Association Between Leg Muscle Thickness and Walking Test with the Haemophilia-Specific Functional Parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the muscle thickness and walking test in people with haemophilia A (PWH) and their correlation to joint health and functional impairments. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. RESULTS: 29 severe/moderate PWH were enrolled. Muscle thickness of quadriceps and medial gastrocnemius were measured using ultrasound. Joint health and functional capacity were assessed using Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS), Haemophilia Early Arthropathy Detection with Ultrasound (HEAD-US), 6-Minute Walking test (6MWT), Haemophilia Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adults (Haem-A-QoL), and Haemophilia Activities List (HAL). Quadriceps muscle thickness significantly correlated with HJHS knee, HEAD-US knee, and HAL. Calf muscle thickness significantly correlated with the HJHS ankle. After adjusted age and BMI, calf muscle thickness was inversely associated with the HJHS ankle. 6MWT was found to significantly correlate with HJHS total, HEAD-US total, Haem-A-QoL, and HAL. CONCLUSION: Muscle thickness and the distance of 6MWT were linked to assessment of joint health, quality of life and activity participation in PWH. Ultrasound measurement of muscle thickness and walking test appear to be useful tools for the assessment of joint health and functional status in PWH.

Clinical Predictors and Prediction Models for rFVIII-Fc Half Life in Real-World People with Severe Hemophilia A.

The half life of recombinant factor VIII-Fc (rFVIII-Fc) for people with hemophilia A (PwHA) varies greatly. Understanding the factors influencing the variation and assessment of rFVIII-Fc half life is important for personalized treatment. Eighty-five severe-type PwHA with rFVIII-Fc treatment receiving an evaluation of half life by the Web-Accessible Population Pharmacokinetic (PK) Service-Hemophilia during 2019-2021 were retrospectively enrolled. The 50-patient PK profiles before 2021 were used for analysis and developing prediction models of half life, and the 35-patient PK profiles in 2021 were used for external validation. The patients in the development cohort were aged 8-64, with a median rFVIII-Fc half life of 20.75 h (range, 8.25-41.5 h). By multivariate linear regression analysis, we found two, four, and five predictors of rFVIII-Fc half life for the blood groups non-O, O patients, and overall patients, respectively, including baseline VWF:Ag, BMI, VWF:activity/VWF:Ag ratio, body weight, O blood group, inhibitor history, HCV infection, and hematocrit. The three prediction equations of rFVIII-Fc half life (T) were respectively developed as T for non-O group patients = -0.81 + 0.63 × (BMI, kg/m2) + 6.07 × (baseline VWF:Ag, IU/mL), T for O group patients = -0.68 + 13.30 × (baseline VWF:Ag, IU/mL) + 0.27 × (BW, kg) - 1.17 × (BMI, kg/m2) + 16.02 × (VWF:activity/VWF:Ag ratio), and T for overall patients = -1.76 + 7.24 × (baseline VWF:Ag, IU/mL) - 3.84 × (Inhibitor history) + 2.99 × (HCV infection) - 2.83 × (O blood group) + 0.30 × (Hct, %), which explained 51.97%, 75.17%, and 66.38% of the half life variability, respectively. For external validation, there was a significant correlation between the predicted and observed half lives in the validation cohort. The median half life deviation was +1.53 h, +1.28 h, and +1.79 h for the equations of non-O group, O group, and overall group patients, respectively. In total, eight predictors influencing rFVIII-Fc half life were identified. Prediction equations of rFVIII-Fc half life were developed for the non-O and O blood groups and overall PwHA with a good degree of external validation. The equations could be applied to patients aged 8-64 without the need for PK blood sampling and clinically valuable for personalized therapy.

Real-world bleeding outcomes and product utilization in people with severe-type hemophilia A before and after switching to extended half-life rFVIIIFc prophylaxis therapy.

BACKGROUND: Recombinant factor VIII-Fc (rFVIIIFc) became available in Taiwan in 2018. Before this date, no people with hemophilia A (PwHA) were enrolled in a clinical trial of rFVIIIFc. We investigated changes in bleeding outcomes and product utilization in PwHA switching from rFVIII to rFVIIIFc. METHODS: Data were collected for Taiwanese PwHA (severe-type) who switched from rFVIII to rFVIIIFc, including annualized bleeding rate (ABR) and weekly dose consumption 12 months pre-switch and > 6 months post-switch. RESULTS: The 51 patients were divided into 3 groups according to their pre-switch treatment: on-demand treatment, intermittent periodic prophylaxis, and regular prophylaxis. In every group, the post-switch median ABR was significantly reduced, with no significant differences between groups. Meanwhile, the post-switch median weekly dose of each group was significantly increased. In 32 patients on pre-switch prophylaxis, switching brought a further reduction in median ABR, associated with a significant increase in median weekly dose. No adverse effects or novel inhibitor development were seen. CONCLUSION: This is the first report from Asia on real-world experience of rFVIIIFc, showing that switching to rFVIIIFc prophylaxis led to further reduction in ABR and increase in weekly dose for all patient groups, even those on pre-switch rFVIII prophylaxis.

Long Noncoding RNA LINC02470 Sponges MicroRNA-143-3p and Enhances SMAD3-Mediated Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition to Promote the Aggressive Properties of Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer progression and metastasis have become major threats in clinical practice, increasing mortality and therapeutic refractoriness; recently, epigenetic dysregulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related signaling pathways has been explored. However, research in the fields of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulation in bladder cancer progression is just beginning. This study was designed to determine potential EMT-related ceRNA regulation in bladder cancer progression and elucidate the underlying mechanisms that provoke aggressiveness. After screening the intersection of bioinformatic pipelines, LINC02470 was identified as the most upregulated lncRNA during bladder cancer initiation and progression. Both in vitro and in vivo biological effects indicated that LINC02470 promotes bladder cancer cell viability, migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity. On a molecular level, miR-143-3p directly targets and reduces both LINC02470 and SMAD3 RNA expression. Therefore, the LINC02470-miR-143-3p-SMAD3 ceRNA axis rescues SMAD3 translation upon LINC02470 sponging miR-143-3p, and SMAD3 consequently activates the TGF-ß-induced EMT process. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate that LINC02470 plays a pivotally regulatory role in the promotion of TGF-ß-induced EMT through the miR-143-3p/SMAD3 axis, thereby aggravating bladder cancer progression. Our study warrants further investigation of LINC02470 as an indicatively prognostic marker of bladder cancer.