Dysnatremia is a Predictor for Morbidity and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19.

CONTEXT: Dysnatremia is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with bacterial pneumonia. There is paucity of data about the incidence and prognostic impact of abnormal sodium concentration in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to examine the association of serum sodium during hospitalization with key clinical outcomes, including mortality, need for advanced respiratory support and acute kidney injury (AKI), and to explore the role of serum sodium as a marker of inflammatory response in COVID-19. METHODS: This retrospective longitudinal cohort study, including all adult patients who presented with COVID-19 to 2 hospitals in London over an 8-week period, evaluated the association of dysnatremia (serum sodium < 135 or > 145 mmol/L, hyponatremia, and hypernatremia, respectively) at several time points with inpatient mortality, need for advanced ventilatory support, and AKI. RESULTS: The study included 488 patients (median age, 68 years). At presentation, 24.6% of patients were hyponatremic, mainly due to hypovolemia, and 5.3% hypernatremic. Hypernatremia 2 days after admission and exposure to hypernatremia at any time point during hospitalization were associated with a 2.34-fold (95% CI, 1.08-5.05; P = .0014) and 3.05-fold (95% CI, 1.69-5.49; P < .0001) increased risk of death, respectively, compared to normonatremia. Hyponatremia at admission was linked with a 2.18-fold increase in the likelihood of needing ventilatory support (95% CI, 1.34-3.45, P = .0011). Hyponatremia was not a risk factor for in-hospital mortality, except for the subgroup of patients with hypovolemic hyponatremia. Sodium values were not associated with the risk for AKI and length of hospital stay. CONCLUSION: Abnormal sodium levels during hospitalization are risk factors for poor prognosis, with hypernatremia and hyponatremia being associated with a greater risk of death and respiratory failure, respectively. Serum sodium values could be used for risk stratification in patients with COVID-19.

Accelerating functional gene discovery in osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes debilitating pain and disability, resulting in a considerable socioeconomic burden, yet no drugs are available that prevent disease onset or progression. Here, we develop, validate and use rapid-throughput imaging techniques to identify abnormal joint phenotypes in randomly selected mutant mice generated by the International Knockout Mouse Consortium. We identify 14 genes with functional involvement in osteoarthritis pathogenesis, including the homeobox gene Pitx1, and functionally characterize 6 candidate human osteoarthritis genes in mouse models. We demonstrate sensitivity of the methods by identifying age-related degenerative joint damage in wild-type mice. Finally, we phenotype previously generated mutant mice with an osteoarthritis-associated polymorphism in the Dio2 gene by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and demonstrate a protective role in disease onset with public health implications. We hope this expanding resource of mutant mice will accelerate functional gene discovery in osteoarthritis and offer drug discovery opportunities for this common, incapacitating chronic disease.

Real-life experience of tolvaptan use in the treatment of severe hyponatraemia due to syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.

OBJECTIVE: European guidelines do not recommend tolvaptan for treatment of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), principally owing to concerns about risk of overly rapid correction of hyponatraemia. This study evaluated the real-life effectiveness and safety of tolvaptan. DESIGN: Consecutive case series. PATIENTS: Inpatients treated with tolvaptan for SIADH in 2 UK hospitals over a 3-year period. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome measures were serum sodium (sNa) correction at 24 and 48 h after tolvaptan therapy. RESULTS: This case series included 61 patients aged 74·4 ± 15·3 years with (mean ± SD) sNa 119·9 ± 5·5 mmol/l. The mean sNa increase 24 h after tolvaptan initiation was 9 ± 3·9 mmol/l. Excessive correction of hyponatraemia was observed in 23% of patients with all these patients having baseline sNa <125 mmol/l, but no cases of osmotic demyelination syndrome were recorded. At the end of tolvaptan therapy, sNa increase was 13·5 ± 5·9 mmol/l with 96·7% of patients having sNa increase ≥5 mmol/l in 48 h. There was a negative significant correlation (P = 0·012) between baseline sNa and 24-h change; for every 1 mmol/l reduction in baseline value, sNa increased by an additional 0·23 mmol/l (95% CI 0·05-0·41). CONCLUSIONS: Tolvaptan is effective in correcting hyponatraemia. Without rigorous electrolyte monitoring, tolvaptan carries a significant risk of overly rapid sodium correction, especially in patients with starting sNa <125 mmol/l. Tolvaptan should be used with great caution under close electrolyte monitoring.

Adult mice lacking the type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase have increased subchondral bone but normal articular cartilage.

BACKGROUND: Although osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest joint disorder and has a rising prevalence as the population ages, no drugs are available that prevent or delay the onset and progression of disease. Recent studies identified the DIO2 gene encoding type 2 deiodinase (D2) as a susceptibility locus for OA, and further data suggest deiodinase-regulated local availability of triiodothyronine (T3) in the joint plays an important role in cartilage maintenance and repair. To investigate the hypothesis that reduced tissue T3 availability protects joints from development of OA, the joint phenotypes of adult mice lacking D2 (D2KO) or lacking both D1 and D2 (D1D2KO), the only enzymes that catalyze conversion of the prohormone thyroxine to active T3, were determined. METHODS: Knee joints were prepared from male 16-week-old adult wild type (WT; n=9), D2KO (n=5), and D1D2KO (n=3) mice. Articular cartilage pathology was scored using the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) histopathology scale for murine OA to determine the severity and extent of disease. Digital X-ray microradiography was used to determine the area and mineral content of subchondral bone immediately beneath the articular cartilage surface. RESULTS: There were no differences in maximum and standardized OA scores, cartilage erosion indices, or articular cartilage cellularity among WT, D2KO, and D1D2KO mice. Subchondral bone area did not differ among genotypes, but mineral content was markedly increased in both D2KO and D1D2KO mice compared to WT. CONCLUSIONS: Although adult D2KO mice have normal articular cartilage and no other features of spontaneous joint damage, they exhibit increased subchondral bone mineral content.

THRA and DIO2 mutations are unlikely to be a common cause of increased bone mineral density in euthyroid post-menopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: A new autosomal dominant disorder due to mutation of THRA, which encodes thyroid hormone receptor α, is characterised by severely delayed skeletal development but only slightly abnormal thyroid status. Adult mice with disrupted thyroid hormone action in bone due to a mutation of Thra or deletion of Dio2, encoding the type 2 deiodinase, have high bone mass and mineralisation despite essentially euthyroid status. No individuals with DIO2 mutations have been described and the adult phenotype of patients with THRA mutations is largely unknown. We hypothesised that screening euthyroid adults with high bone mineral density (BMD) could be used to identify individuals with mutations of THRA or DIO2. DESIGN: The Osteoporosis and Ultrasound Study (OPUS) is a 6-year prospective study of fracture-related factors from five European centres. METHODS: A cohort of 100 healthy euthyroid post-menopausal women with the highest BMD was selected from the OPUS population. We sequenced the intron-exon boundaries and critical exons of THRA and DIO2 in these subjects. TSH, free 3,5,3'-l-triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, vitamin D, parathyroid hormone and bone turnover marker concentrations, and BMD measurements were available in all OPUS participants. RESULTS: No coding sequence or splice site mutations affecting THRA or DIO2 were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Mutations affecting THRA or DIO2 are not a common cause of high BMD in healthy euthyroid post-menopausal women.

Thyroid hormone metabolism in skeletal development and adult bone maintenance.

Metabolism of thyroid hormones by the type 2 and type 3 iodothyronine deiodinases (D2, D3) in T3-responsive target cells is a sophisticated mechanism that helps to maintain local T3 concentrations and facilitates T3 action in a cell-specific manner that is independent of circulating thyroid hormone concentrations. Recent findings have demonstrated an essential physiological role for the thyroid hormone-activating enzyme D2 in the optimization of bone mineralization and strength. Emerging population studies have also identified the genes encoding D2 and the thyroid hormone-inactivating enzyme D3 as susceptibility loci for osteoarthritis. These new data reveal an essential role for the local control of T3 availability in osteoblasts and chondrocytes during maintenance and repair of bone and cartilage.