Attitudes and expectations of patients with neuromuscular diseases about their participation in a clinical trial

AimThis study aimed to gain a better understanding of the psychological impact of participating in a clinical trial for patients with Pompe disease (Acid Maltase Deficiency). Attitudes and expectations of adult patients with neuromuscular diseases regarding medical trials are as yet unreported. In order to learn about the psychological consequences of participating in a clinical trial, we conducted a prospective assessment of patients with late-onset Pompe Disease, a rare genetic condition, for which no treatment had been available before. This psychological study was carried out as an ancillary study to the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial described elsewhere (van der Ploeg et al., 2010).Subjects and methodsWe assessed patients (n = 8) at inclusion, and at 12 and 18 months for six psychological dimensions: depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), hopelessness (Beck Hopelessness Scale, BHS), anxiety (STAI A-B), quality of life (Whoqol-26), social adjustment (S.A.S-self-report) and locus of control (IPC Levenson). We produced a self-administered questionnaire in order to assess the attitudes, motivations and expectations of patients during the trial.ResultsAt 12 months, mean social adjustment (SAS-SR, P = 0.02) had improved, and at 18 months mean depression score had improved as well (BDI, P = 0.03). The quality of life of patients (Whoqol-26) remained unchanged. Throughout the study, patients were more likely to have an internal locus of control than an external one (IPC Levenson). The self-administered questionnaire showed that patients’ expectations were disproportionate compared to the medical information they had received starting the trial. For all patients, the first motivation for being enrolled in a clinical trial was “to help research”, for half of them the motivation was to “improve their health”. Whether patients believed to be part of one group or another (placebo or treatment) depended on their subjective perception of improvement during the trial.ConclusionGiven the small sample size, the conclusions of this study are preliminary. However, findings do suggest that there is a positive psychological impact of participating in a treatment trial. Moreover, the patients’ reactions upon unblinding have led us to recommend that patients be asked whether they would like their group assignation disclosed to them or not.     

New therapeutic approaches in glioblastomas

INTRODUCTION: Current treatment of glioblastomas relies on surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, the efficacy of these therapeutics is still limited and new therapeutic approaches based on the understanding of brain tumor biology are emerging. STATE OF ART: High expression of the EGF receptor by tumor cells, activation of the PI3K/Akt and the Ras/Raf pathways represent interesting targets for new selective drugs under development. Proteases inhibitors and antiangiogenic agents are also under investigations in clinical trials. Perspectives. In addition, the recent development of convection-enhanced delivery technique allows the administration of drugs which do not cross the blood-brain-barrier, such as selective toxins or immunostimulating oligonucleotides. CONCLUSION: Though the results of clinical trials have been somewhat disappointing, using different drug combinations or drug-radiotherapy associations will probably enable an improvement in the prognosis for these patients in the future.     

Manual and quantitative muscle testing in neuromuscular disorders. How to assess the consistency of strength measurements in clinical trials?

Evaluation of functional capacities of patients suffering of neuromuscular disorders, particularly muscle strength, is a critical issue for their diagnosis and follow-up. Within the framework of the natural history of any given disease, such an evaluation may improve the clinician's knowledge of the pathophysiological processes involved, and may help to anticipate and sometimes prevent deleterious consequences as the disease progresses. It is also helpful for identifying correlation between the severity of organic damage and the functional impact of the disease. The measurement of functional capacities must be done with accuracy, sensitivity and reliability, essentially when used as an outcome measure for therapeutic trials. Several evaluation tools for measuring muscle strength are available. They are usually classified into two groups: manual muscle testing (MMT) methods and quantified muscle testing (QMT) methods. In this article, we present the principles of strength measurements, and the different tools and materials that are commonly used in clinical settings. Their limitations and drawbacks are illustrated through several examples. Although QMT is theoretically and potentially more consistent than MMT to precisely follow the muscle capacities of the patients, precise and robust procedures must be elaborated and validated for each tested muscle function. Strength measurements must be performed by trained and experimented clinical evaluators. This issue is critical in the follow up of multicentric therapeutic trials. Inter-rater reliability must be assessed to guarantee the statistical power of the trial.     

Therapeutic trials in muscular dystrophy: II. Ethylene and its derivatives

The plant growth stimulants ethylene dinitramine (EDNA) and ethylene have been reported to increase muscle regeneration. Such chemicals might therefore be of therepeutic benefit in the human muscular dystrophies. This report describes a series of experiments to reinvestigate the effects of EDNA, ethylene, and another plant-stimulating ethylene derivative, 2-chloroethylenephosphoric acid (Ethephon). EDNA and Ethephon administered two days after wounding both produced a significant increase of muscle protein synthesis seven days after the injury of normal muscle, though the increases were only 35 and 22%, respectively. The results suggested that early suppression of regeneration might explain the later increases. Ethylene administered in an identical way to that previously reported failed to increase muscle protein synthesis in murine muscular dystrophy or in wounded normal muscle. These studies suggest that treatment of human muscular dystrophies with ethylene derivatives is unlikely to prove of value.     

Therapeutic trials for the patients with muscle glycogen storage diseases

Muscle glycogen storage diseases (GSDs) are disorders of inborn error of metabolism, in which gene therapy restoring the deficient enzymes may ultimately cure the diseases. However, considering the pathophysiological basis of GSDs other treatments such as substrate supplementation, activation of the residual enzyme and enzyme replacement, are also important. Therapeutic trials in progress include the combined use of vitamin B6 and cornstarch for GSD type V, enzyme replacement therapy using rh-alpha-glucosidase for GSD type II, and ketogenic diet for GSD type IX.     

Therapeutic trials in muscular dystrophy. 1. Gold in murine dystrophy.

A trial of sodium aurothiomalate as an antiproteinase drug in the treatment of murine muscular dystrophy is reported. A blind controlled comparison of high (25 microgram/10 g body weight) and low dose gold (5 microgram/10 g body weight) with saline-injected control animals was made, all injections being given three times weekly. The body weights and functional ability of the mice were assessed at weekly intervals. No significant difference between the groups was observed. A trial of very high dose chrysotherapy (500 microgram of gold/10 g body weight) also showed no therapeutic benefit.     

Fluoxetine: an update of its use in major depressive disorder in adults

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have emerged as a major therapeutic advance in psychiatry. They have emphasized the pathophysiological role of serotonin (5-HT) in affective disorders. Indeed, SSRIs were developed for inhibition of the neuronal uptake for serotonin (5-HT), a property shared with the TCAs (tricyclic anti-depressants), but without affecting the other various central neuroreceptors (ie, histamine, acetylcholine and adrenergic receptors) that are responsible for many of the safety and tolerability problems with TCAs. In this way, fluoxetine and other SSRIs represent a major advance over tricyclics, because of their lower toxicity. While the position of fluoxetine relative to other selective serotoninergic antidepressants requires further investigation, fluoxetine has a more favorable tolerability profile for a similar efficacy in comparison to tricyclic antidepressants. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of fluoxetine are well described. After oral administration, fluoxetine is almost completely absorbed. Due to hepatic first-pass metabolism, the oral bioavailability is < 90%. Fluoxetine has a half-life of 2-7 days, whereas the half-life of norfluoxetine ranges between 4 and 15 days. This long half-life of fluoxetine may be advantageous when the patient omits a dose since drug concentrations decrease slightly. On the other hand, in the case of fluoxetine non-response, long washout periods are necessary before switching the patient to a TCA or a MAO inhibitor to avoid drug interactions or the development of a 5-HT syndrome. As a class, SSRIs are considerably more selective in comparison to TCAs in terms of their central nervous system mechanisms, but differ in other clinically relevant aspects. This action affects several specific 5-HT receptors, which, in turn, effects a multitude of neural systems and signalization pathways. However, despite the facilitating serotoninergic neurotransmission, the direct mechanism by which a SSRI exerts its anti-depressant activity remains uncertain. The therapeutic response in major depression for SSRIs (ie 15-20 days) maybe due to a progressive desensitization of somatodendritic 5-HT autoreceptors in the midbrain raphe nucleus. On the other hand, it has also been postulated that 5-HT is a modulator of several neurophysiological pathways, including dopamine, noradrenaline, but also neurotrophic factors, intra-cytoplasmic phosphorylations and nuclear genes expression. Therapeutic activity of SSRIs may finally results in a complex modulation and homeostasis between monoaminergic neurotransmisson and neuronal plasticity. In term of health-care, the introduction of fluoxetine and other SSRIs in the 1980s has radically changed the treatment of depressive disorder worldwide and they have emerged as the first line of treatment for depressive disorders. The efficacy of fluoxetine is now well established in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Indeed, this efficacy has been assessed in numerous clinical controlled trials involving patients with major depressive disorders. Meta-analysis were carried out and confirmed that fluoxetine was as effective as the tricyclic antidepressants, and appeared more effective than placebo in improving the symptoms of depression. However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that any one SSRI is more effective than another, but not all patients respond to the same agent. Looking to the future, we need further comparative studies of the SSRIs with the next generation of antidepressants such as 5-HT noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs, Venlafaxine). Actually, it is interesting to note that, whereas the emphasis with the SSRIs has been on their selectivity, recent developments have tended to move towards less selective agents, and now to other neurobiological pathways (ie neurotrophic factors). Finally, fluoxetine, in common with other SSRIs, remains today a first-line treatment option for major depressive disorder.     

Therapeutic trials in muscular dystrophy. III. Studies of microbial proteinase inhibitors in murine dystrophy.

The microbial antiproteinases--antipain, leupeptin, and pepstatin--have been reported to inhibit the degeneration of chicken dystrophic muscle in tissue culture. Trials of antipain and pepstatin, and of leupeptin and pepstatin administered subcutaneously in murine muscular dystrophy, failed to produce evidence of benefit. It is suggested that these antiproteinases cannot pass through an intact sarcolemma into muscle fibers. Further studies with liposomes may allow these agents to enter muscle fibers.     

成人型杆状体肌病二例临床病理和超微结构研究

目的 探讨成人型杆状体肌病的临床病理和超微结构特点。方法 对2例成人型杆状体肌病患者的肌肉组织病理和超微结构进行观察。结果 2例患者均以颈肌无力起病，以后四肢和躯干肌不同程度受累，无骨骼发育畸形。肌肉组织病理改变的特点为选择性I型纤维萎缩，改良Gomori三色法染色可见萎缩纤维内含大量深紫色颗粒状物。例1发现大量中央核纤维。电镜观察可见肌原纤维排列紊乱，大量杆状体形成。在例1的肌核内发现核内包涵体，结构特点与胞质内的杆状体相似。结论 成人型杆状体肌病临床缺乏特征性。肌肉病理中央核可与杆状体同时出现，与婴儿型和儿童型杆状体肌病相比，成人型患者肌纤维萎缩明显。肌核内可出现包涵体，其结构与胞质内杆状体一致。     

Challenges and opportunities in clinical trials for spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most common fatal neuromuscular disease of infancy. SMA type I is the most severe and mortality is usually due to respiratory failure. In type II the disability is of later onset and less severe, and prognosis has improved primarily due to supportive care. Type III is the mildest form with onset usually of weakness in adolescence or young adulthood. SMA is an autosomal recessive disorder with deletions or mutations of the gene at the 5 q11 locus. There is no specific prevention or treatment, but current progress toward potential therapies has been substantial and several candidates including histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are under consideration for further evaluation. The authors sought to address the challenges and opportunities for testing new therapies for SMA.     

Choline acetyltransferase activity in human muscular diseases

Zusammenfassung Die Cholinacetyltransferase-Aktivität wurde in Muskeln von Patienten mit Neuromyopathien gemessen. Die Muskelbiopsien wurden bei Patienten mit Myasthenia gravis, mit verschiedenen neurogenen Atrophien der Muskeln und mit Muskeldystrophie vom geschlechtsgebundenen Typus entnommen. Die CAT-Aktivität ist bei den Muskeldystrophien sehr nennenswert und signifikant vermindert (–48%), während keine statistisch signifikante Verminderung bei der Myasthenie nachweisbar ist. Bei den neurogenen Atrophien ist die Verminderung der CAT-Aktivität parallel zum Ausmaß der Erkrankung. Es wird auf die möglichen Zusammenhänge zwischen der CAT-Aktivitätsverminderung im Muskel und dem neurogenen Prozeß hingewiesen.     

Therapeutic trials of multiple sclerosis and intrathecal IgG production

In our clinical trial we have compared the effect of high doses of prednisone, ACTH alone or ACTH and cyclophosphamide on plasma and CSF albumin and IgG levels.We have found that the treatment with high doses of prednisone is more effective in the suppression of CNS IgG synthesis than ACTH, or cyclophosphamide. However the significance of this immunological phenomenon in the pathogenesis of MS is a very complex problem, since we have not observed any correlation between the depression of the intrathecal IgG synthesis and clinical results of MS treatment.This text was presented as communication at the Italo-Polish meeting held in Rome on 20–21 April 1985, arranged by the Società Italiana di Neurologia.     

Serum myoglobin in primary and secondary skeletal muscle disorders

Summary Serum myoglobin was measured by a sensitive radioimmunoassay in healthy controls and patients with primary and secondary skeletal muscle disorders. The results indicate that serum myoglobin is a useful parameter in the assessment of muscle damage.Supported by the German Society of Neurology, ALS-Fond     

Monoclonal antibodies for clinical trials of Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy

Most pathogenic mutations in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies involve deletion of single or multiple exons from the dystrophin gene, so exon-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can be used to distinguish normal and mutant dystrophin proteins. In Duchenne therapy trials, mAbs can be used to identify or rule out dystrophin-positive “revertant” fibres, which have an internally-deleted dystrophin protein and which occur naturally in some Duchenne patients. Using phage-displayed peptide libraries, we now describe the new mapping of the binding sites of five dystrophin mAbs to a few amino-acids within single exons. The phage display method also confirmed previous mapping of MANEX1A (exon 1) and MANDRA1 (exon 77) by other methods. Of the 79 dystrophin exons, mAbs are now available against single exons 1, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 21, 26, 28, 38, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 58, 59, 62, 63, 75 and 77. Many have been used in clinical trials, as well as for diagnosis and studies of dystrophin isoforms.