Publications by authors named "Thomas Sejersen"

Background And Objectives: Muscular dystrophies and myotonic disorders are genetic disorders characterized by progressive skeletal muscle degeneration and weakness. Epidemiologic studies have found an increased cancer risk in myotonic dystrophy, although the cancer risk spectrum is poorly characterized. In patients with muscular dystrophy, the cancer risk is uncertain.

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Article Synopsis
  • Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 gene, leading to progressive muscle degeneration, prompting a need to update diagnosis best practices post-treatment advancements and newborn screening implementation.
  • A systematic review and expert consensus from healthcare professionals in the U.S. and Europe emphasized the critical role of newborn screening (NBS) for SMA and established new recommendations for characterizing NBS-identified infants and enhancing specialty care services.
  • The working group highlighted the necessity of involving individuals with SMA and their caregivers in the process to better support and provide resources for those diagnosed through NBS, while noting limited data on adult-onset SMA diagnosis.
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In cell biology, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) 2'-methyl (2'--Me) is the most prevalent posttranscriptional chemical modification contributing to ribosome heterogeneity. The modification involves a family of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and is specified by box C/D snoRNAs (SNORDs). Given the importance of ribosome biogenesis for skeletal muscle growth, we asked if rRNA 2'--Me in nascent ribosomes synthesized in response to a growth stimulus is an unrecognized mode of ribosome heterogeneity in muscle.

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Article Synopsis
  • * One key treatment is the gene therapy called onasemnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma®), which is effective for patients with specific genetic profiles, although its broad usage raises concerns about safety for less clear cases.
  • * A European expert group has investigated the use of Zolgensma® for older and heavier SMA patients, resulting in 12 consensus statements that reflect the evolving understanding of its effectiveness based on new clinical and real-world evidence.
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Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare, progressive, neuromuscular disorder. Recent advances in treatment require an updated assessment of burden to inform reimbursement decisions.

Objectives: To quantify healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and cost of care for patients with SMA.

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Background: This paper details the results of an evaluation of the level of consensus amongst clinicians on the use of ataluren in both ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients with nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD). The consensus was derived using a modified Delphi methodology that involved an exploration phase and then an evaluation phase.

Methods: The exploration phase involved 90-minute virtual 1:1 interviews of 12 paediatric neurologists who cared for 30-120 DMD patients each and had patient contact every one or two weeks.

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Background And Objectives: Bisphosphonates are routinely used to treat osteoporosis in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare, severely debilitating neuromuscular disease. We sought to synthesize and grade benefits and harms evidence of bisphosphonates in glucocorticoid-treated patients with DMD.

Methods: In this systematic review (PROSPERO identifier: CRD42020157606), we searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CENTRAL for articles published from inception up to and including March 31, 2023, reporting results in any language from any study type.

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The objective of this study was to estimate change over time in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in Sweden. Children with SMA were identified via the National Patient Register by the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden. Patient HRQoL was caregiver proxy-assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.

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Article Synopsis
  • Neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) have various causes, and getting a genetic diagnosis is essential for personalized treatment.
  • The study analyzed 861 patients using genome sequencing to identify genetic variants associated with NMDs, finding that 27% had pathogenic variants, with one-third involving short tandem repeats (STRs) and structural variants (SVs).
  • The findings suggest that a comprehensive genome-wide analysis, especially for children with vague symptoms, is more effective than just focusing on specific disease-related genes, emphasizing the need to include STR and SV analyses in NMD diagnostics.
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Objective: The objective of our study was to review, synthesize, and grade published evidence of caregiver burden of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare autosomal-recessive neuromuscular disease.

Methods: We searched Embase and PubMed for full-text articles published from inception up until 28 February, 2022, reporting results from studies of caregiver burden (i.e.

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Introduction: Clinical trials have demonstrated a positive effect of nusinersen therapy on survival of infants with SMA type 1. However, there is a lack of data outside clinical trials on how the introduction of nusinersen has affected the survival of patients with SMA. We therefore set out to analyse survival in patients diagnosed at less than 24 months before, during and after the introduction of nusinersen in a nationwide population-based real-world setting.

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SMA (5q SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease with an estimated incidence of approximately 1 in 11,000 live births, characterized by progressive degeneration and loss of α-motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain stem, resulting in progressive muscle weakness. The disease spectrum is wide, from a serious congenital to a mild adult-onset disease. SMA is caused by biallelic mutations in the gene and disease severity is modified primarily by copy number.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the face validity of a disease model evaluating the cost-effectiveness of ataluren for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD).

Methods: This was a Delphi panel study comprising of physicians with first-hand experience of ataluren for the treatment of nmDMD. Consensus was sought for previously unvalidated model data, including patient health status and quality of life measured using the Health Utility Index (HUI), mortality, informal caregiving, and the expected benefit of early ataluren treatment across four states: (1) ambulatory, (2) non-ambulatory, not yet requiring ventilation support, (3) non-ambulatory, night-time ventilation support, and (4) non-ambulatory, full-time ventilation support.

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Being a parent of a child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, involves a range of challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore what advice parents of children with severe SMA, in absence of effective therapies, would like to give to other parents. This study derives from two nationwide parental surveys in Sweden and Denmark, where content analysis was used to analyse one open-ended question about parents' advice to other parents.

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This study aims to explore negotiations of hope in everyday life for families where a child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has received a new drug treatment. A narrative design was used, drawing on interviews and participant observations in two families with children with SMA, types 1-2, to situate family experiences of hope in everyday life. Narrative analysis was used on the data.

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Objectives: The objective of our study was to conduct a systematic literature review of estimates of costs of illness of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Methods: We searched MEDLINE (through PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, and the National Health Service Health Technology Assessment Database for studies published from inception up until 31 August, 2020, reporting direct medical, direct non-medical, and/or indirect costs of any phenotype of SMA. Two reviewers independently screened records for eligibility, extracted the data, and assessed studies for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

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Filamin C (FLNC), being one of the major actin-binding proteins, is involved in the maintenance of key muscle cell functions. Inherited skeletal muscle and cardiac disorders linked to genetic variants in have attracted attention because of their high clinical importance and possibility of genotype-phenotype correlations. To further expand on the role of FLNC in muscle cells, we focused on detailed alterations of muscle cell properties developed after the loss of FLNC.

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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with damaging variants in the gene is a fairly recent discovery, and only a small number of patients have been described thus far. Here we present two additional patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy caused by biallelic variants in . Genetic investigation was performed using a targeted gene panel consisting of known cardiomyopathy-associated genes and whole exome sequencing.

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Introduction: Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) represents a genetically heterogeneous cardiomyopathy which occurs in both children and adults. Its genetic spectrum overlaps with other types of cardiomyopathy. However, LVNC phenotypes in different age groups can have distinct genetic aetiologies.

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Assess the totality of efficacy evidence for ataluren in patients with nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD). Data from the two completed randomized controlled trials (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00592553; NCT01826487) of ataluren in nmDMD were combined to examine the intent-to-treat (ITT) populations and two patient subgroups (baseline 6-min walk distance [6MWD] ≥300-<400 or <400 m).

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Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) used to be one of the most common genetic causes of infant mortality. New disease modifying treatments have changed the disease trajectories and most impressive results are seen if treatment is initiated in the presymptomatic phase of the disease. Very recently, the European Medicine Agency approved Onasemnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma®) for the treatment of patients with SMA with up to three copies of the SMN2 gene or the clinical presentation of SMA type 1.

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Objectives: The objective of our study was to conduct a systematic literature review of economic costs (henceforth costs) associated with myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: We searched MEDLINE (through PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science for studies reporting costs of MG published from inception up until March 18, 2020, without language restrictions. Two reviewers independently screened records for eligibility, extracted the data, and assessed included studies for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

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Article Synopsis
  • TNNI3 gene mutations that affect cardiac troponin I (cTnI) are linked to restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), specifically two variations (R170G/W) found in infants.
  • These mutations increase calcium sensitivity in heart muscle fibers and alter the strength of binding between troponin, tropomyosin, and actin, leading to unstable filament structures.
  • The mutations disrupt interactions with cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBPC-C0C2), which normally helps activate muscle filaments, indicating that these changes can negatively affect heart muscle function.
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