Репозиторий Университета

© 2019 The Authors Background: Retigabine is an antiepileptic drug developed for the adjunctive treatment of adults with epilepsy and partial-onset seizures (POS). Following its approval in 2011, reports of ophthalmological/dermatological pigmentation/discoloration led to a restriction of the indication in 2013, and in 2017, retigabine was voluntarily withdrawn from the market because of its limited usage. Here, data are reported from four open-label extension studies focusing on long-term safety with particular emphasis on ophthalmological and dermatological events. Methods: Studies 113413 (NCT01336621), 114873 (NCT01777139), 115097 (NCT00310388), and 115098 (NCT00310375) were multicenter, open-label extension studies of retigabine (300–1200 mg/day) for the adjunctive treatment of adults with POS. Safety assessments included monitoring treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs). When new safety issues were identified, protocols were amended to include additional on-treatment safety evaluations, including ophthalmological and dermatological examinations. Patients who had abnormal retinal pigmentation, unexplained vision change, pigmentation of nonretinal ocular tissue, or abnormal discoloration of skin, lips, nails, and/or mucosa at the end of the treatment phase were asked to enter a safety follow-up continuation phase comprising 6-monthly ophthalmological/dermatological assessments. Results: The safety population (patients receiving ≥ 1 dose of retigabine in the open-label phase) comprised 98, 30, 376, and 181 patients for studies 113413, 114873, 115097, and 115098, respectively. Mean (standard deviation) treatment exposure ranged from 529 (424) to 1129 (999) days. In total, 68%–96% and 4%–27% of patients across the studies experienced TEAEs and TE SAEs, respectively. There were seven on-treatment deaths and two after discontinuation. Overall, 14%–73% of patients had an on-treatment eye examination, of whom 8/53, 4/22, 17/54, and 14/36 had abnormal retinal pigmentation and 15/53, 7/22, 15/54, and 11/36 had nonretinal ocular pigmentation in studies 113413, 114873, 115097, and 115098, respectively. Four patients had confirmed acquired vitelliform maculopathy. In patients with unresolved events at discontinuation and ≥ 1 posttreatment follow-up, retinal pigmentation resolved completely in 1/3, 0/3, 0/10, and 1/7 patients and nonretinal ocular pigmentation in 1/4, 0/3, 8/10, and 4/6 patients, respectively. Overall, 12%–83% of patients had an on-treatment dermatological examination, of whom 11/58, 0/25, 23/46, and 23/37 had any-tissue discoloration, respectively. In patients with unresolved events at discontinuation and ≥ 1 posttreatment follow-up, discoloration of skin, lips, nails, and/or mucosa resolved completely in 2/3, 0/0, 7/13, and 1/11 patients, respectively. Conclusions: The safety profile of retigabine in adults with POS across four open-label studies was generally consistent with data from previous placebo-controlled studies. Discoloration of various tissues occurred in a proportion of patients treated with retigabine and resolved completely in a small number of these patients following treatment discontinuation. In addition, comprehensive eye examination identified a new adverse reaction of acquired vitelliform maculopathy in a limited number of patients.

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Activated protein C (APC) exerts diverse cell signaling pathways which results in multiple distinct cytoprotective actions. These include anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory activities and stabilization of endothelial and epithelial barriers. We studied the ability of APC to inhibit the leakage and the growth of newly formed as well as pre-existing choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and examined the ability of APC to stabilize the Retinal Pigmented Epithelium (RPE). We explored the contribution of Tie2 receptor to the protective effects of APC. CNV was induced by laser photocoagulation in C57BL/6J mice. APC was injected intravitreally immediately or 7 days after CNV induction. Neovascularization was evaluated on RPE-choroidal flatmounts using FITC-dextran perfusion and CD31 immunofluorescence. CNV leakage was measured by fluorescein angiography (FA). The ability of APC to stabilize the RPE barrier was evaluated in-vitro by dextran permeability and zonula occludens 1 (ZO1) immunostaining. Tie2 blocking was induced in-vivo by intraperitoneal injection of Tie2 kinase inhibitor and in-vitro by incubation with anti Tie2 antibodies. APC treatment dramatically inhibited the generation of newly formed CNV leakage sites and reversed leakage in 85% of the pre-existing CNV leaking sites. In RPE cell culture, APC induced translocation of ZO1 to the cell membrane, accompanied by reduction in permeability of the monolayer. Inhibition of Tie2 significantly decreased APC protective activities in both the mouse model and the RPE cell culture. Our results show that APC treatment significantly inhibits the leakage and growth of newly formed, as well as pre-existing CNV, and its protective activities are partially mediated via the Tie2 receptor. The data suggest that APC should be further investigated as a possible effective treatment for CNV.

© Kolosova et al. P62/SQSTM1, a multi-domain protein that regulates inflammation, apoptosis, and autophagy, has been linked to age-related pathologies. For example, previously we demonstrated that administration of p62/SQSTM1- encoding plasmid reduced chronic inflammation and alleviated osteoporosis and metabolic syndrome in animal models. Herein, we built upon these findings to investigate effect of the p62-encoding plasmid on an agerelated macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive neurodegenerative ocular disease, using spontaneous retinopathy in senescence-accelerated OXYS rats, as a model. Overall, the p62DNA decreased the incidence and severity of retinopathy. In retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), p62DNA administration slowed down development of the destructive alterations of RPE cells, including loss of regular hexagonal shape, hypertrophy, and multinucleation. In neuroretina, p62DNA prevented gliosis, retinal thinning, and significantly inhibited microglia/macrophages migration to the outer retina, prohibiting their subretinal accumulation. Taken together, our results suggest that the p62DNA has a strong retinoprotective effect in AMD.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoid pigments that affect the function of the visual analyzer. They selectively accumulate in the yellow spot of the retina, form macular pigment and determine the density of the retina macula. Lutein and zeaxanthin slow down the progression of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of senior-age blindness. The main food sources of non-vitamin carotenoids are green leafy vegetables, zucchini, pumpkin, green peas, broccoli. The aim of the study is a retrospective assessment of the levels and sources of alimentary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin in young people and research of the effect of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet on macula density. A specially designed questionnaire was used to quantify the content of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet, reflecting the amount of consumption of the main sources of these carotenoids on the day preceding the survey. A non-invasive non-contact method of optical coherence tomography of the retina was used to determine the density of the macula. The study involved 96 students of Sechenov University at the age of 21-27 years. The study found that only 6.25% of the respondents had daily intake of lutein and zeaxanthin of 6 mg or more, 8.33% had 4.6-5.9 mg, 8.33% had 3.0-4.5 mg, in 18.75% - 1.5-2.9 mg, in 45.83% <1.4 mg 12.5% of respondents didn't include sources of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet. The more common sources of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet were eggs and fresh tomatoes. Retinal density indices corresponded to the age standards in the majority of the examined. In 8.3% surveyed the thickness of the retina was decreased, and 4.2% had higher thickness of the retina in comparison with the standards. Significant differences in the Central subfield thickness in men and women were revealed. There was no dependence of the levels of lutein and zeaxanthin coming from food sources on the retina thickness indicators.

© 2018 ABV-Press Publishing House. All rights reserved. The DNA analysis revealed a transthyretin amyloidosis with a rare Phe53Leu mutation in a woman of 62 y.o. with the late onset progressive generalized axonal sensomotor neuropathy, dry eye syndrome, and an episode of severe unintentionally weight loss. The same mutation was found in her healthy 34 y.o. son, but not in a 42 y.o. daughter. The Congo red staining were negative in nerve and salivar gland biopsies samples. The reassessment of the transthyretin amyloidosis “red flags” showed that the patient fulfilled the criteria of the disease and the absence of amyloid deposition was not the ground to reject the hereditary cause of the condition. The reasons of the misdiagnosis are discussed.