Biophysical defects of an SCN5A V1667I mutation associated with epinephrine-induced marked QT prolongation

BACKGROUND

The epinephrine infusion test (EIT) typically induces marked QT prolongation in LQT1, but not LQT3, while the efficacy of β-blocker therapy is established in LQT1, but not LQT3. We encountered an LQT3 family, with an SCN5A V1667I mutation, that exhibited epinephrine-induced marked QT prolongation.

METHODS

Wild-type (WT) or V1667I-SCN5A was transiently expressed into tsA-201 cells, and whole-cell sodium currents (I_Na ) were recorded using patch-clamp techniques. To mimic the effects of epinephrine, I_Na was recorded after the application of protein kinase A (PKA) activator, 8-CPT-cAMP (200 μM), for 10 minutes.

RESULTS

The peak density of V1667I-I_Na was significantly larger than WT-I_Na (WT: 469 ± 48 pA/pF, n = 20; V1667I: 690 ± 62 pA/pF, n = 19, P < .01). The steady-state activation (SSA) and fast inactivation rate of V1667I-I_Na were comparable to WT-I_Na . V1667I-I_Na displayed a significant depolarizing shift in steady-state inactivation (SSI) in comparison to WT-I_Na (V_1/2 -WT: -88.1 ± 0.8 mV, n = 17; V1667I: -82.5 ± 1.1 mV, n = 17, P < .01), which increases window currents. Tetrodotoxin (30 μM)-sensitive persistent V1667I-I_Na was comparable to WT-I_Na . However, the ramp pulse protocol (RPP) displayed an increased hump in V1667I-I_Na in comparison to WT-I_Na . Although 8-CPT-cAMP shifted SSA to hyperpolarizing potentials in WT-I_Na and V1667I-I_Na to the same extent, it shifted SSI to hyperpolarizing potentials much less in V1667I-I_Na than in WT-I_Na (V_1/2 -WT: -92.7 ± 1.3 mV, n = 6; V1667I: -85.3 ± 1.6 mV, n = 6, P < .01). Concordantly, the RPP displayed an increased hump in V1667I-I_Na , but not in WT-I_Na .

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated an increase of V1667I-I_Na by PKA activation, which may provide a rationale for the efficacy of β-blocker therapy in some cases of LQT3.

FRI0079 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFICULT-TO-TREAT RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Background:

Despite remarkable progress in therapy, not a few patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have not achieved treatment target. Various factors can be ascribed to difficult-to-treat RA, however, little is known about their characteristics.

Objectives:

To clarify characteristics of patients with difficult-to-treat RA in real-world.

Methods:

We reviewed all consecutive RA patients in Keio University Hospital between 2016 and 2017 and collected medical information. We defined patients in moderate disease activity and high disease activity according to disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28) at the last visit despite more than one year treatment for RA as difficult-to-treat RA and analyzed their clinical characteristics.

Results:

A total of 1693 patients with RA were enrolled in the analysis. The mean age at the last visit was 64 years old, female was 83%, and the mean disease duration was 11.9 years. Rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide were positive for 76% and 75% of the patients, respectively. The current treatment were conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in 73%, biologic agents or janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors in 57%, and glucocorticoids in 13%. Disease activity according to DAS28 was remission in 65%, low disease activity in 21%, and moderate/high disease activity in 14%, which was defined as difficult-to-treat RA. Characteristics of difficult-to-treat RA were the mean age of 70 years old, female of 89%, and the mean disease duration of 14.8 years. The current treatments were conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs alone in 40.7%, biologic agents or JAK inhibitors in 55.8%, and glucocorticoids in 29.0%. The causes of difficult-to-treat RA were unresponsiveness to several biologic agents and/or JAK inhibitors in 22.9%, comorbidities in 33.8%, and personal reasons in 39.8% (costs in 35.9%, low adherence in 4.3%, concerns about possible adverse reaction of drugs in 54.3% and high patient global assessment in 5.4%). Patient characteristics were significantly different between the causes; age at RA onset (51 vs 61 vs 51 years, p<0.001), current age (65 vs 77 vs 66 years, p<0.001), estimated glomerular filtration rate (75 vs 61 vs 73 mL/min/1.73m2, p<0.001), tender joint count (3.4 vs 1.6 vs 2.1, p=0.005), swollen joint count (3.1 vs 1.6 vs 2.9, p=0.003), evaluator global assessment (21 vs 14 vs 16 mm, p=0.03), health assessment questionnaire-disability index (1.3 vs 1.3 vs 0.9, p=0.005), a history of serious infection (28 vs 41 vs 13%, p<0.001) and rheumatic disease comorbidity index (1.2 vs 2.2 vs 0.9, p<0.001).

Conclusion:

There are still 14% of patients with RA were difficult-to-treat in real world in spite of intensive treatment. Their characteristics are distinct by the cause of difficulty to treat, suggesting the approach to difficult-to-treat RA should be personalized.

References:

[1]Roodenrijs NMT, de Hair MJH, van der Goes MC et al. Characteristics of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: results of an international survey. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018;77(12):1705-1709.

[2]de Hair MJH, Jacobs JWG, Schoneveld JLM, van Laar JM. Difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: an area of unmet clinical need. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2017 Oct 4. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kex349.

[3]England BR, Sayles H, Mikuls TR, Johnson DS, Michaud K. Validation of the rheumatic disease comorbidity index. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken)2015;67(6):865–72.

Disclosure of Interests:

Satoshi Takanashi: None declared, Yuko Kaneko Speakers bureau: Dr. Kaneko reports personal fees from AbbVie, personal fees from Astellas, personal fees from Ayumi, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Chugai, personal fees from Eisai, personal fees from Eli Lilly, personal fees from Hisamitsu, personal fees from Jansen, personal fees from Kissei, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Tanabe-Mitsubishi, personal fees from UCB, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Eisai Co., Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, UCB Pharma, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Consultant of: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eli Lilly Japan KK, Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Eisai Co., Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd.

OP0306 CD11C-SPECIFIC ABLATION OF SHP1 INDUCES AUTOIMMUNE SIALADENITIS SIMILAR TO SJÖGREN’S SYNDROME

Background:

Dendritic cells (DCs) play important roles in inducing immune response as well as maintaining immune tolerance. Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-1 (Shp1) is a negative regulator of signaling in hematopoietic cells and is expressed in a variety of immune cells including DCs. Shp1 homozygous mutant mice (motheaten mice) develop multiple immunological abnormalities and they die around four weeks after birth because of severe pneumonitis. Motheaten mice produce large amounts of autoantibodies, and besides, B-1a cells, a distinct B cell subset, which are an important source of autoantibodies increase in these mice. The functional abnormality of DCs in motheaten mice has not been characterized, but DCs and macrophages increase in various organs of motheaten mice.

To analyze the function of Shp1 in DCs, we generated Shp1 conditional knockout mice (Shp1 CKO) in whichShp1gene is specifically depleted in CD11c+cells. We found that aged shp1 CKO developed autoimmune glomerulonephritis. We also found that they developed severe tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) at the age of 40 weeks, which is characterized by the infiltration of CD11c+and F4/80+cells. CD4+T cells from Shp1 CKO produce much more amount of IFNγ. Collectively, Shp1 in DCs acts as a key regulatory molecule to protect against autoimmunity.

Objectives:

We analyzed salivary glands of CKO to confirm whether they have autoimmune sialadenitis because TIN is known to be the most common renal manifestations of Sjögren’s syndrome in human.

Methods:

Shp1 CKO are generated by crossing a mouse line carrying floxedShp1allele to mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the CD11c promoter. Sex- and age-matchedPtpn6fl/fllittermates withoutCregene were studied as controls. We analyzed secretory function of the salivary glands in response to pilocarpine stimulation in Shp1 CKO at the age of 40 weeks or older. We then performed histological examination of salivary glands (submandibular glands and sublingual glands) with light-microscopy and immunohistochemical staining. The mononuclear cells prepared from the salivary glands were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM). We also quantified anti-SSA/Ro60 antibodies and anti-SSB/LA antibodies by ELISA.

Results:

Shp1 CKO secreted less saliva flow compared to control mice by pilocarpine stimulation. Histological study showed Shp1 CKO exhibited massive infiltration of inflammatory cells in salivary glands associated with periductal foci and periductal fibrosis. Most of infiltrated cells were stained by anti- CD4 or B220 mAbs. FCM revealed that B cells increased in the salivary glands of Shp1 CKO. In addition, B-1a cells also increased in the salivary glands of the mice. The levels of anti-SSA/Ro60 antibodies and anti-SSB/LA antibodies were increased in Shp1 CKO.

Conclusion:

CD11c-specific ablation of Shp1 induces the ectopic generation of lymphoid structure in salivary glands and impairment of salivary secretion. Autoantibody profile in Shp1 CKO resembled that in human Sjögren’s syndrome. Our findings suggest that aged Shp1 CKO have the potential to become a new mouse model for the analysis of Sjögren’s syndrome.

References:

[1]Green C. M. et al. J Heredity. 1975; 250-258.

[2]Kaneko T. et al. J Immunology. 2012; 5397-540.

[3]Watanabe M. et al. Biochem Biophys Rep. in press.

Disclosure of Interests:

Masato Kinoshita: None declared, Yoriaki Kaneko Grant/research support from: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc.b, Speakers bureau: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc., Mitsuharu Watanabe: None declared, Yoichi Imai: None declared, Shreya Shrestha: None declared, Junya Suwa: None declared, Yuko Ohishi: None declared, Hiroko Hamatani: None declared, Masao Nakasatomi: None declared, Toru Sakairi: None declared, Hidekazu Ikeuchi Speakers bureau: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc., Yoshihisa Nojima: None declared, Keiju Hiromura Grant/research support from: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc., Speakers bureau: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc.

AB1103 AUTOMATIC FINGER JOINT BONE EROSION SCORE PREDICTION CONSIDERING 2-TIME-POINT X-RAYS OF PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BY DEEP LEARNING

Background:

Medical image analysis using deep learning (DL) has been attracting attention. In previous research, we proposed a DL method for detection of joint region and evaluation for bone destruction at a single point in time in hand X-rays of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [1-2]. However, in the score of van der Heijde-modified total Sharp scores (mTSS) in X-rays, it is difficult to apply the method as it is. In mTSS, score difference between 2-time points is important, and there is a problem that the score at each time varies depending on the doctor who evaluates.

Objectives:

We aimed at developing an mTSS scoring method considering 2-time-point difference with a DL method.

Methods:

A total of 104 X-ray image sets of both hands at two time points with an interval of ≥1 year were randomly obtained from patients with RA who had visited our clinic in 2015. Well-trained doctors determined the erosion scores of MP and PIP/IP joints of each hand in X-rays according to mTSS. These evaluations of hand joints were performed using our developed annotation software tool. In the learning phase, joint images were randomly divided into five sets for 5-fold cross-validation. We utilized a convolutional neural network model, such as SSD [3], for detecting joint regions and classifying the scores (Fig 1).

Figure1.

The models for classification were designed in consideration of the difference in erosion scores of each patient between the 2-time points of X-rays. The loss function of the DL model was defined bellow;

Here, the coefficient γ is designed to reduce the error for another set of scores with equal differences. The first term of the loss function works to optimize the score at each time point, and the second term works to optimize the score difference at both time points. Thus, our method can be trained without being affected by characteristic training data.

Results:

The number of joints with differences in erosion score between the former and latter time points was 1 (-2 points), 9 (-1), 2015 (0), 32 (+1), 17 (+2), and 6 (+3). There were no joints with score changes of -5, -4, -3, +4, and +5 points.

As a performance of predicting the difference in erosion score between the 2-time points of each patient’s X-ray, our models presented a mean error of 0.412 per each joint in one set for 5-cross validation as compared with physicians’ evaluation (Fig 2).

Figure 2.

Conclusion:

Our DL-based models to predict hand joint erosion scores in X-rays were developed with relatively small samples. This suggests that the predictive performance may increase by collecting more training dataset. Next, we will apply our method to the prediction of joint space narrowing score.

References:

[1]Izumi K, Hashimoto M, Suzuki K, et al. Detecting Hand Joint Ankylosis in Radiographic Images Using Deep Learning: A Step in Developing Automatic Radiographic Scoring System for Bone Destruction.Arthritis Rheumatol2018;70 (suppl 10).

[2]Izumi K, Suzuki K, Hashimoto M, et al. SAT0543 AUTOMATIC DETECTION OF HAND JOINT REGION, ANKYLOSIS AND SUBLUXATION IN RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGES USING DEEP LEARNING: DEVELOPMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-BASED RADIOGRAPHIC EVALUATION SYSTEM FOR BONE DESTRUCTION.Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases2019;78 (suppl 2), pp. 1364-1364.

[3]Liu W, Anguelov D, Szgedy C, et al. SSD: single shot multibox detector.European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV) 2016.

Acknowledgments:

Izumi and Suzuki are contributed equally.

Disclosure of Interests:

Keisuke Izumi Grant/research support from: Asahi Kasei Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Speakers bureau: Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp, Astellas Pharma Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Kanata Suzuki Employee of: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., Masahiro Hashimoto: None declared, Toshio Endoh Employee of: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., Kentaro Doi Employee of: Fujitsu Ltd., Yuki Iwai Employee of: Fujitsu Ltd., Yuko Kaneko Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Eisai Pharmaceutical, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Bristol Myers Squibb, Astellas Pharma Inc., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Pfizer Japan Inc., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd. and UCB Japan Co. Ltd., Masahiro Jinzaki: None declared, Shigeru Ko Grant/research support from: Fujitsu Ltd., Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Astellas Pharma Inc, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., AbbVie GK, Asahikasei Pharma Corp., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Pfizer Japan Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corporation, Nipponkayaku Co. Ltd., Novartis Pharma K.K., Teijin, Consultant of: Astra Zeneca K.K., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Novartis Pharma K.K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Abbivie GK, Nipponkayaku Co.Ltd, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Astellas Pharma Inc., Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline K.K., UCB Japan Co. Ltd., Speakers bureau: Astellas Pharma Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Pfizer Japan Inc., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Teijin Pharma Ltd., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp., Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., SymBio Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Celltrion Inc., Nipponkayaku Co. Ltd., and UCB Japan

SAT0113 DISCORDANCE OF CLINICAL REMISSION AND IMAGING REMISSION BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS WITH BIOLOGIC AGENTS

Background:

Residual synovitis can be detected by sensitive modalities such as ultrasonography in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in clinical remission. On the other hand, a previous study has shown that ultrasound-guided treatment provides modest benefit compared to a conventional strategy aiming clinical remission in early patients. It is still unclear how discordant clinical remission is from imaging remission by ultrasonography in patients treated with biologic agents

Objectives:

To clarify the discordance between clinical remission and imaging remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biologic agents.

Methods:

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were treated with biologic agents and in clinical remission defined as disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28)<2.6 were enrolled. All patients were performed comprehensive ultrasound examination of 44 joints as well as physical examinations. Ultrasound images of gray scale (GS) and power doppler (PD) were evaluated with a semi-quantitative score of 0-3. Imaging remission with ultrasound was defined as no PD signal detected in any joints. Clinical information was collected from their medical charts.

Results:

A total of 41 patients were enrolled with 22 patients treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors and 19 with interleukin (IL)-6 inhibitors. The mean age, female ratio, the mean disease duration, and the mean duration of clinical remission were 60 years old, 87%, 5.1 years and 11.5 years. The imaging remission by ultrasonography was observed only in 51.2 %. When patients were divided according to biologic agents, baseline characteristics including median age, disease duration and clinically remission duration were comparable between both groups, while the rates of seropositivity and the stage of radiological progression was higher in IL-6 group (seropositivity, p=0.04; radiological progression, p=0.02). The mean DAS28 was 1.93 in the TNFα group and 1.02 in the IL-6 group. The discordance of clinical remission and imaging remission was observed in 28.6% of the TNFα group and 71.4% of the IL-6 group (p=0.03). The residual synovitis scores of GS and PD in 44 joints were significantly lower in the TNFα than the IL-6 group (GS, 1.1±1.8 vs 4.7 ± 4.6, p<0.01; PD, 0.6 ± 1.3 vs 3.3 ± 3.5, p<0.01, respectively). A receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated an optimal score of DAS28 that discriminated imaging remission as 1.89 in the TNFα group and 1.25 in the IL-6 group.

Conclusion:

Our results showed that there was substantial discordance between clinical remission and imaging remission, especially in the patients treated with IL-6 inhibitors. In patients treated with biologic agents, clinical remission should be assessed more stringently than the usual 2.6, and ulltrasound-guided management may be useful.

References:

[1]Smolen JS, et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2020;0:1–15.

[2]Iwamoto T, et al. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2014;66(10):1576-81

[3]Tanaka Y. Ann Rheum Dis 2010;69:1286 –91

[4]Kaneko Y, et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2018;77:1268–1275

[5]Brown AK, et al. Arthritis Rheum 2008;58: 2958 – 67.

Acknowledgments:

We would like to thank Harumi Kondo for their assistance.

Disclosure of Interests:

Yasushi Kondo: None declared, Yuko Kaneko Speakers bureau: Dr. Kaneko reports personal fees from AbbVie, personal fees from Astellas, personal fees from Ayumi, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Chugai, personal fees from Eisai, personal fees from Eli Lilly, personal fees from Hisamitsu, personal fees from Jansen, personal fees from Kissei, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Tanabe-Mitsubishi, personal fees from UCB, Shuntaro Saito: None declared, Yuichiro Ohta: None declared, Komei Sakata: None declared, Yumiko Inoue: None declared, Chihiro Takahashi: None declared, Kazuoto Hiramoto: None declared, Jun Inamo: None declared, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Eisai Co., Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, UCB Pharma, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Consultant of: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eli Lilly Japan KK, Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Eisai Co., Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd.

FRI0505 TOCILIZUMAB DISCONTINUATION AFTER REMISSION ACHIEVEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

Background:

The efficacy of tocilizumab, an interleukin (IL)-6 receptor inhibitor, has been proved in patients with adult Still’s disease on suppressing systemic inflammation and decreasing glucocorticoid dose. However, whether tocilizumab can be discontinued after remission achievement is unclear.

Objectives:

To clarify the possibility of tocilizumab discontinuation in patients with adult Still’s disease who achieved remission with tocilizumab.

Methods:

Consecutive patients with adult Still’s disease diagnosed according to the Yamaguchi’s criteria in our hospital from April 2012 until September 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who were in good control with tocilizumab were included in the analysis, and their clinical courses were collected from their medical charts. Patients were divided according to the presence of recurrence after tocilizumab discontinuation and compared.

Results:

Among 42 patients with adult Still’s disease who had a history of intravenous tocilizumab of 8mg/kg use, 13 patients discontinued tocilizumab following a good disease control. During the mean observation period of 26.4 months, six patients (46%) remained in remission while seven patients (54%) developed recurrence after tocilizumab discontinuation. The sex and the mean observation period were not different between the patients with recurrence and those without (71% vs 50%, p=0.43; 27.3 months vs 25.4 months, p=0.93, respectively), but the age at tocilizumab discontinuation tended to be higher in the recurrence group than the non-recurrence group (64.0 years vs 46.5 years, p=0.08). The disease activity including swollen joint counts and laboratory data at tocilizumab discontinuation were comparable between the two groups (serum ferritin levels, 88 ng/mL vs 122 ng/mL, p=0.67). While the duration of tocilizumab use was not different between the two groups (29.4 months vs 39.5 months, p=0.40), the mean interval of tocilizumab infusion at tocilizumab discontinuation in the recurrence group was 3.6 weeks, shorter than the 6.7 weeks in the non-recurrence group (p=0.03). The median dose of prednisolone at tocilizumab discontinuation was 5.0 mg/day in the recurrence group and 0.0 mg/day in the non-recurrence group (p=0.06). In the recurrence group, the duration from the last tocilizumab administration to recurrence was 7.8 months, and the median dose of prednisolone at recurrence was 5.0 mg/day.

Conclusion:

Patients with adult Still’s disease remaining in remission with a longer interval of tocilizumab administration and a lower dose of prednisolone was likely to succeed in withdrawal of tocilizumab.

Disclosure of Interests:

Hiroya Tamai: None declared, Yuko Kaneko Speakers bureau: Dr. Kaneko reports personal fees from AbbVie, personal fees from Astellas, personal fees from Ayumi, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Chugai, personal fees from Eisai, personal fees from Eli Lilly, personal fees from Hisamitsu, personal fees from Jansen, personal fees from Kissei, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Tanabe-Mitsubishi, personal fees from UCB, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Eisai Co., Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, UCB Pharma, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Consultant of: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eli Lilly Japan KK, Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Eisai Co., Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd.

SAT0177 MULTITARGET THERAPY WITH TACROLIMUS AND MYCOPHENOLATE MOFETIL FOR TREATMENT OF LUPUS NEPHRITIS PRESENTED WITH RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS

Background:

Although, most lupus nephritis patients present with chronic glomerulonephritis or nephrotic syndrome, some patients develop rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN), which is a clinical syndrome characterized by rapid loss of renal function over a short period of time (days to months). Multitarget therapy using tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been reported to be effective as induction therapy of Class III to Class V lupus nephritis1. However, its efficacy on lupus nephritis presented with RPGN has not been well reported.

Objectives:

We aimed to examine the efficacy of multitarget therapy on lupus nephritis presented with RPGN.

Methods:

We retrospectively analyzed patients with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis, who clinically showed RPGN, and were treated by multitarget therapy with tacrolimus and MMF in our department. Data were expressed as mean±SD.

Results:

Five lupus nephritis patients (3 female) with RPGN were treated by multitarget therapy as induction therapy. Mean age was 36.6±13.5 years old. Renal biopsy at treatment revealed Class IV(A) in 2, Class IV(A+C) in 1 and Class IV(A)+V in 2. The percentage of glomerular crescents was 23.1±25.4%. eGFR and proteinuria at the initiation of treatment were 46.8±11.5 mL/min/1.73m2and 7.7±3.4 g/gCr, respectively. Patients were initially treated with methylprednisolone pulse therapy followed by 0.8-1.0 mg/kg of prednisolone (PSL), 2-3 mg/day of tacrolimus and 1000 mg/day of MMF. At 6 months, eGFR and proteinuria improved to 72.9±11.3 mL/min/1.73m2and 0.19±0.13 g/gCr, respectively. At 12 months, eGFR and proteinuria further improved to 76.8±7.8 mL/min/1.73m2and 0.10±0.07 g/gCr, respectively and the dose of PSL was reduced to 6.6±1.5 mg/day. Three patients became positive for cytomegalovirus antigenemia and were successfully treated with antiviral therapy.

Conclusion:

Multitarget therapy is effective in lupus nephritis even in patients presented with RPGN.

References:

[1]Liu Z, Zhang H, Liu Z,et al. Multitarget therapy for induction treatment of lupus nephritis: a randomized trial.Ann Int Med2015; 162: 18-26.

Disclosure of Interests:

Yoichi Imai: None declared, Hidekazu Ikeuchi Speakers bureau: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc., Junya Suwa: None declared, Yuko Ohishi: None declared, Mitsuharu Watanabe: None declared, Masao Nakasatomi: None declared, Hiroko Hamatani: None declared, Toru Sakairi: None declared, Yoriaki Kaneko Grant/research support from: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc. b, Speakers bureau: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc., Keiju Hiromura Grant/research support from: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc., Speakers bureau: CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.

Astellas Pharma Inc.

SAT0093 CDAI AND DAS28 IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

Background:

The primary therapeutic target for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is remission, assessed using validated composited measures. Currently, index-based remission frequently used in clinical practice are disease activity (CDAI) and disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28). Generally, CDAI is believed more stringent than DAS28 in assessing clinical remission, however, this confirmation was mainly derived from trial results.

Objectives:

To investigate the real-world performance of CDAI and DAS28 -erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in RA.

Methods:

We reviewed consecutive RA patients who are receiving any disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARDs) in Keio University Hospital between 2016 and 2017 and collected medical information. We focused on the patients in CDAI remission and/or DAS28-ESR remission at the time of last visit, and analyzed their clinical characteristics.

Results:

A total of 1585 patients with RA were reviewed. Their characteristics were mean age of 64 years old, female of 84% and mean disease duration of 12.0 years. Current treatments were conventional synthetic (cs) DMARDs alone, TNF inhibitors (TNFi), IL-6 receptor inhibitors (IL-6i), CTLA-4Ig, and JAK inhibitors (JAKi) in 39.2%, 29.0%, 22.8%, 7.1%, and 1.8% patients, respectively. Of them, 62.7% were in CDAI remission and 64% were in DAS28-ESR remission. Among patients in CDAI remission, the proportion of DAS28-ESR non-remission was 19.4% in those treated with csDMARDs, 18.2% treated with TNFi, 4.2% treated with IL-6i, 27.6% treated with CTLA-4Ig, and 33.3% treated with JAKi (Figure). In contrast, among patients in DAS28 remission, the proportion of CDAI non-remission was 11.7% in those treated with csDMARDs, 15.4% treated with TNFi, 29.5% treated with IL-6i, 16.0% treated with CTLA-4Ig, and 14.3% treated with JAKi. Venn diagrams of CDAI remission and DAS28-ESR remission demonstrated that more patients satisfied the CDAI remission criteria without satisfying the DAS28-ESR remission criteria than vice versa, except for those treated with IL-6i (Figure). Patients in CDAI remission and DAS28-ESR non-remission had higher C-reactive protein, ESR and comorbidity rates (0.37 vs 0.07 mg/dL, p<0.001; 45.7 vs 8.0 mm/h, p<0.001; 26.4 vs 18.0%, p=0.07, respectively), and those in CDAI non-remission and DAS28-ESR remission had worse patient-reported outcomes including patient global assessment and health assessment questionnaire-disability index (31.1 vs 9.5 mm, p<0.001; 0.82 vs 0.41, p<0.001, respectively). Patients in both CDAI and DAS28-ESR remission were apparently in better disease activity than those who met either criteria.

Conclusion:

Assessing patients with two composite measures simultaneously is important to evaluate patients’ condition from view points of RA itself and comorbidities and adjust treatment appropriately.

References:

[1] Smolen JS et al. T2T Expert Committee. Treating rheumatoid arthritis to target: recommendations of an international task force. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010;69(4):631-7.

Disclosure of Interests:

Satoshi Takanashi: None declared, Yuko Kaneko Speakers bureau: Dr. Kaneko reports personal fees from AbbVie, personal fees from Astellas, personal fees from Ayumi, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Chugai, personal fees from Eisai, personal fees from Eli Lilly, personal fees from Hisamitsu, personal fees from Jansen, personal fees from Kissei, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Tanabe-Mitsubishi, personal fees from UCB, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Eisai Co., Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, UCB Pharma, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Consultant of: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eli Lilly Japan KK, Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Eisai Co., Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd.

Simple differential entrainment screens ablation strategy for slow-fast atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia

BACKGROUND

Ablation of slow-fast atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (S/F-AVNRT) is occasionally refractory. We hypothesized that the site of ablation for curing S/F-AVNRT can be screened by simple differential atrial entrainment pacing (EP) from the high right atrium (HRA) and proximal coronary sinus (prox-CS).

METHODS

We enrolled 43 patients with S/F-AVNRT who underwent successful differential atrial EP followed by successful ablation of slow pathway (SP) using step-wise approach, and compared the atrio-His (A-H) interval at the recording of His bundle immediately after EP from the HRA [A-H(HRA)], with the interval between atrial deflection at the prox-CS and His bundle electrogram after EP at an identical cycle length from the prox-CS [A-H (prox-CS)].

RESULTS

A typical A-H(CS) shorter than A-H(HRA), consistent with typical SP conduction, was observed in 39 patients (91%), and an atypical A-H(HRA) shorter than A-H(CS) was observed in 4 patients (9%). Successful ablation was obtained at the posteroseptum/midseptum in 32/7 patients with typical responses but only at the midseptum in all 4 patients with atypical responses (P = .0027). The atypical responses predicted a necessity for ablation at the midseptum, with positive and negative predictive values of 100% and 82%, respectively. The mechanism of an atypical response remains unclear but may involve an anatomical variation of Koch's triangle and/or the participation of a variant of the SP, including the superior SP, over which retrograde conduction was observed more frequently in patients with atypical responses (P = .0013).

CONCLUSIONS

Differential atrial EP predicts the ablation site for successfully curing S/F-AVNRT.

Atypical Slow-Slow Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia with Use of a Superior Slow Pathway

We report a case of atypical slow-slow atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) utilizing a superior slow pathway as a retrograde limb. The standard electrophysiological criteria confirm the diagnosis of this AVNRT by successfully excluding a diagnosis of atrial tachycardia and atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia. The earliest atrial activation during tachycardia was found at the interatrial septum 17.5 mm superior to the site identified during retrograde conduction with the fast pathway. The tachycardia was not inducible after ablation at the right posterior septum, consistent with successful ablation of the typical slow pathway.

Disseminated Pneumocystosis in a Toy Poodle

A 1-year and 7-months-old neutered male toy poodle was presented with persistent respiratory distress, gradual weight loss and melaena. Thoracic radiography showed an unstructured interstitial lung pattern. Histopathological examination of tissues collected at necropsy examination revealed disseminated infection by Pneumocystis carinii. The organisms were detected in the lungs, lymph nodes, liver, heart, kidneys, spleen, gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. In the lungs, the organisms were present in the alveolar space and interstitial tissue, and calcified foci containing P. carinii were observed. The presence of the organism in non-thoracic lymph nodes provided evidence of lymphogenous spread. A definitive diagnosis of disseminated pneumocystosis was achieved through the use of Grocott methenamine silver staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction for P. carinii. Depletion of cells expressing immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG was confirmed by IHC of lymphoid tissue, suggesting possible underlying immunodeficiency.

P585Intra left ventricular hemodynamics assessed using 4D flow MRI in the patient with left ventricular thrombus

Background

Early detection of left ventricular mural thrombus (LVT) in patients with reduced ejection fraction (EF) is crucial in prevention of arterial embolism. 3D-cine phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow MRI) can visualize the intra-LV vortex flow in diastole and quantify the maximum flow velocity (Vmax) at the apex. it remains, however, unknown whether 4D flow MRI is useful for detecting LVT.

Purpose

The purpose of our study is to examine the intra-LV vortex formation and flow velocity in patients with severe LV dysfunction using 4D Flow MRI, and to compare differences in intra-LV flow dynamics between patients with and without LVT. We also examined the diagnostic accuracy to detect LVT by 4D flow MRI.

Methods

Twenty-nine patients with impaired LV function (LVEF 25.8±7.4%, 62.5±12.3 years old, 24 males, 11 with ischemic cardiomyopathy, 9 with LVT) underwent 4D flow MRI from January 2012 to August 2018 in our institution. Intra-LV vortex size was evaluated as vortex/LV area ratio by streamline imaging (Figure 1). The diagnostic accuracy to predict LVT by vortex size and Vmax at the apex was determined by ROC analysis.

Results

The vortex was smaller (vortex/LV area ratio; 30.6±7.0% vs. 45.1±9.0%, p<0.05) and Vmax at the apex was lower (0.20±0.04 m/s vs. 0.28±0.09 m/s, p=0.013) in patients with LVT compared to those without LVT. The AUC was 0.789 for Vmax (cut-off value=0.226 m/s, sensitivity=0.889, specificity=0.650) and was 0.900 for vortex/LV area ratio (cut-off value=34.7%, sensitivity=0.889, specificity=0.850).

Figure 1

Conclusion

The smaller size of intra-LV vortex and the lower flow velocity at the LV apex may have association with LVT formation in patients with reduced EF. 4D flow MRI might be useful to predict LVT formation. Large scale longitudinal study is warranted to evaluate the incidence of LVT in the patients with lower flow velocity.

Acknowledgement/Funding

None

Atypical Fast-Slow Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia Using a Slow Pathway Extending to the Superoanterior Right Atrium

We report a case of atypical fast-slow atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) using a slow pathway variant extending to the superoanterior right atrium. The AVNRT diagnosis was confirmed by using standard electrophysiological criteria that exclude a diagnosis of atrial tachycardia and atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia. The earliest atrial activation during tachycardia was found in the superoanterior right atrium adjacent to the tricuspid annulus, where the first delivery of radiofrequency energy terminated and eliminated the inducibility of the tachycardia.

Enhanced closed-state inactivation of mutant cardiac sodium channels (SCN5A N1541D and R1632C) through different mechanisms

BACKGROUND

SCN5A variants can be associated with overlapping phenotypes such as Brugada syndrome (BrS), sinus node dysfunction and supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Our genetic screening of SCN5A in 65 consecutive BrS probands revealed two patients with overlapping phenotypes: one carried an SCN5A R1632C (in domain IV-segment 4), which we have previously reported, the other carried a novel SCN5A N1541D (in domain IV-segment 1).

OBJECTIVE

We sought to reveal whether or not these variants are associated with the same biophysical defects.

METHODS

Wild-type (WT) or mutant SCN5A was expressed in tsA201-cells, and whole-cell sodium currents (hNa_v1.5/I_Na) were recorded using patch-clamp techniques.

RESULTS

The N1541D-I_Na density, when assessed from a holding potential of -150 mV, was not different from WT-I_Na as with R1632C-I_Na, indicating that SCN5A N1541D did not cause trafficking defects. The steady-state inactivation curve of N1541D-I_Na was markedly shifted to hyperpolarizing potentials in comparison to WT-I_Na (V_1/2-WT: -82.3 ± 0.9 mV, n = 15; N1541D: -108.8 ± 1.6 mV, n = 26, P < .01) as with R1632C-I_Na. Closed-state inactivation (CSI) was evaluated using prepulses of -90 mV for 1460 ms. Residual N1541D-I_Na and R1632C-I_Na were markedly reduced in comparison to WT-I_Na (WT: 63.8 ± 4.6%, n = 18; N1541D: 15.1 ± 2.3%, n = 19, P < .01 vs WT; R1632C: 5.3 ± 0.5%, n = 15, P < .01 vs WT). Entry into CSI of N1541D-I_Na was markedly accelerated, and that of R1632C-I_Na was weakly accelerated in comparison to WT-I_Na (tau-WT: 65.8 ± 7.4 ms, n = 18; N1541D: 13.7 ± 1.1 ms, n = 19, P < .01 vs WT; R1632C: 39.5 ± 2.9 ms, n = 15, P < .01 vs WT and N1541D). Although N1541D-I_Na recovered from closed-state fast inactivation at the same rate as WT-I_Na, R1632C-I_Na recovered very slowly (tau-WT: 1.90 ± 0.16 ms, n = 10; N1541D: 1.72 ± 0.12 ms, n = 10, P = .41 vs WT; R1632C: 53.0 ± 2.5 ms, n = 14, P < .01 vs WT and N1541D).

CONCLUSIONS

Both N1541D-I_Na and R1632C-I_Na exhibited marked enhancement of CSI, but through different mechanisms. The data provided a novel understanding of the mechanisms of CSI of I_Na. Clinically, the enhanced CSI of N1541D-I_Na leads to a severe loss-of-function of I_Na at voltages near the physiological resting membrane potential (~-90 mV) of cardiac myocytes; this can be attributable to the patient's phenotypic manifestations.

Magnetization-polarization cross-control near room temperature in hexaferrite single crystals

Mutual control of the electricity and magnetism in terms of magnetic (H) and electric (E) fields, the magnetoelectric (ME) effect, offers versatile low power consumption alternatives to current data storage, logic gate, and spintronic devices. Despite its importance, E-field control over magnetization (M) with significant magnitude was observed only at low temperatures. Here we have successfully stabilized a simultaneously ferrimagnetic and ferroelectric phase in a Y-type hexaferrite single crystal up to 450 K, and demonstrated the reversal of large non-volatile M by E field close to room temperature. Manipulation of the magnetic domains by E field is directly visualized at room temperature by using magnetic force microscopy. The present achievement provides an important step towards the application of ME multiferroics.

Mutual control of the electric polarization and magnetization promises for low power consumption spintronic devices but remains challenging. Here the authors show reversal of non-volatile magnetization by electric field as well as the polarization switching by magnetic field in a single-component material, close to room temperature.

Atypical Fast-Slow Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia Utilizing a Slow Pathway Extending to the Inferolateral Right Atrium

Background: The existence of atypical fast-slow (F/S) atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardias (NRT) using slow pathway (SP) variants connected to the right atrial (RA) inferolateral (inf) free wall (FW) along the tricuspid annulus (TA), has been neither confirmed nor precisely characterized.

Methods and Results: We studied 7 patients (mean age, 48±16 years; 5 men) with F/S-AVNRT with long RP intervals and an earliest atrial activation at the RA inf-FW along the TA (inf-F/S-AVNRT). AV reentrant tachycardia was excluded on observation of the transition zone criteria in all 7 patients. Atrial tachycardia was excluded on the observation of a V-A-V activation sequence after the induction or entrainment of the tachycardia from the right ventricle in all. During the tachycardia, low-frequency, fractionated potentials (LP) preceding the local atrial electrogram were recorded near the site of the earliest atrial activation in 6 patients. Observations of conduction delay and block of the LP during ventricular entrainment or ablation of the tachycardia indicated that LP reflect retrograde activation via the inf-SP. Retrograde SP conduction was interrupted at the site of earliest atrial activation in 3 patients, and in the right posterior septum in 4 patients.

Conclusions: inf-F/S-AVNRT are distinct supraventricular tachycardia incorporating an SP variant connected to the RA inf-FW along the TA in the retrograde direction, which were eliminated by ablation.

Spectral dynamics of shift current in ferroelectric semiconductor SbSI

Photoexcitation in solids brings about transitions of electrons/holes between different electronic bands. If the solid lacks an inversion symmetry, these electronic transitions support spontaneous photocurrent due to the geometric phase of the constituting electronic bands: the Berry connection. This photocurrent, termed shift current, is expected to emerge on the timescale of primary photoexcitation process. We observe ultrafast evolution of the shift current in a prototypical ferroelectric semiconductor antimony sulfur iodide (SbSI) by detecting emitted terahertz electromagnetic waves. By sweeping the excitation photon energy across the bandgap, ultrafast electron dynamics as a source of terahertz emission abruptly changes its nature, reflecting a contribution of Berry connection on interband optical transition. The shift excitation carries a net charge flow and is followed by a swing over of the electron cloud on a subpicosecond timescale. Understanding these substantive characters of the shift current with the help of first-principles calculation will pave the way for its application to ultrafast sensors and solar cells.

Identification of a novel exon3 deletion of RYR2 in a family with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia

BACKGROUND

RYR2, encoding cardiac ryanodine receptor, is the major responsible gene for catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Meanwhile, KCNJ2, encoding inward-rectifier potassium channel (I_K1 ), can be the responsible gene for atypical CPVT. We recently encountered a family with CPVT and sought to identify a responsible gene variant.

METHODS

A targeted panel sequencing (TPS) was employed in the proband. Copy number variation (CNV) in RYR2 was identified by focusing on read numbers in the TPS and long-range PCR. Cascade screening was conducted by a Sanger method and long-range PCR. KCNJ2 wild-type (WT) or an identified variant was expressed in COS-1 cells, and whole-cell currents (I_K1 ) were recorded using patch-clamp techniques.

RESULTS

A 40-year-old female experienced cardiopulmonary arrest while cycling. Her ECG showed sinus bradycardia with prominent U-waves (≥0.2 mV). She had left ventricular hypertrabeculation at apex. Exercise induced frequent polymorphic ventricular arrhythmias. Her sister died suddenly at age 35 while bouldering. Her father and paternal aunt, with prominent U-waves, received permanent pacemaker due to sinus node dysfunction. The initial TPS and cascade screening identified a KCNJ2 E118D variant in all three symptomatic patients. However, after focusing on read numbers, we identified a novel exon3 deletion of RYR2 (RYR2-exon3 deletion) in all of them. Functional analysis revealed that KCNJ2 E118D generated I_K1 indistinguishable from KCNJ2 WT, even in the presence of catecholaminergic stimulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Focusing on the read numbers in the TPS enabled us to identify a novel CNV, RYR2-exon3 deletion, which was associated with phenotypic features of this family.

Hypertrophic pachymeningitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis: a case series of 15 patients

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and treatment course of hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HPM) in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV).

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed 15 patients (11 men and four women). HPM was diagnosed based on thickening and enhancing of the brain and/or spinal dura mater on gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1 sequence.

RESULTS

The median age at HPM onset was 60 years. Headache and cranial nerve impairment were observed in 14 and 10 patients, respectively. Otitis media and/or mastoiditis were found as complications of AAV in 11 patients. Fourteen patients were classified as having granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Single-positive myeloperoxidase-ANCA, single-positive proteinase 3-ANCA, and double-positive ANCA were identified in seven patients, five patients, and one patient, respectively. With MRI, thickening of the dura mater in the cranial fossa and tentorium cerebelli was found in 10 and eight patients, respectively. For remission induction, all patients were treated with corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants were added in 10 patients. Dura mater thickening partially improved in all patients, and cranial neuropathy completely remitted in eight patients. In a median follow-up of 43 months, four patients had HPM relapse and underwent reinduction therapy. All six patients treated with cyclophosphamide at initial therapy did not relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

HPM was mostly associated with patients with GPA with otitis media and/or mastoiditis having either type of ANCA serology. Treatment with corticosteroids with or without immunosuppressants was effective. However, HPM relapse occasionally occurred, especially when cyclophosphamide was not used in initial treatment.