Publications by authors named "Eduard J Van Beers"

Article Synopsis
  • Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare genetic anemia linked to the PKLR gene, leading to various health issues; however, its full impact is not fully understood.* -
  • The Peak Registry study analyzed 241 patients with PK deficiency, noting significant treatments like splenectomy (48.3%) and chelation therapy (50.5%), as well as common complications like iron overload and neonatal issues.* -
  • Adult patients also face serious complications, such as bone health problems and pulmonary hypertension, highlighting the need for better awareness and management strategies among healthcare providers.*
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Introduction: The unique red blood cell (RBC) properties that characterize the rare neuroacanthocytosis syndromes (NAS) have prompted the exploration of osmotic gradient ektacytometry (Osmoscan) as a diagnostic tool for these disorders. In this exploratory study, we assessed if Osmoscans can discriminate NAS from other neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods: A comprehensive assessment was conducted using Osmoscan on a diverse group of patients, including healthy controls ( = 9), neuroacanthocytosis syndrome patients ( = 6, 2 VPS13A and 4 XK disease), Parkinson's disease patients ( = 6), Huntington's disease patients (n = 5), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients ( = 4).

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  • Membranopathies include blood disorders caused by genetic changes in red blood cell membrane proteins, with hereditary spherocytosis and stomatocytosis being key examples, while CDA II shows similar symptoms.
  • Mitapivat, a new drug that activates pyruvate kinase, has shown promise in raising hemoglobin levels and reducing blood cell breakdown in various diseases and is being tested in a trial with around 25 adults who have membranopathies or CDA II.
  • The SATISFY trial aims to determine the safety and effectiveness of mitapivat over an 8-week period, with a focus on measuring its impact on hemoglobin, hemolysis, and patient-reported outcomes.
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  • Patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) need von Willebrand factor (VWF) concentrates during surgery, and this study looked at how FVIII, a related clotting factor, behaves with repeated infusions of a 1:1 ratio VWF/FVIII concentrate.
  • The study involved 125 patients undergoing various surgical procedures and measured FVIII and VWF levels at different times after CFC infusions, finding consistent recovery rates without significant accumulation of FVIII levels even after multiple doses in some patients.
  • Results showed that administering the concentrate led to stable FVIII and VWF activity levels, highlighting the product's effectiveness, particularly that most major surgeries only required three CFC infusions for optimal results.
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Article Synopsis
  • Mitapivat treatment showed significant improvements in the signs and symptoms of PK Deficiency in adult patients.* -
  • The results were based on data collected from disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures.* -
  • These findings were observed in two separate phase 3 clinical trials, indicating the potential effectiveness of mitapivat.*
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Exposure to both oxidative and shear stress, a condition that the red blood cell (RBC) continuously experiences in the circulation in vivo can be mimicked in a Couette type viscometer and monitored by ektacytometry. RBCs maintain their deformation and orientation under shear stress and oxidative stress until a threshold is reached at which these conditions appear to overwhelm the elaborate and complex pathways that maintain a proper redox environment in the cell. Oxidative stress under shear alters the ability of the cell to deform, changes cell morphology, its orientation in the shear stress field, and appears to alter intracellular and membrane characteristics.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pyruvate kinase deficiency is a common cause of chronic congenital non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia, affecting about 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 300,000 people, leading to serious health issues.
  • The International Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency were created to provide evidence-based recommendations for treating patients, developed by a global panel of 29 experts across multiple specialties.
  • The guidelines cover five key areas, including diagnosis, management of complications, anemia treatment, advanced therapies, and special populations, with a total of 31 recommendations aimed at improving patient care.
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Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare, hereditary disease characterized by chronic hemolytic anemia. Iron overload is a common complication regardless of age, genotype, or transfusion history. Mitapivat, an oral, allosteric PK activator, improves anemia and hemolysis in adult patients with PK deficiency.

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We investigated the potential of the point of sickling (PoS; the pO2 tension at which red cells start to sickle), determined by oxygen gradient ektacytometry to serve as a biomarker associated with the incidence of acute sickle cell disease-related complications in 177 children and 50 adults. In the pediatric cohort, for every 10 mmHg increase in PoS reflecting a greater likelihood of sickling, the likelihood of an individual experiencing >1 type of acute complication increased; the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) was 1.65.

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Targeting the primary pathogenic event of sickle cell disease (SCD), the polymerization of sickle hemoglobin (HbS), may prevent downstream clinical events. Mitapivat, an oral pyruvate kinase (PK) activator, has therapeutic potential by increasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and decreasing 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG), a glycolytic red blood cell (RBC) intermediate. In the previously reported 8-week dose-finding period of this phase 2, investigator-initiated, open-label study, mitapivat was well tolerated and showed efficacy in SCD.

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Adenosine Triphosphatase (ATPase) Phospholipid Transporting 11C gene (ATP11C) encodes the major phosphatidylserine (PS) flippase in human red blood cells (RBCs). Flippases actively transport phospholipids (e.g.

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Novel developments in therapies for various hereditary hemolytic anemias reflect the pivotal role of pyruvate kinase (PK), a key enzyme of glycolysis, in red blood cell (RBC) health. Without PK catalyzing one of the final steps of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway, there is no net yield of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during glycolysis, the sole source of energy production required for proper RBC function and survival. In hereditary hemolytic anemias, RBC health is compromised and therefore lifespan is shortened.

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Introduction: Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare, under-recognised, hereditary condition that leads to chronic haemolytic anaemia and potentially serious secondary complications, such as iron overload, cholecystitis, pulmonary hypertension and extramedullary haematopoiesis. It is an autosomal recessive disease caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the gene. Due to its rarity and clinical heterogeneity, information on the natural history and long-term clinical course of PK deficiency is limited, presenting major challenges to patient management, the development of new therapies and establishing disease-specific treatment recommendations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a condition where some patients need blood transfusions, and many can end up having too much iron in their bodies.
  • In a study, it was found that 65% of patients had too much iron in their liver, even if they didn't get many transfusions.
  • The researchers think that the number of blood transfusions a patient had in the past is really important to check when doctors are treating DBA.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Erythrocytosis is a condition characterized by an increase in red blood cells and can arise from genetic (congenital) or external (acquired) factors, with congenital causes being rare.
  • - The study discusses five adults from three families who have erythrocytosis linked to heterozygous variants in the BPGM gene, including a new variant discovered.
  • - Functional tests indicated that these individuals exhibited partial BPGM deficiency, leading to lower levels of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate and higher affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen, emphasizing the clinical significance of BPGM variations.
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Background: Mitapivat, an oral activator of pyruvate kinase (PK) in red blood cells (RBCs), has shown significant improvements in haemoglobin and haemolysis among patients with pyruvate kinase deficiency who were not receiving regular transfusions. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mitapivat in adults with pyruvate kinase deficiency receiving regular transfusions.

Methods: ACTIVATE-T was an open-label, single-arm, phase 3 trial conducted in 20 centres across Europe, North America, and Asia.

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