Artificial and natural interventions for chemotherapy- and / or radiotherapy-induced cognitive impairment: A systematic review of animal studies

BACKGROUND

Cancer survivors frequently experience cognitive impairments. This systematic review assessed animal literature to identify artificial (pharmaceutical) or natural interventions (plant/endogenously-derived) to reduce treatment-related cognitive impairments.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched and SYRCLE's tool was used for risk of bias assessment of the 134 included articles.

RESULTS

High variability was observed and risk of bias analysis showed overall poor quality of reporting. Results generally showed positive effects in the intervention group versus cancer-therapy only group (67% of 156 cognitive measures), with only 15 (7%) measures reporting cognitive impairment despite intervention. Both artificial (61%) and natural (75%) interventions prevented cognitive impairment. Artificial interventions involving GSK3B inhibitors, PLX5622, and NMDA receptor antagonists, and natural interventions utilizing melatonin, curcumin, and N-acetylcysteine, showed most consistent outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Both artificial and natural interventions may prevent cognitive impairment in rodents, which merit consideration in future clinical trials. Greater consistency in design is needed to enhance the generalizability across studies, including timing of cognitive tests and description of treatments and interventions.

[The assessment of the endodontic foundation]

The diagnosis of an endodontic disease requires thorough research, collecting both clinical and radiographic information. The clinical examination includes history taking, visual inspection of the tooth and surrounding tissues, palpation of the soft and hard tissues, periodontal examination and percussion. The radiographic examination provides valuable information, but can never stand alone in arriving at a diagnosis. It is important to link the findings of the radiographic examination to other information. Sometimes, invasive examination is necessary, during which the coronal restoration is removed to allow better assessment of the tooth. This can provide additional information about the presence of caries, fractures, leakage of the restoration or other reasons for failure of the initial root canal treatment. A good diagnosis is essential for planning successful follow-up treatment.

Postprandial metabolism and gut permeability in calves fed milk replacer with different macronutrient profiles or a whole milk powder

Significant differences exist in the composition of current milk replacers (MR) and bovine whole milk. This study investigated how the macronutrient profile of 3 different MR formulations containing varying amounts of fat, lactose, and protein, and a whole milk powder (WP), affect postprandial metabolism and gut permeability in male Holstein calves. Sixty-four calves (45.4 ± 4.19 kg [mean ± SD] and 1.8 ± 0.62 d of age) were blocked in order of arrival to the facility and within each block, calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments. Treatments included a high-fat MR (HF: 25.0% dry matter [DM] fat, 22.5% protein, 38.6% lactose; n = 14), a high-lactose MR (HL: 44.6% lactose, 22.5% protein, 18.0% fat; n = 17), a high-protein MR (HP: 26.0% protein, 18.0% fat, 41.5% lactose; n = 17), and WP (26.0% fat, 24.5% protein, 38.0% lactose; n = 16). Calves were fed 3.0 L (135 g/L) 3 times daily at 0600, 1200, and 1800 h with a teat bucket. Milk intake was recorded daily for the first 28 d after arrival, and blood sampling and body weight measurements were performed at arrival and on d 7, 14, 21, and 27. Gut permeability was estimated from fractional urinary excretion of indigestible markers (Cr-EDTA, lactulose, and d-mannitol) administered as a single dose on d 21 instead of the morning milk meal. Digestibility was determined simultaneously from a total collection of feces over 24 h. Postprandial dynamics were measured on d 28 by sequential blood sampling over 7.5 h. Dry matter intake of MR over 28 d was slightly greater in calves fed HL and HP than in WP. Recovery of Cr-EDTA and d-mannitol over a 24-h urine collection was greater in calves fed WP and HP than HL calves. Apparent total-tract digestibility of crude ash, protein, and fat did not differ among treatments; however, DM digestibility was lower in calves fed WP than in other treatment groups. In addition, abomasal emptying, as indicated by the area under the curve (AUC) for acetaminophen, was slower in calves fed WP than in calves fed HF and HL. The AUC for postprandial plasma glucose was lower in calves fed HL than WP and HF and lower in calves fed HP than WP. The AUC for postprandial serum insulin was greater in calves fed HP than WP and HF, whereas calves fed HL did not differ from the other treatments. Postprandial triglycerides were greater in calves fed WP, and postprandial adiponectin was higher in calves fed HL than other treatments. The high content of lactose and protein in MR had a major effect on postprandial metabolism. This raises the possibility of optimizing MR formulations to maintain metabolic homeostasis and influence development.

Evolutionary and immune microenvironment dynamics during neoadjuvant treatment of oesophagael adenocarcinoma

Locally advanced oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) remains difficult to treat because of common resistance to neoadjuvant therapy and high recurrence rates. The ecological and evolutionary dynamics responsible for treatment failure are incompletely understood. Here, we performed a comprehensive multi-omic analysis of samples collected from EAC patients in the MEMORI clinical trial, revealing major changes in gene expression profiles and immune microenvironment composition that did not appear to be driven by changes in clonal composition. Multi-region multi-timepoint whole exome (300x depth) and paired transcriptome sequencing was performed on 27 patients pre-, during and after neoadjuvant treatment. EAC showed major transcriptomic changes during treatment with upregulation of immune and stromal pathways and oncogenic pathways such as KRAS, Hedgehog and WNT. However, genetic data revealed that clonal sweeps were rare, suggesting that gene expression changes were not clonally driven. Additional longitudinal image mass cytometry was performed in a subset of 15 patients and T-cell receptor sequencing in 10 patients, revealing remodelling of the T-cell compartment during treatment and other shifts in microenvironment composition. The presence of immune escape mechanisms and a lack of clonal T-cell expansions were linked to poor clinical treatment response. This study identifies profound transcriptional changes during treatment with limited evidence that clonal replacement is the cause, suggesting phenotypic plasticity and immune dynamics as mechanisms for therapy resistance with pharmacological relevance.

European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) consensus on Indocyanine Green (ICG) fluorescence-guided surgery

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the use of Indocyanine Green (ICG) fluorescence-guided surgery during open and laparoscopic procedures has exponentially expanded across various clinical settings. The European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) initiated a consensus development conference on this topic with the aim of creating evidence-based statements and recommendations for the surgical community.

METHODS

An expert panel of surgeons has been selected and invited to participate to this project. Systematic reviews of the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane libraries were performed to identify evidence on potential benefits of ICG fluorescence-guided surgery on clinical practice and patient outcomes. Statements and recommendations were prepared and unanimously agreed by the panel; they were then submitted to all EAES members through a two-rounds online survey and results presented at the EAES annual congress, Barcelona, November 2021.

RESULTS

A total of 18,273 abstracts were screened with 117 articles included. 22 statements and 16 recommendations were generated and approved. In some areas, such as the use of ICG fluorescence-guided surgery during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the perfusion assessment in colorectal surgery and the search for the sentinel lymph nodes in gynaecological malignancies, the large number of evidences in literature has allowed us to strongly recommend the use of ICG for a better anatomical definition and a reduction in post-operative complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, from the systematic literature review performed by the experts panel and the survey extended to all EAES members, ICG fluorescence-guided surgery could be considered a safe and effective technology. Future robust clinical research is required to specifically validate multiple organ-specific applications and the potential benefits of this technique on clinical outcomes.

Hormonal status effects on the electrophysiological correlates of performance monitoring in women

Fluctuations in ovarian hormones are thought to play a role in the increased prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in women. Error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) are two putative electrophysiological biomarkers for these internalizing disorders. We investigated whether female hormonal status, specifically menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive (OC) use, impact ERN and Pe. Additionally, we examined whether the relationship between the ERN and negative affect (NA) was moderated by hormonal status and tested whether the ERN mediated the relation between ovarian hormones and NA. Participants were healthy, pre-menopausal women who were naturally cycling (NC) or using OCs. Using a counterbalanced within-subject design, all participants performed a speeded-choice reaction-time task twice while undergoing electroencephalography measurements. NC women (N = 42) performed this task during the early follicular and midluteal phase (when estrogen and progesterone are both low and both high, respectively), while OC users (N = 42) performed the task during active OC use and during their pill-free week. Estradiol and progesterone levels were assessed in saliva. Comparing the two cycle phases within NC women revealed no differences in the (Δ)ERN, (Δ)Pe or NA. We did observe a negative relation between phase-related changes in the ΔERN and changes in NA. Mediation analysis additionally showed that phase-related changes in estradiol were indirectly and negatively related to NA through a reduction of ΔERN amplitudes. When comparing active OC users with NC women, we observed increased ΔPe- but not (Δ)ERN amplitudes in the former group. No evidence was found for moderating effects of menstrual cycle phase or OC use on the relation between the ERN and NA. These findings suggest that hormonal status may impact the neural correlates of performance monitoring and error sensitivity, and that this could be a potential mechanism through which ovarian hormones influence mood.

Test-retest precision and longitudinal cartilage thickness loss in the IMI-APPROACH cohort

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the test-retest precision and to report the longitudinal change in cartilage thickness, the percentage of knees with progression and the predictive value of the machine-learning-estimated structural progression score (s-score) for cartilage thickness loss in the IMI-APPROACH cohort - an exploratory, 5-center, 2-year prospective follow-up cohort.

DESIGN

Quantitative cartilage morphology at baseline and at least one follow-up visit was available for 270 of the 297 IMI-APPROACH participants (78% females, age: 66.4 ± 7.1 years, body mass index (BMI): 28.1 ± 5.3 kg/m², 55% with radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA)) from 1.5T or 3T MRI. Test-retest precision (root mean square coefficient of variation) was assessed from 34 participants. To define progressor knees, smallest detectable change (SDC) thresholds were computed from 11 participants with longitudinal test-retest scans. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the odds of progression in femorotibial cartilage thickness (threshold: -211 μm) for the quartile with the highest vs the quartile with the lowest s-scores.

RESULTS

The test-retest precision was 69 μm for the entire femorotibial joint. Over 24 months, mean cartilage thickness loss in the entire femorotibial joint reached -174 μm (95% CI: [-207, -141] μm, 32.7% with progression). The s-score was not associated with 24-month progression rates by MRI (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: [0.52, 3.28]).

CONCLUSION

IMI-APPROACH successfully enrolled participants with substantial cartilage thickness loss, although the machine-learning-estimated s-score was not observed to be predictive of cartilage thickness loss. IMI-APPROACH data will be used in subsequent analyses to evaluate the impact of clinical, imaging, biomechanical and biochemical biomarkers on cartilage thickness loss and to refine the machine-learning-based s-score.

CLINICALTRIALS

GOV IDENTIFICATION

NCT03883568.

Telerobotic interventions from a distance: an initial experience in 3D phantom mapping

Introduction

The current COVID-19 pandemic has fostered several accelerations in “remote” patient care such as video and telephone clinics, as well as multidisciplinary collaborations using online platforms with experts consulting the local teams from a distance. The next logical step would be to also offer remote-controlled interventions which the expert operator not on site, but in support of the local team. This is especially valuable for complex interventions when either patient or expert operator can not be present at the same place.

Purpose

We aimed to demonstrate that an expert operator located at far distance (Austria) could directly interact with the remote magnetic navigation system in London (UK) whilst mapping a 3D phantom using an electroanatomical mapping system.

Method

Two experienced operators of the magnetic navigation system were tasked with creating fast anatomic maps (FAM) of the atrial and ventricular chambers of a 3D phantom using remote magnetic navigation in combination with 3D electroanatomical mapping. One was located in the control room of the magnetic catheter lab (UK) and the second one was in Tirol, Austria and connected through a secure remote desktop connection (via high speed fibre optic cable). Using a solid tip magnetic catheter connected to a mechanical drive, all interactions with the system were carried out via the Odyssey platform. Acquisitions for right and left atrium, as well as right and left ventricles plus aorta was compared with regards to mapping duration, map completeness (as judged by the average distance of surface points from 3D CT scan reconstruction), total 3D map volume and need for additional radiation exposure during the mapping process.

Results

Mapping time and map completeness when performed by the distant operator was not inferior to the local operator and both did not require any additional radiation exposure during the mapping process. Table 1 demonstrates the mean parameters for each chamber, respectively. Figure 1 depicts the matched data for chamber completeness as compared for the LA (green= local operator, pink= distant operator) using a contrast CT scan as the gold standard.

Conclusion

Telerobotic 3D mapping of a 3D phantom from a distance was equally fast delivered from the control room as compared to an operator located 1200 km away without compromising on map completeness. This demonstrates the feasibility of telerobotic interventions and stress the need for remote collaboration which is especially valuable when travel of patients and/or physician experts is restricted.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.  

Telerobotic interventions from a distance: an initial experience in 3D phantom mapping

Introduction

The current COVID-19 pandemic has fostered several accelerations in “remote” patient care such as video and telephone clinics, as well as multidisciplinary collaborations using online platforms with experts consulting the local teams from a distance. The next logical step would be to also offer remote-controlled interventions which the expert operator not on site, but in support of the local team. This is especially valuable for complex interventions when either patient or expert operator can not be present at the same place.

Purpose

We aimed to demonstrate that an expert operator located at far distance (Austria) could directly interact with the remote magnetic navigation system in London (UK) whilst mapping a 3D phantom using an electroanatomical mapping system.

Method

Two experienced operators of the magnetic navigation system were tasked with creating fast anatomic maps (FAM) of the atrial and ventricular chambers of a 3D phantom using remote magnetic navigation in combination with 3D electroanatomical mapping. One was located in the control room of the magnetic catheter lab (UK) and the second one was in Tirol, Austria and connected through a secure remote desktop connection (via high speed fibre optic cable). Using a solid tip magnetic catheter connected to a mechanical drive, all interactions with the system were carried out via the Odyssey platform. Acquisitions for right and left atrium, as well as right and left ventricles plus aorta was compared with regards to mapping duration, map completeness (as judged by the average distance of surface points from 3D CT scan reconstruction), total 3D map volume and need for additional radiation exposure during the mapping process.

Results

Mapping time and map completeness when performed by the distant operator was not inferior to the local operator and both did not require any additional radiation exposure during the mapping process. Table 1 demonstrates the mean parameters for each chamber, respectively. Figure 1 depicts the matched data for chamber completeness as compared for the LA (green= local operator, pink= distant operator) using a contrast CT scan as the gold standard.

Conclusion

Telerobotic 3D mapping of a 3D phantom from a distance was equally fast delivered from the control room as compared to an operator located 1200 km away without compromising on map completeness. This demonstrates the feasibility of telerobotic interventions and stress the need for remote collaboration which is especially valuable when travel of patients and/or physician experts is restricted.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None. Matched data for aorta

Facilitators and Barriers to Wearing Hand Orthoses by Adults with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Mixed Methods Study Design

Background:

To retard shortening of finger flexors in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), hand orthoses are prescribed. However, many patients do not wear the orthoses regularly. To optimize orthotic interventions, we need insight into the factors influencing compliance.

Objective:

To evaluate the compliance regarding hand orthoses in an adult DMD population and to explore experiences and perceptions of DMD patients wearing orthoses, and of their caregivers.

Methods:

Mixed methods observational study, combining quantitative and qualitative data from medical charts combined with qualitative semi-structured interviews using a constant comparative method and a short validated questionnaire (D-QUEST).

Results:

65 medical charts were analyzed. 48 patients were assessed as needing hand orthoses, of whom 37.5 % were compliant. Qualitative data analyses revealed (1) motivation: preservation of hand function; (2) barriers: discomfort and impediments; (3) facilitators: good fit and personalized wearing schedule; (4) fitting process: satisfactory, but patients do not readily seek help when barriers appear.

Conclusions:

Patients are motivated to wear hand orthoses, but often discontinue use because of orthosis-and disease-specific barriers. The identification of these barriers leads to practical and feasible recommendations concerning the orthoses and the fitting process, such as less rigid material, preservation of some function while wearing the orthoses, and fixed evaluation points. The findings were confirmed by the D-QUEST.

POS1092 SUBCHONDRAL BONE NORMALIZATION AFTER KNEE JOINT DISTRACTION TREATMENT AS MEASURED WITH CT

Background:

In addition to cartilage degeneration, knee osteoarthritis (OA) causes bone changes, including cortical bone thickening, subchondral bone density decrease, and bone shape changes as a result of widening and flattening condyles and osteophyte formation. Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a joint-preserving treatment for younger (<65 years) knee OA patients that has been shown to reverse OA cartilage degradation. On radiographs, KJD showed a decrease in subchondral bone density and an increase in osteophyte formation. However, these bone changes have never been evaluated with a 3D imaging technique.

Objectives:

To evaluate cortical bone thickness, subchondral trabecular bone density, and bone shape on CT scans before and one year after KJD treatment.

Methods:

19 KJD patients were included in an extended imaging protocol, undergoing a CT scan before and one year after treatment. Stradview v6.0 was used for semi-automatic tibia and femur segmentation from axial thin-slice (0.45mm) CT scans. Cortical bone thickness (mm) and trabecular bone density (Hounsfield units, HU) were measured with an automated algorithm. Osteophytes were excluded. Afterwards, wxRegSurf v18 was used for surface registration. Registration data was used for bone shape measurements. MATLAB R2020a and the SurfStat MATLAB package were used for data analysis and visualization. Two-tailed F-tests were used to calculate changes over time. Two separate linear regression models were used to show the influence of baseline Kellgren-Lawrence grade and sex on the changes over time. Statistical significance was calculated with statistical parametric mapping; a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Bone shape changes were explored visually using vertex by vertex displacements between baseline and follow-up. Patients were separated into two groups based on whether their most affected compartment (MAC) was medial or lateral. Only patients with axial CT scans at both time points available for analysis were included for evaluation.

Results:

3 Patients did not have complete CTs and in 1 patient the imaged femur was too short, leaving 16 patients for tibial analyses and 15 patients for femoral analyses. The MAC was predominantly the medial side (medial MAC n=14; lateral n=2). Before treatment, the MAC cortical bone was compared to the rest of the joint (Figure 1). One year after treatment, MAC cortical thickness decreased, although this decrease of up to approximately 0.25 mm was not statistically significant. The trabecular bone density was also higher before treatment in the MAC, and a decrease was seen throughout the entire joint, although statistically significant only for small areas on mostly the MAC where this decrease was up to approximately 80 HU (Figure 1). Female patients and patients with a higher Kellgren-Lawrence grade showed a somewhat larger decrease in cortical bone thickness. Trabecular density decreased less for patients with a higher Kellgren-Lawrence grade, and female patients showed a higher density decrease interiorly while male patients showed a higher decrease exteriorly. None of this was statistically significant. The central areas of both compartments showed an outward shape change, while the outer ring showed inward changes.

Conclusion:

MAC cortical bone thickness shows a partial decrease after KJD. Trabecular bone density decreased on both sides of the joint, likely as a direct result of the bicompartmental unloading. For both subchondral bone parameters, MAC values became more similar to the LAC, indicating (partial) subchondral bone normalization in the most affected parts of the joint. The bone shape changes may indicate a reversal of typical OA changes, although the inward difference that was seen on the outer edges may be a result of osteophyte-related changes that might have affected the bone segmentation. In conclusion, KJD treatment shows subchondral bone normalization in the first year after treatment, and longer follow-up might show whether these changes are a temporary result of joint unloading or indicate more prolonged bone changes.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

POS1091 KNEE JOINT DISTRACTION RESULTS IN MRI CARTILAGE THICKNESS INCREASE UP TO TEN YEARS AFTER TREATMENT

Background:

Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a joint-preserving treatment option for younger (age <65 years) knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients. It has shown clinical improvement for up to nine years after treatment. Radiographs and MRI scans have previously shown cartilage regeneration activity, especially in the first two years after treatment. However, MRIs have not been evaluated more than five years after this treatment.

Objectives:

To evaluate MRI cartilage thickness up to ten years after KJD treatment.

Methods:

Patients (n=20) with end-stage knee OA, indicated for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) but <60 years old, were treated with KJD. 3T MRIs with 3D spoiled gradient recalled imaging sequence with fat suppression (SPGR-fs) were acquired before and one, two, five, seven and ten years after surgical treatment. Stradview v6.0 was used for semi-automatic cartilage segmentation; wxRegSurf v18 was used for surface registration. MATLAB R2020a and the SurfStat MATLAB package were used for data analysis and visualization. For changes over time, linear mixed models were used. Two separate linear regression models were used to show the influence of baseline Kellgren-Lawrence grade and sex on the changes over time. Statistical significance was calculated with statistical parametric mapping; a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Since KJD has previously shown significant results mostly in the patients’ most affected compartment (MAC), patients were separated in two groups based on whether their MAC was the medial or lateral compartment.

Results:

The MAC was predominantly the medial side (medial MAC n=18; lateral n=2). The 18 patients with a medial MAC all had MRI scans at baseline, one and two years after treatment. After two years, some patients were lost to follow-up, decreasing data availability at five (n=15), seven (n=11) and ten years (n=7). Figure 1 (top) shows the average cartilage thickness at the different time points for all medial MAC patients together. One and two years after treatment the cartilage in the medial weight-bearing region was on average thicker than before treatment. While from five years after treatment the cartilage thickness gradually decreased, even at ten years the medial cartilage thickness seemed slightly higher than pre-treatment. Figure 1 (bottom) shows cartilage thickness changes compared to baseline for patients with a medial MAC. Patients with a lateral MAC showed a similar pattern, with the biggest changes showing on the lateral side. As indicated by the dark blue areas, the medial femoral cartilage thickness increase, which was up to 0.5 mm after one year and 0.6 mm after two years, was largely statistically significant at both these time points. While the medial tibia showed an increase of up to 0.5 mm at these time points as well, this was not statistically significant at two years. Surprisingly, long-term results showed areas of the lateral (less affected) compartment were significantly thicker, up to 0.7 mm, compared to pre-treatment in both the femur and tibia compared to baseline. Kellgren-Lawrence grade and sex were shown to influence the changes, albeit not statistically significantly. Patients with a higher Kellgren-Lawrence grade and male sex showed a higher short-term (one and two year) but a lower long-term (seven and ten year) cartilage thickness increase.

Conclusion:

KJD treatment results in significant short-term cartilage regeneration in the most affected compartment. While after two years this initial gain in cartilage thickness is gradually lost, likely as a result of natural progression, even ten years after treatment the cartilage is thicker than before treatment. In the less affected compartment, a delayed cartilage response seems to take place, with significantly increased cartilage thickness in the long term. In conclusion, in these young OA patients indicated for TKA, KJD results in femoral and tibial cartilaginous tissue regeneration both short- and long-term and in both sides of the joint.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

Multi-omics integration identifies key upstream regulators of pathomechanisms in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy due to truncating MYBPC3 mutations

BACKGROUND

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic disease of the cardiac muscle, frequently caused by mutations in MYBPC3. However, little is known about the upstream pathways and key regulators causing the disease. Therefore, we employed a multi-omics approach to study the pathomechanisms underlying HCM comparing patient hearts harboring MYBPC3 mutations to control hearts.

RESULTS

Using H3K27ac ChIP-seq and RNA-seq we obtained 9310 differentially acetylated regions and 2033 differentially expressed genes, respectively, between 13 HCM and 10 control hearts. We obtained 441 differentially expressed proteins between 11 HCM and 8 control hearts using proteomics. By integrating multi-omics datasets, we identified a set of DNA regions and genes that differentiate HCM from control hearts and 53 protein-coding genes as the major contributors. This comprehensive analysis consistently points toward altered extracellular matrix formation, muscle contraction, and metabolism. Therefore, we studied enriched transcription factor (TF) binding motifs and identified 9 motif-encoded TFs, including KLF15, ETV4, AR, CLOCK, ETS2, GATA5, MEIS1, RXRA, and ZFX. Selected candidates were examined in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes with and without mutated MYBPC3. Furthermore, we observed an abundance of acetylation signals and transcripts derived from cardiomyocytes compared to non-myocyte populations.

CONCLUSIONS

By integrating histone acetylome, transcriptome, and proteome profiles, we identified major effector genes and protein networks that drive the pathological changes in HCM with mutated MYBPC3. Our work identifies 38 highly affected protein-coding genes as potential plasma HCM biomarkers and 9 TFs as potential upstream regulators of these pathomechanisms that may serve as possible therapeutic targets.

BIO FOr CARE: biomarkers of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy development and progression in carriers of Dutch founder truncating MYBPC3 variants-design and status

BACKGROUND

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most prevalent monogenic heart disease, commonly caused by truncating variants in the MYBPC3 gene. HCM is an important cause of sudden cardiac death; however, overall prognosis is good and penetrance in genotype-positive individuals is incomplete. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and risk stratification remains limited.

AIM

To create a nationwide cohort of carriers of truncating MYBPC3 variants for identification of predictive biomarkers for HCM development and progression.

METHODS

In the multicentre, observational BIO FOr CARe (Identification of BIOmarkers of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy development and progression in Dutch MYBPC3 FOunder variant CARriers) cohort, carriers of the c.2373dupG, c.2827C > T, c.2864_2865delCT and c.3776delA MYBPC3 variants are included and prospectively undergo longitudinal blood collection. Clinical data are collected from first presentation onwards. The primary outcome constitutes a composite endpoint of HCM progression (maximum wall thickness ≥ 20 mm, septal reduction therapy, heart failure occurrence, sustained ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death).

RESULTS

So far, 250 subjects (median age 54.9 years (interquartile range 43.3, 66.6), 54.8% male) have been included. HCM was diagnosed in 169 subjects and dilated cardiomyopathy in 4. The primary outcome was met in 115 subjects. Blood samples were collected from 131 subjects.

CONCLUSION

BIO FOr CARe is a genetically homogeneous, phenotypically heterogeneous cohort incorporating a clinical data registry and longitudinal blood collection. This provides a unique opportunity to study biomarkers for HCM development and prognosis. The established infrastructure can be extended to study other genetic variants. Other centres are invited to join our consortium.

Costs of loneliness: the association between loneliness and healthcare expenditure

Background

Loneliness is a growing issue. It has been associated with a range of unhealthy behaviors, poorer health, and increased morbidity. However, the healthcare costs of loneliness are poorly understood as limited existing research on loneliness focused on older age populations, few expenditure categories, and controlled for just a few potential confounders. Our study aims to fill this evidence gap.

Methods

Multiple sources were combined into a dataset containing a nationally representative sample (n = 341,376) of Dutch adults (&gt;18 y.o.). The association between loneliness and total, general practitioner (GP), specialized, pharmaceutical, and mental healthcare expenditure was tested using Poisson and Zero-inflated negative binomial models, controlling for numerous potential confounders (i.e. demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle-related factors, self-perceived health, and psychological distress), for multiple age groups. Excess expenditure attributed to loneliness was extrapolated to the entire population.

Results

Controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle-related factors, loneliness was indirectly (via poorer health) associated with higher expenditure in all categories. In fully adjusted models, it showed a direct association with higher expenditure for GP and mental healthcare (0.5% and 11.1%, respectively). The association with mental healthcare expenditure was stronger in younger than in older adults (for ages 19-40, the contribution of loneliness represented 61.8% of the overall association).

Conclusions

Loneliness contributes to health expenditure both directly and indirectly, particularly in younger age groups. This implies a strong financial imperative to address this issue.

Key messages

Loneliness is associated with increased healthcare expenditure independent of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Excess healthcare expenditure related to loneliness are particularly apparent in mental healthcare and in younger age groups.

Lysolecithin, but not lecithin, improves nutrient digestibility and growth rates in young broilers

1. The potential of lecithin and lysolecithin to improve lipid digestion and growth performance was investigated in three experiments: 1. an in vitro model that mimics the intestinal conditions of the chick, 2. a digestibility trial with chicks (5-7 days of age), and 3. a performance trial until 21 days of age. 2. In experiment 1, palm oil (PO), palm oil with lecithin (PO+L), and palm oil with lysolecithin (PO+LY) were subjected to in vitro hydrolysis and applied to Caco-2 monolayers to assess lipid absorption. 3. The in vitro hydrolysis rate of triglycerides was higher in PO+LY (k = 11.76 × 103/min) than in either PO (k = 9.73 × 103/min) or PO+L (k = 8.41 × 103/min), and the absorption of monoglycerides and free fatty acids was highest (P < 0.01) for PO+LY. In experiment 2, 90 broilers were assigned to three dietary treatments: a basal diet with 4% palm oil, and the basal diet supplemented with either 250 ppm lecithin or lysolecithin. 4. ATTD of crude fat was higher in broilers supplemented with lysolecithin, but was lower in broilers supplemented with lecithin. DM digestibility and AMEn in birds supplemented with lysolecithin were significantly higher (3.03% and 0.47 MJ/kg, respectively). 5. In experiment 3, 480 broilers were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: basal diet with soybean oil (2%), basal diet with lecithin (2%), soybean oil diet with 250 ppm lysolecithin, or lecithin oil diet with 250 ppm lysolecithin. 6. Lecithin diets significantly reduced weight at day 10 and 21 compared with soybean oil. However, the addition of lysolecithin to lecithin-containing diets significantly improved bird performance. 7. The results of these studies showed that, in contrast to lecithin, lysolecithin was able to significantly improve the digestibility and energy values of feed in young broilers.

OP0185 KNEE JOINT DISTRACTION IS MORE EFFICIENT IN RESTORING CARTILAGE THICKNESS THAN HIGH TIBIAL OSTEOTOMY IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

Background:

Both high tibial osteotomy (HTO) and knee joint distraction (KJD) are joint preserving surgical techniques unloading the affected femorotibial compartment in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). While HTO permanently unloads the more affected compartment (MAC) by overcorrecting the leg axis, KJD temporarily unloads the whole joint by separating the tibia and femur for 5 mm for 6 weeks. In a previous randomized controlled trial (RCT), comparable clinical benefit and radiographic joint space width (JSW) increase over 2 years follow-up were demonstrated for both treatments1. Yet, comparison of JSW before and after HTO may be unreliable, as pseudo-widening of the unloaded compartment may occur due to the induced leg axis change. Therefore, direct cartilage thickness measurements need to be compared between KJD and HTO, to accurately evaluate the efficacy of both treatment options on cartilage structure.

Objectives:

To compare two-year cartilage thickness changes after treatment with KJDvsHTO and identify factors predicting cartilage thickness restoration.

Methods:

Patients indicated for HTO were randomized to KJD (KJDHTO) or HTO treatment. Patients indicated for total knee arthroplasty received KJD (KJDTKA). Standardized semi-flexed weight-bearing radiographs and 3T MRIs with 3D spoiled gradient recalled imaging sequence with fat suppression (SPGR-fs) were acquired before and two years after surgical treatment. Cartilage thickness in the knee was measured using Chondrometrics Works 3.0 software. On the radiographs the mean JSW in the MAC were measured with KIDA software. Readers were blinded to the type of intervention and acquisition order. The primary and secondary outcomes were the mean MAC cartilage thickness (ThCtAB) and percentage of denuded bone area (dABp) change before and two years after treatment (MRI), with radiographic joint space width (JSW) used as a reference.

Results:

No statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics were seen between KJDHTO(n=18) and HTO (n=33). The KJDTKAgroup (n=18) had a higher age and Kellgren-Lawrence grade (KLG) than the HTO and KJDHTOgroups.

KJDHTOpatients did not show significant changes in MAC cartilage thickness, dABp, or JSW over time (all p>0.10; figure 1). HTO patients displayed a decrease in MAC cartilage thickness and an increase in dABp (both p<0.03), but an increase in JSW (p=0.006). KJDTKAshowed a significant increase in MAC cartilage thickness and JSW and decrease in dABp (all p<0.01). Baseline OA severity was the strongest predictor of cartilage restoration. KJD patients with severe OA (KJDsevere; KLG ≥3) showed significant restoration (all p<0.01; figure 2); mild OA patients (KJDmild; KLG ≤2) showed a slight deterioration. KJDsevereshowed a significantly greater cartilage restoration response in the MAC than HTOseverefor cartilage thickness (p=0.005) and dABp (p=0.003), but not JSW change (p=0.521). The changes in all three parameters did not differ significantly between KJDmildand HTOmild(all p>0.08).

Conclusion:

In patients with severe knee OA, KJD is more efficient in restoring cartilage thickness than HTO is. In these patients, KJD causes significant cartilage restoration while HTO, despite shifting the leg axis and demonstrating radiographic joint space widening, shows loss of cartilage as measured on MRI. In patients with mild knee OA, neither HTO nor KJD treatment results in significant cartilage restoration and both treatments show a slight deterioration that is likely the result of natural OA progression. As such, this research promotes the choice KJD as joint-preserving surgery in case of knee OA patients with more severe structural damage.

References:

[1]MP Jansenet al, Cartilage 2019.

Disclosure of Interests:

Mylène Jansen: None declared, Susanne Maschek Shareholder of: Stock/stock options at Condrometrics GmbH, Employee of: Employment at Condrometrics GmbH, Ronald Van Heerwaarden: None declared, Simon Mastbergen: None declared, Wolfgang Wirth Shareholder of: Stock/stock options at Condrometrics GmbH, Consultant of: Consultancy to Galapagos NV, Employee of: Employment at Condrometrics GmbH, Floris Lafeber Shareholder of: Co-founder and shareholder of ArthroSave BV, Felix Eckstein Shareholder of: Stock/stock options at Condrometrics GmbH, Consultant of: Consultancy at Merck KGaA, Samumed, Bioclinica, Galapagos, Servier, Novartis, Employee of: Employment at Condrometrics GmbH, Speakers bureau: Development of educational presentations for Medtronic

FRI0408 KNEE JOINT DISTRACTION AS TREATMENT FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Background:

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of invalidity and is often treated with a total knee arthroplasty (TKA). While TKA is cost-effective, reduces pain and improves function, it brings a greater risk of a future revision surgery when performed in younger patients. Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a joint-preserving OA treatment that may postpone TKA and possibly prevent a revision. In the past years, multiple studies have investigated this surgical treatment.

Objectives:

To evaluate short- and long-term clinical benefit and tissue structure changes after KJD treatment for knee OA.

Methods:

MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched for eligible clinical studies evaluating a change in at least one of: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Visual Analogue Score of pain (VAS-pain), Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), EuroQol-5D (EQ5D), radiographic joint space width (JSW) or MRI cartilage thickness after KJD. The primary clinical and structural outcome parameters were the WOMAC and minimum JSW, respectively. Random effects models were applied on all outcome parameters and outcomes were compared with control groups found in the included studies. For continuous data the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated and for dichotomous data the risk difference and 95%CI, following the Cochrane handbook.

Results:

In total 11 articles reporting on 7 different KJD cohorts with in total 127 patients and 5 control groups at multiple follow-up moments were included, with 2 of the studies being randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The WOMAC (figure 1) was compared to pre-treatment in 3 cohorts after 1 year (patients n=62) and 2 years (n=59) and in 1 cohort after 5 years (n=20) and 9 years (n=8), showing a significant increase at all time points (all p<0.001). The VAS-pain showed similar results at the same 4 time points, as did the KOOS and EQ5D, which were evaluated only after 1 (n=42) and 2 (n=39) years.

The minimum (figure 2) and mean JSW are reported in 3 cohorts after 1 (n=59) and 2 (n=59) years and in 1 cohort after 5 (n=20) and 7 (n=8) years. Both JSW measures were statistically significantly increased after 1 and 2 years, but after 5 and 7 years the JSW increase was no longer statistically significant. Similarly, the MRI cartilage thickness showed an increase at 1 and 2 years, but not at 5 years (all n=20).

Complications were reported in 5 studies with 87 patients, with 57 patients developing one or more pin tract skin infections, giving a risk of pin tract infections of 63% (95%CI 45-81), the majority of which could be treated with oral antibiotics. Only a small amount of other complications occurred and were all treated successfully.

Overall, clinical and structural outcomes were comparable with control groups, including high tibial osteotomy and TKA as compared after 1 and 2 years in the two RCTs. Apart from pin tract infections, complications were not different in severity and number between control groups and KJD.

Conclusion:

KJD causes clear benefit in clinical and structural parameters over time, short- and long-term. Although the total number of patients is limited, effect sizes are large. Longer follow-up with more patients is necessary and could improve patient selection for this intensive treatment, while preventing pin tract infections could lighten the patients’ treatment burden. Irrespectively, KJD provides an additional option in joint-preserving treatments for OA and a viable alternative to joint replacement, especially in younger patients.

Figure:

Disclosure of Interests:

Mylène Jansen: None declared, Tim Boymans: None declared, Roel Custers: None declared, Rutger Van Geenen: None declared, Ronald Van Heerwaarden: None declared, Maarten Huizinga: None declared, Jorm Nellensteijn: None declared, Rob Sollie: None declared, Sander Spruijt Consultant of: Consultancy to Zimmer Biomet Inc., Simon Mastbergen: None declared

FRI0406 CARTILAGE REPAIR ACTIVITY DURING JOINT-PRESERVING TREATMENT MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY OSTEOPHYTE FORMATION

Background:

Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a joint-preserving treatment to postpone total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and has shown cartilage repair and clinical improvement in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis (OA), as has high tibial osteotomy (HTO). The observed cartilage repair activity could be related to an increase in transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ-1), which increases in the synovial fluid (SF) during KJD treatment.1However, animal and ex vivo human studies have shown that TGFβ-1 also induce formation of osteophytes, generally seen as an OA severity hallmark. Similarly, interleukin-6 (IL-6) was observed to increase in SF during KJD treatment and may also be associated with osteophytosis.

As such, we hypothesized that joint-preserving regenerative treatments demonstrating cartilage repair activity lead to general tissue (re)generation, including osteophytosis.

Objectives:

To analyze osteophytosis after KJD and compare this to HTO and natural progression in knee OA.

Methods:

63 KJD patients were included in several clinical trials, one of which was a randomized controlled trial comparing patients indicated for HTO, but treated with KJD (KJDHTO; n=23) vs. patients treated with HTO (n=46). All patients received standardized radiographs before and one and two years after treatment, used to measure osteophyte size. Only patients with measurements at baseline and two-year follow-up were included. As a control group for natural progression, untreated knee OA patients from Cohort Hip & Cohort Knee (CHECK; n=1002) were studied. Only patients who received a TKA during follow-up were included, using their last two measurements before treatment to reflect natural two-year progression (n=44).

A separate group of 20 patients treated with KJD in regular care underwent SF aspirations before and after treatment, and TGFβ-1 and IL-6 levels were measured by immunoassay (Mesoscale Discovery). Unstandardized radiographs were acquired before and one year after treatment, used to score osteophytes with the revised Altman score, resulting in a 0 (normal) to 12 (severe) whole-joint score. Only patients with radiographs and SF aspirations at both baseline and one-year follow-up were included.

Results:

After two years, both KJD (n=58) and HTO (n=38) patients showed a significant increase in osteophyte size (+6.2mm2 and +7.0mm2 resp.; both p<0.003; figure 1), with no significant differences between the treatments (p>0.38). Untreated CHECK patients who underwent TKA did not show significant two-year osteophyte changes before treatment (+2.1mm2; p=0.207; figure 1) and showed significant differences compared with KJD and HTO groups (both p<0.044). In the KJD SF aspiration group (n=17), the Altman osteophyte score was not different at one year compared to baseline (+0.2 points; p=0.653) and there was no association between baseline biomarker values and the baseline Altman osteophyte score, or between changes in these parameters (all p≥0.28). Trichotomization of patients in groups with a decrease, no change or increase in total Altman osteophyte score indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the three groups in changes in TGFβ-1 (p=0.044; figure 2A), but not IL-6 (p=0.898; figure 2B).

Conclusion:

After KJD treatment, joint space widening and clinical improvement are accompanied by osteophytosis. Similar results were observed after treatment with HTO, suggesting effects occur in regenerative joint-preserving treatments in general. The increased osteophytosis may be a bystander effect of cartilage repair activity related to intra-articular factors like TGFβ-1 and questions whether osteophytosis should necessarily be considered a hallmark of OA worsening.

References:

[1]Watt et al, Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2020

Disclosure of Interests:

Mylène Jansen: None declared, Simon Mastbergen: None declared, Fiona Watt: None declared, Elske Willemse: None declared, Tonia Vincent Consultant of: Ad hoc consultancy GSK, Mundipharma, UCB, Sander Spruijt Consultant of: Consultancy to Zimmer Biomet Inc., Pieter Emans Shareholder of: Shareholder and cofounder start-up company Chondropeptix, Roel Custers: None declared, Ronald Van Heerwaarden: None declared, Floris Lafeber Shareholder of: Co-founder and shareholder of ArthroSave BV

FRI0407 USER-FRIENDLINESS OF A NOVEL DEDICATED KNEE JOINT DISTRACTION DEVICE: EXPERIENCES FROM CLINICAL PRACTICE

Background:

Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a validated surgical technique that aims to postpone arthroplasty for a prolonged time in younger knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients (<65 years). In absence of dedicated devices intended for KJD, this procedure has thus far been performed with general purpose external fixation devices.1The demonstrated clinical benefits of KJD raised a clinical demand for a dedicated device (DD), including a desire for increased user-friendliness and decreased treatment burden. As such, in a multi-disciplinary setting with clinicians, patients, and medical device experts, several desired device characteristics were determined. These included perpendicular positioning of bone pins relative to the longitudinal tibia axis, surgery time < 45 minutes, no protruding parts above the most proximal and below the most distal bone pins, and pin tracts that are accessible for pin tract care. Based on the desired characteristics, a dedicated distraction device was developed and made available for clinical application.

Objectives:

To compare user-friendliness between the developed DD and previously used concept device (CD) used in regular care.

Methods:

Patients were treated with either the CD (n=22) or DD (n=22) in clinical practice. For both devices, the surgical technique was identical: fixation to the tibia and femur with 8 bone pins (figure 1) and 5 mm distraction for 6 weeks. The intervention duration when placing the device (defined as time between first incision and the surgeon being finished) was registered for all patients. After treatment, patients were asked to fill out a custom questionnaire about user-friendliness of the device during treatment, consisting of 25 questions on difficulties performing activities regarding clothing, sleeping, device care, daily activities, movement and complications. Intervention duration was compared between groups using an independent t-test while for questionnaire answers Mann Whitney U tests were used. Chi-square tests were used when comparing (complication) occurrences between groups.

Results:

Intervention duration was on average shorter for the DD (44 vs 56 minutes; p<0.001). 34 Patients (16 CD, 18 DD) completed the questionnaire. Patient user-friendliness of the DD was higher rated for 6 questions (all p<0.05), and similar to the CD for the remaining questions (all p>0.01). Besides advantages in daily living activities with the use of the DD, also less pin tract infections were registered with this device (88% of patients with CD vs 56% with DD). Results of all questions are provided in figure 1. Three patients who were treated with both devices (left and right knee, separately and subsequently) generally rated the DD similar to be or slightly better than the CD.

Conclusion:

The dedicated KJD device provides user-friendly equipment for clinicians and patients, as indicated by the shorter intervention duration and patient questionnaire outcomes, and contributes to further implementation of KJD as treatment for end-stage knee OA.

References:

[1]MP Jansenet al, PLOS ONE 2020

Disclosure of Interests:

Mylène Jansen: None declared, Thijmen Struik Employee of: Employment by ArthroSave BV, Simon Mastbergen: None declared, Roel Custers: None declared

Implementing structured team debriefing using a Black Box in the operating room: surveying team satisfaction

Background

Surgical safety may be improved using a medical data recorder (MDR) for the purpose of postoperative team debriefing. It provides the team in the operating room (OR) with the opportunity to look back upon their joint performance objectively to discuss and learn from suboptimal situations or possible adverse events. The aim of this study was to investigate the satisfaction of the OR team using an MDR, the OR Black Box®, in the OR as a tool providing output for structured team debriefing.

Methods

In this longitudinal survey study, 35 gastro-intestinal laparoscopic operations were recorded using the OR Black Box® and the output was subsequently debriefed with the operating team. Prior to study, a privacy impact assessment was conducted to ensure alignment with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. A structured debrief model and an OR Back Box® performance report was developed. A standardized survey was used to measure participant’s satisfaction with the team debriefing, the debrief model used and the performance report. Factor analysis was performed to assess the questionnaire’s quality and identified contributing satisfaction factors. Multivariable analysis was performed to identify variables associated with participants’ opinions.

Results

In total, 81 team members of various disciplines in the OR participated, comprising 35 laparoscopic procedures. Mean satisfaction with the OR Black Box® performance report and team debriefing was high for all 3 identified independent satisfaction factors. Of all participants, 98% recommend using the OR Black Box® and the outcome report in team debriefing.

Conclusion

The use of an MDR in the OR for the purpose of team debriefing is considered to be both beneficial and important. Team debriefing using the OR Black Box® outcome report is highly recommended by 98% of team members participating.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00464-020-07526-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

[Monitoring with four recovery phases. First experiences in FACT]

Following an audit, the flexible assertive community treatment-teams (FACT-teams), in Winterswijk, the Netherlands, set out to discover a more recovery-oriented approach to treatment and monitoring. Their findings support researching four recovery phases described previously.<br/> AIM: A pilot-study to investigate the possibilities to create a more recovery-oriented working method by applying the four recovery phases - ranging from being overwhelmed by the condition to living past the condition - in FACT-teams.<br/> METHOD: The FACT-teams started to monitor patients during the recovery phases and developed a semi-structured interview that can be used to determine the current recovery phase. After the phase has been determined, a plan is written on how to progress to the next phase.<br/> RESULTS: Monitoring during the recovery phases proved to be useful in showing both succesfull and stagnating treatments. The recovery phases also became part of the standard treatment plans in the electronic patient dossier. An important result of this project was the recovery-oriented interview we developed.<br/> CONCLUSION: Monitoring and interviewing based on the four recovery phases subjectively leads to more in-depth and more recovery-oriented evaluations of treatment. More empirical research into this method is necessary.

Transformative governance for public health: A scoping review

Background

As coordination issues arise in an increasingly complex health domain with a growing number of stakeholders involved in health initiatives, WHO proposed a transformation towards a Whole of Society approach. However, this abstract approach lacks practical guidelines to tackle these issues. In domains such as the environmental policy sector, similar transformations were established by applying governance strategies. This study aims to answer, which conditions and arrangements are found in the governance literature for the coordination and evaluation of the transformation of health towards a Whole of Society approach?

Methods

A systematic search was conducted by combining ’governance’, with adjectives as ’collaborative’, ’adaptive’, ’experimentalist’ and ’reflexive’ in order to target relevant governance theories in JStor, Web of Science, EBSCO and Google Scholar. Based on inclusion criteria two reviewers independently selected articles following PRISMA.

Results

Analysis of 56 articles showed that transformation should be coordinated by stimulating favourable conditions such as learning and experimenting in networks that cut across traditional boundaries. These conditions and methods can be divided into three categories. First, establish collaborations with government as equal partner by making the inclusion and decision-making process open and transparent. Second, stimulating innovation by engaging local initiatives, and supporting learning, experimentation, reflection and adaptation. Third, ensuring the sustainability of innovation by enabling institutional change.

Conclusions

To coordinate and evaluate the transformation of health towards a Whole of Society approach, conditions may consist of a combination of collaboration, innovation and institutional change.

Key messages

To bring together the fragmented resources for public health, we present emerging conditions for the coordination of a Whole of Society approach as transformative governance strategy. The transformative capacity of governance can be found in the combination of the theories as adjectives: collaborative, adaptive, experimentalist and reflexive.

Improving enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS): ERAS APPtimize study protocol, a randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of a patient-centred mobile application on patient participation in colorectal surgery

BACKGROUND

Perioperative care in colorectal surgery is systematically defined in the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol. The ERAS protocol improves perioperative care in a multimodal way to enhance early and safe release from the hospital. Adequate compliance to the elements of the ERAS protocol is multifactorial. There are still opportunities to improve compliance of the protocol by actively involving the patient. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether compliance of selected items in the ERAS protocol can be improved through actively involving patients in the ERAS care pathway through the use of a patient-centred mobile application.

METHODS

A multicentre randomized controlled trial will be conducted. Patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery, who are 18 years or older and in possession of an eligible smartphone, will be included. Patients assigned to the intervention group will install a patient-centred mobile application to be guided through the ERAS care pathway. Patients in the control group will receive care as usual. Both groups will wear an activity tracker. The primary outcome is overall compliance to selected active elements of the ERAS protocol, as registered by the patient. Secondary outcomes include Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) such as health-related quality of life, physical activity, and patient satisfaction of received care. Care-related outcomes, such as length of hospital stay, number of complications, re-intervention, and readmission rates, will also be assessed.

RESULTS

The enrolment of patients will start in the second quarter of 2019. Data collection had not begun by the time this protocol was submitted.

CONCLUSION

We hypothesize that by providing patients with a patient-centred mobile application, compliance to the active elements of ERAS protocol can be improved, resulting in an increased health-related quality of life, physical activity, and patient satisfaction.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Netherlands Trial Register, NTR7314 , prospectively registered on the 9th of November 2017 ( http://www.trialregister.nl ).

Gold(i) sulfide: unusual bonding and an unexpected computational challenge in a simple solid

We report the experimental high-pressure crystal structure and equation of state of gold(i) sulfide (Au2S) determined using diamond-anvil cell synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Our data shows that Au2S has a simple cubic structure with six atoms in the unit cell (four Au in linear, and two S in tetrahedral, coordination), no internal degrees of freedom, and relatively low bulk modulus. Despite its structural simplicity, Au2S displays very unusual chemical bonding. The very similar and relatively high electronegativities of Au and S rule out any significant metallic or ionic character. Using a simple valence bond (Lewis) model, we argue that the Au2S crystal possesses two different types of covalent bonds: dative and shared. These bonds are distributed in such a way that each Au atom engages in one bond of each kind. The multiple arrangements in space of dative and shared bonds are degenerate, and the multiplicity of configurations imparts the system with multireference character, which is highly unusual for an extended solid. The other striking feature of this system is that common computational (DFT) methods fail quite spectacularly to describe it, with 20% and 400% errors in the equilibrium volume and bulk modulus, respectively. We explain this by the poor treatment of static correlation in common density-functional approximations. The fact that the solid is structurally very simple, yet presents unique chemical bonding and is unmodelable using current DFT methods, makes it an interesting case study and a computational challenge.

UNRAVEL: big data analytics research data platform to improve care of patients with cardiomyopathies using routine electronic health records and standardised biobanking

Introduction

Despite major advances in our understanding of genetic cardiomyopathies, they remain the leading cause of premature sudden cardiac death and end-stage heart failure in persons under the age of 60 years. Integrated research databases based on a large number of patients may provide a scaffold for future research. Using routine electronic health records and standardised biobanking, big data analysis on a larger number of patients and investigations are possible. In this article, we describe the UNRAVEL research data platform embedded in routine practice to facilitate research in genetic cardiomyopathies.

Design

Eligible participants with proven or suspected cardiac disease and their relatives are asked for permission to use their data and to draw blood for biobanking. Routinely collected clinical data are included in a research database by weekly extraction. A text-mining tool has been developed to enrich UNRAVEL with unstructured data in clinical notes.

Preliminary results

Thus far, 828 individuals with a median age of 57 years have been included, 58% of whom are male. All data are captured in a temporal sequence amounting to a total of 18,565 electrocardiograms, 3619 echocardiograms, data from over 20,000 radiological examinations and 650,000 individual laboratory measurements.

Conclusion

Integration of routine electronic health care in a research data platform allows efficient data collection, including all investigations in chronological sequence. Trials embedded in the electronic health record are now possible, providing cost-effective ways to answer clinical questions. We explicitly welcome national and international collaboration and have provided our protocols and other materials on www.unravelrdp.nl.

Respiratory and upper limb function as outcome measures in ambulant and non-ambulant subjects with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A prospective multicentre study

The field of translational research in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has been transformed in the last decade by a number of therapeutic targets, mostly studied in ambulant patients. A paucity of studies focus on measures that capture the non-ambulant stage of the disease, and the transition between the ambulant and non-ambulant phase. In this prospective natural history study, we report the results of a comprehensive assessment of respiratory, upper limb function and upper limb muscle strength in a group of 89 DMD boys followed in 3 European countries, 81 receiving corticosteroids, spanning a wide age range (5-18 years) and functional abilities, from ambulant (n = 60) to non-ambulant (n = 29). Respiratory decline could be detected in the early ambulatory phase using Peak Expiratory Flow percentage predicted (PEF%), despite glucocorticoid use (mean annual decline: 4.08, 95% CI [-7.44,-0.72], p = 0.02 in ambulant; 4.81, 95% CI [-6.79,-2.82], p < 0.001 in non-ambulant). FVC% captured disease progression in non-ambulant DMD subjects, with an annual loss of 5.47% (95% CI [-6.48,-4.45], p < 0.001). Upper limb function measured with the Performance of Upper Limb (PUL 1.2) showed an annual loss of 4.13 points (95% CI [-4.79,3.47], p < 0.001) in the non-ambulant cohort. Measures of upper limb strength (MyoGrip and MyoPinch) showed a continuous decline independent of the ambulatory status, when reported as percentage predicted (grip force -5.51%, 95% CI [-6.54,-4.48], p < 0.001 in ambulant and a slower decline -2.86%; 95% CI -3.29,-2.43, p < 0.001, in non-ambulant; pinch force: -2.66%, 95% CI [-3.82,-1.51], p < 0.001 in ambulant and -2.23%, 95% CI [-2.92,-1.53], p < 0.001 in non-ambulant). Furthermore, we also explored the novel concept of a composite endpoint by combining respiratory, upper limb function and force domains: we were able to identify clear clinical progression in patients in whom an isolated measurement of only one of these domains failed to appreciate the yearly change. Our study contributes to the field of natural history of DMD, linking the ambulant and non-ambulant phases of the disease, and suggests that composite scores should be explored further.

[Working with courage and trust]

Diminished trust in professionals has resulted in professional pain among many of them. Professionals feel obstructed by external stakeholders such as policymakers and insurance companies who do not understand the reality in which professionals work. Protests by professionals against this type of disciplining have been diminishing for a long time, and some professionals have even collaborated with these stakeholders. In many professions, this has resulted in so-called 'voluntary servitude'. For instance, it has been stated that the majority of professionals in health care deviate from their standards of professional behaviour to a greater or lesser degree. This attitude of distrust towards professionals unjustly injures their professional pride. In this paper the concept of professional pride is explained and the authors argue why this is crucial for good healthcare.

Similarities and differences of the volatile profiles of six spices explored by Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry

Aroma properties of spices are related to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present, which can provide distinct analytical signatures. The aim of the study was to examine similarity and diversity of VOC profiles of six common market spices (black/white pepper, chili paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg and saffron). The key volatiles were identified by PTR-TOFMS. Twelve samples per spice were subjected to PTR-Quadrupole MS (PTR-QMS) and Principal Component Analysis to compare the groups and examine diversity. With PTR-TOFMS, 101 volatile compounds were identified as total sum across all samples by mass and comparing them with literature data. Some spices comprised key character aroma compounds, e.g. cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon. For others, VOC groups, such as terpenes, acids and aldehydes topped the list. The PTR-QMS in combination with variables selection resulted in distinct PCA patterns for each spice. Variation within the spice groups was observed, but varied with the kind of spice. The results are valuable for future authentication studies.

Long-term tolerability, immunogenicity and efficacy of Nuwiq® (human-cl rhFVIII) in children with severe haemophilia A

INTRODUCTION

Nuwiq^® (human-cl rhFVIII, simoctocog alfa) is a 4th generation recombinant human FVIII, without chemical modification or fusion with any other protein, produced in a human cell line.

AIM/METHODS

This study (GENA-13) was an extension of the GENA-03 study in which previously treated children aged 2-12 years with severe haemophilia A received Nuwiq^® prophylaxis for ≥6 months. GENA-13 examined long-term tolerability, immunogenicity and efficacy of Nuwiq^® prophylaxis in children.

RESULTS

Of 59 patients enrolled in GENA-03, 49 continued Nuwiq^® prophylaxis in GENA-13 for a median (range) of 30.0 (9.5-52.0) months. No patient withdrew due to drug-related adverse events or developed inhibitors. Only 2 of 20 518 infusions were associated with possibly related adverse events (dyspnoea, fever). The estimated annualized bleeding rate (ABR) was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.44, 1.02) for spontaneous and 2.88 (95% CI: 1.86, 4.46) for all bleeds. Younger children (2-5 years) had lower ABRs than children aged 6-12 years. Annualized bleeding rates were reduced in GENA-13 vs GENA-03, especially for spontaneous bleeds in younger children (71% reduction; ABR ratio 0.29 [95% CI: 0.11, 0.74]). Nuwiq^® efficacy was rated as excellent/good in the treatment of 83.0% of 305 evaluated breakthrough bleeds. Surgical prophylaxis with Nuwiq^® was rated as excellent for all 17 assessed procedures.

CONCLUSION

Long-term treatment with Nuwiq^® for the prevention of bleeds in children with severe haemophilia A was well tolerated, effective and reduced spontaneous bleeding by up to 70% compared with GENA-03.

Low incidence of factor VIII inhibitors in previously untreated patients with severe haemophilia A treated with octanate® : Final report from a prospective study

INTRODUCTION

Octanate^® is a human, plasma-derived, von Willebrand factor-stabilized coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) concentrate with demonstrated haemostatic efficacy in previously treated patients with haemophilia A.

AIM

This prospective, open-label study aimed to assess the immunogenicity of octanate^® in previously untreated patients (PUPs).

METHODS

The study monitored development of FVIII inhibitors in 51 PUPs. Tolerability, viral safety, FVIII recovery and efficacy of octanate^® for the prevention and treatment of bleeds and in surgical procedures were also assessed.

RESULTS

Five (9.8%) of the 51 patients developed inhibitors during the study, 4 of which (7.8%) were high titre. Three inhibitor cases (5.9%) were considered clinically relevant; 2 were transient inhibitors that disappeared during regular octanate^® treatment without a change in dose or treatment frequency. Amongst 45 patients with FVIII:C <1% at baseline and who received ≥20 exposure days (EDs) or had <20 EDs but developed an inhibitor, inhibitor incidence was 11.1% (6.7% clinically relevant). All clinically relevant inhibitors developed within 20 EDs of on-demand treatment. No inhibitors developed in PUPs receiving prophylaxis. All patients who developed inhibitors had either intron 22 inversions or large deletions. Irrespective of the reason for administration, haemostatic efficacy was rated as "excellent" in 99.6% of all infusions (4700 of 4717 infusions), and no complications were reported in 23 surgical procedures. Mean incremental in vivo recovery was 2.0%/IU/kg (±0.7) and 1.9%/IU/kg (±0.5) for the first and second assessments, respectively. Tolerability was rated "very good" in 99.9% of infusions.

CONCLUSION

In PUPs with severe haemophilia A, octanate^® demonstrated haemostatic efficacy with a low rate of inhibitor development.

Efficacy and safety of Nuwiq® (human-cl rhFVIII) in patients with severe haemophilia A undergoing surgical procedures

INTRODUCTION

Haemophilia A patients are at a high risk of excess bleeding during surgeries. The aim of haemostatic therapy during the perioperative period is to normalize FVIII level perioperatively and postoperatively to maintain normal haemostasis until wound healing is complete.

AIMS/METHODS

To examine the efficacy of Nuwiq^® (simoctocog alfa, human-cl rhFVIII), a 4^th generation recombinant FVIII produced in a human cell line, for surgical prophylaxis in patients with severe haemophilia A. This analysis assessed the efficacy of Nuwiq^® during surgical procedures and in the postoperative period in seven clinical studies of previously treated patients (PTPs) with severe haemophilia A.

RESULTS

Thirty-six patients, aged 3-55 years, received surgical prophylaxis with Nuwiq^® for 60 surgeries (28 major and 32 minor). Efficacy was evaluated for 52 surgeries (25 major and 27 minor). The success rate of Nuwiq^® treatment was 98.1% (51 of 52 evaluated surgeries); haemostatic efficacy was assessed as "excellent" or "good" in all but one major surgery (assessed as "moderate"). The number of infusions ranged from 1 to 19 for minor surgeries and from 3 to 76 for major surgeries. The median (range) daily doses were 42.0 (28.2-100.9) IU kg^-1 for minor surgeries and 69.3 (43.3-135.6) IU kg^-1 for major surgeries. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events, and none of the patients developed FVIII inhibitors.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this pooled analysis show that Nuwiq^® was efficacious in maintaining haemostasis during and after major and minor surgical procedures in PTPs with severe haemophilia A.

Thermal tolerance in the keystone species Daphnia magna-a candidate gene and an outlier analysis approach

Changes in temperature have occurred throughout Earth's history. However, current warming trends exacerbated by human activities impose severe and rapid loss of biodiversity. Although understanding the mechanisms orchestrating organismal response to climate change is important, remarkably few studies document their role in nature. This is because only few systems enable the combined analysis of genetic and plastic responses to environmental change over long time spans. Here, we characterize genetic and plastic responses to temperature increase in the aquatic keystone grazer Daphnia magna combining a candidate gene and an outlier analysis approach. We capitalize on the short generation time of our species, facilitating experimental evolution, and the production of dormant eggs enabling the analysis of long-term response to environmental change through a resurrection ecology approach. We quantify plasticity in the expression of 35 candidate genes in D. magna populations resurrected from a lake that experienced changes in average temperature over the past century and from experimental populations differing in thermal tolerance isolated from a selection experiment. By measuring expression in multiple genotypes from each of these populations in control and heat treatments, we assess plastic responses to extreme temperature events. By measuring evolutionary changes in gene expression between warm- and cold-adapted populations, we assess evolutionary response to temperature changes. Evolutionary response to temperature increase is also assessed via an outlier analysis using EST-linked microsatellite loci. This study provides the first insights into the role of plasticity and genetic adaptation in orchestrating adaptive responses to environmental change in D. magna.