Telaprevir-based triple-therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Germany: a 12-week interim analysis of real-life data

Telaprevir (TVR)-based triple therapy in patients (pts) with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) in daily practice in Germany is investigated in this non-interventional study. Aims are the evaluation of the implementation of futility rules, as well as safety and efficacy of TVR-based therapy. This prospective, multi-center study investigates TVR-based therapy in therapy-naïve and pretreated pts with genotype 1 chronic HCV in Germany, including pts with HIV co-infection. Patients are treated with a combination of TVR, ribavirin and peg-interferon. This interim analysis includes data from the first 100 pts (12.5% of the planned total) at 32 sites completing 12 weeks (W) of treatment. 66% of pts were pretreated for HCV. 36.4% of pts with pre-treatment were prior relapsers and 30.3% null or partial responders. Cirrhosis was present in 11% of all pts at baseline. HCV RNA levels below 800.000 IU/ml at baseline were present in 50% of pts. 67% of pts showed rapid virological response (RVR, undetectable HCV RNA at W4). Adherence to the futility rule (treatment stop if HCV-RNA>1000 IU/ml at W4) was 100% (N=9). At W12, 91.4% of pts had undetectable HCV RNA. 57.7% of therapy-naïve pts and 86.4% of previous relapsers were HCV-RNA negative at both W4 and 12 (70.8% in total). Only one patient achieving RVR at W4 suffered a virologic breakthrough. Nearly all pts (99%) had adverse events (AE) during the first 12W, 6% reported serious adverse events (SAE). AEs were mostly mild (63.9%) or moderate (34.6%) and frequently mentioned dry skin/pruritus (54%), gastrointestinal disorders (48%), anorectal discomfort (30%), rash (29%) and anemia (23%). Rash was mostly rated as mild or moderate (97.1%). An Hb decrease<12 g/dl (female) or<13 g/dl (male) was reported in 87% of pts. Mean Hb levels decreased from 14.8 g/dl at baseline to 10.6 g/dl at W12; Hb levels<8.5 g/dl at any time within the first 12W of treatment were present in 11% of anemia cases and 6.6% required transfusion. Only one patient received erythropoietin treatment. 2 cases each of anemia and rash were considered as SAE. These interim results suggest that TVR-based triple-therapy is efficient against GT1 chronic hepatitis C in a real life setting. Adherence to futility rules was confirmed in all patients. As observed in clinical trials, adverse events were reported frequently, including anemia and rash. As more data become available, results will be updated

Gifting personal interpretations in galleries

The designers of mobile guides for museums and galleries face three major challenges: fostering rich interpretation, delivering deep personalization, and enabling a coherent social visit. We propose an approach to tackling all three simultaneously by inviting visitors to design an interpretation that is specifically tailored for a friend or loved one that they then experience together. We describe a trial of this approach at a contemporary art gallery, revealing how visitors designed personal and sometimes provocative experiences for people they knew well. We reveal how pairs of visitors negotiated these experiences together, showing how our approach could deliver intense experiences for both, but also required them to manage social risk. By interpreting our findings through the lens of ‘gift giving’ we shed new light on ongoing explorations of interpretation, personalization and social visiting within HCI

Development of connectivity in a motoneuronal network in Drosophila larvae.

BACKGROUND: Much of our understanding of how neural networks develop is based on studies of sensory systems, revealing often highly stereotyped patterns of connections, particularly as these diverge from the presynaptic terminals of sensory neurons. We know considerably less about the wiring strategies of motor networks, where connections converge onto the dendrites of motoneurons. Here, we investigated patterns of synaptic connections between identified motoneurons with sensory neurons and interneurons in the motor network of the Drosophila larva and how these change as it develops. RESULTS: We find that as animals grow, motoneurons increase the number of synapses with existing presynaptic partners. Different motoneurons form characteristic cell-type-specific patterns of connections. At the same time, there is considerable variability in the number of synapses formed on motoneuron dendrites, which contrasts with the stereotypy reported for presynaptic terminals of sensory neurons. Where two motoneurons of the same cell type contact a common interneuron partner, each postsynaptic cell can arrive at a different connectivity outcome. Experimentally changing the positioning of motoneuron dendrites shows that the geography of dendritic arbors in relation to presynaptic partner terminals is an important determinant in shaping patterns of connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: In the Drosophila larval motor network, the sets of connections that form between identified neurons manifest an unexpected level of variability. Synapse number and the likelihood of forming connections appear to be regulated on a cell-by-cell basis, determined primarily by the postsynaptic dendrites of motoneuron terminals.L.C. was supported by a Fyssen Foundation post-doctoral fellowship. This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK) grant (BB/I022414/1) to M.L., a Wellcome Trust Programme Grant (WT075934) to Michael Bate and M.L., a Grass Foundation fellowship to A.S.M., and a Sir Isaac Newton Trust grant to A.S.M. and M.L. The work benefited from facilities supported by a Wellcome Trust Equipment Grant (WT079204) and contributions by the Sir Isaac Newton Trust in Cambridge.This paper was originally published in Current Biology (Couton L, Mauss AS, Yunusov T, Diegelmann S, Evers JF, Landgraf M, Current Biology 2015, 25, 568–576, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.056

Loudly sing cuckoo : More-than-human seasonalities in Britain

This research was funded by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, grant number AH/E009573/1.Peer reviewedPostprin

MicroRNA-8 promotes robust motor axon targeting by coordinate regulation of cell adhesion molecules during synapse development

Neuronal connectivity and specificity rely upon precise coordinated deployment of multiple cell-surface and secreted molecules. MicroRNAs have tremendous potential for shaping neural circuitry by fine-tuning the spatio-temporal expression of key synaptic effector molecules. The highly conserved microRNA miR-8 is required during late stages of neuromuscular synapse development in Drosophila. However, its role in initial synapse formation was previously unknown. Detailed analysis of synaptogenesis in this system now reveals that miR-8 is required at the earliest stages of muscle target contact by RP3 motor axons. We find that the localization of multiple synaptic cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) is dependent on the expression of miR-8, suggesting that miR-8 regulates the initial assembly of synaptic sites. Using stable isotope labelling in vivo and comparative mass spectrometry, we find that miR-8 is required for normal expression of multiple proteins, including the CAMs Fasciclin III (FasIII) and Neuroglian (Nrg). Genetic analysis suggests that Nrg and FasIII collaborate downstream of miR-8 to promote accurate target recognition. Unlike the function of miR-8 at mature larval neuromuscular junctions, at the embryonic stage we find that miR-8 controls key effectors on both sides of the synapse. MiR-8 controls multiple stages of synapse formation through the coordinate regulation of both pre- and postsynaptic cell adhesion proteins

Impact of lipoatrophy on quality of life in HIV patients receiving anti-retroviral therapy1

Metabolic and morphological side-effects occur in HIV-infected individuals receiving anti-retroviral treatment (ART). Peripheral fat loss that occurs particularly in the face, limbs and/or buttocks is referred to as lipoatrophy and has been found to be highly stigmatizing and to adversely impact the health-related quality of life (HRQL). Consumer Health Sciences Survey data collected between November 2003 and January 2006 were utilized to evaluate the impact of lipoatrophy on the HRQL in HIV-infected individuals receiving ART. This was evaluated using analysis of variance with item scores and mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) scores from the Medical Outcomes Trust questionnaire, SF-8 as dependent variables and lipoatrophy as the independent variable controlling for baseline age, sex and ethnicity. Clinical meaningfulness (mean difference divided by population standard deviation, δ/σ) of differences between the groups with and without lipoatrophy was also evaluated. A cohort of 1124 subjects with at least six months of ART was selected based on the availability of data on whether or not lipoatrophy was present. Subjects were primarily male (80%), between the ages of 30 and 60 years (90%), Hispanic (37%) and about 25% each of African American and White. Overall, prevalence of lipoatrophy in this cohort of HIV patients was 18.9%. Statistically significant (p < 0.001) differences in quality of life (as measured by SF-8 individual item scores and MCS and PCS scores) were observed between the two groups. The differences between the groups in item and summary scores were clinically meaningful in the small to near medium range (0.28–0.43). HIV-infected patients already experience a considerable deficiency in HRQL compared to general population; this study demonstrates that lipoatrophy further enhances that negative impact on HRQL