Once‐monthly (50/50, 100, and 150 mg) and daily (2.5 mg; 3‐year vertebral fracture risk reduction: 52%) oral ibandronate regimens were compared in 1609 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. At ...least equivalent efficacy and similar safety and tolerability were shown after 1 year.
Introduction: Suboptimal adherence to daily and weekly oral bisphosphonates can potentially compromise therapeutic outcomes in postmenopausal osteoporosis. Although yet to be prospectively shown in osteoporosis, evidence from randomized clinical trials in several other chronic conditions shows that reducing dosing frequency enhances therapeutic adherence. Ibandronate is a new and potent bisphosphonate with antifracture efficacy proven for daily administration and also intermittent administration with a dose‐free interval of >2 months. This report presents comparative data on the efficacy and safety of monthly and daily oral ibandronate regimens.
Materials and Methods: MOBILE is a 2‐year, randomized, double‐blind, phase III, noninferiority trial. A total of 1609 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis were assigned to one of four oral ibandronate regimens: 2.5 mg daily, 50 mg/50 mg monthly (single doses, consecutive days), 100 mg monthly, or 150 mg monthly.
Results: After 1 year, lumbar spine BMD increased by 3.9%, 4.3%, 4.1%, and 4.9% in the 2.5, 50 /50, 100, and 150 mg arms, respectively. All monthly regimens were proven noninferior, and the 150 mg regimen superior, to the daily regimen. All monthly regimens produced similar hip BMD gains, which were larger than those with the daily regimen. All regimens similarly decreased serum levels of C‐telopeptide, a biochemical marker of bone resorption. Compared with the daily regimen, a significantly larger proportion of women receiving the 100 and 150 mg monthly regimens achieved predefined threshold levels for percent change from baseline in lumbar spine (6%) or total hip BMD (3%). All regimens were similarly well tolerated.
Conclusions: Monthly ibandronate is at least as effective and well tolerated as the currently approved daily ibandronate regimen in postmenopausal osteoporosis.
In the work presented here, we elucidate a mechanism for the repression of α-myosin heavy chain (MyHC) during pathological cardiac hypertrophy. We demonstrate that the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 ...(YY1) significantly decreases endogenous α-MyHC mRNA and protein expression in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Furthermore, mutation of the YY1 binding sites in the proximal rat α-MyHC promoter increases promoter activity and alleviates YY1-mediated repression of the promoter. Despite the presence of 5 sites that bind YY1, only one site, located at −94
bp of the rat α-MyHC promoter, is both necessary and sufficient for pathological repression of the promoter by phorbol esters, revealing a unique mechanism for the repression of α-MyHC expression during cardiac hypertrophy.
Summary
The introduction of the WHO FRAX® algorithms has facilitated the assessment of fracture risk on the basis of fracture probability. Its use in fracture risk prediction has strengths, but also ...limitations of which the clinician should be aware and are the focus of this review
Introduction
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) appointed a joint Task Force to develop resource documents in order to make recommendations on how to improve FRAX and better inform clinicians who use FRAX. The Task Force met in November 2010 for 3 days to discuss these topics which form the focus of this review.
Methods
This study reviews the resource documents and joint position statements of ISCD and IOF.
Results
Details on the clinical risk factors currently used in FRAX are provided, and the reasons for the exclusion of others are provided. Recommendations are made for the development of surrogate models where country-specific FRAX models are not available.
Conclusions
The wish list of clinicians for the modulation of FRAX is large, but in many instances, these wishes cannot presently be fulfilled; however, an explanation and understanding of the reasons may be helpful in translating the information provided by FRAX into clinical practice.
Antibodies against fetal red blood cell (RBC) antigens can cause hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN). Reductions in HDFN due to anti-RhD antibodies have been achieved through use of Rh ...immune globulin (RhIg), a polyclonal antibody preparation that causes antibody-mediated immunosuppression (AMIS), thereby preventing maternal immune responses against fetal RBCs. Despite the success of RhIg, it is only effective against 1 alloantigen. The lack of similar interventions that mitigate immune responses toward other RBC alloantigens reflects an incomplete understanding of AMIS mechanisms. AMIS has been previously attributed to rapid antibody-mediated RBC removal, resulting in B-cell ignorance of the RBC alloantigen. However, our data demonstrate that antibody-mediated RBC removal can enhance de novo alloimmunization. In contrast, inclusion of antibodies that possess the ability to rapidly remove the target antigen in the absence of detectable RBC clearance can convert an augmented antibody response to AMIS. These results suggest that the ability of antibodies to remove target antigens from the RBC surface can trigger AMIS in situations in which enhanced immunity may otherwise occur. In doing so, these results hold promise in identifying key antibody characteristics that can drive AMIS, thereby facilitating the design of AMIS approaches toward other RBC antigens to eliminate all forms of HDFN.
The Eighth Annual Santa Fe Bone Symposium convened August 3-4, 2007, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, immediately preceded by the Research Symposium in Metabolic Bone Disease and Osteoporosis Update for ...Endocrine Fellows, and followed by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) Bone Densitometry Course. The symposium faculty consists of internationally recognized experts in osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease who presented state-of-the-art research data and late-breaking developments in the fields of osteoporosis, metabolic bone disease, and assessment of skeletal health. The presentations and numerous interactive discussions that followed focused on applying what is known from clinical trials, knowledge of bone pathophysiology, and the mechanisms of action of therapeutic interventions, to making real-world patient management decisions. Topics included an update on reimbursement issues for bone density testing in the United States, a report on the 2007 ISCD Pediatric and Adult Position Development Conferences, present and future therapeutic concepts, new paradigms for fracture risk assessment and intervention thresholds, evaluation for secondary causes of osteoporosis, nonvertebral fracture risk reduction-medical evidence and clinical practice, epidemiological insights into the prevention of osteoporotic fractures, osteonecrosis of the jaw facts and fictions, and osteomalacia. Presented here are short essays based on the key clinical presentations of the 2007 Santa Fe Bone Symposium.
Introduction
The impact of blood storage on red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunization remains controversial, with some studies suggesting enhancement of RBC‐induced alloantibody production and others ...failing to observe any impact of storage on alloantibody formation. Since evaluation of storage on RBC alloimmunization in patients has examined antibody formation against a broad range of alloantigens, it remains possible that different clinical outcomes reflect a variable impact of storage on alloimmunization to specific antigens.
Methods
RBCs expressing two distinct model antigens, HEL‐OVA‐Duffy (HOD) and KEL, separately or together (HOD × KEL), were stored for 0, 8, or 14 days, followed by detection of antigen levels prior to transfusion. Transfused donor RBC survival was assessed within 24 h of transfusion, while IgM and IgG antibody production were assessed 5 and 14 days after transfusion.
Results
Stored HOD or KEL RBCs retained similar HEL or KEL antigen levels, respectively, as fresh RBCs, but did exhibit enhanced RBC clearance with increased storage age. Storage enhanced IgG antibody formation against HOD, while the oppositive outcome occurred following transfusion of stored KEL RBCs. The distinct impact of storage on HOD or KEL alloimmunization did not appear to reflect intrinsic differences between HOD or KEL RBCs, as transfusion of stored HOD × KEL RBCs resulted in increased IgG anti‐HOD antibody development and reduced IgG anti‐KEL antibody formation.
Conclusions
These data demonstrate a dichotomous impact of storage on immunization to distinct RBC antigens, offering a possible explanation for inconsistent clinical experience and the need for additional studies on the relationship between RBC storage and alloimmunization.
The quantitative nuclease protection assay (qNPA) is a very simple and highly sensitive method for measuring mRNA transcripts, can be used on a variety of sample types, and is amenable to ...high-throughput sample processing. We have combined the power of the qNPA assay with the density of a DNA microarray to create a qNPA Microarray platform. This platform is compatible with common laboratory equipment: it uses fluorescence-based detection, can be analyzed with common microarray scanners, and is in an SBS footprint with 96-well layout for high-throughput applications. Here, we demonstrate the characteristics of a qNPA Microarray slide that contains up to 1700 gene elements per well. We show that the new platform can reliably detect transcripts at levels as low as 10
fM with median CVs below 12%. On a standardized set of samples, the qNPA Microarray detected the same trends in gene expression as the original qNPA technology, real time qPCR, and Affymetrix GeneChip DNA Microarrays. Given its ease of use, compatibility with multiple sample types, high-throughput capabilities, and its integration with standard laboratory equipment, the qNPA Microarray is a powerful new platform for gene expression research.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common form of sudden death in young competitive athletes. However, exercise has also been shown to be beneficial in the setting of other cardiac ...diseases. We examined the ability of voluntary exercise to prevent or reverse the phenotypes of a murine model of HCM harboring a mutant myosin heavy chain (MyHC). No differences in voluntary cage wheel performance between nontransgenic (NTG) and HCM male mice were seen. Exercise prevented fibrosis, myocyte disarray, and induction of "hypertrophic" markers including NFAT activity when initiated before established HCM pathology. If initiated in older HCM animals with documented disease, exercise reversed myocyte disarray (but not fibrosis) and "hypertrophic" marker induction. In addition, exercise returned the increased levels of phosphorylated GSK-3beta to those of NTG and decreased levels of phosphorylated CREB in HCM mice to normal levels. Exercise in HCM mice also favorably impacted components of the apoptotic signaling pathway, including Bcl-2 (an inhibitor of apoptosis) and procaspase-9 (an effector of apoptosis) expression, and caspase-3 activity. Remarkably, there were no differences in mortality between exercised NTG and HCM mice. Thus, not only was exercise not harmful but also it was able to prevent and even reverse established cardiac disease phenotypes in this HCM model.
Background
Alloimmunization can be a significant barrier to red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. While alloantigen matching protocols hold promise in reducing alloantibody formation, ...transfusion‐dependent patients can still experience RBC alloimmunization and associated complications even when matching protocols are employed. As a result, complementary strategies capable of actively preventing alloantibody formation following alloantigen exposure are warranted.
Study Design and Methods
We examined whether pharmacological removal of macrophages using clodronate may provide an additional strategy to actively inhibit RBC alloimmunization using two preclinical models of RBC alloimmunization. To accomplish this, mice were treated with clodronate, followed by transfusion of RBCs expressing the HOD (HEL, OVA, and Duffy) or KEL antigens. On days 5 and 14 post transfusion, anti‐HOD or anti‐KEL IgM and IgG antibodies were evaluated.
Results
Low dose clodronate effectively eliminated key marginal zone macrophage populations from the marginal sinus. Prior treatment with clodronate, but not empty liposomes, also significantly inhibited IgM and IgG anti‐HOD alloantibody formation following transfusion of HOD RBCs. Similar exposure to clodronate inhibited IgM and IgG antibody formation following KEL RBC transfusion.
Conclusions
Clodronate can inhibit anti‐HOD and anti‐KEL antibody formation following RBC transfusion in preclinical models. These results suggest that clodronate may provide an alternative approach to actively inhibit or prevent the development of alloantibodies following RBC transfusion, although future studies will certainly be needed to fully explore this possibility.
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