients who are maintained on dopamine receptor blocking drugs. The results have varied widely. However, few have assessed remission rates after discontinuing the offending agents. This study evaluated reversibility of TS in patients who permanently withdrew the causative agent(s). We also examined for any possible clinical predictors of reversibility.
Methods: A retrospective cohort of 108 TS patients was studied. Most of the patients were not psychotic; most patients were being treated either for a mood disorder with atypical antipsychotics or for a gastrointestinal disturbance with metoclopramide. Patients were stratified on the basis of reversibility, and statistical tests were used for subgroup comparisons of relevant clinical variables. Logistic regression was undertaken to identify clinical variables predictive of reversibility.
Results: Only 13% of the cohort experienced reversibility of the TS, 2% without medical intervention. When stratified by reversibility, there were no significant differences in any study variables between subgroups. None of the study variables predicted reversibility in the logistic regression.
Discussion: Our study demonstrated a low remission rate for TS in a cohort of psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients seen in a movement disorder clinic after the offending agents were completely withdrawn. Such a finding has significant prognostic implications. It is possible that limitations of the retrospective design may have resulted in an underestimation. There is a clear need for prospective, multicenter, clinical trials in populations that can be safely withdrawn from dopamine receptor blocking agents so that true remission rates can be measured.
The Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway activates several downstream signals important to lung cancer development and survival. IGF-1R activation has been linked to cancer risk in epidemiological studies and tumorigenesis in preclinical models. Several inhibitors of the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) have been tested in clinical trials. Despite promising data in early phase studies, most studies of IGF-1R antagonists in combination with chemotherapy or with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) yielded disappointing results. Biomarker studies of clinical trials have identified IGF-1 levels as a potential marker of sensitivity to IGF-1R inhibition. Further study will need to focus on selection of NSCLC patients most likely to benefit from the addition of IGF-1R antagonists to standard therapy and the development of rational strategies for combination therapy in NSCLC.
Background: Total body iron (TBI) that is calculated from ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) allows for the evaluation of the full range of iron status from deficiency to excess. However, both ferritin and sTfR are affected by inflammation and malaria, which may require a statistical adjustment. TBI has been used to assess iron status in the United States, but its use worldwide and in settings with inflammation has been limited.Objective: We examine whether inflammation-adjusted ferritin and sTfR concentrations affect TBI values and the prevalence of low TBI ( < 0 mg/kg) in preschool children (PSC) (age range: 6-59 mo) and women of reproductive age (WRA) (age range: 15-49 y).Design: Cross-sectional data for PSC (8 surveys; n = 8413) and WRA (4 surveys; n = 4258) from the Biomarkers Reflecting the Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) project were analyzed individually and combined. TBI and the prevalence of low TBI were compared following 3 adjustment approaches for ferritin and sTfR: 1) the exclusion of individuals with inflammation (C-reactive protein concentration > 5 mg/L or α-1-acid glycoprotein concentration > 1 g/L), 2) the application of arithmetic correction factors, and 3) the use of regression correction.Results: Regardless of the method that was used to adjust ferritin and sTfR for inflammation, the adjusted mean TBI decreased in both PSC and WRA compared with unadjusted values. Subsequently, inflammation-adjusted TBI increased the prevalence of low TBI by a median of 4-14 percentage points (pps) in PSC and 1-3 pps in WRA compared with unadjusted TBI. The regression approach resulted in a greater median increase than was achieved with the exclusion or correction-factor approaches, and accounting for malaria in addition to inflammation did not have an added effect on the prevalence estimates.Conclusion: The prevalence of low TBI is underestimated if it is not adjusted by inflammation, particularly in children living in areas with a high prevalence of inflammation.
When activity levels are altered over days, a network of cells is capable of recognizing this perturbation and triggering several distinct compensatory changes that should help to recover and maintain the original activity levels homeostatically. One feature commonly observed after activity blockade has been a compensatory increase in excitatory quantal amplitude. The sensing machinery that detects altered activity levels is a central focus of the field currently, but thus far it has been elusive. The vast majority of studies that reduce network activity also reduce neurotransmission. We address the possibility that reduced neurotransmission can trigger increases in quantal amplitude. In this work, we blocked glutamatergic or GABAA transmission in ovo for 2 days while maintaining relatively normal network activity. We found that reducing GABAA transmission triggered compensatory increases in both GABA and AMPA quantal amplitude in embryonic spinal motoneurons. Glutamatergic blockade had no effect on quantal amplitude. Therefore, GABA binding to the GABAA receptor appears to be a critical step in the sensing machinery for homeostatic synaptic plasticity. The findings suggest that homeostatic increases in quantal amplitude may normally be triggered by reduced levels of activity, which are sensed in the developing spinal cord by GABA, via the GABAA receptor. Therefore, GABA appears to be serving as a proxy for activity levels.
Platelet numbers are intricately regulated to avoid spontaneous bleeding or arterial occlusion and organ damage. The growth factor thrombopoietin (TPO) drives platelet biogenesis by inducing megakaryocyte production. A recent study in mice identified a feedback mechanism by which clearance of aged, desialylated platelets stimulates TPO synthesis by hepatocytes. This new finding generated renewed interest in platelet clearance mechanisms. Here, different established and emerging mechanisms of platelet senescence and clearance will be reviewed with specific emphasis on the role of posttranslational modifications.
Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins act as GTPase activating proteins to negatively regulate G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. Although several RGS proteins including RGS2, RGS16, RGS10, and RGS18 are expressed in human and mouse platelets, the respective unique function(s) of each have not been fully delineated. RGS10 is a member of the D/R12 subfamily of RGS proteins and is expressed in microglia, macrophages, megakaryocytes, and platelets. We used a genetic approach to examine the role (s) of RGS10 in platelet activation in vitro and hemostasis and thrombosis in vivo. GPCR-induced aggregation, secretion, and integrin activation was much more pronounced in platelets from Rgs10-/- mice relative to wild type (WT). Accordingly, these mice had markedly reduced bleeding times and were more susceptible to vascular injury-associated thrombus formation than control mice. These findings suggest a unique, non-redundant role of RGS10 in modulating the hemostatic and thrombotic functions of platelets in mice. RGS10 thus represents a potential therapeutic target to control platelet activity and/or hypercoagulable states.
by
Sylvia E. Rosas;
Luis M. Ruilope;
Stefan D. Anker;
Bertram Pitt;
Peter Rossing;
Andres Angelo Cadena Bonfanti;
Ricardo Correa-Rotter;
Fernando González;
Carlos Francisco Jaramillo Munoz;
Pablo Pergola;
Guillermo E. Umpierrez;
Andrea Scalise;
Charlie Scott;
Robert Lawatscheck;
Amer Joseph;
George L. Bakris
Rationale & Objective
In FIDELITY, finerenone improved cardiorenal outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes. This analysis explores the efficacy and safety of finerenone in Hispanic patients.
Study Design
Post hoc analysis of the FIDELITY prespecified pooled analysis of the FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD randomized control trials.
Setting & Participants
Patients with type 2 diabetes and CKD (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio [UACR] of ≥30 to <300 mg/g and estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] of ≥25-≤90 mL/min/1.73 m2, or UACR of ≥300 to ≤5,000 and eGFR of ≥25 mL/min/1.73 m2) on optimized renin–angiotensin system blockade.
Intervention
Finerenone or placebo.
Outcomes
Cardiovascular composite (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure); kidney composite (kidney failure, sustained ≥57% eGFR decline, or renal death); change in UACR.
Results
Of 13,026 patients, 2,099 (16.1%) self-identified as Hispanic. Median follow-up was 3.0 years. The cardiovascular composite outcome occurred in 10.0% of Hispanic patients receiving Finerenone and in 12.3% of Hispanic patients receiving placebo (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.62-1.04). This was consistent with non-Hispanic patients (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.97; Pinteraction= 0.59). The kidney composite outcome occurred in 6.5% and 6.6% of Hispanic patients with finerenone and placebo, respectively (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.67-1.33). The risk reduction was consistent with that observed in non-Hispanic patients (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.64-0.87; Pinteraction= 0.22). Finerenone reduced UACR by 32% at month 4 in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients versus placebo (P < 0.001 for both patient groups). The safety profile of finerenone and incidence of hyperkalemia was similar between Hispanic and non-Hispanic patient groups.
Limitations
Small sample size, short follow-up time, and lower treatment adherence in the Hispanic population.
Conclusions
Overall, the efficacy and safety of finerenone were similar in Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes.