Browsing by Author "Karam, Chafic"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Investigating Late-Onset Pompe Prevalence in Neuromuscular Medicine Academic Practices: The IPaNeMA Study
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2021-10-18) Wencel, Marie; Shaibani, Aziz; Goyal, Namita A.; Dimachkie, Mazen M.; Trivedi, Jaya; Johnson, Nicholas E.; Gutmann, Laurie; Wicklund, Matthew P.; Bandyopadhay, Sankar; Genge, Angela L.; Freimer, Miriam L.; Goyal, Neelam; Pestronk, Alan; Florence, Julaine; Karam, Chafic; Ralph, Jeffrey W.; Rasheed, Zinah; Hays, Melissa; Hopkins, Steve; Mozaffar, Tahseen; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Background and objectives: We investigated the prevalence of late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) in patients presenting to 13 academic, tertiary neuromuscular practices in the United States and Canada. Methods: All successive patients presenting with proximal muscle weakness or isolated hyperCKemia and/or neck muscle weakness to these 13 centers were invited to participate in the study. Whole blood was tested for acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA) assay through the fluorometric method, and all cases with enzyme levels of ≤10 pmoL/punch/h were reflexed to molecular testing for mutations in the GAA gene. Clinical and demographic information was abstracted from their clinical visit and, along with study data, entered into a purpose-built REDCap database, and analyzed at the University of California, Irvine. Results: GAA enzyme assay results were available on 906 of the 921 participants who consented for the study. LOPD was confirmed in 9 participants (1% prevalence). Another 9 (1%) were determined to have pseudodeficiency of GAA, whereas 19 (1.9%) were found to be heterozygous for a pathogenic GAA mutation (carriers). Of the definite LOPD participants, 8 (89%) were Caucasian and were heterozygous for the common leaky (IVS1) splice site mutation in the GAA gene (c -32-13T>G), with a second mutation that was previously confirmed to be pathogenic. Discussion: The prevalence of LOPD in undiagnosed patients meeting the criteria of proximal muscle weakness, high creatine kinase, and/or neck weakness in academic, tertiary neuromuscular practices in the United States and Canada is estimated to be 1%, with an equal prevalence rate of pseudodeficiency alleles.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Phase 2, Double-Blind, Randomized, Dose-Ranging Trial Of Reldesemtiv In Patients With ALS
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021-05) Shefner, Jeremy M.; Andrews, Jinsy A.; Genge, Angela; Jackson, Carlayne; Lechtzin, Noah; Miller, Timothy M.; Cockroft, Bettina M.; Meng, Lisa; Wei, Jenny; Wolff, Andrew A.; Malik, Fady I.; Bodkin, Cynthia; Brooks, Benjamin R.; Caress, James; Dionne, Annie; Fee, Dominic; Goutman, Stephen A.; Goyal, Namita A.; Hardiman, Orla; Hayat, Ghazala; Heiman-Patterson, Terry; Heitzman, Daragh; Henderson, Robert D.; Johnston, Wendy; Karam, Chafic; Kiernan, Matthew C.; Kolb, Stephen J.; Korngut, Lawrence; Ladha, Shafeeq; Matte, Genevieve; Mora, Jesus S.; Needham, Merrilee; Oskarsson, Bjorn; Pattee, Gary L.; Pioro, Erik P.; Pulley, Michael; Quan, Dianna; Rezania, Kourosh; Schellenberg, Kerri L.; Schultz, David; Shoesmith, Christen; Simmons, Zachary; Statland, Jeffrey; Sultan, Shumaila; Swenson, Andrea; Van Den Berg, Leonard H.; Vu, Tuan; Vucic, Steve; Weiss, Michael; Whyte-Rayson, Ashley; Wymer, James; Zinman, Lorne; Rudnicki, Stacy A.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    To evaluate safety, dose response, and preliminary efficacy of reldesemtiv over 12 weeks in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Patients (≤2 years since diagnosis) with slow upright vital capacity (SVC) of ≥60% were randomized 1:1:1:1 to reldesemtiv 150, 300, or 450 mg twice daily (bid) or placebo; active treatment was 12 weeks with 4-week follow-up. Primary endpoint was change in percent predicted SVC at 12 weeks; secondary measures included ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) and muscle strength mega-score. Results: Patients (N = 458) were enrolled; 85% completed 12-week treatment. The primary analysis failed to reach statistical significance (p = 0.11); secondary endpoints showed no statistically significant effects (ALSFRS-R, p = 0.09; muscle strength mega-score, p = 0.31). Post hoc analyses pooling all active reldesemtiv-treated patients compared against placebo showed trends toward benefit in all endpoints (progression rate for SVC, ALSFRS-R, and muscle strength mega-score (nominal p values of 0.10, 0.01 and 0.20 respectively)). Reldesemtiv was well tolerated, with nausea and fatigue being the most common side effects. A dose-dependent decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate was noted, and transaminase elevations were seen in approximately 5% of patients. Both hepatic and renal abnormalities trended toward resolution after study drug discontinuation. Conclusions: Although the primary efficacy analysis did not demonstrate statistical significance, there were trends favoring reldesemtiv for all three endpoints, with effect sizes generally regarded as clinically important. Tolerability was good; modest hepatic and renal abnormalities were reversible. The impact of reldesemtiv on patients with ALS should be assessed in a pivotal Phase 3 trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03160898).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Randomized phase 2 study of ACE-083, a muscle-promoting agent, in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy
    (Wiley, 2022) Statland, Jeffrey M.; Campbell, Craig; Desai, Urvi; Karam, Chafic; Díaz-Manera, Jordi; Guptill, Jeffrey T.; Korngut, Lawrence; Genge, Angela; Tawil, Rabi N.; Elman, Lauren; Joyce, Nanette C.; Wagner, Kathryn R.; Manousakis, Georgios; Amato, Anthony A.; Butterfield, Russell J.; Shieh, Perry B.; Wicklund, Matthew; Gamez, Josep; Bodkin, Cynthia; Pestronk, Alan; Weihl, Conrad C.; Vilchez-Padilla, Juan J.; Johnson, Nicholas E.; Mathews, Katherine D.; Miller, Barry; Leneus, Ashley; Fowler, Marcie; van de Rijn, Marc; Attie, Kenneth M.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Introduction/aims: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a slowly progressive muscular dystrophy without approved therapies. In this study we evaluated whether locally acting ACE-083 could safely increase muscle volume and improve functional outcomes in adults with FSHD. Methods: Participants were at least 18 years old and had FSHD1/FSHD2. Part 1 was open label, ascending dose, assessing safety and tolerability (primary objective). Part 2 was randomized, double-blind for 6 months, evaluating ACE-083240 mg/muscle vs placebo injected bilaterally every 3 weeks in the biceps brachii (BB) or tibialis anterior (TA) muscles, followed by 6 months of open label. Magnetic resonance imaging measures included total muscle volume (TMV; primary objective), fat fraction (FF), and contractile muscle volume (CMV). Functional measures included 6-minute walk test, 10-meter walk/run, and 4-stair climb (TA group), and performance of upper limb midlevel/elbow score (BB group). Strength, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and safety were also evaluated. Results: Parts 1 and 2 enrolled 37 and 58 participants, respectively. Among 55 participants evaluable in Part 2, the least-squares mean (90% confidence interval, analysis of covariance) treatment difference for TMV was 16.4% (9.8%-23.0%) in the BB group (P < .0001) and 9.5% (3.2%-15.9%) in the TA group (P = .01). CMV increased significantly in the BB and TA groups and FF decreased in the TA group. There were no consistent improvements in functional or PRO measures in either group. The most common adverse events were mild or moderate injection-site reactions. Discussion: Significant increases in TMV with ACE-083 vs placebo did not result in consistent functional or PRO improvements with up to 12 months of treatment.