Comparative assessment of immunogenicity of recombinant insulin Aspart from BioGenomics and its originator NovoRapid® in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVES

To assess and compare the immunogenicity of recombinant Insulin Aspart [manufactured by BioGenomics Limited (BGL-ASP)] with its originator NovoRapid® (manufactured by Novo Nordisk) in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

BGL-IA-CTP301 study was a randomized, open label, parallel group, multicenter phase-III clinical study to compare the efficacy and safety of recombinant Insulin Aspart 100 U/mL [manufactured by BioGenomics Limited (BGL-ASP)] with its reference medicinal product (RMP); NovoRapid® [manufactured by Novo Nordisk], in adult patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The primary objective of the study was to compare the immunogenicity of BGL-ASP and RMP; NovoRapid® in patient serum samples collected from phase-III clinical study. Immunogenicity was studied as the incidence of patients positive for anti-insulin Aspart (AIA) antibodies, developed against BGL-ASP/RMP at baseline, end of 12 week and end of 24 week of the treatment period. The changes in incidence of patients positive for AIA antibodies post-baseline were also studied to assess and compare the treatment-emergent antibody response (TEAR) between the treatment groups (BGL-ASP and RMP). Statistical evaluation was done by Fisher's exact test to compare the overall incidence of patients positive for AIA antibodies and the TEAR positives observed post-baseline in both the treated groups. An in-vitro neutralizing antibody assay (Nab assay) was also performed to study the effect of AIA antibodies in neutralizing the biological activity/metabolic function of the insulin. The neutralizing potential of AIA was studied by its effect on %glucose uptake. We also evaluated the association between AIA antibody levels and its impact on biological activity by studying the correlation between them.

RESULTS

Analysis of immunogenicity data suggested that the percentage of patients positive for AIA antibodies until week 24 was similar and comparable in both the treatment groups, BGL-ASP and RMP; NovoRapid®. The changes in incidence of patients positive for AIA post-baseline in terms of TEAR positives were also similar and comparable between the treatment groups. The results of the Nab assay with confirmed positive AIA samples from BGL-ASP- and RMP-treated groups did not have any negative impact on %glucose uptake by the cells in Nab assay, confirming the absence of neutralizing antibodies in both the treatment groups. The correlation studies also showed absence of association between AIA antibody levels and percentage glucose uptake in both BGL-ASP and RMP-NovoRapid® treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: The immunogenicity assessment based on the overall incidence of patients positive for AIA, changes in incidence of patients positive for AIA post-baseline, TEAR rates and absence of neutralizing antibodies, were found to be apparently similar and comparable in both the treatment groups (BGL-ASP and RMP). We conclude from our studies that the immunogenicity of BGL-ASP is similar and comparable to RMP and the observed immunogenicity in terms of anti-insulin Aspart antibody levels had no impact on the biological activity of insulin.

New Echocardiography Reference Ranges for Aotearoa (NewERA) Study: the application of international echocardiographic reference values to linear measurements of the hearts of healthy, young Māori and Pacific adults may not detect cardiac enlargement

AIMS

To develop ethnic-specific echocardiography reference ranges for Aotearoa, and to investigate the impact of indexation to body surface area (BSA). Current reference international ranges are derived from people of mostly NZ European ethnicity and may not be appropriate for Māori and New Zealanders of Pacific ethnicity, who both experience high rates of cardiovascular disease.

METHODS

Echocardiography was performed in a cross-sectional study of 263 healthy adults (18-50 years): Māori (N=71, 43 female), Pacific (N=53, 28 female), European (N=139, 74 female). Linear measurements of the left heart are reported and indexed to BSA. The upper/lower limit of normal (ULN/LLN) by ethnicity and sex were derived (quantile regression). Ethnic- and sex-specific differences were examined using ANOVA.

RESULTS

The ULN was higher for all un-indexed dimensions in men compared to women, and for most indices the ULN was smallest in NZ Europeans and largest in Māori and Pacific peoples. Indexation reversed these relationships: NZ Europeans had higher ULN for many measurements.

CONCLUSIONS

Indexing to BSA introduced bias that preferences the NZ European ethnicity by creating an upper limit reference threshold that far exceeds this sample's upper range. As a result, this may lead to under-recognition of cardiac enlargement in Māori and Pacific patients, and in particular for women. Unique reference ranges for all ethnic groups and sexes are required to optimally detect and manage cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Aotearoa.

Beyond competencies - describing work ready plus graduates for the New Zealand medical imaging workforce

INTRODUCTION

Medical imaging is a profession where technology and practice is moving forward at a fast pace, while also being situated within rapidly evolving models of healthcare delivery. This requires capabilities in our graduates beyond the competencies to undertake the role. This study used an existing Professional Capability Framework as the foundation for the development of a survey tool to identify those capabilities most valued by the health services that provide placement opportunities for students.

METHODS

A prospective survey, conducted online, was used to gather the data from senior medical imaging staff who work regularly with students and new graduates.

RESULTS

The results identified the top capabilities within each of three domains of personal, interpersonal, and cognitive capabilities. The results from the personal domain show that remaining calm under pressure or when things take an unexpected turn; understanding personal strengths and limitations; being willing to face and learn from errors; wanting to do as good a job as possible and having energy, passion and enthusiasm for the profession and role are most valued by the profession. We have identified links between the most desired interpersonal capabilities and attributes of well-functioning interprofessional teams and the cognitive capabilities align to those required for critical thinking and clinical reasoning.

CONCLUSIONS

These results have allowed the curriculum development team to review the graduate profile of medical imaging technology graduates. The curriculum development team has begun a process to incorporate learning strategies that will encourage the development of these capabilities in our graduates.

Cytomorphological study of palpable breast lumps

Background: Breast lump is a very common clinical presentation for which fine needle aspiration cytology is often sought for. Because of it’s significant diagnositic value, FNAC has become a routine tool in the evaluation of the nature of the lesion. The objective of this study was to determine the cytomorphological patterns of breast lump in eastern part of Nepal among individuals attending Nobel Medical College. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study done in department of pathology from December 2012 to June 2015. All individuals presenting with breast lumps was included in this study. FNAC was done as per standard procedure and categorized as per United Kingdom National Health Survey Breast Screening Programme (UK-NHS-BSP) categories and further also categorized in to neoplastic and non-neolastic categories. Results: We studied 771 cases of breast lumps. Occurrence of breast lump was more common in female (97.4%). Neoplastic lesions accounted for 84.1% of cases out of which benign comprised of 94.6% and malignant comprised of 5.6%. Common benign lesions observed were that of fibroadenona (264) and fibrocystic changes (204). Ductal carcinoma was the most common malignant lesions. All malignant lesions were observed in older age and female sex population.Conclusion: Most of the cases of breast lumps are benign in nature and very few accounted for malignant cases. There is predominance of benign lesions in young age and increased malignancy in older age and female population. 

Nonlinear dynamics of the observed HIV-positive population size in Fiji

In this paper, the reported numbers of HIV-positive individuals in Fiji between and including the years 1989 and 2002 have been used to study the dynamics of the observed HIV-positive population size. The Fiji data showed a pattern that appears to begin to approximate the "S" shaped growth pattern. It is well-known in the mathematics literature that this nonlinear pattern is a natural growth phenomenon and that there are suitable mathematical equations--from the classical Verhulst equation to the recent Tsoularis equation--that can be used to study it. These equations generate two-dimensional curves, the uses of which are case-dependent. In this paper, the curves used are the Logistic Curve and the Gompertz Curve, which are known to be relatively accurate in predicting the short-term behaviour of the observed HIV-positive population size at the initial stages of growth. This study showed that the curves, based on the 1989-2002 data, gave the scenarios in which new reported cases could stabilize by 2005 or 2013. Based on the 1989-2001 data, both curves gave the worst-case scenario of continuous increase till the year 2020 when the numbers could begin to stabilize.