Read on below for our highlighted selection of recent papers from the scientific press for May 2022.
For our highlighted Covid-19-related papers and studies, please explore the Breaking News category on EANpages, here.
- Two Randomized Phase 3 Studies of Aducanumab in Early Alzheimer’s Disease
- Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in the Treatment of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (ACTION-CVT): A Multicenter International Study
- Repeated intravenous cardiosphere-derived cell therapy in late-stage. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (HOPE-2): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial
- Soluble TREM2 in CSF and its association with other biomarkers and cognition in autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal observational study
Two Randomized Phase 3 Studies of Aducanumab in Early Alzheimer’s Disease
This study reports the results of two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, global, phase 3 studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of aducanumab in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease (EMERGE and ENGAGE), both halted based on futility analysis. Results emerging from the data set collected up to futility declaration indicate that the primary endpoint (i.e. improvement from baseline to week 78 on a clinical scale assessing both function and cognition) was met in EMERGE but not in ENGAGE, while both studies demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology in patients treated with aducanumab.
S. Budd Haeberlein, P.S. Aisen, F. Barkhof, et al. Two Randomized Phase 3 Studies of Aducanumab in Early Alzheimer’s Disease. J Prev Alz Dis 2022; Published online March 18, 2022, http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2022.30
Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in the Treatment of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (ACTION-CVT): A Multicenter International Study
This multicenter international retrospective real-life study compared direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) to warfarin in the treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis. The results of this study indicate that, when compared with warfarin, DOAC treatment was associated with a comparable risk of recurrent venous thrombosis, death, and rate of recanalisation, but was characterised by a lower risk of major haemorrhage. While interesting, these interesting results should be confirmed by large and prospective studies.
Yaghi S, Shu L, Bakradze E, Salehi Omran S, et al. Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in the Treatment of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (ACTION-CVT): A Multicenter International Study. Stroke. 2022 Mar;53(3):728-738. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.121.037541.
Repeated intravenous cardiosphere-derived cell therapy in late-stage. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (HOPE-2): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial
This multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled, phase 2 trial investigate the safety and efficacy of repeated intravenous cardiosphere-derived cell therapy in the treatment of skeletal myopathy and cardiomyopathy in patients with late-stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The results of this study indicate that cardiosphere-derived cell therapy is safe and effective in reducing deterioration of upper limb function and in improving cardiac function and structure in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Craig M McDonald, Eduardo Marbán, Suzanne Hendrix, et al. Repeated intravenous cardiosphere-derived cell therapy in late-stage. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (HOPE-2): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2022 Mar 12;399(10329):1049-1058. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00012-5.
Soluble TREM2 in CSF and its association with other biomarkers and cognition in autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal observational study
This interesting study investigated the dynamics of soluble TREM2 in the cerebrospinal fluid and its effects on Alzheimer’s disease progression in a well characterized cohort of patients with the presymptomatic phase of the disease. The results of this study demonstrate that the longitudinal increase in soluble TREM2 levels in carriers of pathogenic variants was related to a reduction of Aβ42 and of the ratio of Aβ42 to Aβ40, but not to an increase in cortical uptake of the amyloid-PET tracer nor to other markers of tau-related pathology or neuronal death. These findings indicate that the TREM2 response is critical for the first stages of Aβ plaque deposition and compaction.
Estrella Morenas-Rodríguez , Yan Li , Brigitte Nuscher, et al. Soluble TREM2 in CSF and its association with other biomarkers and cognition in autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal observational study. Lancet Neurol. 2022 Apr;21(4):329-341. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(22)00027-8.