Etude par microdiffraction Laue de la redistribution des déformations dans un superallliage gros grain à base de nickel après grenaillage, maintien isotherme et fatigue.

International audienceThe Laue microdiffraction technique was used to investigate the strain field caused by the shot-peening operation and its redistribution after thermal hold or fatigue in a model nickel-based superalloy with an average grain size of 40$\mu$m. Micrometer and millimeter size mappings showed that the plastic deformation introduced by shot-peening in the whole sample partially relaxes after a thermal exposure at 450∘C and was fully redistributed by the fatigue of the material, except in the hardened layer close to the sample edge. Diffraction patterns permitted to measure separately the strains related to the average alloy ($\gamma$+$\gamma$′) and to the γ′ phase. No difference was observed between the two deviatoric strain fields. Even if there were small stresses in the inner part of the samples, the sensitivity of the Laue microdiffraction method was large enough to quantitatively characterize the crystal misorientations and the deviatoric strain redistributions. Useful data were provided not only at the grain scale but also at the mesoscopic scale, thus bridging the gap between the sin$^2$$\psi$ and Ortner’s methods used to determine residual stresses, respectively, in fine and single-grain microstructures. The obtained results are also of first interest for a quantitative comparison with HR-EBSD measurements in the scanning electron microscope. Energy coupled measurements with an energy-dispersive point detector were also performed to determine the full elastic strain tensors associated with the $\gamma$ and $\gamma$′ phases. We demonstrated that, for Ni-based superalloys, the accuracy on strains and stresses was, respectively, of the order of 1×10$^{−3}$ and $250$ MPa for the diagonal components of tensors. The measurements suffered from the 150 eV resolution of the detector which made it difficult to the separate the energies of the $\gamma$ and $\gamma$′ phases. Owing to large crystal misorientations, the microdiffraction technique was not able to determine elastic strains and hardening in the highly deformed layer, where a large amount of plastic strain and a number of defects were accumulated. Some improvements are proposed to overcome these difficulties

Long-term safety and efficacy of patisiran for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis with polyneuropathy: 12-month results of an open-label extension study

Background: Hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis is a rare, inherited, progressive disease caused by mutations in the transthyretin (TTR) gene. We assessed the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with patisiran, an RNA interference therapeutic that inhibits TTR production, in patients with hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. Methods: This multicentre, open-label extension (OLE) trial enrolled patients at 43 hospitals or clinical centres in 19 countries as of Sept 24, 2018. Patients were eligible if they had completed the phase 3 APOLLO or phase 2 OLE parent studies and tolerated the study drug. Eligible patients from APOLLO (patisiran and placebo groups) and the phase 2 OLE (patisiran group) studies enrolled in this global OLE trial and received patisiran 0·3 mg/kg by intravenous infusion every 3 weeks with plans to continue to do so for up to 5 years. Efficacy assessments included measures of polyneuropathy (modified Neuropathy Impairment Score +7 [mNIS+7]), quality of life, autonomic symptoms, nutritional status, disability, ambulation status, motor function, and cardiac stress, with analysis by study groups (APOLLO-placebo, APOLLO-patisiran, phase 2 OLE patisiran) based on allocation in the parent trial. The global OLE is ongoing with no new enrolment, and current findings are based on the interim analysis of the patients who had completed 12-month efficacy assessments as of the data cutoff. Safety analyses included all patients who received one or more dose of patisiran up to the data cutoff. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02510261. Findings: Between July 13, 2015, and Aug 21, 2017, of 212 eligible patients, 211 were enrolled: 137 patients from the APOLLO-patisiran group, 49 from the APOLLO-placebo group, and 25 from the phase 2 OLE patisiran group. At the data cutoff on Sept 24, 2018, 126 (92%) of 137 patients from the APOLLO-patisiran group, 38 (78%) of 49 from the APOLLO-placebo group, and 25 (100%) of 25 from the phase 2 OLE patisiran group had completed 12-month assessments. At 12 months, improvements in mNIS+7 with patisiran were sustained from parent study baseline with treatment in the global OLE (APOLLO-patisiran mean change –4·0, 95 % CI –7·7 to −0·3; phase 2 OLE patisiran –4·7, –11·9 to 2·4). Mean mNIS+7 score improved from global OLE enrolment in the APOLLO-placebo group (mean change from global OLE enrolment −1·4, 95% CI –6·2 to 3·5). Overall, 204 (97%) of 211 patients reported adverse events, 82 (39%) reported serious adverse events, and there were 23 (11%) deaths. Serious adverse events were more frequent in the APOLLO-placebo group (28 [57%] of 49) than in the APOLLO-patisiran (48 [35%] of 137) or phase 2 OLE patisiran (six [24%] of 25) groups. The most common treatment-related adverse event was mild or moderate infusion-related reactions. The frequency of deaths in the global OLE was higher in the APOLLO-placebo group (13 [27%] of 49), who had a higher disease burden than the APOLLO-patisiran (ten [7%] of 137) and phase 2 OLE patisiran (0 of 25) groups. Interpretation: In this interim 12-month analysis of the ongoing global OLE study, patisiran appeared to maintain efficacy with an acceptable safety profile in patients with hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. Continued long-term follow-up will be important for the overall assessment of safety and efficacy with patisiran. Funding: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals