Pulmonary arterial response to Angiostrongylus vasorum in naturally infected dogs: echocardiographic findings in two ...
Severe Disease Uncommon At Time Of Sarcoidosis Diagnosis: Dutch Study
The lungs are affected in nearly everyone diagnosed with sarcoidosis in the Netherlands, but most patients in the country don't have disease severe enough to warrant systemic immune-suppressing treatments at the time of diagnosis.
That's according to the findings of a new study, "Organ involvement in newly diagnosed sarcoidosis patients in the Netherlands: The first large European multicentre prospective study," which was published in Respiratory Medicine.
As its title suggests, the study is believed to be among the first in the region to investigate the manifestations of sarcoidosis at the time of a patient's diagnosis. The researchers noted that it's "important to consider the influence of ethnicity and geographical area on … data" involving people with sarcoidosis.
"Sarcoidosis is a disorder with a wide variety of clinical manifestations, influenced by genetic, ethnic and geographical factors," the team wrote. "Early identification of organ involvement in sarcoidosis may be useful to guide treatment decisions in clinical practice and subsequently may improve the quality of life and prognosis."
Large study on organ involvement is 1st in Europe, per researchersSarcoidosis is an inflammatory disorder characterized by clumps of immune cells called granulomas, which can affect organs throughout the body. There have been previous studies on patterns of organ involvement among newly diagnosed sarcoidosis patients in North America and Japan, but there has not been much similar research in Europe.
Aiming to fill this knowledge gap, scientists at two large teaching hospitals in the Netherlands conducted a prospective study in which they recorded patterns of organ involvement for everyone diagnosed with sarcoidosis at their centers from 2015 to the start of 2020.
"Due to the unselected nature, the included population can be considered a real-life sarcoidosis population," the scientists noted. They highlighted this as a strength compared with studies done at specialty centers, which tend to see more patients with severe disease.
A total of 330 patients were assessed. In most — 65% of patients — sarcoidosis affected one organ. Another 27% had two organs affected. Fewer than 1 in 10 patients had sarcoidosis affecting three or more different organs at once.
The most common disease manifestation was by far the lungs; nearly all patients (96%) had pulmonary sarcoidosis with some amount of lung involvement. However, while lung involvement was common, most patients did not have severe lung disease at diagnosis. Specifically, about one-third (38%) showed abnormalities in lung function tests, and 3% had signs of pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring in the lungs.
Disease manifestations outside of the lungs were identified in fewer than half (42%) of patients at the time of diagnosis.
Skin involvement seen to affect nearly one-quarter at sarcoidosis diagnosisThe most common non-lung manifestation was skin involvement, known as cutaneous sarcoidosis, which was seen in about one-quarter (23%) of the patients. The researchers noted that skin involvement affected a significantly higher percentage of female than male patients, and it was more common in patients diagnosed before age 40.
Other comparatively common non-lung manifestations included abnormalities in calcium processing and problems with the bone and/or bone marrow, both seen in 9% of patients, and eye inflammation or ocular sarcoidosis, seen in 12%. More rarely, some patients had other disease manifestations including involvement of the heart (cardiac sarcoidosis), nerves (neurosarcoidosis), kidney, liver, joints, and spleen.
Comparing these findings against previous data from a large study in North America, the researchers noted that patients in the Netherlands had similar rates of lung and eye involvement but higher rates of skin involvement and lower rates of liver or multiorgan involvement. This may be due to differences in demographics as well as other factors like access to reliable health insurance, the researchers noted.
Our study indicates that the prevalence of high-risk organ and multi-organ involvement is low among Northwest-European patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis.
Overall, the findings showed that rates of serious disease complications like pulmonary fibrosis or heart problems are uncommon at the time of diagnosis for sarcoidosis patients in the Netherlands. In line with the relative rarity of serious issues, about 30% of patients in this study — fewer than a third — were started on anti-inflammatory medications at the time of diagnosis, most commonly using corticosteroids like prednisone.
"Our study indicates that the prevalence of high-risk organ and multi-organ involvement is low among Northwest-European patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis," the scientists concluded, adding that these findings "could support future guidelines relating to systematic baseline organ screening in newly diagnosed sarcoidosis."
VA Secretary Fighting For Better Healthcare For Native Veterans
RAPID CITY, S.D. - U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Denis McDonough delivered a speech at the National Tribal Health Conference held at the Monument, emphasizing the unique contributions and needs of Native American veterans.
"Native Americans serve at a rate that is unrivaled, among other ethnicities in this country," Secretary McDonough stated. "And when one looks back at the critical role that our Native American warriors have played in every war that we've had, one is humbled by their service."
Secretary McDonough highlighted the U.S. Government's ongoing efforts to support Native American veterans through various initiatives, including the recently enacted PACT Act.
The PACT Act is a law that expands benefits and health care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances while serving in certain combat zones, including Agent Orange, burn pits and other substances. The PACT Act also adds 23 presumptive conditions to health conditions that are believed to be caused by exposure to these substances. These conditions include:
Secretary McDonough also explains the importance of culturally competent care for Native American veterans. "We're working right now to expand programs in individual VA hospitals to ensure that veterans - Native veterans struggling with mental health crises have access to traditional healing options, especially in light of the suicide epidemic," he explained.
Further, Secretary McDonough discussed the collaborative efforts between the VA and the Indian Health Service (IHS) to improve healthcare access for Native American veterans. "We can put a clinic staffed by VA professionals inside an IHS hospital so we can get them access to mental health care, access to other specialty services, right there in a shared facility," he said. "What will that do? Increase access points for native veterans, but it'll also reduce costs for American taxpayers."
The Secretary concluded by stating at the end of the day, his job is to fight for all veterans to have benefits in the United States.
National Tribal Health Conference; U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affair makes an AppearanceCourtesy of the U.S. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs
ATyr Pharma To Present Poster Describing Efzofitimod's Mechanism Of Action At The American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference
aTyr Pharma, Inc.
Findings further demonstrate that NRP2 is an important new immune target in ILD and that efzofitimod modulates myeloid cells to confer anti-inflammatory benefit
SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE) (aTyr or the "Company"), a clinical stage biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of first-in-class medicines from its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform, today announced that the company will present data for its lead therapeutic candidate, efzofitimod, at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference, which is scheduled to take place May 17 – 22 in San Diego, CA.
"These findings further demonstrate the unique way in which efzofitimod is modulating myeloid cells to confer the anti-inflammatory benefits we have seen in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a major form of interstitial lung disease (ILD)," said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. "With an enhanced understanding of efzofitimod's novel mechanism we have greater confidence in the potential for this first-in-class immunomodulator to be a transformative treatment for ILD, including pulmonary sarcoidosis, where we are currently conducting a pivotal Phase 3 study."
Details of the presentation appears below. The poster will be available on the aTyr website once presented.
Title: Efzofitimod is an Immunomodulator of Myeloid Cell Function and Novel Therapeutic Candidate for Interstitial Lung DiseasesSession Title: Evaluating the Intersection Between Autoimmunity, Immunodeficiency, and Interstitial Lung DiseasesSession Format: Poster Discussion SessionPoster Number: 8837Date and Time: Sunday, May 19, 2024, from 2:15 p.M. To 4:15 p.M.Location: Room 31A-C (Upper Level), San Diego Convention Center
The poster presents findings demonstrating that by selectively binding neuropilin-2 (NRP2), a cell surface receptor upregulated at active sites of inflammation, most notably on myeloid cells, efzofitimod modulates the differentiation of monocyte-derived macrophages in healthy donors and ILD patients, resulting in a unique phenotype with reduced inflammatory potential. Additionally, the data further validates the discovery of NRP2 as an important new immune target, with higher expression of NRP2 detected on circulating monocytes from ILD patients compared to healthy donors and on macrophages within pulmonary sarcoidosis granulomas and other tissues from chronic inflammatory diseases. These findings suggest that efzofitimod may have broad therapeutic potential in diseases where myeloid cells play a central role in pathology, including ILD.
About Efzofitimod
Story continues
Efzofitimod is a first-in-class biologic immunomodulator in clinical development for the treatment of interstitial lung disease (ILD), a group of immune-mediated disorders that can cause inflammation and fibrosis, or scarring, of the lungs. Efzofitimod is a tRNA synthetase derived therapy that selectively modulates activated myeloid cells through neuropilin-2 to resolve inflammation without immune suppression and potentially prevent the progression of fibrosis. ATyr is currently investigating efzofitimod in the global Phase 3 EFZO-FIT™ study in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a major form of ILD, and in the Phase 2 EFZO-CONNECT™ study in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc, or scleroderma)-related ILD. These forms of ILD have limited therapeutic options and there is a need for safer and more effective, disease-modifying treatments that improve outcomes.
About aTyr
aTyr is a clinical stage biotechnology company leveraging evolutionary intelligence to translate tRNA synthetase biology into new therapies for fibrosis and inflammation. TRNA synthetases are ancient, essential proteins that have evolved novel domains that regulate diverse pathways extracellularly in humans. ATyr's discovery platform is focused on unlocking hidden therapeutic intervention points by uncovering signaling pathways driven by its proprietary library of domains derived from all 20 tRNA synthetases. ATyr's lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a first-in-class biologic immunomodulator in clinical development for the treatment of interstitial lung disease, a group of immune-mediated disorders that can cause inflammation and progressive fibrosis, or scarring, of the lungs. For more information, please visit www.Atyrpharma.Com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believes," "designed," "can," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "potential," "will," and variations of such words or similar expressions. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by such safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the clinical development for efzofitimod, including the potential of efzofitimod to be a potential treatment in diseases where myeloid cells play a central role in pathology, including ILD. These forward-looking statements also reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements, are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations, strategies or prospects will be attained or achieved. All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, uncertainty regarding geopolitical and macroeconomic events, risks associated with the discovery, development and regulation of efzofitimod, the risk that we or our partners may cease or delay preclinical or clinical development activities for efzofitimod for a variety of reasons (including difficulties or delays in patient enrollment in planned clinical trials), the possibility that existing collaborations could be terminated early, and the risk that we may not be able to raise the additional funding required for our business and product development plans, as well as those risks set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other SEC filings. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Ashlee Dunston
Director, Investor Relations and Public Affairs
adunston@atyrpharma.Com
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