Serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in patients with lung cancer in a Turkish population

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Oxidative DNA damage may contribute to the cancer risk. The antioxidant paraoxonase (PON1) is an endogenous free radical scavenger in the human body. The aim of this study was to determine serum PON1 and arylesterase (ARE) activities in patients with newly diagnosed LC. METHODS: This case control study involved a total of 39 patients with newly diagnosed LC (untreated) and same number of age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. Serum PON1 and ARE activities in addition to lipid parameters were measured in both groups. RESULTS: Serum PON1 and ARE activities were found to be lower in patients with LC compared to the controls (p = 0.001 and p = 0.018, respectively). The ratio of PON1/high density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly lower in the LC group compared to the control one (p = 0.009). There were positive correlations between the serum levels of HDL and PON1 in both the control (r = 0.415, p = 0.009) and the LC groups (r = 0.496, p = 0.001), respectively. PON1 enzyme activity was calculated as three different phenotypes in both groups. In regard to lipid parameters, total cholesterol levels were significantly lower (p = 0.014) in the LC group whereas the other lipid parameters such as HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels were not significantly different among groups. CONCLUSION: Serum PON1 activity is significantly low in the LC group compared with the healthy controls. Metastasis status and cigarette smoking do not affect serum PON1 activity in the LC patients

INFLUENCE OF Al - PRECURSORS ON THE REACTION - SINTERING OF ZIRCONIA - MULLITE COMPOSITES

Sur la base de la réaction zircon + alumine → zircone + mullite, on a examiné l'influence de différents précurseurs industriels d'aluminium sur le développement des phases, la densité et la microstructure aux températures élevées. La densification dépend fortement de la nature et de la réactivité des alumines utilisées de même que de l'avancement de la réaction. Il est possible d'obtenir des composites mullite-zircone denses, à granulométrie fine pour des applications réfractaires par les techniques de fabrication conventionnelles.On the base of the reaction zircon + alumina → zirconia + mullite, the influence of different industrial Al-precursors on phase development, density and microstructure at elevated temperatures was investigated. Densification depends strongly on the nature and reactivity of the aluminas used, as well as on the extent of reaction progress. It is possible to obtain dense, fine grained zirconia-mullite composites for refractory applications by conventional fabrication techniques

Effect of cytokines and lipopolysaccharides on HIV infection of human macrophages

Human blood-borne monocytes (MO) differentiating into mature macrophages (MAC) were cultured on hydrophobic Teflon membranes. The cells were infected with two different monocytotropic HIV isolates: HIV1D117III obtained from a perinatally infected child, and HIV2D194 obtained from an AIDS patient who suffered exclusively from neurological symptoms. Virus production monitored by reverse transcriptase activity and HIV-antigen ELISA in cell-free supernatant was of a high level and continued for several weeks. To investigate possible modulatory pathways interfering with HIV infection in MAC we tested various recombinant cytokines as well as bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in our culture system. Whereas interleukin-1 (IL1) accelerated and increased HIV replication in MO/MAC, the interferons (IFN) alpha, beta and gamma effectively suppressed or delayed infection depending on the concentration used. Suppression was seen at concentrations as low as 0.3 U/ml and was most effective when the IFN were given prior to infection. No effect was observed with IL6 up to 2,000 U/ml. LPS affected virus infection in a complex manner: at 1-100 ng/ml virus replication was inhibited, but it was enhanced at subnanogram concentrations (25-100 pg/ml)

Investigating Partially Discordant Results in Phase 3 Studies of Aducanumab

Objectives: Efficacy and safety results from the EMERGE (NCT02484547) and ENGAGE (NCT02477800) phase 3 studies of aducanumab in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been published. In EMERGE, but not in ENGAGE, high-dose aducanumab demonstrated significant treatment effects across primary and secondary endpoints. Low-dose aducanumab results were consistent across studies with non-significant differences versus placebo that were intermediate to the highdose arm in EMERGE. The present investigation examined data from EMERGE and ENGAGE through post-hoc analyses to determine factors that contributed to discordant results between the high-dose arms of the two studies. Design: EMERGE and ENGAGE were 2 phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies. Setting: EMERGE and ENGAGE were 2 global multicenter studies involving 348 sites in 20 countries. Participants: Participants in EMERGE and ENGAGE were aged 50 to 85 years and had mild cognitive impairment or mild AD dementia with confirmed amyloid pathology. The randomized and dosed population (all randomized patients who received at least one dose of study treatment) included 1638 patients in EMERGE and 1647 in ENGAGE. Intervention: In EMERGE and ENGAGE, participants were randomized to receive low- or high-dose aducanumab or placebo (1:1:1) once every 4 weeks. Measurements: In this paper, 4 areas were investigated through post-hoc analyses to understand the discordance in the high-dose arms of the EMERGE and ENGAGE studies: baseline characteristics, amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, non-normality of the data, and dosing/exposure to aducanumab. Results: Post-hoc analyses showed that outcomes in the ENGAGE high-dose group were affected by an imbalance in a small number of patients with extremely rapid progression and by lower exposure to the target dose of 10 mg/kg. These factors were confounded and present in early enrolled patients but were not present in later-enrolled patients who were randomized to the target dosing regimen of 10 mg/kg after titration. Neither baseline characteristics nor amyloid-related imaging abnormalities contributed to the difference in results between the high-dose arms. Conclusions: Results were consistent across studies in later enrolled patients in which the incidence of rapidly progressing patients was balanced across treatment arms

Investigating Partially Discordant Results in Phase 3 Studies of Aducanumab

Objectives: Efficacy and safety results from the EMERGE (NCT02484547) and ENGAGE (NCT02477800) phase 3 studies of aducanumab in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been published. In EMERGE, but not in ENGAGE, high-dose aducanumab demonstrated significant treatment effects across primary and secondary endpoints. Low-dose aducanumab results were consistent across studies with non-significant differences versus placebo that were intermediate to the highdose arm in EMERGE. The present investigation examined data from EMERGE and ENGAGE through post-hoc analyses to determine factors that contributed to discordant results between the high-dose arms of the two studies. Design: EMERGE and ENGAGE were 2 phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies. Setting: EMERGE and ENGAGE were 2 global multicenter studies involving 348 sites in 20 countries. Participants: Participants in EMERGE and ENGAGE were aged 50 to 85 years and had mild cognitive impairment or mild AD dementia with confirmed amyloid pathology. The randomized and dosed population (all randomized patients who received at least one dose of study treatment) included 1638 patients in EMERGE and 1647 in ENGAGE. Intervention: In EMERGE and ENGAGE, participants were randomized to receive low- or high-dose aducanumab or placebo (1:1:1) once every 4 weeks. Measurements: In this paper, 4 areas were investigated through post-hoc analyses to understand the discordance in the high-dose arms of the EMERGE and ENGAGE studies: baseline characteristics, amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, non-normality of the data, and dosing/exposure to aducanumab. Results: Post-hoc analyses showed that outcomes in the ENGAGE high-dose group were affected by an imbalance in a small number of patients with extremely rapid progression and by lower exposure to the target dose of 10 mg/kg. These factors were confounded and present in early enrolled patients but were not present in later-enrolled patients who were randomized to the target dosing regimen of 10 mg/kg after titration. Neither baseline characteristics nor amyloid-related imaging abnormalities contributed to the difference in results between the high-dose arms. Conclusions: Results were consistent across studies in later enrolled patients in which the incidence of rapidly progressing patients was balanced across treatment arms

Two Randomized Phase 3 Studies of Aducanumab in Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, irreversible, and fatal disease for which accumulation of amyloid beta is thought to play a key role in pathogenesis. Aducanumab is a human monoclonal antibody directed against aggregated soluble and insoluble forms of amyloid beta. Objectives: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of aducanumab in early Alzheimer’s disease. Design: EMERGE and ENGAGE were two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, global, phase 3 studies of aducanumab in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. Setting: These studies involved 348 sites in 20 countries. Participants: Participants included 1638 (EMERGE) and 1647 (ENGAGE) patients (aged 50–85 years, confirmed amyloid pathology) who met clinical criteria for mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease or mild Alzheimer's disease dementia, of which 1812 (55.2%) completed the study. Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to receive aducanumab low dose (3 or 6 mg/kg target dose), high dose (10 mg/kg target dose), or placebo via IV infusion once every 4 weeks over 76 weeks. Measurements: The primary outcome measure was change from baseline to week 78 on the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB), an integrated scale that assesses both function and cognition. Other measures included safety assessments; secondary and tertiary clinical outcomes that assessed cognition, function, and behavior; and biomarker endpoints. Results: EMERGE and ENGAGE were halted based on futility analysis of data pooled from the first approximately 50% of enrolled patients; subsequent efficacy analyses included data from a larger data set collected up to futility declaration and followed prespecified statistical analyses. The primary endpoint was met in EMERGE (difference of -0.39 for high-dose aducanumab vs placebo [95% CI, -0.69 to -0.09; P=.012; 22% decrease]) but not in ENGAGE (difference of 0.03, [95% CI, -0.26 to 0.33; P=.833; 2% increase]). Results of biomarker substudies confirmed target engagement and dose-dependent reduction in markers of Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology. The most common adverse event was amyloid-related imaging abnormalities-edema. Conclusions: Data from EMERGE demonstrated a statistically significant change across all four primary and secondary clinical endpoints. ENGAGE did not meet its primary or secondary endpoints. A dose-and time-dependent reduction in pathophysiological markers of Alzheimer’s disease was observed in both trials