Project description:Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of canakinumab treatment in active hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with periodic fever syndrome (HIDS). Methods. This is a 3-part open-label study with a 6-month treatment period (P1; 300 mg or 4 mg/kg q6w) a 6-month withdrawal period (P2) and a 24-month treatment period (P3). The primary endpoint was reduction in frequency of flares during treatment period compared with the historical period (HP; period in which patients did not receive drugs other than NSAIDs and/or steroids).
Project description:The purpose of this review is to highlight the molecular and clinical characteristics of the cryopyrin-associated periodic fever syndrome (CAPS) and its management. CAPS is an autosomal dominantly inherited autoinflammatory disorder associated with mutations in the NLRP3 gene, which ultimately lead to excessive production of interleukin-1? (IL-1?) and systemic inflammation. Typical systemic features include fever, urticarial rash and arthralgia, and ultimately amyloidosis. There are also multiple neurological manifestations including, but not restricted to, headache, sensorineural hearing loss, aseptic meningitis, myalgia and optic nerve involvement.Since the recognition of CAPS as a single disease entity and discovery of the underlying causative gene, there has been a major breakthrough in terms of its treatment by pharmacological IL-1? inhibition. Highly targeted therapies against IL-1 have been shown to be remarkably effective in the treatment of CAPS and make early diagnosis of this condition crucial. It is hoped that starting pharmacological intervention in a timely manner will prove neuroprotective. There are three drugs licensed for treatment of CAPS; canakinumab, anakinra and rilonacept. The former two are widely used: canakinumab is a fully humanised anti-IL-1? monoclonal antibody administered as a subcutaneous injection once every 8 weeks starting at a dose of 150 mg in patients weighing more than 40 kg. Anakinra is a recombinant form of the IL-1 receptor antagonist and the adult daily dose is 100 mg subcutaneously. CAPS is a highly debilitating disorder characterised by unregulated IL-1? production driven by autosomal dominantly inherited mutations in the NLRP3 gene. Effective therapies targeted against IL-1 are now available and are vital to prevent long-term complications.
Project description:IntroductionPeriodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis, Adenitis (PFAPA) is the most common periodic fever syndrome in the pediatric population, yet its pathogenesis is unknown. PFAPA was believed to be sporadic but family clustering has been widely observed.ObjectiveTo identify demographic and clinical differences between patients with PFAPA and a positive family history (FH+) as compared to those with no family history (FH-).MethodsIn a database comprising demographic and clinical data of 273 pediatric PFAPA patients treated at two tertiary centers in Israel, 31 (14.3%) had FH+. Data from patients with FH+ were compared to data from those with FH-. Furthermore, family members (FMs) of those with FH+ were contacted via telephone for more demographic and clinical details.ResultsThe FH+ group as compared to the FH- group had more myalgia (56 vs. 19%, respectively, p = 0.001), headaches (32 vs. 2%, respectively, p = 0.016), and a higher carrier frequency of M694V mutation (54% vs. 25%, respectively, p = 0.05). Colchicine was seen to be a more beneficial treatment for the FH+ group as compared to the FH- group; however, with no statistical significance (p = 0.096). FMs displayed almost identical characteristics to patients in the FH+ group except for greater arthralgia during flares (64 vs. 23%, respectively, p = 0.008), and compared to the FH- group they had more oral aphthae (68 vs. 43%, respectively, p = 0.002), myalgia/arthralgia (64 vs. 19%/16%, respectively, p < 0.0001), and higher rates of FH of Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) (45 vs.15%, respectively, p = 0.003).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that patients with a FH+ likely experience a different subset of disease with higher frequency of family history of FMF, arthralgia, myalgia, and might have a better response to colchicine compared to FH-. Colchicine prophylaxis for PFAPA should be considered in FH+.
Project description:Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) include a group of rare autoinflammatory disorders, the spectrum of which ranges from the mildest form, ie, familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome to more severe phenotypes, ie, Muckle-Wells syndrome, and chronic infantile neurological cutaneous and articular syndrome, also known as neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease. Three interleukin (IL)-1 antagonists have been tested in adults and children with CAPS, ie, anakinra, a recombinant homolog of the human IL-1 receptor antagonist; rilonacept, a fusion protein comprising the extracellular domains of IL-1 receptor I and the IL-1 adaptor protein, IL-1RAcP, attached to a human immunoglobulin G molecule; and canakinumab, the anti-IL-1β monoclonal antibody. Following rapid clinical development, rilonacept and canakinumab were approved by both the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for use in adults and children. This review describes how the study of CAPS has helped us to understand better the way the innate immune system works, the pathogenesis of autoinflammatory syndromes, and the key role of IL-1. It also reviews the effects of IL-1 blockade in CAPS and other disorders, in particular systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, adult-onset Still's disease, and gout. Finally, this review covers some issues addressed by very recent and ongoing work regarding treatment indications, from orphan diseases to common disorders, continuous versus intermittent treatment, the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and optimal dosages of the different drugs, as well as the need for Phase IV trials, exhaustive registries, and long-term follow-up of several patient cohorts.
Project description:Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis and Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is an inflammatory disorder of childhood classically characterized by recurrent fevers, pharyngitis, stomatitis, cervical adenitis, and leukocytosis. While the mechanism is unclear, previous studies have shown that tonsillectomy can be a therapeutic option with improvement in quality of life in many patients with PFAPA, but the mechanisms behind surgical success remain unknown. In addition, long-term clinical follow-up is lacking. In our tertiary care center cohort, 62 patients with PFAPA syndrome had complete resolution of symptoms after surgery (95.3%). Flow cytometric evaluation demonstrates an inflammatory cell population, distinct from patients with infectious pharyngitis, with increased numbers of CD8+ T cells (5.9% vs. 3.8%, p < 0.01), CD19+ B cells (51% vs. 35%, p < 0.05), and CD19+CD20+CD27+CD38-memory B cells (14% vs. 7.7%, p < 0.01). Cells are primed at baseline with increased percentage of IL-1β positive cells compared to control tonsil-derived cells, which require exogenous LPS stimulation. Gene expression analysis demonstrates a fivefold upregulation in IL1RN and TNF expression in whole tonsil compared to control tonsils, with persistent activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, and differential microbial signatures, even in the afebrile period. Our data indicates that PFAPA patient tonsils have localized, persistent inflammation, in the absence of clinical symptoms, which may explain the success of tonsillectomy as an effective surgical treatment option. The differential expression of several genes and microbial signatures suggests the potential for a diagnostic biomarker for PFAPA syndrome.
Project description:Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and adenitis syndrome (PFAPA) is the most common periodic fever syndrome in children with unknown etiology, effectively treated with tonsillectomy. Earlier we have shown that tonsil microbiome is different in patients with PFAPA as compared to that in controls. Recently, fungal microbiome, mycobiome, has been linked to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. We now investigated the role of mycobiome of tonsils in PFAPA. Random forest classification, a machine learning approach, was used for the analysis of mycobiome data. We examined tonsils from 30 children with PFAPA and 22 control children undergoing tonsillectomy for non-infectious reasons. We identified 103 amplicon sequence variants, mainly from two fungal phyla, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The mean relative abundance of Candida albicans in the tonsil mycobiome was 11% (95% CI: 19 to 27%) in cases and 3.4 % (95% CI: -0.8% to 8%) in controls, p =0.104. Mycobiome data showed no statistical difference in differentiating between PFAPA cases and controls compared to a random chance classifier (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.47, SD = 0.05, p = 0.809). In conclusion, in this controlled study, tonsillar mycobiome in children with PFAPA syndrome did not differ from that of the controls.
Project description:Periodic fever syndromes (PFSs) are a wide group of autoinflammatory diseases. Due to some clinical overlap between different PFSs, differential diagnosis can be a difficult challenge. Nowadays, there are no universally agreed recommendations for most PFSs, and near half of patients may remain without a genetic diagnosis even after performing multiple-gene analyses. Molecular analysis of periodic fevers' causative genes can improve patient quality of life by providing early and accurate diagnosis and allowing the administration of appropriate treatment. In this paper we focus our discussion on effective usefulness of genetic diagnosis of PFSs. The aim of this paper is to establish how much can the diagnostic system improve, in order to increase the success of PFS diagnosis. The mayor expectation in the near future will be addressed to the so-called next generation sequencing approach. Although the application of bioinformatics to high-throughput genetic analysis could allow the identification of complex genotypes, the complexity of this definition will hardly result in a clear contribution for the physician. In our opinion, however, to obtain the best from this new development a rule should always be kept well in mind: use genetics only to answer specific clinical questions.
Project description:BACKGROUND: The hyperimmunoglobulinaemia D and periodic fever syndrome is a hereditary periodic fever, caused by deficiency of the enzyme mevalonate kinase. It is unclear how this defect leads to recurrent fever episodes. AIM: To assess the involvement of cysteinyl leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of fever attacks as reflected by urinary leukotriene E(4) (LTE(4)) excretion. METHODS: Urinary LTE(4) was measured in seven patients while febrile and afebrile. RESULTS: LTE(4) was raised during fever in all subjects (46-199 nmol/mol creatinine, mean 92; normal <40). Urinary LTE(4) was normal between attacks, as well as in normal children with fever as a result of miscellaneous causes. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that cysteinyl leukotrienes play a role in the pathophysiology of this disorder. As no effective treatment is yet available, leukotriene receptor antagonists might offer a new therapeutic approach for patients with the hyperimmunoglobulinaemia D and periodic fever syndrome.