Variability of disease activity in patients with hereditary angioedema type 1/2: longitudinal data from the Icatibant Outcome Survey.

Funder: Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG, Zurich, SwitzerlandBACKGROUND: Hereditary angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency (HAE-1/2) is a chronic and debilitating disease. The unpredictable clinical course represents a significant patient burden. OBJECTIVE: To analyse longitudinal registry data from the Icatibant Outcome Survey (IOS) in order to characterize temporal changes in disease activity in patients with HAE-1/2. METHODS: Icatibant Outcome Survey (NCT01034969) is an international observational registry monitoring the clinical outcomes of patients eligible for icatibant treatment. The current analyses are based on data collected between July 2009 and July 2019. Retrospective data for attacks recorded in the 12 months prior to IOS enrolment and for each 12-month period up to 7 years were analysed. RESULTS: Included patients reported angioedema attacks without long-term prophylaxis (LTP; n = 315) and with LTP (n = 292) use at the time of attack onset. Androgens were the most frequently used LTP option (80.8%). At the population level, regardless of LTP use, most patients (52-80%) reporting <5 attacks in Year 1 continued experiencing this rate; similarly, many patients (25-76%) who reported high attack frequency continued reporting ≥10 attacks/year. However, year on year, 31-51% of patients experienced notable changes (increase/decrease of ≥5 attacks) in annual attack frequency. Of patients who reported an absolute change of ≥10 attacks from Year 1 to 2, 17-50% continued to experience a change of this magnitude in subsequent years. CONCLUSION: At the population level, attack frequency was generally consistent over 7 years. At the small group level, 28.8-34.5% of patients reported a change in attack frequency of ≥5 attacks from Year 1 to Year 2; up to half of these patients continued to experience this magnitude of variation in disease activity in later years, reflecting high intra-patient variability

Brazilian Guidelines for Hereditary Angioedema Management - 2017 Update Part 1: Definition, Classification and Diagnosis

Hereditary angioedema is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by recurrent angioedema attacks with the involvement of multiple organs. The disease is unknown to many health professionals and is therefore underdiagnosed. Patients who are not adequately diagnosed and treated have an estimated mortality rate ranging from 25% to 40% due to asphyxiation by laryngeal angioedema. Intestinal angioedema is another important and incapacitating presentation that may be the main or only manifestation during an attack. In this article, a group of experts from the “Associação Brasileira de Alergia e Imunologia (ASBAI)” and the “Grupo de Estudos Brasileiro em Angioedema Hereditário (GEBRAEH)” has updated the Brazilian guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hereditary angioedema

Invasive meningococcal disease in three siblings with hereditary deficiency of the 8th component of complement: Evidence for the importance of an early diagnosis

Deficiency of the eighth component of complement (C8) is a very rare primary immunodeficiency, associated with invasive, recurrent infections mainly caused by Neisseria species. We report functional and immunochemical C8 deficiency diagnosed in three Albanian siblings who presented with severe meningococcal infections at the age of 15 years, 4 years and 17 months, respectively. The youngest suffered serious complications (necrosis of fingers and toes requiring amputation). METHODS: Functional activity of the classical, alternative and mannose-binding lectin complement pathways was measured in serum from the 3 siblings and their parents (37-year-old woman and 42-year-old man). Forty healthy subjects (20 males and 20 females aged 4-38 years) served as normal controls. Serum complement factors were measured by haemolytic assays and immunoblotting. Sequence DNA analysis of the C8B gene was performed. RESULTS: Analyses of the three complement pathways revealed no haemolytic activity and also absence of C8beta in serum samples from all three siblings. The genetic analysis showed that the three siblings were homozygous for the p.Arg428* mutation in the C8B gene on chromosome 1p32 (MIM 120960). The parents were heterozygous for the mutation and presented normal complement activities. A 2-year follow-up revealed no further infective episodes in the siblings after antibiotic prophylaxis and meningococcal vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Complement deficiencies are rare and their occurrence is often underestimated. In presence of invasive meningococcal infection, we highlight the importance of complement screening in patients and their relatives in order to discover any genetic defects which would render necessary prophylaxis to prevent recurrent infections and severe complications

Incidência da sífilis congênita no Brasil e sua relação com a Estratégia Saúde da Família

OBJETIVO: Estimar a incidência da sífilis congênita e identificar sua relação com a cobertura da Estratégia Saúde da Família. MÉTODOS: Estudo ecológico observacional, com componentes descritivos e analíticos, desenvolvido por meio de duas abordagens: em série temporal (2003 a 2008) e focalizando dados de 2008. Os dados secundários utilizados (epidemiológicos, demográficos e socioeconômicos) foram obtidos do Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde e Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. A análise de possíveis efeitos da implantação dessa Estratégia sobre a prevenção da sífilis congênita foi realizada em subgrupos selecionados de municípios, por meio de duas abordagens: a) variação média anual da taxa de incidência de sífilis congênita em diferentes estratos de cobertura da Estratégia, durante o período de 2003 a 2008, com cálculo do coeficiente de regressão linear simples; e b) análise de regressão binomial negativa, com dados de 2008, para controle de alguns fatores de confundimento. RESULTADOS: Há tendência de aumento das notificações de sífilis congênita no Brasil, com desigualdades sociais na distribuição dos casos. Observa-se uma associação negativa entre a incidência de sífilis congênita em municípios com altas coberturas da Saúde da Família; mas, após controle de covariáveis, esse efeito pode ser atribuível à cobertura de pré-natal e a características demográficas dos municípios nos quais essa Estratégia foi prioritariamente implantada. CONCLUSÕES: Apesar do aumento das coberturas de pré-natal, ainda se observa uma baixa efetividade dessas ações para a prevenção da sífilis congênita. Não foi identificada uma associação melhor entre o pré-natal realizado pelas equipes da Estratégia Saúde da Família e o controle da sífilis congênita do que aquela associação observada nas situações em que o pré-natal é realizado por outros modelos de atenção