Multiple sclerosis(MS) is characterized by chronic inflammation in conjunction with neurodegeneration within the central nervous system. Most individuals with MS begin with a relapsing remitting course that later tr...Multiple sclerosis(MS) is characterized by chronic inflammation in conjunction with neurodegeneration within the central nervous system. Most individuals with MS begin with a relapsing remitting course that later transitions to secondary progressive MS. Currently available disease-modifying therapies(DMTs) for relapsing MS have been demonstrated to reduce disease activity, however most patients require a change in therapy over the course of their disease. Treatment goals include the prevention of relapses and disability accumulation and to achieve this objective requires careful planning. Sequencing of DMTs for individual patients should be designed in such a way to maximize disease control and minimize risk based on the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of each therapy. This includes the DMT patients are being switched from to those they are being switched to. The reversibility of immune system effects should be a key consideration for DMT sequence selection. This feature varies across DMTs and should factor more prominently in decision making as newer treatments become available for the prevention of disability accumulation in patients with progressive MS. In this short review, we discuss the landscape of existing therapies with an eye to the future when planning for optimal DMT sequencing. While no cure exists for MS, efforts are being directed toward research in neuroregeneration with the hope for positive outcomes.展开更多
The systemic therapies available for the management of Psoriasis(PsO) patients who cannot be treated with more conservative options, such as topical agents and/or phototherapy, with the exception of acitretin, can wor...The systemic therapies available for the management of Psoriasis(PsO) patients who cannot be treated with more conservative options, such as topical agents and/or phototherapy, with the exception of acitretin, can worsen or reactivate a chronic infection. Therefore, before administering immunosuppressive therapies with either conventional disease-modifying drugs(c DMARDs) or biological ones(b DMARDs) it is mandatory to screen patients for some infections, including hepatitis B virus(HBV) and hepatitis C virus(HCV). In particular, the patients eligible to receive an immunosuppressive drug must be screened for the following markers: antibody to hepatitis B core, antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen(anti-HBs Ag), HBs Ag, and antibody to HCV(anti-HCV). In case HBV or HCV infection is diagnosed, a close collaboration with a consultant hepatologist is needed before and during an immunosuppressive therapy. Concerning therapy with immunosuppressive drugs in PsO patients with HBV or HCV infection, data exist mainly for cyclosporine a(Cy A) or b DMARDs(etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab). The natural history of HBV and HCV infection differs significantly as well as the effect of immunosuppression on the aforementioned infectious diseases. As a rule, in the case of active HBV infection, systemic immunosuppressive antipsoriatic therapies must be deferred until the infection is controlled with an adequate antiviral treatment. Inactive carriers need to receive antiviral prophylaxis 2-4 wk before starting immunosuppressive therapy, to be continued after 6-12 mo from its suspension. Due to the risk of HBV reactivation, these patients should be monitored monthly for the first 3 mo and then every 3 mo for HBV DNA load together with transaminases levels. Concerning the patients who are occult HBV carriers, the risk of HBV reactivation is very low. Therefore, these patients generally do not need antiviral prophylaxis and the sera HBs Ag and transaminases dosing can be monitored every 3 mo. Concerning PsO patients with chronic HCV infection their management with immunosuppressive drugs is less problematic as compared to those infected by HBV.In fact, HCV reactivation is an extremely rare event after administration of drugs such as CyA or tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors. As a rule, these patients can be monitored measuring HCV RNA load, and ALT, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, albumin and platelet every 3-6 mo. The present article provides an updated overview based on more recently reported data on monitoring and managing PsO patients who need systemic antipsoriatic treatment and have HBV or HCV infection as comorbidity.展开更多
Multiple sclerosis(MS) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the central nervous system determined by a presumed autoimmune process mainly directed against myelin components but also involving axons and neurons. Acut...Multiple sclerosis(MS) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the central nervous system determined by a presumed autoimmune process mainly directed against myelin components but also involving axons and neurons. Acute demyelination shows as clinical relapses that may fully or partially resolve, while chronic demyelination and neuroaxonal injury lead to persistent and irreversible neurological symptoms, often progressing over time. Currently approved disease-modifying therapies are immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive drugs that significantly although variably reduce the frequency of attacks of the relapsing forms of the disease. However, they have limited efficacy in preventing the transition to the progressive phase of MS and are of no benefit after it has started. It is therefore likely that the potential advantage of a given treatment is condensed in a relatively limited window of opportunity for each patient, depending on individual characteristics and disease stage, most frequently but not necessarily in the early phase of the disease. In addition, a sizable proportion of patients with MS may have a very mild clinical course not requiring a disease-modifying therapy. Finally, individual response to existing therapies for MS varies significantly across subjects and the risk of serious adverse events remains an issue, particularly for the newest agents. The present review is aimed at critically describing current treatment strategies for MS with a particular focus on the decision of starting, switching and stopping commercially available immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive therapies.展开更多
BACKGROUND Hematopoietic stem cell(HSC)transplantation(HSCT)is being accepted as a standard of care in various inflammatory diseases.The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA)has been closely evolving with the understa...BACKGROUND Hematopoietic stem cell(HSC)transplantation(HSCT)is being accepted as a standard of care in various inflammatory diseases.The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA)has been closely evolving with the understanding of disease pathogenesis.With the rising resistance to the traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and targeted biological therapy,researchers are in pursuit of other methods for disease management.Since the ultimate goal of the ideal treatment of RA is to restore immune tolerance,HSCT attracts much attention considering its reparative,paracrine,and anti-inflammatory effects.However,a systematic review of studies on HSCT in RA is lacking.AIM To investigate the role of HSCT in the management of RA.METHODS A detailed search of PubMed,Scopus,EMBASE,Cochrane,and the Web of Science databases was made to identify the relevant articles till September 2020 following Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines.We extracted data including the number of patients,source of hematopoietic stem cells,their mobilization and conditioning regimens,results,and complications from the eligible studies.Results were dichotomized into success(ACR 50/70)and failure(ACR 20)based on the improvement from baseline characteristics.The methodological quality of the included studies was also assessed.Analysis was performed using OpenMeta[Analysis]software.RESULTS We included 17 studies(1 randomized controlled trial,11 prospective,and 5 retrospective studies)with 233 patients for analysis.HSCT provided a significantly beneficial overall improvement in the clinical grades of ACR criteria(Z=11.309,P<0.001).However,the remission was noted only till 24 mo and later on the significance of the result was lost(Z=1.737,P=0.082).A less than 1%treatmentrelated mortality was noted from the included studies.No major drug-related toxicities were noted in any of the included studies.All patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT received immunosuppression in the conditioning regimen to counteract the graft-vs-host reaction which made them vulnerable to infections.It is noted that the source of hematopoietic stem cells did not play a role in altering the functional outcome and both autologous(Z=9.972,P<0.001)and allogenic(Z=6.978,P<0.001)sources produced significant improvement in the outcome compared to the pre-operative state despite having a significant heterogeneity among the studies reporting them(I2=99.4,P<0.001).CONCLUSION Although the available literature is encouraging towards the use of HSCT in refractory cases with significant improvement from baseline till 2 years,the inclusion of HSCT into the standard of care of RA needs further exploration.展开更多
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is caused by synaptic failure and the excessive accumulation of misfolded proteins especially Aβ and tau, and associated with memory loss and cognitive impairment. Treatment of AD mainly con...Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is caused by synaptic failure and the excessive accumulation of misfolded proteins especially Aβ and tau, and associated with memory loss and cognitive impairment. Treatment of AD mainly consists of symptomatic therapy and disease-modifying therapy (DMT). Several monotherapies including small molecules or antibodies have been evaluated through multiple clinical trials, but a very few have been approved by the USFDA to intervene the disease’s pathogenesis. Past research has shown multifactorial nature of AD, therefore, multi-target drugs were proposed to target different pathways at the same time, however, currently no rationally designed multi-target directed ligand (MTDL) has been clinically approved. Different combinations and bispecific antibodies are also under development. Novel approaches like stem cell-based therapies, microRNAs, peptides, ADCs and vaccines cast a new hope for AD treatment, however, a number of questions remained to be answered prior to their safe and effective clinical translation. This review explores the small molecules, MTDL, and antibodies (monospecific and bispecific) for the treatment of AD. Finally, future perspectives (stem cell therapy, PROTAC approaches, microRNAs, ADC, peptides and vaccines) are also discussed with regard to their clinical applications and feasibility.展开更多
文摘Multiple sclerosis(MS) is characterized by chronic inflammation in conjunction with neurodegeneration within the central nervous system. Most individuals with MS begin with a relapsing remitting course that later transitions to secondary progressive MS. Currently available disease-modifying therapies(DMTs) for relapsing MS have been demonstrated to reduce disease activity, however most patients require a change in therapy over the course of their disease. Treatment goals include the prevention of relapses and disability accumulation and to achieve this objective requires careful planning. Sequencing of DMTs for individual patients should be designed in such a way to maximize disease control and minimize risk based on the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of each therapy. This includes the DMT patients are being switched from to those they are being switched to. The reversibility of immune system effects should be a key consideration for DMT sequence selection. This feature varies across DMTs and should factor more prominently in decision making as newer treatments become available for the prevention of disability accumulation in patients with progressive MS. In this short review, we discuss the landscape of existing therapies with an eye to the future when planning for optimal DMT sequencing. While no cure exists for MS, efforts are being directed toward research in neuroregeneration with the hope for positive outcomes.
文摘The systemic therapies available for the management of Psoriasis(PsO) patients who cannot be treated with more conservative options, such as topical agents and/or phototherapy, with the exception of acitretin, can worsen or reactivate a chronic infection. Therefore, before administering immunosuppressive therapies with either conventional disease-modifying drugs(c DMARDs) or biological ones(b DMARDs) it is mandatory to screen patients for some infections, including hepatitis B virus(HBV) and hepatitis C virus(HCV). In particular, the patients eligible to receive an immunosuppressive drug must be screened for the following markers: antibody to hepatitis B core, antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen(anti-HBs Ag), HBs Ag, and antibody to HCV(anti-HCV). In case HBV or HCV infection is diagnosed, a close collaboration with a consultant hepatologist is needed before and during an immunosuppressive therapy. Concerning therapy with immunosuppressive drugs in PsO patients with HBV or HCV infection, data exist mainly for cyclosporine a(Cy A) or b DMARDs(etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab). The natural history of HBV and HCV infection differs significantly as well as the effect of immunosuppression on the aforementioned infectious diseases. As a rule, in the case of active HBV infection, systemic immunosuppressive antipsoriatic therapies must be deferred until the infection is controlled with an adequate antiviral treatment. Inactive carriers need to receive antiviral prophylaxis 2-4 wk before starting immunosuppressive therapy, to be continued after 6-12 mo from its suspension. Due to the risk of HBV reactivation, these patients should be monitored monthly for the first 3 mo and then every 3 mo for HBV DNA load together with transaminases levels. Concerning the patients who are occult HBV carriers, the risk of HBV reactivation is very low. Therefore, these patients generally do not need antiviral prophylaxis and the sera HBs Ag and transaminases dosing can be monitored every 3 mo. Concerning PsO patients with chronic HCV infection their management with immunosuppressive drugs is less problematic as compared to those infected by HBV.In fact, HCV reactivation is an extremely rare event after administration of drugs such as CyA or tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors. As a rule, these patients can be monitored measuring HCV RNA load, and ALT, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, albumin and platelet every 3-6 mo. The present article provides an updated overview based on more recently reported data on monitoring and managing PsO patients who need systemic antipsoriatic treatment and have HBV or HCV infection as comorbidity.
文摘Multiple sclerosis(MS) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the central nervous system determined by a presumed autoimmune process mainly directed against myelin components but also involving axons and neurons. Acute demyelination shows as clinical relapses that may fully or partially resolve, while chronic demyelination and neuroaxonal injury lead to persistent and irreversible neurological symptoms, often progressing over time. Currently approved disease-modifying therapies are immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive drugs that significantly although variably reduce the frequency of attacks of the relapsing forms of the disease. However, they have limited efficacy in preventing the transition to the progressive phase of MS and are of no benefit after it has started. It is therefore likely that the potential advantage of a given treatment is condensed in a relatively limited window of opportunity for each patient, depending on individual characteristics and disease stage, most frequently but not necessarily in the early phase of the disease. In addition, a sizable proportion of patients with MS may have a very mild clinical course not requiring a disease-modifying therapy. Finally, individual response to existing therapies for MS varies significantly across subjects and the risk of serious adverse events remains an issue, particularly for the newest agents. The present review is aimed at critically describing current treatment strategies for MS with a particular focus on the decision of starting, switching and stopping commercially available immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive therapies.
文摘BACKGROUND Hematopoietic stem cell(HSC)transplantation(HSCT)is being accepted as a standard of care in various inflammatory diseases.The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA)has been closely evolving with the understanding of disease pathogenesis.With the rising resistance to the traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and targeted biological therapy,researchers are in pursuit of other methods for disease management.Since the ultimate goal of the ideal treatment of RA is to restore immune tolerance,HSCT attracts much attention considering its reparative,paracrine,and anti-inflammatory effects.However,a systematic review of studies on HSCT in RA is lacking.AIM To investigate the role of HSCT in the management of RA.METHODS A detailed search of PubMed,Scopus,EMBASE,Cochrane,and the Web of Science databases was made to identify the relevant articles till September 2020 following Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines.We extracted data including the number of patients,source of hematopoietic stem cells,their mobilization and conditioning regimens,results,and complications from the eligible studies.Results were dichotomized into success(ACR 50/70)and failure(ACR 20)based on the improvement from baseline characteristics.The methodological quality of the included studies was also assessed.Analysis was performed using OpenMeta[Analysis]software.RESULTS We included 17 studies(1 randomized controlled trial,11 prospective,and 5 retrospective studies)with 233 patients for analysis.HSCT provided a significantly beneficial overall improvement in the clinical grades of ACR criteria(Z=11.309,P<0.001).However,the remission was noted only till 24 mo and later on the significance of the result was lost(Z=1.737,P=0.082).A less than 1%treatmentrelated mortality was noted from the included studies.No major drug-related toxicities were noted in any of the included studies.All patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT received immunosuppression in the conditioning regimen to counteract the graft-vs-host reaction which made them vulnerable to infections.It is noted that the source of hematopoietic stem cells did not play a role in altering the functional outcome and both autologous(Z=9.972,P<0.001)and allogenic(Z=6.978,P<0.001)sources produced significant improvement in the outcome compared to the pre-operative state despite having a significant heterogeneity among the studies reporting them(I2=99.4,P<0.001).CONCLUSION Although the available literature is encouraging towards the use of HSCT in refractory cases with significant improvement from baseline till 2 years,the inclusion of HSCT into the standard of care of RA needs further exploration.
文摘Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is caused by synaptic failure and the excessive accumulation of misfolded proteins especially Aβ and tau, and associated with memory loss and cognitive impairment. Treatment of AD mainly consists of symptomatic therapy and disease-modifying therapy (DMT). Several monotherapies including small molecules or antibodies have been evaluated through multiple clinical trials, but a very few have been approved by the USFDA to intervene the disease’s pathogenesis. Past research has shown multifactorial nature of AD, therefore, multi-target drugs were proposed to target different pathways at the same time, however, currently no rationally designed multi-target directed ligand (MTDL) has been clinically approved. Different combinations and bispecific antibodies are also under development. Novel approaches like stem cell-based therapies, microRNAs, peptides, ADCs and vaccines cast a new hope for AD treatment, however, a number of questions remained to be answered prior to their safe and effective clinical translation. This review explores the small molecules, MTDL, and antibodies (monospecific and bispecific) for the treatment of AD. Finally, future perspectives (stem cell therapy, PROTAC approaches, microRNAs, ADC, peptides and vaccines) are also discussed with regard to their clinical applications and feasibility.