Publications by authors named "Obici L"

Importance: There is a lack of long-term efficacy and safety data on hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (hATTR-PN) and on RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics in general. This study presents the longest-term data to date on patisiran for hATTR-PN.

Objective: To present the long-term efficacy and safety of patisiran in adults with hATTR-PN.

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Background: For the time being, tafamidis is the only approved treatment for wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis. However, benefits on all-cause death only emerge after ≈18 months. The current available staging systems are unable to specifically discriminate patients at high risk of death within 18 months from diagnosis, and the selection of patients who are expected to benefit from tafamidis is left to the clinical judgment of treating physicians, being often based primarily (and sometimes only) on age.

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Purpose: Significant improvements in the prognosis for young patients with Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (PID) and Autoinflammatory Disorders (AID), which together make up the majority of Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI), have resulted in the need for optimisation of transition and transfer of care to adult services. Effective transition is crucial to improve health outcomes and treatment compliance among patients. Evaluations of existing transition programmes in European health centres identified the absence of disease-specific transition guidelines for PID and AID, as a challenge to the transition process.

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Article Synopsis
  • The understanding of cardiac amyloidosis has significantly evolved in the past decade, leading to better diagnostic and treatment methods.
  • This complex disease requires collaboration among various medical specialists to ensure timely diagnosis, risk assessment, and effective management.
  • The inter-society consensus document aims to standardize diagnostic approaches in Italy and address clinical challenges for healthcare providers working with patients suspected of having cardiac amyloidosis.
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Background: In the phase 3 randomized controlled study, ATTRibute-CM, acoramidis, a transthyretin (TTR) stabilizer, demonstrated significant efficacy on the primary endpoint. Participants with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) who completed ATTRibute-CM were invited to enroll in an open-label extension study (OLE). We report efficacy and safety data of acoramidis in participants who completed ATTRibute-CM and enrolled in the ongoing OLE.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A retrospective analysis was conducted on 811 patients from the DIAMOND study, which included a total of 1281 patients diagnosed in Italy between 2016-2021, focusing on characteristics leading to their diagnosis and calculating their respective scores.
  • * Findings showed that only 1% of patients had early diagnoses, with significant differences in prognostic variable distribution based on diagnostic pathways, and both NAC and Columbia scores were linked to all-cause mortality.
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Background: Hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv, v for variant) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy is a rare disease caused by mutations in the transthyretin gene. In ATTRv amyloidosis, multisystem extracellular deposits of amyloid cause tissue and organ dysfunction. Patisiran is a small interfering RNA molecule drug that reduces circulating levels of mutant and wild-type TTR proteins.

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Key Points: Patients with AA amyloidosis and age ≥65 years, eGFR <45 ml/min per 1.73 m, and -terminal type-B natriuretic peptide >1000 ng/L and/or type-B natriuretic peptide >130 ng/L at diagnosis have poorer survival. Proteinuria >3.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy involves the buildup of misfolded proteins in the heart, and acoramidis is a medication designed to stabilize these proteins, showing over 90% effectiveness in laboratory tests.
  • - In a phase 3 trial, 632 patients were randomly assigned to receive either acoramidis or a placebo for 30 months, evaluating outcomes like death rates, hospitalizations, and specific health indicators.
  • - The results demonstrated that acoramidis significantly outperformed the placebo in multiple health measures, with a high win ratio favoring acoramidis, while the frequency of side effects was similar in both groups.
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Gastrointestinal manifestations are common across all hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) genotypes. However, they are poorly specific, and their recognition as part of ATTRv is difficult, resulting in misdiagnosis with more common conditions. Moreover, delays in diagnosis occur because of fragmented knowledge, a shortage of centers of excellence and specialists dedicated to ATTRv management, and the scarce involvement of gastroenterologists in multidisciplinary teams.

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Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a progressive and fatal condition that requires early diagnosis, management, and specific treatment. The availability of new disease-modifying therapies has made successful treatment a reality. Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy can be either age-related (wild-type form) or caused by mutations in the TTR gene (genetic, hereditary forms).

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Article Synopsis
  • Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) leads to amyloid deposits in the heart, resulting in progressive cardiomyopathy, and patisiran has been developed to reduce the production of transthyretin in the liver.
  • In a phase 3 trial, 360 patients with hereditary or wild-type ATTR cardiac amyloidosis received either patisiran or a placebo for 12 months, with various health metrics being assessed.
  • Results showed that patients receiving patisiran experienced less decline in the 6-minute walk test and improved health scores compared to the placebo group, although benefits for some secondary outcomes were not significant and adverse reactions were noted.
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  • The study evaluates the efficacy of eplontersen, a new treatment targeting hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv), specifically in its polyneuropathy form, through a phase 3 trial known as NEURO-TTRansform.
  • Conducted across 40 sites globally, the trial included 168 adults with specific eligibility criteria, comparing results from patients treated with eplontersen to historical data from placebo participants.
  • Main outcomes measured improvements in serum transthyretin levels and quality of life scores, showing a significant reduction in transthyretin levels in eplontersen-treated patients compared to placebo, indicating potential effectiveness of the treatment.
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Background And Purpose: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) is a life-threatening disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding transthyretin (TTR). The recent therapeutic advances have underlined the importance of easily accessible, objective biomarkers of both disease onset and progression. Preliminary evidence suggests a potential role in this respect for neurofilament light chain (NfL).

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Article Synopsis
  • Hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis is a rare, serious disease that impacts many aspects of a patient’s life, prompting a need for improved care strategies.
  • An international Delphi survey was created with a diverse panel of healthcare professionals and patient advocates to develop guidance focused on seven key care goals, including early diagnosis and support for both patients and caregivers.
  • The survey gathered feedback from 122 participants, mainly healthcare professionals, revealing a high level of agreement for care recommendations, though only a third were widely recognized as standard practice among respondents.
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Background: Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) has a deep impact on the quality of life (QoL), yet no specific patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for ATTR-CA exist.

Methods: The ITALY study involved 5 Italian referral centres (Pisa, Pavia, Ferrara, Florence, Messina) enrolling consecutive outpatients with ATTR-CA.

Results: Two 30-item questionnaires were created for wild-type (wt) and variant (v) ATTR-CA.

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Objective: We aimed at assessing efficacy, safety, and tolerability of canakinumab in patients with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) during a 72-week long-term, open-label extension of the CLUSTER study.

Methods: Patients received open-label canakinumab 150 or 300 mg, either every 4 weeks (q4w) or every 8 weeks, with up-titration permitted after on-treatment flares (maximum dose: 300 mg q4w). Efficacy assessments included physician global assessment of disease activity, number of flares, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A protein (SAA) levels.

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Systemic immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis is a heterogeneous rare disease driven by a destructive monoclonal gammopathy and typified by misfolded immunoglobulin light and/or heavy chains which aggregate and deposit in organs as insoluble amyloid fibrils. Disease heterogeneity is driven by the degree of multi-systemic involvement; cardiac, renal, neurological, and gastrointestinal (GI) systems are affected to varying degrees in different patients. While prognosis is primarily driven by hematologic response to treatment and outcomes associated with cardiac events and overall survival, the involvement of the peripheral nervous, hepatic, and GI systems can also have a significant impact on patients.

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  • Hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis is a severe, progressive disease that greatly impacts physical function and quality of life, and vutrisiran is a new RNA interference therapy designed to reduce the production of transthyretin in patients with this condition.
  • The HELIOS-A phase 3 study showed that vutrisiran significantly improved quality of life and physical function metrics compared to an external placebo group, especially in patients with less severe polyneuropathy.
  • Key results included notable improvements in various health scores, such as the Norfolk Quality of Life-Diabetic Neuropathy score and Karnofsky Performance Status, indicating the therapy's potential effectiveness and safety for patients with ATTRv amyloidosis.
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The therapeutic advance in hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv amyloidosis) requires quantitative biomarkers of nerve involvement in order to foster early diagnosis and monitor therapy response. We aimed at quantitatively assessing Magnetic Resonance Neurography (MRN) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) properties of the sciatic nerve in subjects with ATTRv-amyloidosis-polyneuropathy (ATTRv-PN) and pre-symptomatic carriers (ATTRv-C). Twenty subjects with pathogenic variants of the TTR gene (mean age 62.

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  • A study examined 189 patients with the pathogenic variant Leu75Pro, focusing on their clinical and echocardiographic characteristics, revealing that most had no severe heart issues, but 14% showed signs of cardiac amyloidosis (CA).
  • The participants had a median age of 55, with 39% also having kidney disease and 31% with liver disease; age showed significant correlations with various heart measurements.
  • Those who met the echocardiographic criteria for CA had a significantly higher risk of overall and cardiovascular-related deaths, especially among individuals with both renal and liver involvement, indicating poorer outcomes.
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  • The study aimed to characterize the diagnostic pathways leading to wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTRwt-CA) and assess their association with patient survival.
  • A total of 1281 patients were analyzed, with most diagnosed through heart failure (51%), followed by incidental imaging (23%) and clinical pathways (19%).
  • Findings revealed that patients diagnosed via the heart failure pathway were typically older and had worse prognoses, but survival outcomes were mainly influenced by age, NYHA functional class, and comorbidities rather than the specific diagnostic pathway.
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