Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Plekhg5-Regulated Autophagy Of Synaptic Vesicles Reveals A Pathogenic Mechanism In Motoneuron Disease., Patrick Lüningschrör, Beyenech Binotti, Benjamin Dombert, Peter Heimann, Angel Perez-Lara, Carsten Slotta, Nadine Thau-Habermann, Cora R. Von Collenberg, Franziska Karl, Markus Damme, Arie Horowitz, Isabelle Maystadt, Annette Füchtbauer, Ernst-Martin Füchtbauer, Sibylle Jablonka, Robert Blum, Nurcan Üçeyler, Susanne Petri, Barbara Kaltschmidt, Reinhard Jahn, Christian Kaltschmidt, Michael Sendtner

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Autophagy-mediated degradation of synaptic components maintains synaptic homeostasis but also constitutes a mechanism of neurodegeneration. It is unclear how autophagy of synaptic vesicles and components of presynaptic active zones is regulated. Here, we show that Pleckstrin homology containing family member 5 (Plekhg5) modulates autophagy of synaptic vesicles in axon terminals of motoneurons via its function as a guanine exchange factor for Rab26, a small GTPase that specifically directs synaptic vesicles to preautophagosomal structures. Plekhg5 gene inactivation in mice results in a late-onset motoneuron disease, characterized by degeneration of axon terminals. Plekhg5-depleted cultured motoneurons show defective axon growth and impaired autophagy …

Oral Apolipoprotein A-I Mimetic D-4f Lowers Hdl-Inflammatory Index In High-Risk Patients: A First-In-Human Multiple-Dose, Randomized Controlled Trial., Richard L. Dunbar, Rajesh Movva, Leanne T. Bloedon, Danielle Duffy, Robert B. Norris, Mohamad Navab, Alan M. Fogelman, Daniel J. Rader

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

A single dose of the apolipoprotein (apo)A-I mimetic peptide D-4F rendered high-density lipoprotein (HDL) less inflammatory, motivating the first multiple-dose study. We aimed to assess safety/tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of daily, orally administered D-4F. High-risk coronary heart disease (CHD) subjects added double-blinded placebo or D-4F to statin for 13 days, randomly assigned 1:3 to ascending cohorts of 100, 300, then 500 mg (n = 62; 46 men/16 women). D-4F was safe and well-tolerated. Mean ± SD plasma D-4F area under the curve (AUC, 0-8h) was 6.9 ± 5.7 ng/mL*h (100 mg), 22.7 ± 19.6 ng/mL*h (300 mg), and 104.0 ± …

Dabigatran Reversal With Idarucizumab., Charles V. Pollack, Paul A Reilly, Jeffrey I Weitz

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Intravesical Rad-Ifnα/Syn3 For Patients With High-Grade, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-Refractory Or Relapsed Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Phase Ii Randomized Study., Neal D Shore, Stephen A Boorjian, Daniel J Canter, Kenneth Ogan, Lawrence I Karsh, Tracy M Downs, Leonard G Gomella, Ashish M Kamat, Yair Lotan, Robert S Svatek, Trinity J Bivalacqua, Robert L Grubb, Tracey L Krupski, Seth P Lerner, Michael E Woods, Brant A Inman, Matthew I Milowsky, Alan Boyd, F Peter Treasure, Gillian Gregory, David G Sawutz, Seppo Yla-Herttuala, Nigel R Parker, Colin P N Dinney

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Purpose Many patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) are either refractory to bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment or may experience disease relapse. We assessed the efficacy and safety of recombinant adenovirus interferon alfa with Syn3 (rAd-IFNα/Syn3), a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus gene transfer vector, for patients with high-grade (HG) BCG-refractory or relapsed NMIBC. Methods In this open-label, multicenter (n = 13), parallel-arm, phase II study ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01687244), 43 patients with HG BCG-refractory or relapsed NMIBC received intravesical rAd-IFNα/Syn3 (randomly assigned 1:1 to 1 × 10(11) viral particles (vp)/mL or 3 × 10(11) vp/mL). Patients who responded at months 3, …

Effect Of Oral Semaglutide Compared With Placebo And Subcutaneous Semaglutide On Glycemic Control In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial., Melanie Davies, Thomas R. Pieber, Marie-Louise Hartoft-Nielsen, Oluf K.H. Hansen, Serge Jabbour, Julio Rosenstock

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Importance: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are effective therapies for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and are all currently available as an injection.

Objectives: To compare the effects of oral semaglutide with placebo (primary) and open-label subcutaneous semaglutide (secondary) on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Design, Setting, and Patients: Phase 2, randomized, parallel-group, dosage-finding, 26-week trial with 5-week follow-up at 100 sites (hospital clinics, general practices, and clinical research centers) in 14 countries conducted between December 2013 and December 2014. Of 1106 participants assessed, 632 with type 2 diabetes and insufficient glycemic control using diet and …

Clinical Characteristics, Management, And Outcomes Of Suspected Poststroke Acute Coronary Syndrome., Sylvia Marie Biso, Marvin Lu, Toni Anne De Venecia, Supakanya Wongrakpanich, Mary Rodriguez-Ziccardi, Sujani Yadlapati, Marina Kishlyansky, Harish Seetha Rammohan, Vincent M. Figueredo

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) can complicate acute ischemic stroke, causing significant morbidity and mortality. To date, literatures that describe poststroke acute coronary syndrome and its morbidity and mortality burden are lacking.

Methods: This is a single center, retrospective study where clinical characteristics, cardiac evaluation, and management of patients with suspected poststroke ACS were compared and analyzed for their association with inpatient mortality and 1-year all-cause mortality.

Results: Of the 82 patients, 32% had chest pain and 88% had ischemic ECG changes; mean peak troponin level was 18, and mean ejection fraction was 40%. The medical management group had older …

Patient-Reported Outcome Assessment Of Inflammatory Arthritis Patient Experience With Intravenously Administered Biologic Therapy, Norman B. Gaylis, Joanne Sagliani, Shawn Black, Kezhen L. Tang, Raphael J. Dehoratius, Wesley A. Kafka, Dennis Parenti

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Objective: To evaluate patient perspectives regarding utilization of intravenous (IV) therapy for inflammatory arthritis (IA). Methods: This was a single-center, non-interventional, patient questionnaire-based study of adult IA patients currently receiving IV biologics. At a single visit, patients completed the questionnaire comprising 30 questions centered on their experience receiving an intravenously administered therapy to treat their IA. The questionnaire included questions on patient demographics, disease characteristics, and previous biologic treatment for IA (subcutaneous [SC] and IV). Patients rated their level of agreement with statements regarding satisfaction with current IV biologic therapy and potential advantages and disadvantages of IV biologic therapy using …

Mobilized Peripheral Blood Stem Cells Versus Unstimulated Bone Marrow As A Graft Source For T-Cell-Replete Haploidentical Donor Transplantation Using Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide., Asad Bashey, Mei-Jie Zhang, Shannon R Mccurdy, Andrew St Martin, Trevor Argall, Claudio Anasetti, Stefan O Ciurea, Omotayo Fasan, Sameh Gaballa, Md, Mehdi Hamadani, Pashna Munshi, Monzr M Al Malki, Ryotaro Nakamura, Paul V O'Donnell, Miguel-Angel Perales, Kavita Raj, Rizwan Romee, Scott Rowley, Vanderson Rocha, Rachel B Salit, Melhem Solh, Robert J Soiffer, Ephraim Joseph Fuchs, Mary Eapen

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Purpose T-cell-replete HLA-haploidentical donor hematopoietic transplantation using post-transplant cyclophosphamide was originally described using bone marrow (BM). With increasing use of mobilized peripheral blood (PB), we compared transplant outcomes after PB and BM transplants. Patients and Methods A total of 681 patients with hematologic malignancy who underwent transplantation in the United States between 2009 and 2014 received BM (n = 481) or PB (n = 190) grafts. Cox regression models were built to examine differences in transplant outcomes by graft type, adjusting for patient, disease, and transplant characteristics. Results Hematopoietic recovery was similar after transplantation of BM and PB (28-day neutrophil …

Efficacy And Safety Of Spironolactone In Acute Heart Failure: The Athena-Hf Randomized Clinical Trial., Javed Butler, Kevin J. Anstrom, G. Michael Felker, Michael M. Givertz, Andreas P Kalogeropoulos, Marvin A. Konstam, Douglas L. Mann, Kenneth B. Margulies, Steven E Mcnulty, Robert J. Mentz, Margaret M. Redfield, W.H. Wilson Tang, David J. Whellan, Monica Shah, Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, Adrian F. Hernandez, Eugene Braunwald

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Importance: Persistent congestion is associated with worse outcomes in acute heart failure (AHF). Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists administered at high doses may relieve congestion, overcome diuretic resistance, and mitigate the effects of adverse neurohormonal activation in AHF.

Objective: To assess the effect of high-dose spironolactone and usual care on N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels compared with usual care alone.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This double-blind and placebo (or low-dose)-controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted in 22 US acute care hospitals among patients with AHF who were previously receiving no or low-dose (12.5 mg or 25 mg daily) spironolactone and had …

A Review Of Neurogenic Stunned Myocardium., Sylvia Biso, Supakanya Wongrakpanich, Akanksha Agrawal, Sujani Yadlapati, Marina Kishlyansky, Vincent M. Figueredo

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Neurologic stunned myocardium (NSM) is a phenomenon where neurologic events give rise to cardiac abnormalities. Neurologic events like stroke and seizures cause sympathetic storm and autonomic dysregulation that result in myocardial injury. The clinical presentation can involve troponin elevation, left ventricular dysfunction, and ECG changes. These findings are similar to Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and acute coronary syndrome. It is difficult to distinguish NSM from acute coronary syndrome based on clinical presentation alone. Because of this difficulty, a patient with NSM who is at high risk for coronary heart disease may undergo cardiac catheterization to rule out coronary artery disease. The objective …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Participation In Student-Run Free Clinics And Changes In Empathy In Medical Students., Anita Modi, Michele Fascelli, Zachary Daitch, Mohammadreza Hojat Professor

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: We explored differences in changes in medical student empathy in the third year of medical school between volunteers at JeffHOPE, a multisite medical student-run free clinic of Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC), and nonvolunteers.

METHOD: Volunteerism and leadership experience at JeffHOPE were documented for medical students in the Class of 2015 (n = 272) across their medical educations. Students completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy at the beginning of medical school and at the end of the third year. Students who reported participation in other Jefferson-affiliated clinics (n = 44) were excluded from this study. Complete data were available …

Disseminated Nocardia Cyriacigeorgia Causing Pancreatitis In A Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplant Recipient., Jason Chen, Md, Jonathan Pan, Md, Joanne Filicko-O'Hara, Margaret Kasner, Phyllis Flomenberg

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

We report the first published case of acute pancreatitis secondary to disseminated nocardiosis in a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipient on chronic immunosuppression for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Nocardiosis in the HSCT population is relatively rare, and has not yet been described in haploidentical HSCT recipients. Our patient is a 28-year-old male with a history of haploidentical HSCT and GVHD of the skin and lung who was admitted to the hospital with acute pancreatitis. The workup for the etiology of his pancreatitis was initially unrevealing. He subsequently developed worsening sepsis and respiratory failure despite broad spectrum antimicrobials. After multiple bronchoscopies …

Effect Of Oral Iron Repletion On Exercise Capacity In Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction And Iron Deficiency: The Ironout Hf Randomized Clinical Trial., Gregory D Lewis, Rajeev Malhotra, Adrian F Hernandez, Steven E Mcnulty, Andrew Smith, G Michael Felker, W H Wilson Tang, Shane J Larue, Margaret M Redfield, Marc J Semigran, Michael M Givertz, Peter Van Buren, David J Whellan, Kevin J Anstrom, Monica R Shah, Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, Javed Butler, Eugene Braunwald

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Importance: Iron deficiency is present in approximately 50% of patients with heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) and is an independent predictor of reduced functional capacity and mortality. However, the efficacy of inexpensive readily available oral iron supplementation in heart failure is unknown.

Objective: To test whether therapy with oral iron improves peak exercise capacity in patients with HFrEF and iron deficiency.

Design, Setting, and Participants: Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of patients with HFrEF (

Interventions: Oral iron polysaccharide (n = 111) or placebo (n = 114), 150 mg twice daily for 16 weeks. …

The Nephrotoxicity Of Vancomycin., Edward J. Filippone, Walter K. Kraft, John L. Farber

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Cancer Immunotherapy Summit At The 2016 Society For Immunotherapy Of Cancer 31st Anniversary Annual Meeting, Howard L. Kaufman, Michael B. Atkins, Adam Dicker Md, Phd, Heather S. Jim, Louis P. Garrison, Roy S. Herbst, William T. Mcgivney, Steven Silverstein, Jon M. Wigginton, Peter P. Yu

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

As healthcare costs continue to rise, there has been great interest in understanding and defining the value of current therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer. Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a clinically beneficial alternative to conventional therapies for a variety of malignancies. Characterized by broad clinical activity, durable response rates, distinct side effects, and unique response kinetics, immune-based agents are vastly different compared with traditional cytotoxic or targeted therapies. To date, however, value assessments in oncology have not focused on the unique aspects of cancer immunotherapy, which has resulted in a lack of understanding of the true value of …

Discordance In Investigator-Reported And Adjudicated Sudden Death In Tiospir., Robert A. Wise, Peter R. Kowey, George Austen, Achim Mueller, Norbert Metzdorf, Andy Fowler, Lorcan P Mcgarvey

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Accurate and consistent determination of cause of death is challenging in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. TIOSPIR (N=17 135) compared the safety and efficacy of tiotropium Respimat 5/2.5 µg with HandiHaler 18 µg in COPD patients. All-cause mortality was a primary end-point. A mortality adjudication committee (MAC) assessed all deaths. We aimed to investigate causes of discordance in investigator-reported and MAC-adjudicated causes of death and their impact on results, especially cardiac and sudden death. The MAC provided independent, blinded assessment of investigator-reported deaths (n=1302) and assigned underlying cause of death. Discordance between causes of death was assessed descriptively (shift …

Influence Of Sex/Gender And Race On Responses To Raltegravir Combined With Tenofovir-Emtricitabine In Treatment-Naive Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infected Patients: Pooled Analyses Of The Startmrk And Qdmrk Studies., Kathleen E. Squires, Linda-Gail Bekker, Christine Katlama, Yazdan Yazdanpanah, Yan Zhou, Anthony J Rodgers, Mark J Dinubile, Peter A Sklar, Randi Y Leavitt, Hedy Teppler

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral therapy in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women and blacks merits particular scrutiny because these groups have been underrepresented in clinical trials.

METHODS: To document the effects of raltegravir across sex and racial lines, we conducted a pooled subgroup analysis of the efficacy and safety of raltegravir 400 mg BID plus tenofovir-emtricitabine by sex (women vs men) and self-identified race (black vs non-black) using phase 3 studies in treatment-naive patients.

RESULTS: Study participants included 42 black women, 102 non-black women, 48 black men, and 477 non-black men. Clade B infections were less common in women (43.8%) than men (84.6%) …