Toxoplasma gondii, Herpesviridae and long-term risk of transition to first-episode psychosis in an ultra high-risk sample

BACKGROUND

Ultra high-risk (UHR) criteria were introduced to identify people at imminent risk of developing psychosis. To improve prognostic accuracy, additional clinical and biological risk factors have been researched. Associations between psychotic disorders and infections with Toxoplasma gondii and Herpesviridae have been found. It is unknown if exposure to those pathogens increases the risk of transition to psychosis in UHR cohorts.

METHODS

We conducted a long-term follow-up of 96 people meeting UHR criteria, previously seen at the Personal Assessment and Crisis Evaluation (PACE) clinic, a specialized service in Melbourne, Australia. Transition to psychosis was assessed using the Comprehensive Assessment of the At-Risk Mental State (CAARMS) and state public mental health records. The relationship between IgG antibodies to Herpesviridae (HSV-1, HSV-2, CMV, EBV, VZV) and Toxoplasma gondii and risk for transition was examined with Cox regression models.

RESULTS

Mean follow-up duration was 6.46 (±3.65) years. Participants who transitioned to psychosis (n = 14) had significantly higher antibody titers for Toxoplasma gondii compared to those who did not develop psychosis (p = 0.03). After adjusting for age, gender and year of baseline assessment, seropositivity for Toxoplasma gondii was associated with a 3.6-fold increase in transition hazard in multivariate Cox regression models (HR = 3.6; p = 0.036). No significant association was found between serostatus for Herpesviridae and risk of transition.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to Toxoplasma gondii may contribute to the manifestation of positive psychotic symptoms and increase the risk of transitioning to psychosis in UHR individuals.

A systematic review of dermatologic manifestations among adult patients with COVID-19 diagnosis

BACKGROUND

Infection with COVID-19 is characterized by respiratory, gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms. However, limited evidence exists of the involvement of the integumentary system among COVID-19 patients and evidence suggests that these symptoms may even be the first presenting sign.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically evaluate the literature published on dermatologic signs of COVID-19 in order to educate doctors about the dermatologic signs of COVID-19 infection.

METHODS

Lit COVID, World Health Organization COVID-19 database and PubMed were searched using terminology to identify adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection and dermatologic manifestations of disease. The last search was completed on 13 July 2020.

RESULTS

There were 802 reports found. After exclusion, 20 articles were found with 347 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Within these articles, 27 different skin signs were reported.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations of this review include the recency of COVID-19 infection; so, there are limited published reports and that many reports are not by dermatologists, and so, the cutaneous signs may be misdiagnosed or misdescribed.

CONCLUSION

Dermatologic manifestations of COVID-19 may be the first presenting sign of infection; so, dermatologists and doctors examining the skin should be aware of the virus's influence on the integumentary system in order to promptly diagnose and treat the infected patients.

OP0133 THE PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF RETINAL TOXICITY ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE USE

Background:

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is commonly used for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases. The medication is generally well-tolerated. However, long-term use after 5 years may increase the risk of retinopathy. One study in 2014 has demonstrated the risk can be as high as 7.5%. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has become a major modality in screening retinopathy.

Objectives:

To evaluate the prevalence of retinal toxicity among patients using hydroxychloroquine and to determine various risk factors associated with hydroxychloroquine-associated retinal toxicity.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective chart review on a cohort of adult patients with long-term use (≥ 5 years cumulative) of HCQ between January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2018 from the Kaiser Permanente San Bernardino County and Riverside medical center areas in Southern California, USA. Patients were excluded if they had previously been diagnosed with retinopathy prior to hydroxychloroquine use, were deceased, or had incomplete OCT exam. Our primary endpoint was the prevalence of patients who developed retinal toxicity detected by OCT, and later confirmed by retinal specialist. Potential risk factors (age, duration of therapy, daily consumption per actual body weight, cumulative dose, confounding diseases and medication) for developing retinopathy were also evaluated. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine risk factors associated with retinal toxicity.

Results:

Among 676 patients exposed to more than 5 years of HCQ, the overall prevalence of retinal toxicity was 6.8%, and ranged from 2.5% to 22.2% depending on the age, weight-based dosing, duration of use and cumulative dose. Duration of therapy for 10 years or more increased risk of retinopathy by approximately 5 to 19 folds. Similarly, weight-based dose of 7 mg/kg/day or greater was assciated with increased risk of retinopathy by approximately 5 times. Patients with cumulative dose of 2000 grams or more had greater than 15 times higher risk of developing retinopathy. Duration of use for10 years or more (odd ratio 4.32, 95% CI 1.99 – 12.49), age (odd ratio 1.04; 95% CI 1.01 - 1.08), cumulative dose of more than 1500 g (odd ratio 7.4; 95% CI 1.40 – 39.04) and atherosclerosis of the aorta (odd ratio 2.59; 95% CI, 1.24 – 5.41) correlated with higher risk of retinal toxicity.

Conclusion:

The overall prevalence of retinopathy was 6.8%. Regular OCT screening, especially in patients with hydroxychloroquine use for more than 10 years, daily intake > 7 mg/kg, or cumulative dose > 1500 grams is important in detecting hydroxychloroquine-associated retinal toxicity

References:

[1]Hobbs HE. Sorsby A, & Freedman A. Retinopathy Following Chloroquine Therapy. The Lancet. 1959; 2(7101): 478-480.

[2]Levy, G. D., Munz, S. J., Paschal, J., Cohen, H. B., Pince, K. J., & Peterson, T. Incidence of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy in 1,207 patients in a large multicenter outpatient practice. Arthritis & Rheumatism: 1997; 40(8): 1482-1486.

[3]Ding, H. J., Denniston, A. K., Rao, V. K., & Gordon, C. Hydroxychloroquine-related retinal toxicity. Rheumatology. 2016; 55(6): 957-967.

[4]Stelton, C. R., Connors, D. B., Walia, S. S., & Walia, H. S. Hydrochloroquine retinopathy: characteristic presentation with review of screening. Clinical rheumatology. 2013; 32(6): 895-898.

[5]Marmor, M. F., Kellner, U., Lai, T. Y., Melles, R. B., & Mieler, W. F. Recommendations on screening for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine retinopathy (2016 revision). Ophthalmology. 2016; 123(6): 1386-1394.

[6]Melles, R. B., & Marmor, M. F. The risk of toxic retinopathy in patients on long-term hydroxychloroquine therapy. JAMA ophthalmology. 2014; 132(12): 1453-1460.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

The risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in the adolescent offspring of mothers with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Findings from the raine study

Introduction

While there exist some studies that explored the association between maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in early and late childhood, studies exploring the risk in late adolescence are however lacking.

Objectives

This is the first study that aimed to investigate the association between maternal anxiety, depressive, as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms, and the risk of ADHD symptoms in late adolescence.

Methods

We used data from the Raine Study, a birth cohort in Western Australia. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) was used to assess maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms when the child was aged 10. Whereas, the DSM-oriented scales of the child behavior checklist (CBCL) was used to assess ADHD symptoms offspring in adolescents aged 17. Log-binomial regression model was used to explore the associations.

Results

After adjusting for relevant covariates, we found an increased risk of ADHD symptoms in the adolescent children of mothers with anxiety [RR 2.84 (95%CI 1.18-6.83)] as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms [RR 5.60 (95%CI 3.02-10.37)]. No association was seen with maternal depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

This study suggested that adolescent offspring of mothers with anxiety as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms had an increased risk of ADHD symptoms. Early detection and management for ADHD symptoms in children of mothers with anxiety and comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms are needed.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Machine intelligence identifies soluble TNFa as a therapeutic target for spinal cord injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) produces a complex syndrome that is expressed across multiple endpoints ranging from molecular and cellular changes to functional behavioral deficits. Effective therapeutic strategies for CNS injury are therefore likely to manifest multi-factorial effects across a broad range of biological and functional outcome measures. Thus, multivariate analytic approaches are needed to capture the linkage between biological and neurobehavioral outcomes. Injury-induced neuroinflammation (NI) presents a particularly challenging therapeutic target, since NI is involved in both degeneration and repair. Here, we used big-data integration and large-scale analytics to examine a large dataset of preclinical efficacy tests combining five different blinded, fully counter-balanced treatment trials for different acute anti-inflammatory treatments for cervical spinal cord injury in rats. Multi-dimensional discovery, using topological data analysis (TDA) and principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that only one showed consistent multidimensional syndromic benefit: intrathecal application of recombinant soluble TNFα receptor 1 (sTNFR1), which showed an inverse-U dose response efficacy. Using the optimal acute dose, we showed that clinically-relevant 90 min delayed treatment profoundly affected multiple biological indices of NI in the first 48 h after injury, including reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines and gene expression of a coherent complex of acute inflammatory mediators and receptors. Further, a 90 min delayed bolus dose of sTNFR1 reduced the expression of NI markers in the chronic perilesional spinal cord, and consistently improved neurological function over 6 weeks post SCI. These results provide validation of a novel strategy for precision preclinical drug discovery that is likely to improve translation in the difficult landscape of CNS trauma, and confirm the importance of TNFα signaling as a therapeutic target.

XPG gene polymorphisms and glioma susceptibility: a two-centre case-control study

Background: Glioma, the most common tumour in children next to leukaemia, is difficult to treat, with a poor prognosis and high recurrence rate. Xeroderma pigmentosum group G (XPG) plays a key role in the nucleotide excision repair pathway, which may modulate individual susceptibility to developing cancer. We hypothesized links between XPG variants and glioma in children.Methods: We tested our hypothesis in a study comparing 171 glioma cases with 228 age and sex matched controls, determining XPG polymorphisms rs2094258 C > T, rs751402 C > T, rs2296147 T > C, rs1047768 T > C, rs873601 G > A by standard molecular genetic methods.Results: rs2094258 C > T was associated with a decreased glioma risk, but carrying the rs1047768 C or rs873601 A allele brought an increased risk. Subjects carrying 5 risk genotypes had a significantly increased glioma risk at an adjusted odds ratio of 1.97 (95% confidence Interval 1.26-3.08)(p = 0.003) when compared with those carrying 0-4 risk genotypes. Furthermore, children with 5 risk genotypes had a higher glioma risk when aged >60 months, were more likely to be male, and with subtypes of astrocytic tumours, and low-grade clinical stage, when compared to those with 0-4 risk genotypes. Preliminary functional exploration suggested that rs2094258 is linked with the expression of its surrounding genes in the expression quantitative trait locus analysis.Conclusion: Certain variants of XPG are risk factors for paediatric glioma, and so may be useful in early diagnosis.

Pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCAT) is associated with high-risk atherosclerotic plaque and subsequent acute coronary syndrome in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Background

High-risk plaque (HRP) features detected on computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) are associated with subsequent development of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCAT) is a novel CT-derived non-invasive marker of coronary inflammation. The association between PCAT, HRP and outcomes is unknown.

Purpose

To evaluate the association between high-risk plaque HRP characteristics, ACS and PCAT attenuation as a surrogate marker of coronary inflammation.

Methods

Patients with stable chest pain referred for CTCA between 2011 and 2013 with outcome data were included. Patients with HRP were propensity matched to patients without HRP. PCAT-RCA and PCAT-lesion were assessed using semi-automated software (AutoPlaque version 2.0). PCAT-RCA was measured around the proximal 10–50 mm of the right coronary artery (RCA). PCAT-lesion was measured around the HRP or lesion with highest-grade stenosis in patients without HRP.

Results

78 patients (67±10 years, 67% males) included 41 (52.6%) patients with HRP. Median PCAT-RCA was higher in HRP patients than non-HRP patients (−80.4 HU [IQR −86.1, −76.5] vs. −86.3 HU [IQR −92.2, −77.0], p=0.02). PCAT-Lesion was not significantly different between HRP and non-HRP patients (−78.7 HU [IQR −84.4, −73.4] vs. −82.8 HU [IQR −91.1, −75.4], p=0.16). More patients with HRP developed a subsequent ACS (24.4% vs. 5.4%, p=0.008). HRP patients who experienced an ACS demonstrated a higher PCAT-RCA (−76.6 HU [IQR −81.3, −72.4] vs. −82.6 HU [IQR −87.4, −78.0], p=0.018) and PCAT-lesion (−74.3 HU [IQR −77.1, −68.4] vs. −80.7 HU [IQR −84.8, −74.9], p=0.04) compared to those who did not experience an ACS.

Conclusion

PCAT attenuation is elevated in stable CAD patients with HRP features. Measures of periarterial inflammation were also more evident in HRP patients who develop ACS, indicating a potential contribution to vulnerability. The implications for integration of these measures in clinical practice require further investigation.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Characterization of MR Imaging-Visible Perivascular Spaces in the White Matter of Healthy Adolescents at 3T

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Perivascular spaces play a role in cerebral waste removal and neuroinflammation. Our aim was to provide data regarding the burden of MR imaging-visible perivascular spaces in white matter in healthy adolescents using an automated segmentation method and to establish relationships between common demographic characteristics and perivascular space burden.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred eighteen 12- to 21-year-old subjects underwent T1- and T2-weighted 3T MR imaging as part of the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence. Perivascular spaces were identified in WM on T2-weighted imaging using a local heterogeneity approach coupled with morphologic constraints, and their spatial distribution and geometric characteristics were assessed.

RESULTS

MR imaging-visible perivascular spaces were identified in all subjects (range, 16-287). Males had a significantly higher number of perivascular spaces than females: males, mean, 98.4 ± 50.5, versus females, 70.7 ± 36.1, (P < .01). Perivascular space burden was bilaterally symmetric (r > 0.4, P < .01), and perivascular spaces were more common in the frontal and parietal lobes than in the temporal and occipital lobes (P < .01). Age and pubertal status were not significantly associated with perivascular space burden.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite a wide range of burden, perivascular spaces are present in all healthy adolescents. Perivascular space burden is higher in adolescent males than in females, regardless of age and pubertal status. In this population, perivascular spaces are highly symmetric. Although widely reported as a feature of the aging brain, awareness of the presence of perivascular spaces in a cohort of healthy adolescents provides the foundation for further research regarding the role of these structural variants in health and disease.

Characterization of on-target adverse events caused by TRK inhibitor therapy

BACKGROUND

The tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) pathway controls appetite, balance, and pain sensitivity. While these functions are reflected in the on-target adverse events (AEs) observed with TRK inhibition, these AEs remain under-recognized, and pain upon drug withdrawal has not previously been reported. As TRK inhibitors are approved by multiple regulatory agencies for TRK or ROS1 fusion-positive cancers, characterizing these AEs and corresponding management strategies is crucial.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with advanced or unresectable solid tumors treated with a TRK inhibitor were retrospectively identified in a search of clinical databases. Among these patients, the frequency, severity, duration, and management outcomes of AEs including weight gain, dizziness or ataxia, and withdrawal pain were characterized.

RESULTS

Ninety-six patients with 15 unique cancer histologies treated with a TRK inhibitor were identified. Weight gain was observed in 53% [95% confidence interval (CI), 43%-62%] of patients and increased with time on TRK inhibition. Pharmacologic intervention, most commonly with glucagon-like peptide 1 analogs or metformin, appeared to result in stabilization or loss of weight. Dizziness, with or without ataxia, was observed in 41% (95% CI, 31%-51%) of patients with a median time to onset of 2 weeks (range, 3 days to 16 months). TRK inhibitor dose reduction was the most effective intervention for dizziness. Pain upon temporary or permanent TRK inhibitor discontinuation was observed in 35% (95% CI, 24%-46%) of patients; this was more common with longer TRK inhibitor use. TRK inhibitor reinitiation was the most effective intervention for withdrawal pain.

CONCLUSIONS

TRK inhibition-related AEs including weight gain, dizziness, and withdrawal pain occur in a substantial proportion of patients receiving TRK inhibitors. This safety profile is unique relative to other anticancer therapies and warrants careful monitoring. These on-target toxicities are manageable with pharmacologic intervention and dose modification.

A hexavalent Coxsackievirus B vaccine is highly immunogenic and has a strong protective capacity in mice and nonhuman primates

Coxsackievirus B (CVB) enteroviruses are common human pathogens known to cause severe diseases including myocarditis, chronic dilated cardiomyopathy, and aseptic meningitis. CVBs are also hypothesized to be a causal factor in type 1 diabetes. Vaccines against CVBs are not currently available, and here we describe the generation and preclinical testing of a novel hexavalent vaccine targeting the six known CVB serotypes. We show that the vaccine has an excellent safety profile in murine models and nonhuman primates and that it induces strong neutralizing antibody responses to the six serotypes in both species without an adjuvant. We also demonstrate that the vaccine provides immunity against acute CVB infections in mice, including CVB infections known to cause virus-induced myocarditis. In addition, it blocks CVB-induced diabetes in a genetically permissive mouse model. Our preclinical proof-of-concept studies demonstrate the successful generation of a promising hexavalent CVB vaccine with high immunogenicity capable of preventing CVB-induced diseases.