An Exploratory, Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial of Dipraglurant for Blepharospasm.

BACKGROUND: Blepharospasm is treated with botulinum toxin, but obtaining satisfactory results is sometimes challenging. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to conduct an exploratory trial of oral dipraglurant for blepharospasm. METHODS: This study was an exploratory, phase 2a, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 15 participants who were assigned to receive a placebo or dipraglurant (50 or 100 mg) and assessed over 2 days, 1 and 2 hours following dosing. Outcome measures included multiple scales rated by clinicians or participants, digital video, and a wearable sensor. RESULTS: Dipraglurant was well tolerated, with no obvious impact on any of the measurement outcomes. Power analyses suggested fewer subjects would be required for studies using a within-subject versus independent group design, especially for certain measures. Some outcome measures appeared more suitable than others. CONCLUSION: Although dipraglurant appeared well tolerated, it did not produce a trend for clinical benefit. The results provide valuable information for planning further trials in blepharospasm. © 2024 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Simulation at Mach 2 flow of ethylene/air reacting mixture within a cavity flame holder.

The ongoing simulation of flame holder cavities remains a pivotal aspect in the advancement of scramjet engine development. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models in simulating supersonic reacting flows within flame holder cavities. RANS remains the standard approach for engineering simulations in this regime, so it is important to understand how different RANS models perform. Four RANS turbulence models, the k-ϵ, Realizable k-ϵ, k-ω SST, and v2‾-f models, are used for the simulation of a flame holder cavity at Mach 2 using two different chemical mechanisms. Results were compared to experimental data and prior simulation results from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The v2‾-f turbulence model was found to provide the best overall results and often provided similar or superior results to previous results using a higher fidelity hybrid RANS/LES approach. Additionally, the two chemical mechanisms are compared, with the smaller of the two mechanisms being found to provide better results when used with the RANS models investigated in this work.