Efficacy of istradefylline for gait disorders with freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: A single-arm,open-label,prospective, multicenter study

Background: Gait disorders are common in Parkinson’s disease patients who respond poorly to dopaminergic treatment. Blockade of adenosine A_2A receptors is expected to improve gait disorders. Istradefylline is a first-in-class selective adenosine A_2A receptor antagonist with benefits for motor complications associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Research design and methods: This multicenter, open-label, single-group, prospective interventional study evaluated changes in total gait-related scores of the Part II/III Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q) in 31 Parkinson’s disease patients treated with istradefylline. Gait analysis by portable gait rhythmogram was performed.

Results: MDS-UPDRS Part III gait-related total scores significantly decreased at Weeks 4–12 from baseline with significant improvements in gait, freezing of gait, and postural stability. Significant decreases in MDS-UPDRS Part II total scores and individual item scores at Week 12 indicated improved daily living activities. At Week 12, there were significant improvements in FOG-Q, new FOG-Q, and overall movement per 48 h measured by portable gait rhythmogram. Adverse events occurred in 7/31 patients.

Conclusions: Istradefylline improved gait disorders in Parkinson’s disease patients complicated with freezing of gait, improving their quality of life. No unexpected adverse drug reactions were identified.

Trial registration: UMIN-CTR (UMIN000020288).     

骨形态发生蛋白2及碱性成纤维生长因子2对大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞膜片增殖和成骨分化的影响

文题释义： 细胞膜片技术：是在体外接种培养高密度的细胞，使其相互融合生长至100%而形成的透明致密膜状物。该技术不需要胰酶消化即可收集细胞，因此保留了大量的胞外基质、细胞间连接以及细胞-基质连接等结构。目前细胞膜片技术已成为组织工程领域的研究热点，已被推广应用于牙周膜、角膜、心脏、软骨、食管等多种组织器官修复。 成骨细胞：主要由内外骨膜和间充质始祖细胞分化而来，在复杂的骨形成过程中发挥着主要的功能，承担着骨基质的合成、分泌和矿化。骨髓间充质干细胞具有多向分化潜能，能定向分化为成骨细胞，其成骨分化过程可受多种因素的影响，如细胞因子的调控、遗传因素和激素水平等。背景：现阶段骨形态发生蛋白2和碱性成纤维生长因子2对骨髓间充质干细胞膜片增殖、成骨分化的影响和作用机制还尚未可知，如何将生长因子与组织工程细胞膜片技术相整合，最终将其用于骨缺损修复具有重要意义。 目的：探讨单独及联合应用骨形态发生蛋白2和碱性成纤维生长因子2对骨髓间充质干细胞膜片增殖和成骨分化的影响。 方法：体外分离培养鉴定SD大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞并构建细胞膜片，选用不同质量浓度的骨形态发生蛋白2和碱性成纤维生长因子2单独及联合诱导骨髓间充质干细胞膜片，CCK-8法结合碱性磷酸酶活性检测确定2种因子促进膜片增殖和成骨分化的最佳有效质量浓度；然后对骨髓间充质干细胞膜片进行成骨诱导，通过大体及显微镜观察、Vonkossa染色、茜素红染色、RT-PCR检测相关成骨标志物来评估诱导效果。 结果与结论：单独应用骨形态发生蛋白2可增强骨髓间充质干细胞膜片的碱性磷酸酶活性，最佳质量浓度为100 μg/L(P < 0.001)，单独应用碱性成纤维生长因子2能加速骨髓间充质干细胞膜片的增殖，最佳质量浓度为20 μg/L(P < 0.001)，而联合应用既可以促进膜片增殖又能提高其碱性磷酸酶活性(P < 0.001)；经成骨诱导后，4组膜片在形态学上无明显差异，均能诱导骨髓间充质干细胞膜片的成骨分化，其中联合组钙结节最明显(P < 0.001)，可显著促进膜片晚期成骨分化并抑制其早期成骨分化，具有明显的协同促进作用(P < 0.001)。结果表明，骨形态发生蛋白2和碱性成纤维生长因子2联合应用时具有协同作用，既可以促进骨髓间充质干细胞膜片增殖，又能显著增强其成骨诱导能力。ORCID: 0000-0003-1918-579X(何惠宇) 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞；骨髓干细胞；造血干细胞；脂肪干细胞；肿瘤干细胞；胚胎干细胞；脐带脐血干细胞；干细胞诱导；干细胞分化；组织工程     

Sacituzumab govitecan: breakthrough targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer

Introduction: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype associated with an increased risk of recurrence and cancer-related death. Unlike hormone receptor-positive or HER2-positive breast cancers, there are limited targeted therapies available to treat TNBC and cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment. Sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting Trop-2 expressing cells and selectively delivering SN-38, an active metabolite of irinotecan.

Areas covered: This review covers the mechanism of action, safety and efficacy of sacituzumab govitecan in patients with previously treated, metastatic TNBC. Additionally, efficacy data in other epithelial malignancies is included based on a PubMed search for ‘sacituzumab govitecan’ and ‘clinical trial’.

Expert opinion: Sacituzumab govitecan has promising anti-cancer activity in patients with metastatic TNBC previously treated with at least two prior lines of systemic therapy based on a single arm Phase I/II clinical trial. A confirmatory Phase III randomized clinical trial is ongoing. Sacituzumab govitecan has a manageable side effect profile, with the most common adverse events being nausea, neutropenia, and diarrhea. The activity of sacituzumab govitecan likely extends beyond TNBC with promising early efficacy data in many other epithelial cancers, including hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.     

Efeitos Terapêuticos da Tripla Antiagregação Plaquetária em Pacientes Femininas Idosas com Diabetes e Infarto Agudo do Miocárdio

BackgroundDual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is the cornerstone treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).ObjectiveThe present study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of triple antiplatelet therapy (TAPT) in elderly female patients with diabetes and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).MethodsWe designed a randomized, single-blind study. Control group A (97 elderly male patients with diabetes and STEMI, whose CRUSADE scores were < 30) received aspirin, ticagrelor, and tirofiban. A total of 162 elderly female patients with diabetes and STEMI were randomly divided into two groups according to CRUSADE score. Group B (69 patients with CRUSADE score > 31) received aspirin and ticagrelor. Group C (93 patients with CRUSADE score < 30) received aspirin, ticagrelor and tirofiban. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultsCompared to the findings in group A, post-PCI Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) grade 3 blood flow and TIMI myocardial perfusion grade 3 were significantly less prevalent in group B (p < 0.05). When compared to groups A and C, the incidence of major adverse complications was significantly higher in group B (p < 0.05).ConclusionTAPT could effectively reduce the incidence of major complications in elderly female patients with diabetes and STEMI. However, close attention should be paid to hemorrhage in patients receiving TAPT. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)     

Event-related potential changes due to early-onset Parkinson’s disease in parkin (PARK2) gene mutation carriers and non-carriers

ObjectiveTo investigate cognitive functions in non-demented patients with early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD), and to compare PARK2 gene mutation carriers and non-carriers by means of event-related brain potentials (ERPs).MethodsThe participants comprised patients with early-onset PD (EOPD) and healthy controls (HC). Patients with EOPD were divided into two groups as carriers of known pathogenic variants of PARK2 gene (EOPD-PC) and non-carriers of genes involved in familial PD (EOPD-NC). ERP data were collected during auditory oddball and visual continuous performance test (CPT).ResultsBoth EOPD groups (EOPD-PC and EOPD-NC) displayed reduced and delayed P3 in response to oddball target and CPT NoGo. CPT Go P3 was reduced in EOPD-NC but not in EOPD-PC. Oddball target N1 was reduced and P2 was enhanced in both EOPD-PC and EOPD-NC. In both cognitive tasks, RTs were prolonged and accuracy was lower in EOPD-PC and EOPD-NC.ConclusionsWe found several EOPD-related neurophysiologic changes, implying impairments in cognitive functions. Pairwise comparisons between EOPD-PC and EOPD-NC revealed no significant ERP marker.SignificanceIn this study, the confounding effect of normative aging was somewhat excluded compared with many previous studies. In contrast with the many oddball studies in non-demented PD, we clearly observed reduced and prolonged P3 in early-onset PD. Our NoGo P3 findings also contribute to the limited ERP research concerning response inhibition.