Phase 3 Trial of Sotatercept for Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a progressive disease involving proliferative remodeling of the pulmonary vessels. Despite therapeutic advances, the disease-associated morbidity and mortality remain high. Sotatercept is a fusion protein that traps activins and growth differentiation factors involved in pulmonary arterial hypertension. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, phase 3 trial in which adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (World Health Organization [WHO] functional class II or III) who were receiving stable background therapy were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive subcutaneous sotatercept (starting dose, 0.3 mg per kilogram of body weight; target dose, 0.7 mg per kilogram) or placebo every 3 weeks. The primary end point was the change from baseline at week 24 in the 6-minute walk distance. Nine secondary end points, tested hierarchically in the following order, were multicomponent improvement, change in pulmonary vascular resistance, change in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level, improvement in WHO functional class, time to death or clinical worsening, French risk score, and changes in the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension-Symptoms and Impact (PAH-SYMPACT) Physical Impacts, Cardiopulmonary Symptoms, and Cognitive/Emotional Impacts domain scores; all were assessed at week 24 except time to death or clinical worsening, which was assessed when the last patient completed the week 24 visit. RESULTS: A total of 163 patients were assigned to receive sotatercept and 160 to receive placebo. The median change from baseline at week 24 in the 6-minute walk distance was 34.4 m (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.0 to 35.5) in the sotatercept group and 1.0 m (95% CI, -0.3 to 3.5) in the placebo group. The Hodges-Lehmann estimate of the difference between the sotatercept and placebo groups in the change from baseline at week 24 in the 6-minute walk distance was 40.8 m (95% CI, 27.5 to 54.1; P<0.001). The first eight secondary end points were significantly improved with sotatercept as compared with placebo, whereas the PAH-SYMPACT Cognitive/Emotional Impacts domain score was not. Adverse events that occurred more frequently with sotatercept than with placebo included epistaxis, dizziness, telangiectasia, increased hemoglobin levels, thrombocytopenia, and increased blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who were receiving stable background therapy, sotatercept resulted in a greater improvement in exercise capacity (as assessed by the 6-minute walk test) than placebo. (Funded by Acceleron Pharma, a subsidiary of MSD; STELLAR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04576988.).

Randomized Phase 2 Study of ACE-083 in Patients With Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether locally acting ACE-083 is safe, well tolerated, and increases muscle volume, motor function, and quality of life (QoL) in adults with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) type 1. METHODS: This phase 2 study enrolled adults with CMT1 or CMTX (N=63). Part 1 was open-label and evaluated safety and tolerability of different dose levels of ACE-083 for use in Part 2. Part 2 was a randomized, placebo-controlled, 6-month study of 240 mg/muscle ACE-083 injected bilaterally in the tibialis anterior muscle, followed by a 6-month, open-label extension in which all patients received ACE-083. Pharmacodynamic endpoints included total muscle volume (TMV; primary endpoint), contractile muscle volume (CMV), and fat fraction. Additional secondary endpoints included 6-minute walk test, 10-meter walk/run, muscle strength, and QoL. Safety was assessed with treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and clinical laboratory tests. RESULTS: In Part 1 (n=18), ACE-083 was generally safe and well tolerated at all dose levels, with no serious AEs, TEAEs ≥Grade 3, or death reported. In Part 2 (n=45 enrolled, n=44 treated), there was significantly greater change in TMV with ACE-083 compared with placebo (LS mean difference: 13.5%; p = 0.0096). There was significant difference between ACE-083 and placebo for CMV and change in ankle dorsiflexion strength. Fat fraction and all other functional outcomes were not significantly improved by ACE-083. Moderate-to-mild injection-site reactions were the most common TEAEs. CONCLUSIONS: Despite significantly increased TMV and CMV, patients with CMT receiving ACE-083 in tibialis anterior muscles did not demonstrate greater functional improvement compared with those receiving placebo. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that intramuscular ACE-083 is safe, well tolerated, and increases total muscle volume after 6 months of treatment in adults with CMT1 or CMTX.

Randomized phase 2 study of ACE-083, a muscle-promoting agent, in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a slowly progressive muscular dystrophy without approved therapies. In this study we evaluated whether locally acting ACE-083 could safely increase muscle volume and improve functional outcomes in adults with FSHD. METHODS: Participants were at least 18 years old and had FSHD1/FSHD2. Part 1 was open label, ascending dose, assessing safety and tolerability (primary objective). Part 2 was randomized, double-blind for 6 months, evaluating ACE-083240 mg/muscle vs placebo injected bilaterally every 3 weeks in the biceps brachii (BB) or tibialis anterior (TA) muscles, followed by 6 months of open label. Magnetic resonance imaging measures included total muscle volume (TMV; primary objective), fat fraction (FF), and contractile muscle volume (CMV). Functional measures included 6-minute walk test, 10-meter walk/run, and 4-stair climb (TA group), and performance of upper limb midlevel/elbow score (BB group). Strength, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and safety were also evaluated. RESULTS: Parts 1 and 2 enrolled 37 and 58 participants, respectively. Among 55 participants evaluable in Part 2, the least-squares mean (90% confidence interval, analysis of covariance) treatment difference for TMV was 16.4% (9.8%-23.0%) in the BB group (P < .0001) and 9.5% (3.2%-15.9%) in the TA group (P = .01). CMV increased significantly in the BB and TA groups and FF decreased in the TA group. There were no consistent improvements in functional or PRO measures in either group. The most common adverse events were mild or moderate injection-site reactions. DISCUSSION: Significant increases in TMV with ACE-083 vs placebo did not result in consistent functional or PRO improvements with up to 12 months of treatment.

Biomarker Analysis of Orally Dosed, Dual Active, Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 Inhibitor, AQU-118, in the Spinal Nerve Ligation (SNL) Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain.

There is an unmet medical need for the development of non-addicting pain therapeutics with enhanced efficacy and tolerability. The current study examined the effects of AQU-118, an orally active inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9, in the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) rat model of neuropathic pain. Mechanical allodynia and the levels of various biomarkers were examined within the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) before and after oral dosing with AQU-118. The rats that received the SNL surgery exhibited significant mechanical allodynia as compared to sham controls. Animals received either vehicle, positive control (gabapentin), or AQU-118. After SNL surgery, the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of those rats dosed with vehicle had elevated messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels for MMP-2, IL1-ß & IL-6 and elevated protein levels for caspase-3 while exhibiting decreased protein levels for myelin basic protein (MBP) & active IL-ß as compared to sham controls. Rats orally dosed with AQU-118 exhibited significantly reduced mechanical allodynia and decreased levels of caspase-3 in the DRG as compared to vehicle controls. Results demonstrate that oral dosing with the dual active, MMP-2/-9 inhibitor, AQU-118, attenuated mechanical allodynia while at the same time significantly reduced the levels of caspase-3 in the DRG.

Anti-hyperalgesic effects of AG490, a Janus kinase inhibitor, in a rat model of inflammatory pain.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) has a critical role in pain mechanisms. IL-6 signals through the Janus-activated kinases 2 (JAK2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. The contribution of JAK2 signaling in inflammation-induced hyperalgesia has not been addressed previously. The role of this pathway was investigated using the JAK2 inhibitor, AG490, in a rat model of inflammatory pain. Unilateral hind paw inflammatory pain was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by intraplantar (i.pl.) injection of 3.5% ʎ-carrageenan. Inflamed rats received an i.pl. injection of either 3.5% of dimethylsulfoxide or AG490 (1-10 µg). The antinociceptive effects of AG490 were assessed by 2 pain behavioral assays 4 h later: The thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia tests. AG490 (1-10 µg) significantly attenuated ʎ-carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia in a dose-dependent manner. AG490 also reduced mechanical hyperalgesia. Co-administration of opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (10 µg) and AG490 (10 µg) did not reverse AG490-produced antinociceptive activity, suggesting that the µ-opioid receptor is not responsible for the anti-hyperalgesic effects of AG490. Therefore, we suggest that AG490 produces these effects by blocking JAK2 signaling. In conclusion, JAK2 inhibitors may represent a novel class of non-narcotic drugs to treat inflammatory pain.

Prehospital pain medication use by U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.

We report the results of a process improvement initiative to examine the current use and safety of prehospital pain medications by U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. Prehospital pain medication data were prospectively collected on 309 casualties evacuated from point of injury (POI) to surgical hospitals from October 2012 to March 2013. Vital signs obtained from POI and flight medics and on arrival to surgical hospitals were compared using one-way analysis of variance test. 119 casualties (39%) received pain medication during POI care and 283 (92%) received pain medication during tactical evacuation (TACEVAC). Morphine and oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate were the most commonly used pain medications during POI care, whereas ketamine and fentanyl predominated during TACEVAC. Ketamine was associated with increase in systolic blood pressure compared to morphine (+7 ± 17 versus -3 ± 14 mm Hg, p = 0.04). There was no difference in vital signs on arrival to the hospital between casualties who received no pain medication, morphine, fentanyl, or ketamine during TACEVAC. In this convenience sample, fentanyl and ketamine were as safe as morphine for prehospital use within the dose ranges administered. Future efforts to improve battlefield pain control should focus on improved delivery of pain control at POI and the role of combination therapies.

Prehospital and en route analgesic use in the combat setting: a prospectively designed, multicenter, observational study.

BACKGROUND: Combat injuries result in acute, severe pain. Early use of analgesia after injury is known to be beneficial. Studies on prehospital analgesia in combat are limited and no prospectively designed study has reported the use of analgesics in the prehospital and en route care setting. Our objective was to describe the current use of prehospital analgesia in the combat setting. METHODS: This prospectively designed, multicenter, observational, prehospital combat study was undertaken at medical treatment facilities (MTF) in Afghanistan between October 2012 and September 2013. It formed part of a larger study aimed at describing the use of lifesaving interventions in combat. On arrival at the MTF, trained on-site investigators enrolled eligible patients and completed standardized data capture forms, which included the name, dose, and route of administration of all prehospital analgesics, and the type of provider who administered the drug. Physiological data were retrospectively ascribed as soon as practicable. The study was prospectively approved by the Brooke Army Medical Center institutional review board. RESULTS: Data were collected on 228 patients, with 305 analgesia administrations recorded. The predominant mechanism of injury was blast (50%), followed by penetrating (41%), and blunt (9%). The most common analgesic used was ketamine, followed by morphine. A combination of analgesics was given to 29% of patients; the most common combination was ketamine and morphine. Intravenous delivery was the most commonly used route (55%). Patients transported by the UK Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) or U.S. Air Medical Evacuation (Dust-off) team were more likely to receive ketamine than those evacuated by U.S. Pararescue Jumpers (Pedro). Patients transported by Medical Emergency Response Team or Pedro were more likely to receive more than 1 drug. Patients who received only ketamine had a higher pulse rate (p<0.005) and lower systolic blood pressure (p=0.01) than other groups, and patients that received hydromorphone had a lower respiratory rate (p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: In our prospectively designed, multicenter, observational, prehospital combat study, ketamine was the most commonly used analgesic drug. The most frequently observed combination of drugs was ketamine and morphine. The intravenous route was used for 55% of drug administrations.

The intraoperative administration of ketamine to burned U.S. service members does not increase the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

AIM: Patients with severe burns typically undergo multiple surgeries, and ketamine is often used as part of the multimodal anesthetic regimen during such surgeries. The anesthetic ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist that also provides analgesia at subanesthetic doses, but the psychoactive side effects of ketamine have caused concern about its potential psychological effects on a combat-wounded population. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects approximately 30% of burned U.S. service members injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. A preliminary analysis by our research group reported that patients who received perioperative ketamine had a significantly lower prevalence of PTSD than those injured service members who did not receive ketamine. We have now expanded this research to examine the relationship between ketamine and PTSD development in a much larger population. METHODS: A retrospective analysis on data from service members being treated for burns at the San Antonio Military Medical Center was conducted. Collected data included drugs received, injury severity score (ISS), total body surface area (TBSA) burned, length of hospital stay (LOS), number of intensive care unit days, number of surgeries, and PTSD Checklist-Military (PCL-M) scores and administration dates. Subjects were grouped based on intraoperative receipt of ketamine, and the groups were compared. The groups were binary for ketamine (yes or no), and dose of ketamine administered was not included in data analyses. Propensity score matching based on ISS and TBSA was performed to control for individual differences in burn severity. RESULTS: Two hundred eighty-nine burned U.S. service members received the PCL-M at least 30 days after injury. Of these subjects, 189 received intraoperative ketamine, and 100 did not. Despite significantly greater injuries, as evidenced by significantly higher TBSA burned and ISS (p < 0.01), patients who received ketamine did not screen positive for PTSD at a different rate than those patients who did not (24% vs. 26.98%, p = 0.582). Patients receiving intraoperative ketamine also underwent a significantly greater number of surgeries, spent more time in the hospital, spent more days in the ICU, and received more morphine equivalent units (p < 0.0001). Propensity score matching based on ISS and TBSA resulted in a total subject number of 130. In the matched samples, subjects who received ketamine still underwent significantly more surgeries and experienced longer hospital stays (p < 0.0001). Again, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of a positive screen for PTSD based upon the receipt of ketamine (28% vs. 26.15%, p = 0.843). CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine is often used in burn patients to reduce opioid usage and decrease the hemodynamic and respiratory side effects. Although this study does not show a benefit of ketamine on PTSD development that was identified in previous work with a smaller sample number, it does support the conclusion that ketamine does not increase PTSD development in burned service members.

State of the science review: Advances in pain management in wounded service members over a decade at war.

The pain conditions and comorbidities experienced by injured service members and the challenge of pain management by the military medical system offer a unique opportunity to inform pain management and medical research. In this article, acute and chronic pain issues, current treatment options and limitations, as well as novel approaches to pain management are discussed within the context of combat casualty care, from the battlefield to hospitalization and rehabilitation. This review will also highlight the current pain management limitations that need to be addressed in future clinical and basic science research to improve care for our nation's injured service members.

A rat model of full thickness thermal injury characterized by thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical allodynia, pronociceptive peptide release and tramadol analgesia.

Opioid-related side effects are problematic for burn patients. Dual mechanism therapeutics targeting opioid and non-opioid mechanisms may have reduced side effects with similar analgesic efficacy. Tramadol combines mu opioid receptor agonism with norepinephrine reuptake inhibition and has been effective in treating some types of pain. The effectiveness of tramadol in treating pain associated with burns is unclear. We hypothesized that tramadol is effective in reducing thermal injury-evoked pain behaviors in a rat model. Rats were anesthetized and a 100°C metal probe was placed on the hindpaw for 30 s to induce a full thickness thermal injury. A subset of rats was perfusion fixed and hindpaw tissue and spinal cord collected for anatomical analysis. Rats received morphine (5 mg/kg; i.p.), tramadol (10-30 mg/kg; i.p.) or vehicle and latency to paw withdrawal from a noxious thermal or non-noxious mechanical stimulus was recorded every 10 min over 70 min and again at 2 h. We report that pain behaviors developed within 48 h and peaked at 1 week; paralleled by enhanced expression of pronociceptive neuropeptides in the spinal cord. Morphine and tramadol significantly attenuated hyperalgesia and allodynia, while not significantly altering motor coordination/sedation. These data indicate dual mechanism therapeutics may be effective for treating pain associated with burns.

Activated 5'flanking region of NANOGP8 in a self-renewal environment is associated with increased sphere formation and tumor growth of prostate cancer cells.

INTRODUCTION: NANOGP8 is a retrogene which encodes a full-length protein similar to the NANOG1 gene. The expression of NANOGP8 has been documented in several cancers and is related to cell proliferation and tumor development. However, the regulation of NANOGP8 expression has not been investigated. Therefore, the role of NANOGP8 in cell proliferation has not been completely understood. METHODS: We evaluate the expression of NANOG1 and NANOGP8 in prostate cancer cell lines and primary cultures of prostate tissues. We investigate clonogenicity, sphere formation, and xenograft tumor growth of prostate cancer cells with an activated 5'flanking region of NANOGP8. We examine the role of NANOGP8 in cell cycle progression. RESULTS: In the prostate cells the NANOG RNA was transcribed from NANOGP8 and not from NANOG1. Cells with the activated 5'flanking region of NANOGP8 exhibited enhanced clonogenicity, sphere formation, and xenograft tumor growth. The sphere culture and tumor initiation mouse mode promoted the activation of the 5'flanking region of NANOGP8. Forced expression of NANOGP8 increased the entry into the cell cycle. DISCUSSION: In prostate cells NANOGP8 is a predominant molecule of NANOG. The activation of 5'flanking sequence of NANOGP8 could play a role in the regulation of the stem-like properties of cancer stem cells and prostate tumor initiation and development. The microenvironment favoring cancer stem cells could promote the activation of the 5'flanking region of NANOGP8.

Curcumin: a novel therapeutic for burn pain and wound healing.

INTRODUCTION: Managing burn injury-associated pain and wounds is a major unresolved clinical problem. Opioids, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antidepressants and anticonvulsants remain the most common forms of analgesic therapy to treat burn patients. However, prolonged treatment with these drugs leads to dose escalation and serious side effects. Additionally, severe burn wounds cause scarring and are susceptible to infection. Recent encouraging findings demonstrate that curcumin, a major bioactive component found in turmeric, is a natural pharmacotherapeutic for controlling both severe burn pain and for improved wound healing. AREAS COVERED: This article covers current pr-clinical and clinical studies on the analgesic and wound healing effects. Particular emphasis has been placed on studies aimed at developing improved curcumin delivery vehicles that increase its bioavailability. Based on the available evidence, a hypothesis is proposed that the dual beneficial effects of curcumin, analgesia and enhanced wound healing are mediated through common anti-inflammatory mechanisms. EXPERT OPINION: Emerging studies have demonstrated that curcumin is a promising investigational drug to treat both pain and wounds. The adequate control of severe burn pain, particularly over the long courses required for healing, as well improvements in burn wound healing are unmet clinical needs.

Knockdown of core binding factorß alters sphingolipid metabolism.

Core binding factor (CBF) is a heterodimeric transcription factor containing one of three DNA-binding proteins of the Runt-related transcription factor family (RUNX1-3) and the non-DNA-binding protein, CBFß. RUNX1 and CBFß are the most common targets of chromosomal rearrangements in leukemia. CBF has been implicated in other cancer types; for example RUNX1 and RUNX2 are implicated in cancers of epithelial origin, including prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers. In these tumors, CBF is involved in maintaining the malignant phenotype and, when highly over-expressed, contributes to metastatic growth in bone. Herein, lentiviral delivery of CBFß-specific shRNAs was used to achieve a 95% reduction of CBFß in an ovarian cancer cell line. This drastic reduction in CBFß expression resulted in growth inhibition that was not associated with a cell cycle block or an increase in apoptosis. However, CBFß silencing resulted in increased autophagy and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Since sphingolipid and ceramide metabolism regulates non-apoptotic cell death, autophagy, and ROS production, fumonsin B1 (FB1), an inhibitor of ceramide synthase, was used to alter ceramide production in the CBFß-silenced cells. FB1 treatment inhibited the CBFß-dependent increase in autophagy and provided a modest increase in cell survival. To document alterations to sphingolipids in the CBFß-silenced cells, ceramide, and lactosylceramide levels were directly examined by mass spectrometry. Substantial increases in ceramide species and decreases in lactosylceramides were identified. Altogether, this report provides evidence that CBF transcriptional pathways control cellular survival, at least in part, through sphingolipid metabolism.

Safety and efficacy of oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate for prehospital pain control on the battlefield.

BACKGROUND: Acute pain, resulting from trauma and other causes, is a common condition that imposes a need for prehospital analgesia on and off the battlefield. The narcotic most frequently used for prehospital analgesia on the battlefield during the past century has been morphine. Intramuscular morphine has a delayed onset of pain relief that is suboptimal and difficult to titrate. Although intravenously administered morphine can readily provide rapid and effective prehospital analgesia, oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (OTFC) is a safe alternative that does not require intravenous access. This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of OTFC in the prehospital battlefield environment. METHODS: Data collected during combat deployments (Afghanistan and Iraq) from March 15, 2003, to March 31, 2010, were analyzed. Patients were US Army Special Operations Command casualties. Patients receiving OTFC for acute pain were evaluated. Pretreatment and posttreatment pain intensities were quantified by the verbal numeric rating scale (NRS) from 0 to 10. OTFC adverse effects and injuries treated were also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 286 patients were administered OTFC, of whom 197 had NRS pain evaluations conducted before and approximately 15 minutes to 30 minutes following treatment. The difference between NRS pain scores at 0 minutes (NRS, 8.0 [1.4]) and 15 minutes to 30 minutes (NRS, 3.2 [2.1]) was significant (p < 0.001). Only 18.3% (36 of 197) of patients were also administered other types of analgesics. Nausea was the most common adverse effect as reported by 12.7% (25 of 197) of patients. The only major adverse effect occurred in the patient who received the largest opioid dose, 3,200-µg OTFC and 20-mg morphine. This patient exhibited hypoventilation and saturation of less than 90% requiring low-dose naloxone. CONCLUSION: OTFC is a rapid and noninvasive pain management strategy that provides safe and effective analgesia in the prehospital battlefield setting. OTFC has considerable implications for use in civilian prehospital and austere environments. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level IV.

Translational advances in pain and anesthesia for cancer patients.

Effective cancer pain management requires multidisciplinary approaches for multimodal analgesia. Although opioids have been the cornerstone, developments such as regional anesthesia and interventional pain techniques, complementary and alternative medicine, and new pharmaceuticals also have shown promise to relieve cancer pain. This overview of relevant clinical efforts and the modern day state of the science will afford a better understanding of pain mechanisms and multimodal approaches beneficial in optimizing analgesia for cancer patients.

Relationships between early acute pain scores, autonomic nervous system function, and injury severity in wounded soldiers.

BACKGROUND: Acute pain after injury affects the comfort and function of the wounded soldier and the physiology of multiple body systems. In the civilian population, pain alters the function of the autonomic nervous system, causing increased heart rate and blood pressure. However, there are no data regarding the impact of combat-related pain on physiologic responses. This study is a retrospective analysis that examined the relationship of pain and physiologic parameters in injured soldiers. METHODS: After Institutional Review Board approval, the Joint Trauma Theater Registry (JTTR) was queried to identify soldiers who had pain scores recorded in the Emergency Department (ED) in theater. Subject data collected from the JTTR included the following: pain score, Injury Severity Score (ISS), blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. RESULTS: We identified 2,646 soldiers with pain scores recorded in the ED. The pain score was not related to most physiologic parameters measured in the ED. Pain intensity had no correlation with blood pressure or heart rate. However, there were relationships between the pain score and respiratory rate, with patients reporting a pain score of 10 having a slightly higher respiratory rate. Increasing pain scores were also associated with increased ISS (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to data from civilian patients, early pain scores were not related to heart rate or blood pressure. A pain score of 10 corresponded to an increased respiratory rate. Despite little relationship between pain and injury severity in the civilian population, the increasing ISS was proportional to the pain scale in wounded soldiers.

Combining ketamine and virtual reality pain control during severe burn wound care: one military and one civilian patient.

BACKGROUND: US soldiers injured in Iraq, and civilian burn trauma patients are treated at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research. Burn patients experience extreme pain during wound care, and they typically receive opioid analgesics and anxiolytics for debridement. Virtual Reality (VR) has been applied as an adjunct to opioid analgesics for procedural pain. We describe the first use of ketamine combined with immersive VR to reduce excessive pain during wound care. CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old male US Army soldier stationed in Iraq, and a 41-year-old civilian male sustained a 13% and 50% total body surface area (TBSA) burn, respectively. Each patient received 40 mg ketamine intraveneous (IV) for wound care. Using a within-subject design, nurses conducted half of a painful segment of wound care treatments with no VR and the other half with immersive VR. Graphic pain rating scores for each of the two treatment conditions served as the dependent variables. RESULTS: Compared to ketamine + no VR, both patients reported less pain during ketamine + VR for all three pain ratings. Both patients rated wound care during no VR as "no fun at all", but those same patients rated wound care during virtual reality as either "pretty fun" or "extremely fun", and rated nausea as either "mild" or "none". CONCLUSIONS: Results from these first two cases suggest that a moderate dose of ketamine combined with immersive virtual reality distraction may be an effective multimodal analgesic regimen for reducing acute procedural pain during severe burn wound cleaning.

The relationship of early pain scores and posttraumatic stress disorder in burned soldiers.

Early acute pain after injury has been linked to long-term patient outcomes, including the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several studies have identified a negative correlation between early anesthetic/analgesic usage and subsequent development of PTSD. This retrospective study examined the relationship between early acute pain and severity of PTSD symptoms in soldiers with burn injuries. Of the soldiers injured in Overseas Contingency Operations who had pain scores recorded at admission to the Emergency Department, 113 had burn injuries. Of those transferred to the military burn center, 47 were screened for PTSD using the PTSD checklist-military (PCL-M) survey at least 1 month after injury. Soldiers with mild, moderate, and severe pain scores had similar Injury Severity Scores and TBSA burned (P = .339 and .570, respectively). However, there were significant differences in PCL-M scores between the mild and severe pain groups (P = .017). The pain levels positively correlated with the PCL-M score (rho = 0.41, P = .004) but not with injury severity markers (Injury Severity Score and TBSA). These data suggest that early acute pain may be related to increased PCL-M score and PTSD symptoms. The intensity of pain was not related to the injury severity, and these data also show no association between pain intensity and physiological measures, including blood pressure and heart rate. However, this is a small sample size, and many other factors likely influence PTSD development. Further study is necessary to explore the relationship between early acute pain and subsequent development of PTSD symptoms.

RUNX1 (AML-1) and RUNX2 (AML-3) cooperate with prostate-derived Ets factor to activate transcription from the PSA upstream regulatory region.

The RUNX transcription factors (RUNX1, RUNX2, and RUNX3) play essential roles in hematopoiesis and skeletal development. Consistent with these roles in differentiation and cell cycle, the activity of both RUNX1 and RUNX3 is perturbed in cancer. To determine a role for the RUNX factors in prostate biology, we investigated the expression of RUNX factors in prostate epithelial cell lines and normal prostate tissue. RUNX1, RUNX2, and RUNX3 were expressed in both normal prostate tissue and an immortalized, non-transformed cell line. We found that prostate cancer-derived cell lines expressed RUNX1 and RUNX2, but not RUNX3. Next, we sought to identify prostate-specific genes whose expression could be regulated by RUNX proteins. Four consensus RUNX sites are located within the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) regulatory region. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis showed that RUNX1 is specifically bound to the PSA regulatory region in LNCaP cells. RUNX1 and RUNX2 activated the PSA regulatory region alone or cooperatively with prostate-derived ETS factor (PDEF) and RUNX1 physically associated with PDEF. Taken together, our results suggest that RUNX factors participate in prostate epithelial cell function and cooperate with an Ets transcription factor to regulate PSA gene expression.

Translation of the radioresistance kinase TLK1B is induced by gamma-irradiation through activation of mTOR and phosphorylation of 4E-BP1.

BACKGROUND: The mammalian protein kinase TLK1 is a homologue of Tousled, a gene involved in flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of TLK1 is not well known, although knockout of the gene in Drosophila, or expression of a dominant negative mutant in mouse cells causes loss of nuclear divisions and chromosome missegregation probably due to alterations in chromatin remodeling capacity. Overexpression of TLK1B, a spliced variant of the TLK1 mRNA, in a model mouse cell line increases their resistance to ionizing radiation, also likely through changes in chromatin remodeling. The TLK1B mRNA is translationally repressed by its 5'UTR and is regulated by the availability of eIF4E. We now report that radiation or doxorubicin result in an increase in the translation of TLK1B, and we have uncovered the likely mechanism for this effect. RESULTS: Radiation causes a shift in the polysomal distribution of TLK1B mRNA, from the untranslated region and small polysomes to the large polysomes, concomitant with an increase in the expression of TLK1B protein. This change is preceded by an increase in phosphorylation of the eIF4E inhibitory protein 4E-BP1, which releases eIF4E when it is phosphorylated. The phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 depends on mTOR, since rapamycin blocked the increase in phosphorylation induced by radiation, and prevented the increase in TLK1B protein expression. The activation of mTOR was likely due to the rapid activation of Akt following radiation. The activation of Akt could be inhibited with wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI3 kinase, hence placing PI3 kinase upstream of Akt as a very early event following radiation. Wortmannin also inhibited translation of TLK1B mRNA following activation by IR. This was shown both by western blot and by measuring the initiation capacity of the mRNA, as indicated by its distribution on polysomes. CONCLUSIONS: The translational upregulation of TLK1B elicited by DNA double strand breaks represents an interesting mechanism of translational regulation of a protein involved in radioprotection and highlights a novel mechanism of the stress response following radiation.