Publications by authors named "Imke Bartelink"

Background And Objectives: Voriconazole administered concomitantly with flucloxacillin may result in subtherapeutic plasma concentrations as shown in a patient with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis and a probable pulmonary aspergillosis. After switching our patient to posaconazole, therapeutic concentrations were reached. The aim of this study was to first test our hypothesis that flucloxacillin competes with voriconazole not posaconazole for binding to albumin ex vivo, leading to lower total concentrations in plasma.

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Introduction: T-cell redirecting bispecific antibodies (BsAbs), targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) or G-protein - coupled receptor class C group 5 member D (GPRC5D), are efficacious new agents for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory MM.

Areas Covered: This review discusses the pharmacokinetic properties, efficacy, and safety profile of T-cell redirecting BsAbs in MM, with a special focus on their optimal dosing schedule, resistance mechanisms and future strategies to enhance efficacy, reduce toxicity, and maximize duration of response.

Expert Opinion: To further improve the efficacy of BsAbs, ongoing studies are investigating whether combination therapy can enhance depth and duration of response.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers analyzed 562 patients across four IEI subgroups (combined immunodeficiency, severe combined immunodeficiency, neutrophil disorders, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-related disorders), focusing on event-free survival (EFS) as the main outcome.
  • * The study concluded that targeting a cumulative busulfan exposure (AUCNONMEM) of around 80 mg × h/L can improve EFS and donor chimer
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The leukodystrophy vanishing white matter (VWM) is characterized by chronic and episodic acute neurological deterioration. Curative treatment is presently unavailable. Pathogenic variants in the genes encoding eukaryotic initiation factor 2B (eIF2B) cause VWM and deregulate the integrated stress response (ISR).

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In sialendoscopy, ducts are dilated and the salivary glands are irrigated with saline. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound sialendoscopy (CEUSS), using microbubbles, may facilitate the monitoring of irrigation solution penetration in the ductal system and parenchyma. It is imperative to test CEUSS for its safety and feasibility in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients.

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Methotrexate polyglutamates (MTX-PG) concentrations in red blood cells (RBCs) have been suggested as a biomarker of response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving low-dose MTX therapy. We investigated the association and interpatient variability between RBC-MTX-PG -exposure and response in patients with RA starting MTX. Data of three prospective cohorts were available.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluated the effects of intravenous imatinib on patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19, focusing on its ability to reduce pulmonary edema.
  • - In a randomized trial involving 66 patients, results showed no significant difference in pulmonary edema reduction or clinical outcomes between imatinib and placebo groups, although imatinib was found to be safe.
  • - Interestingly, a subset of patients with high levels of specific inflammatory markers did benefit from imatinib treatment, indicating that targeted approaches may improve outcomes in certain ARDS patients.
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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents a major obstacle to delivering drugs to the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in the lack of effective treatment for many CNS diseases including brain cancer. To accelerate CNS drug development, computational prediction models could save the time and effort needed for experimental evaluation. Here, we studied BBB permeability focusing on active transport (influx and efflux) as well as passive diffusion using previously published and self-curated data sets.

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Article Synopsis
  • The CounterCOVID study demonstrated that oral imatinib treatment resulted in improved clinical outcomes and reduced mortality in COVID-19 patients compared to a placebo, with notable elevated levels of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AAG) impacting drug concentrations.
  • This post-hoc analysis aimed to compare the drug exposure of imatinib in COVID-19 patients versus cancer patients, hypothesizing that higher drug exposure in severe COVID-19 cases would enhance treatment outcomes.
  • Results indicated that COVID-19 patients had significantly higher imatinib concentrations than cancer patients, with certain exposure parameters showing significant associations with clinical outcomes, thereby suggesting that higher drug levels could improve recovery metrics in COVID-19 patients.
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Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) are DNA viruses that are common among humans. Severely immunocompromised patients are at increased risk of developing HSV or CMV disease due to a weakened immune system. Antiviral therapy can be challenging because these drugs have a narrow therapeutic window and show significant pharmacokinetic variability.

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Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men of middle and older age. The standard treatment strategy for PCa ranges from active surveillance in low-grade, localized PCa to radical prostatectomy, external beam radiation therapy, hormonal treatment and chemotherapy. Recently, the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioligand therapy (RLT) for metastatic castration-resistant PCa has been approved.

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Objective: Vanishing white matter (VWM) is a leukodystrophy, characterized by stress-sensitive neurological deterioration and premature death. It is currently without curative treatment. It is caused by bi-allelic pathogenic variants in the genes encoding eukaryotic initiation factor 2B (eIF2B).

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An accurate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is essential in drug dosing. This study demonstrates the limitations of indexed (ml/min/1.73 m ) and de-indexed (ml/min) eGFR based drug dosing in patients with obesity or underweight.

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Background: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) driven by activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are best treated with therapies targeting EGFR, i.e., tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI).

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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a disruptive increase in the number of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ARDS is a severe, life-threatening medical condition characterized by widespread inflammation and vascular leak in the lungs. Although there is no proven therapy to reduce pulmonary vascular leak in ARDS, recent studies demonstrated that the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib reinforces the endothelial barrier and prevents vascular leak in inflammatory conditions, while leaving the immune response intact.

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Intravenous busulfan is widely used as part of myeloablative conditioning regimens in children and young adults undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a serious clinical problem observed with busulfan-based conditioning HCT. The development of VOD/SOS may be associated with busulfan exposure.

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This study aimed to determine whether published pharmacokinetic (PK) models can adequately predict the PK profile of imatinib in a new indication, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Total (bound + unbound) and unbound imatinib plasma concentrations obtained from 134 patients with COVID-19 participating in the CounterCovid study and from an historical dataset of 20 patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and 85 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) were compared. Total imatinib area under the concentration time curve (AUC), maximum concentration (C ) and trough concentration (C ) were 2.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Acute Graft versus Host Disease (aGVHD) is a common complication in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, initiated by donor T cells attacking the recipient's tissues, particularly affecting the skin, liver, and gastrointestinal tract.
  • - The study investigated the genetic factors influencing aGVHD severity in pediatric patients through an exome-wide association study, identifying significant associations with four specific gene variants: ERC1, PLEK, NOP9, and SPRED1.
  • - Findings indicate that certain genetic variants, particularly ERC1 and PLEK, are linked to higher risks of moderate to severe aGVHD independently of other non-genetic factors, highlighting the role of genetics in transplant outcomes.
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Background: The major complication of COVID-19 is hypoxaemic respiratory failure from capillary leak and alveolar oedema. Experimental and early clinical data suggest that the tyrosine-kinase inhibitor imatinib reverses pulmonary capillary leak.

Methods: This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial was done at 13 academic and non-academic teaching hospitals in the Netherlands.

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Introduction: We established a promising sialendoscopic treatment for in vivo enhancement of salivation in salivary glands affected by Sjögren's syndrome (SS). In this technique, the ducts of the salivary glands are irrigated with saline and steroids. This allows for dilatation of ductal strictures and removal of debris.

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Background: The likelihood of a tumor recurrence in patients with T3-4N0-1 non-small cell lung cancer following multimodality treatment remains substantial, mainly due distant metastases. As pathological complete responses (pCR) in resected specimens are seen in only a minority (28-38%) of patients following chemoradiotherapy, we designed the INCREASE trial (EudraCT-Number: 2019-003454-83; Netherlands Trial Register number: NL8435) to assess if pCR rates could be further improved by adding short course immunotherapy to induction chemoradiotherapy. Translational studies will correlate changes in loco-regional and systemic immune status with patterns of recurrence.

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Introduction: This comprehensive observational study aimed to gain insight into adherence to nilotinib and the effect of (non)adherence on exposure (C) and treatment outcomes.

Methods: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients using nilotinib were followed for 12 months. Adherence was measured by Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS), pill count, and Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5).

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Article Synopsis
  • Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is a serious problem that can happen after a special medical treatment called hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) due to damage in liver cells.
  • Researchers studied the genes of children who went through HSCT to find out more about why some get SOS, focusing on specific genetic changes called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
  • They found three important SNPs linked to a higher risk of SOS, which could help doctors create personalized treatments to prevent or treat this condition better in the future.
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Over the past decade, several immunotherapies have been approved for the treatment of melanoma. The most prominent of these are the immune checkpoint inhibitors, which are antibodies that block the inhibitory effects on the immune system by checkpoint receptors, such as CTLA-4, PD-1 and PD-L1. Preclinically, blocking these receptors has led to increased activation and proliferation of effector cells following stimulation and antigen recognition, and subsequently, more effective elimination of cancer cells.

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