Filamin C-related myopathies: pathology and mechanisms

The term filaminopathy was introduced after a truncating mutation in the dimerization domain of filamin C (FLNc) was shown to be responsible for a devastating muscle disease. Subsequently, the same mutation was found in patients from diverse ethnical origins, indicating that this specific alteration is a mutational hot spot. Patients initially present with proximal muscle weakness, while distal and respiratory muscles become affected with disease progression. Muscle biopsies of these patients show typical signs of myofibrillar myopathy, including disintegration of myofibrils and aggregation of several proteins into distinct intracellular deposits. Highly similar phenotypes were observed in patients with other mutations in Ig-like domains of FLNc that result in expression of a noxious protein. Biochemical and biophysical studies showed that the mutated domains acquire an abnormal structure causing decreased stability and eventually becoming a seed for abnormal aggregation with other proteins. The disease usually presents only after the fourth decade of life possibly as a result of ageing-related impairments in the machinery that is responsible for disposal of damaged proteins. This is confirmed by mutations in components of this machinery that cause a highly similar phenotype. Transfection studies of cultured muscle cells reflect the events observed in patient muscles and, therefore, may provide a helpful model for testing future dedicated therapeutic strategies. More recently, FLNC mutations were also found in families with a distal myopathy phenotype, caused either by mutations in the actin-binding domain of FLNc that result in increased actin-binding and non-specific myopathic abnormalities without myofibrillar myopathy pathology, or a nonsense mutation in the rod domain that leads to RNA instability, haploinsufficiency with decreased expression levels of FLNc in the muscle fibers and myofibrillar abnormalities, but not to the formation of desmin-positive protein aggregates required for the diagnosis of myofibrillar myopathy

The ACRA Anatomy Study (Assessment of Disability After Coronary Procedures Using Radial Access): A Comprehensive Anatomic and Functional Assessment of the Vasculature of the Hand and Relation to Outcome After Transradial Catheterization

BACKGROUND: The palmar arches serve as the most important conduits for digital blood supply, and incompleteness may lead to digital ischemia when the radial artery becomes obstructed after cardiac catheterization. The rate of palmar arch incompleteness and the clinical consequences after transradial access are currently unknown.METHODS AND RESULTS: The vascular anatomy of the hand was documented by angiography in 234 patients undergoing transradial cardiac catheterization. In all patients, a preprocedural modified Allen test and Barbeau test were performed. Upper-extremity function was assessed at baseline and 2-year follow-up by the QuickDASH. Incompleteness of the superficial palmar arch (SPA) was present in 46%, the deep palmar arch was complete in all patients. Modified Allen test and Barbeau test results were associated with incompleteness of the SPA (P=0.001 and P=0.001). The modified Allen test had a 33% sensitivity and 86% specificity for SPA incompleteness with a cutoff value of >10 seconds and a 59% sensitivity and 60% specificity with a cutoff value of >5 seconds. The Barbeau test had a 7% sensitivity and 98% specificity for type D and a 21% sensitivity and 93% specificity for types C and D combined. Upper-extremity dysfunction was not associated with SPA incompleteness (P=0.77).CONCLUSIONS: Although incompleteness of the SPA is common, digital blood supply is always preserved by a complete deep palmar arch. Preprocedural patency tests have thus no added benefit to prevent ischemic complications of the hand. Finally, incompleteness of the SPA is not associated with a loss of upper-extremity function after transradial catheterization

Interprofessional Consensus Regarding Design Requirements for Liquid-Based Perinatal Life Support (PLS) Technology

Liquid-based perinatal life support (PLS) technology will probably be applied in a first-in-human study within the next decade. Research and development of PLS technology should not only address technical issues, but also consider socio-ethical and legal aspects, its application area, and the corresponding design implications. This paper represents the consensus opinion of a group of healthcare professionals, designers, ethicists, researchers and patient representatives, who have expertise in tertiary obstetric and neonatal care, bio-ethics, experimental perinatal animal models for physiologic research, biomedical modeling, monitoring, and design. The aim of this paper is to provide a framework for research and development of PLS technology. These requirements are considering the possible respective user perspectives, with the aim to co-create a PLS system that facilitates physiological growth and development for extremely preterm born infants

Clinical and morphological phenotype of the filamin myopathy: a study of 31 German patients

Mutations in the filamin C gene (FLNC) cause a myofibrillar myopathy (MFM), morphologically characterized by focal myofibrillar destruction and abnormal accumulation of several proteins within skeletal muscle fibres. We studied 31 patients from four German families to evaluate the phenotype of filaminopathy. All patients harboured the same p.W2710X mutation in FLNC. Haplotype analysis suggested a founder mutation in these German filaminopathy families. The mean age at onset of clinical symptoms was 44 +/− 6 years (range, 24-57 years). Slowly progressive muscle weakness was mostly pronounced proximally, initially affecting the lower extremities and involving the upper extremities in the course of disease progression, similar to the distribution of weakness seen in limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD). Patients frequently developed respiratory muscle weakness. About one-third of the patients showed cardiac abnormalities comprising conduction blocks, tachycardia, diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy indicating a cardiac involvement in filaminopathy. Serum creatine kinase levels varied from normal up to 10-fold of the upper limit. Magnetic resonance imaging studies showed a rather homogenous pattern of muscle involvement in the lower extremities differing from that in other types of MFM. Myopathological features included perturbation of myofibrillar alignment, accumulation of granulofilamentous material similar to that seen in primary desminopathies and abnormal intracellular protein deposits typical of MFM. Decreased activities of oxidative enzymes and fibre hypertrophy seem to be early features, whereas dystrophic changes were present in advanced stages of filaminopathy. Rimmed vacuoles were detected in only a few cases. The intracellular aggregates were composed of a variety of proteins including filamin C, desmin, myotilin, Xin, dystrophin and sarcoglycans. Therapy is so far limited to symptomatic treatment. The German filaminopathy cohort, the largest group of patients studied so far, shares phenotypic features with LGMD and presents with characteristic histopathological findings of MF

Xirp Proteins Mark Injured Skeletal Muscle in Zebrafish

Myocellular regeneration in vertebrates involves the proliferation of activated progenitor or dedifferentiated myogenic cells that have the potential to replenish lost tissue. In comparison little is known about cellular repair mechanisms within myocellular tissue in response to small injuries caused by biomechanical or cellular stress. Using a microarray analysis for genes upregulated upon myocellular injury, we identified zebrafish Xin-actin-binding repeat-containing protein1 (Xirp1) as a marker for wounded skeletal muscle cells. By combining laser-induced micro-injury with proliferation analyses, we found that Xirp1 and Xirp2a localize to nascent myofibrils within wounded skeletal muscle cells and that the repair of injuries does not involve cell proliferation or Pax7+ cells. Through the use of Xirp1 and Xirp2a as markers, myocellular injury can now be detected, even though functional studies indicate that these proteins are not essential in this process. Previous work in chicken has implicated Xirps in cardiac looping morphogenesis. However, we found that zebrafish cardiac morphogenesis is normal in the absence of Xirp expression, and animals deficient for cardiac Xirp expression are adult viable. Although the functional involvement of Xirps in developmental and repair processes currently remains enigmatic, our findings demonstrate that skeletal muscle harbours a rapid, cell-proliferation-independent response to injury which has now become accessible to detailed molecular and cellular characterizations

Predictors of dizziness in older persons: a 10-year prospective cohort study in the community

BACKGROUND: The current diagnosis-oriented approach of dizziness does not suit older patients. Often, it is difficult to identify a single underlying cause, and when a diagnosis is made, therapeutic options may be limited. Identification of predictors of dizziness may provide new leads for the management of dizziness in older patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate long-term predictors of regular dizziness in older persons. METHODS: Population-based cohort study of 1,379 community-dwelling participants, aged ≥60 years, from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Regular dizziness was ascertained during face-to-face medical interviews during 7- and 10-year follow-up. We investigated 26 predictors at baseline from six domains: socio-demographic, medical history, medication, psychological, sensory, and balance/gait. We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses with presence of regular dizziness at 7- and 10-year follow-up as dependent variables. We assessed the performance of the models by calculating calibration and discrimination. RESULTS: Predictors of regular dizziness at 7-year follow-up were living alone, history of dizziness, history of osteo/rheumatoid arthritis, use of nitrates, presence of anxiety or depression, impaired vision, and impaired function of lower extremities. Predictors of regular dizziness at 10-year follow-up were history of dizziness and impaired function of lower extremities. Both models showed good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow P value of 0.36 and 0.31, respectively) and acceptable discrimination (adjusted AUC after bootstrapping of 0.77 and 0.71). CONCLUSIONS: Dizziness in older age was predicted by multiple factors. A multifactorial approach, targeting potentially modifiable predictors (e.g., physical exercise for impaired function of lower extremities), may add to the current diagnosis-oriented approach. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2318-14-133) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Nuclear Kaiso Expression Is Associated with High Grade and Triple-Negative Invasive Breast Cancer

Kaiso is a BTB/POZ transcription factor that is ubiquitously expressed in multiple cell types and functions as a transcriptional repressor and activator. Little is known about Kaiso expression and localization in breast cancer. Here, we have related pathological features and molecular subtypes to Kaiso expression in 477 cases of human invasive breast cancer. Nuclear Kaiso was predominantly found in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (p = 0.007), while cytoplasmic Kaiso expression was linked to invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) (p = 0.006). Although cytoplasmic Kaiso did not correlate to clinicopathological features, we found a significant correlation between nuclear Kaiso, high histological grade (p = 0.023), ERα negativity (p = 0.001), and the HER2-driven and basal/triple-negative breast cancers (p = 0.018). Interestingly, nuclear Kaiso was also abundant in BRCA1-associated breast cancer (p<0.001) and invasive breast cancer overexpressing EGFR (p = 0.019). We observed a correlation between nuclear Kaiso and membrane-localized E-cadherin and p120-catenin (p120) (p<0.01). In contrast, cytoplasmic p120 strongly correlated with loss of E-cadherin and low nuclear Kaiso (p = 0.005). We could confirm these findings in human ILC cells and cell lines derived from conditional mouse models of ILC. Moreover, we present functional data that substantiate a mechanism whereby E-cadherin controls p120-mediated relief of Kaiso-dependent gene repression. In conclusion, our data indicate that nuclear Kaiso is common in clinically aggressive ductal breast cancer, while cytoplasmic Kaiso and a p120-mediated relief of Kaiso-dependent transcriptional repression characterize ILC

Does a Family Meetings Intervention Prevent Depression and Anxiety in Family Caregivers of Dementia Patients? A Randomized Trial

Family caregivers of dementia patients are at increased risk of developing depression or anxiety. A multi-component program designed to mobilize support of family networks demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing depressive symptoms in caregivers. However, the impact of an intervention consisting solely of family meetings on depression and anxiety has not yet been evaluated. This study examines the preventive effects of family meetings for primary caregivers of community-dwelling dementia patients.A randomized multicenter trial was conducted among 192 primary caregivers of community dwelling dementia patients. Caregivers did not meet the diagnostic criteria for depressive or anxiety disorder at baseline. Participants were randomized to the family meetings intervention (n = 96) or usual care (n = 96) condition. The intervention consisted of two individual sessions and four family meetings which occurred once every 2 to 3 months for a year. Outcome measures after 12 months were the incidence of a clinical depressive or anxiety disorder and change in depressive and anxiety symptoms (primary outcomes), caregiver burden and quality of life (secondary outcomes). Intention-to-treat as well as per protocol analyses were performed.A substantial number of caregivers (72/192) developed a depressive or anxiety disorder within 12 months. The intervention was not superior to usual care either in reducing the risk of disorder onset (adjusted IRR 0.98; 95% CI 0.69 to 1.38) or in reducing depressive (randomization-by-time interaction coefficient = -1.40; 95% CI -3.91 to 1.10) or anxiety symptoms (randomization-by-time interaction coefficient = -0.55; 95% CI -1.59 to 0.49). The intervention did not reduce caregiver burden or their health related quality of life.This study did not demonstrate preventive effects of family meetings on the mental health of family caregivers. Further research should determine whether this intervention might be more beneficial if provided in a more concentrated dose, when applied for therapeutic purposes or targeted towards subgroups of caregivers.Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN90163486