No abstract

As a worldwide aging population is on the rise, osteoporosis (OS) is becoming a global health burden. Therefore, many researchers and health authorities are looking into the potential prevention and treatment of OS. Although previously regarded as two separate pathological processes, diabetes (DM) and OS are now regarded as two conditions that can occur together. It is now believed that OS can develop as a complication of DM. This relationship is further evidenced through a reduction in bone mineral density in type-1 diabetes with a resulting increased risk of fracture. Although bone mineral density in type-2 diabetes mellitus is normal or increased, there is also increased fragility due to decreased bone quality. These abnormal bone qualities tend to occur through the production of reduced bone microvasculature and advanced glycation end product, AGE. Interestingly, one of the most common treatments for DM, metformin (MF), shows a promising result on the protection of diabetes and non-diabetes related bone turnover. It is believed that MF modulates its effect through the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Recent data regarded AMPK as a vital mediator of homeostasis. It is involved not only in glucose metabolism but also in osteogenesis. AMPK can directly influence the production of mature and good quality bone by decreasing osteoclasts, increasing osteoblast formation, and enhancing bone mineral deposition. As an activator of AMPK, MF also upregulates osteogenesis. Furthermore, MF can influence osteogenesis through a non-AMPK pathway, such as the fructose 1-6 phosphatase pathway, by reducing glucose levels. While already recognized as a safe and effective treatment for DM, this article discusses whether MF can be used for the prevention and treatment of OS.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare autoimmune neuromuscular junction disorder, and thyroid disorder is a disorder involving the thyroid receptor, of which Graves' disease (GD) is the most common autoimmune thyroid disorder, in which antibodies develop against thyroid receptors. Both may have similar clinical features. In myasthenia gravis, autoimmune antibodies develop against postsynaptic neuromuscular junction disrupting the neuromuscular transmission, resulting in fluctuating muscle weakness and fatigue. It is a disease of young women and older men. The two pathologies may coexist in a patient or can precede one another. Graves' disease (GD) among thyroid diseases is most often associated with MG. Similarities in clinical features lead to difficulty in distinguishing MG and GD. Despite the standard treatment of myasthenia gravis, including steroids, acetylcholinesterases, rituximab, immunosuppressants, and thymectomy, there is still an increased number of relapses and myasthenia crisis. Eculizumab and plasmapheresis are the two new treatment options for MG, with supporting evidence of marked improvement in recent studies. Myasthenia gravis and Graves' disease have a seesaw relationship. Treating one pathology may worsen the other, so physicians should always consider MG as a differential in patients of hyperthyroidism presenting with new symptoms of fatigue or respiratory failure or neuromuscular weakness. In this comprehensive review article, we tried to establish an association between myasthenia gravis and Graves' disease (GD) by exploring currently available literature from PubMed. However, more studies need to be done to establish an association between pathologies.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease affecting a large number of people every year. The exact causal factor for this disease is unclear, but it commonly affects middle-aged women, with known triggers like stress, childbirth, infections, poor diet, lack of sleep, etc.Many epidemiological studies have indicated that various genetic abnormalities are also critical drivers of the onset of MS. The major risk factors of MS identified include hypovitaminosis D while environmental protective factors include allele HLA DRB1 1501, obesity, Epstein-Barr virus infection, sexual hormones, and smoking.Our article explores the correlation between the deficiency of vitamin D and the onset and progression of MS. The study uses a systematic review methodology by researching and reviewing scholarly articles exploring the topic. We conducted online searches of literature on Google Scholar and PubMed using the keywords "vitamin D deficiency" and "multiple sclerosis" and accessed the relevant secondary literature sources for review. The variables under study included vitamin D insufficiency as the dependent variable while MS was the independent variable. Causal variables included environmental, genetic, and protective factors.We hypothesized that there is indeed a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and MS. The findings from our review indicate a strong correlation between the insufficiency of vitamin D and the onset and progression of MS. These results are essential in devising interventions to accomplish primary and secondary prevention of MS, as well as integrating vitamin D supplementation in current treatment protocols for MS.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), also known as broken heart syndrome, stress cardiomyopathy (SCM), or apical ballooning syndrome, is a non-ischemic cardiac disease with an initial clinical presentation that is very similar to acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) contribute significantly to an increase in the rates of death in patients with TTC, especially during the acute phase, in which patients with TTC are more susceptible to develop life-threatening arrhythmias (LTA) such as ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), torsades de pointes (TdP), and sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, the pathophysiology of TTC and how VA occurs are still a mystery. We aim to review previous literature and discuss the possible mechanisms of VA in TTC patients. VA usually complicates the acute phase of the disease and worsens the long-term prognosis. Alterations of repolarization (negative T wave, prolonged QTc) indicate a high risk of arrhythmic events (TdP, VT, VF, and SCD). Catecholamine effect on myocardial cells and myocardial edema can create a substrate for the development of VA. Some of the most commonly proposed mechanisms for the development of VA in patients with TTC are coronary vasospasm, myocardial stunning due to catecholamines, re-entry, and triggered activity. Further prospective studies, including a more significant number of patients, are required to understand the disease's pathophysiology better and improve LTA management in patients with TTC.

556 Background: Bladder cancer has one of the highest rates of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) alteration. Novel HER2-directed agents are being investigated in metastatic BC. We sought to define the incidence and clinical characteristics of HER2-altered BC across disease states. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed our single-institution, clinically annotated cohort of urothelial BC pts with available genomic profiling data (MSK-IMPACT). We quantified the prevalence of HER2 alterations, defined as driver mutation (based on OncoKB), and/or amplification, across BC disease states. We examined the association between HER2 alteration and disease progression and survival. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for time-to-event analyses. Results: A total of 1073 BC pts underwent MSK IMPACT profiling of tumor tissue derived from the following disease states: 36% (n = 380) non-muscle invasive (NMI)BC, 41% (n = 443) muscle invasive (MI)BC, and 23% (n = 250) (met)BC. At initial diagnosis, the median age was 67 years, 77% (n = 822) were male, 86% (n = 928) were white, and 66% (n = 710) were smokers. Overall, 16% (n = 177) of pts had any oncogenic HER2 alteration (Table), including 11% with a HER2 driver mutation and 7% with HER2 amplification The most frequent mutations were S310F (40%, n = 53) and S310Y (14%, n = 19). The rate of HER2 amplification was different among the three groups (p = 0.002), 9% in MIBC and metBC compared to 3% in NMIBC. Among 514 pts with NMIBC, the median time to progression (TTP) to MIBC or metBC was 111.6 months (95% Cl: 85.7-NR). Among NMIBC pts, TTP was significantly shorter for HER2-amplified (n = 17) vs. non-amplified (n = 497) (HR = 1.99, 95%CI: 1.05-3.76, p = 0.034, median 26 vs. 114 months). Among pts with metBC receiving frontline platinum-based chemotherapy (n = 143), the median overall survival (OS) was 25.3 months (95%CI: 18.5-33.9). OS was numerically higher in pts with any oncogenic HER2 alteration (n = 26) compared to wild-type (n = 117) (HR = 0.59, 95% Cl: 0.33-1.07, p = 0.082), though this difference was not statistically significant. The median OS for platinum-refractory metBC pts receiving 2nd line immunotherapy (n = 63) was 10.3 months (95%CI: 7.2-31.6), and the association between OS and HER2 alteration was not significant (HR = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.24-1.37, p = 0.2). Conclusions: HER2 amplification is more frequent in MIBC and metBC than in NMIBC. In NMIBC, HER2 amplification is associated with shorter TTP to MIBC or metBC. HER2 alteration in metBC is associated with a non-significant trend towards improved OS in frontline platinum-treated pts, though this analysis is limited by small sample size.[Table: see text]

e18755 Background: The 2016 21st Century Cures Act supports the use of Real-World Data (RWD) for regulatory decision/approval. Due to technological advances, a vast amount of health-related data are now available, but most are not standardized nor readily useable for research. Also, currently available standardized RWD models are not applicable across cancer types or oncology specialties (surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, radiology, etc.). To address these deficiencies Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) built a comprehensive, pan-cancer, pan-specialty RWD model. Methods: The Core Clinical Data Element (CCDE) data model incorporates aspects of existing academic and biopharma data models, including PRISSMM framework, ASCO’s mCODE, and NAACCR tumor registry model. The data model encompasses 11 domains that are critical to the understanding of the patient’s cancer journey, including: demographic, comorbidities, diagnosis, pathology, imaging, genomics, cancer surgeries, radiation oncology treatments, medical oncology treatments, cancer status/progression, and additional health information. To align with current standards, we are using ICD-10, ICDO3, CTACE V5.0, HL7, SNOMED and LOINC code sets. Further, this adaptable model allows for 5-10 disease specific elements to accommodate for disease heterogenicity and capture the differences among cancer types. Results: The CCDE database includes 1,126 of total data elements. MSKCC has 52,704 patients with MSK-IMPACT (Next-Generation sequencing platform with 505 genes panel) testing of which, we have identified 1,132 bladder cancer patients with at-least one year of cancer care follow-up for the initial curation cohort. Patients were identified as having an OncoTree bladder tumor type code that is assigned by a pathologist who attests the diagnosis by reviewing results from clinical tests on tumor specimens. To the date, 641 patients including 46,415 curated forms have been curated (Table). Conclusions: The comprehensive MSKCC’s CCDE data model standardizes the common and critical pan-cancer and pan-specialty elements for RWD. The dataset resulting from this curation efforts will provide robust structured and unified genomic and phenomic data across tumor types for future research enabling greater collaboration across various cancer types as well as oncology specialties.[Table: see text]

Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (OMS) is an inflammatory neurological disorder, which is characterized by chaotic uncontrolled movements of the eyes and involuntary jerk-like movements of the body. Different modalities of treatment have been described in medical literature to treat OMS. Immunomodulatory treatment with either steroids or intravenous immunoglobulin has been considered. Our case was a 14-year-old boy who presented with fever, mild confusion, without any seizures or focal deficits. On examination, he had opsoclonus in his eyes and had cortical myoclonus in his hands and body. On evaluation, he had low platelets, normal metabolic workup, normal brain imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid showed lymphocytic pleocytosis. He was managed conservatively and had spontaneous improvement in opsoclonus myoclonus by 5th day of his illness and complete recovery in 2 weeks. Although dengue is primarily considered hematotropic virus, it can involve nervous system as well and manifest with OMS.