MSCopilot: New smartphone-based digital biomarkers correlate with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores in people with Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: A previous clinical study showed the high specificity, sensitivity and reliability of MSCopilot, a software medical device designed by Ad Scientiam for the self-assessment of people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS), compared to the traditional Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC). We conducted further analyses to assess MSCopilot's performance with respect to the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). METHODS: The data of 116 PwMS were analysed. We studied the correlations between MSCopilot scores and the EDSS, and their ability to distinguish PwMS with high and low EDSS through a study of the distribution of the digital test scores as well as logistic regression models. The same analyses were performed using the MSFC tests. RESULTS: MSCopilot composite scores were as highly correlated to the EDSS (|r| = 0.65, p < 0.01) as their MSFC counterparts, confirming the known correlation of the MSFC with the EDSS. In a linear regression framework, the Walking digital tests have good explanatory power, especially for PwMS with EDSS > 3.5 (R²adj=0.47). The mean values of each MSCopilot subscore were significantly different between patients with an EDSS > 3.5 and others (p < 0.05), which could not be proved for the MSFC Cognition tests. MSCopilot4 was the best model to predict an EDSS score > 3.5 (AUC = 0.92). CONCLUSION: These analyses confirm the reliability of MSCopilot and show interesting correlations with the EDSS (similar results obtained with the MSFC). MSCopilot was able to highlight nuances in the different stages of MS the MSFC could not capture.

A Dietary Supplement Containing Cinnamon, Chromium and Carnosine Decreases Fasting Plasma Glucose and Increases Lean Mass in Overweight or Obese Pre-Diabetic Subjects: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Preventing or slowing the progression of prediabetes to diabetes is a major therapeutic issue. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the effects of 4-month treatment with a dietary supplement containing cinnamon, chromium and carnosine in moderately obese or overweight pre-diabetic subjects, the primary outcome being change in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level. Other parameters of plasma glucose homeostasis, lipid profile, adiposity and inflammatory markers were also assessed. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 62 subjects with a FPG level ranging from 5.55 to 7 mmol/L and a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m(2), unwilling to change their dietary and physical activity habits, were allocated to receive a 4-month treatment with either 1.2 g/day of the dietary supplement or placebo. Patients were followed up until 6 months post-randomization. RESULTS: Four-month treatment with the dietary supplement decreased FPG compared to placebo (-0.24 ± 0.50 vs +0.12 ± 0.59 mmol/L, respectively, p = 0.02), without detectable significant changes in HbA1c. Insulin sensitivity markers, plasma insulin, plasma lipids and inflammatory markers did not differ between the treatment groups. Although there were no significant differences in changes in body weight and energy or macronutrient intakes between the two groups, fat-free mass (%) increased with the dietary supplement compared to placebo (p = 0.02). Subjects with a higher FPG level and a milder inflammatory state at baseline benefited most from the dietary supplement. CONCLUSIONS: Four-month treatment with a dietary supplement containing cinnamon, chromium and carnosine decreased FPG and increased fat-free mass in overweight or obese pre-diabetic subjects. These beneficial effects might open up new avenues in the prevention of diabetes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01530685.

Genetic variants in BCMO1 and CD36 are associated with plasma lutein concentrations and macular pigment optical density in humans.

UNLABELLED: Lutein is recovered at high concentration in the human macula lutea. Recent studies suggest that this micronutrient might be implicated in prevention of age-related macular degeneration. OBJECTIVE: to identify genes which affect blood and retina lutein concentrations among candidate genes (intestinal sterol transporters and carotenoid oxygenases). DESIGN: a comparative plus an observational study. PARTICIPANTS: twenty-nine healthy subjects for the comparative study and 622 subjects for the observational study. INTERVENTION AND METHODS: all the participants were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the candidate genes. Fasting plasma lutein concentrations were measured in all the participants and after 6 months' supplementation, with either a lutein-rich supplement or a placebo, in the 29 subjects who participated in the comparative study. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD), which is a measure of macula concentration of lutein, was measured before and after the dietary intervention in the 29 subjects. Associations between SNPs and plasma lutein and MPOD were assessed by partial least square (PLS) regression followed by univariate analysis. Observed associations between SNPs and plasma lutein were verified by haplotype-based association analysis in the cohort of 622 subjects. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: plasma lutein levels and MPOD. RESULTS: six SNPs in four genes (ABCG8, BCMO1, CD36, and NPC1L1) explained 25% and 38% of the plasma and MPOD variance, respectively. Subjects with TT at the BCMO1 rs7501331 locus had lower (P < 0.05) plasma lutein than CT subjects. Subjects with CC at the CD36 rs13230419 locus had lower (P < 0.05) plasma lutein than subjects who carried a T allele. The association between CD36 and plasma lutein was confirmed in the cohort of 622 subjects. Subjects with TT at the BCMO1 rs7501331 locus had a higher (P < 0.05) MPOD, and subjects with GG at rs1761667 CD36 locus had a higher (P < 0.05) MPOD than those with an A allele. CONCLUSIONS: these results suggest that BCMO1 and CD36 are implicated in plasma and retina concentrations of lutein and that genetic variants in these genes can modulate blood and retina concentrations of lutein.

Antioxidants intake and dry eye syndrome: a crossover, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.

PURPOSE: To assess whether an orally administered antioxidant dietary supplement could improve the objective clinical signs and alleviate the subjective symptoms of dry eye syndrome. METHODS: Twenty-four subjects diagnosed with dry eye syndrome were randomized in a crossover, double-blind, controlled, randomized study to receive a placebo or an antioxidants combination (Oxybiane) for 12 weeks. In all subjects, break-up time (BUT) test, Schirmer test, ocular symptoms (sore eyes, burning, itching, sensation of foreign object in the eye, photophobia, sticky eyes, and redness), visual comfort, and general well-being were evaluated weekly. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of supplementation with Oxybiane, both the BUT scores (27.3%+/-8.4% with Oxybiane versus 3.61%+/-4.3% with the placebo, p=0.017) and the Schirmer scores (26.9%+/-14.2% with Oxybiane versus -4.7%+/-3.4% with the placebo, p=0.037) were significantly increased. A significantly improvement was also observed considering subjective clinical symptoms such as burning (p=0.031), itching (p=0.027), sensation of foreign body in eye (p=0.030), and redness (p=0.043). CONCLUSIONS. Supplementation with oral antioxidants can improve both tear stability and quantity but also subjective clinical signs.