Introduction: Palovarotene is a retinoic acid receptor gamma agonist that was studied in phase-2 and phase-3 clinical trials for the inhibition of new heterotopic ossification (HO) in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). Despite numerous setbacks and regulatory delays, palovarotene is now the first approved FOP treatment in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is an ultra-rare progressive genetic disease effecting one in a million individuals. During their life, patients with FOP progressively develop bone in the soft tissues resulting in increasing immobility and early death. A mutation in the gene was identified as the causative mutation of FOP in 2006.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is challenging to study heterotopic ossification (HO) in patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) due to the contraindication of invasive techniques (, bone biopsies), which can trigger flare-ups. The aim of this case study was to assess mature HO at the microarchitectural level non-invasively with high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Depending on the patient's mobility, HR-pQCT scans were acquired of peripherally located HO and standard distal radius and tibia regions in two FOP patients, a 33-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man, with the classical mutation (p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the field of rare bone diseases in particular, a broad care team of specialists embedded in multidisciplinary clinical and research environment is essential to generate new therapeutic solutions and approaches to care. Collaboration among clinical and research departments within a University Medical Center is often difficult to establish, and may be hindered by competition and non-equivalent cooperation inherent in a hierarchical structure. Here we describe the "collaborative organizational model" of the Amsterdam Bone Center (ABC), which emerged from and benefited the rare bone disease team.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsing [F] Sodium Fuoride (NaF) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) it is not only possible to identify the ossifying potency of a flare-up, but also to identify an asymptomatic chronic stage of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic role of a more widely available imaging modality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which is of special interest for studies in pediatric FOP patients. MRI and [F]NaF PET/CT images at time of inclusion and subsequent follow-up CT scans of 4 patients were analyzed retrospectively.
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