HRA Pharma Rare Diseases funds online hub for Cushing’s Syndrome

Posted on March 19, 2021 by MaryO

This sounds a lot like what we have been doing for the last 20 years…

HRA Pharma Rare Diseases, an affiliate of global consumer healthcare company HRA Pharma, has announced it is funding an online platform containing information and news on Cushing’s Syndrome.

The ‘Cushing’s Hub’, developed by Springer Healthcare Education, is set to make all information on the rare condition available in one place for medical professionals to access.

Cushing’s Syndrome affects less than one in 10,000 people in the EU, and is categorised as a rare and severe condition caused by prolonged high levels of cortisol in the blood.

The new hub is managed by an independent editorial board consisting of three international Cushing’s Syndrome experts – Professor Frédéric Castinetti from France, Dr Niki Karavitaki from the UK and Associate Professor Dr Greisa Vila from Austria.

According to HRA Pharma Rare Diseases, the ‘Cushing’s Hub’ is the first online platform dedicated to all aspects of the rare condition.

“As a company which is dedicated to improving the lives of those with rare diseases, we felt it was crucial to support the development of a platform that can help healthcare professionals in the diagnosis, management and follow up of Cushing’s Syndrome. We are confident the platform will help improve the lives of many,” said Evelina Paberžė, COO of HRA Pharma Rare Diseases.

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New study identifies the main genetic causes of autoimmune Addison’s disease

Posted on February 13, 2021 by MaryO

Novel genetic associations could pave the way for early interventions and personalized treatment of an incurable condition.

Scientists from the University of Bergen (Norway) and Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) have discovered the genes involved in autoimmune Addison’s disease, a condition where the body’s immune systems destroys the adrenal cortex leading to a life-threatening hormonal deficiency of cortisol and aldosterone.

Groundbreaking study

The rarity of Addison’s disease has until now made scanning of the whole genome for clues to the disease’s genetic origins difficult, as this method normally requires many thousands of study participants. However, by combining the world’s two largest Addison’s disease registries, Prof. Eystein Husebye and his team at the University of Bergen and collaborators at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden (prof. Kämpe) were able to identify strong genetic signals associated with the disease. Most of them are directly involved in the development and functioning of the human immune system including specific molecular types in the so-called HLA-region (this is what makes matching donors and recipients in organ transplants necessary) and two different types of a gene called AIRE (which stands for AutoImmune REgulator).

AIRE is a key factor in shaping the immune system by removing self-reacting immune cells. Variants of AIRE, such as the ones identified in this study, could compromise this elimination of self-reacting cells, which could lead to an autoimmune attack later in life.

Knowing what predisposes people to develop Addison’s disease opens up the possibilities of determining the molecular repercussions of the predisposing genetic variation (currently ongoing in Prof. Husebye’s lab). The fact that it is now feasible to map the genetic risk profile of an individual also means that personalised treatment aimed at stopping and even reversing the autoimmune adrenal destruction can become a feasible option in the future.

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Contact information:

Professor at the University of Bergen, Eystein Husebye – Eystein.Husebye@uib.no – cell phone +47 99 40 47 88

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

From https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/tuob-nsi021221.php

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Acute and life-threatening complications in Cushing syndrome: Prevalence, predictors and mortality

Posted on February 1, 2021 by MaryO

Researchers conducted this retrospective cohort study to investigate acute and life-threatening complications in patients with active Cushing syndrome (CS). Participants in the study were 242 patients with CS, including 213 with benign CS (pituitary n = 101, adrenal n = 99, ectopic n = 13), and 29 with malignant disease.

In patients with benign pituitary CS, the prevalence of acute complications was 62%, 40% in patients with benign adrenal CS, and 100% in patients with ectopic CS. Infections, thromboembolic events, hypokalemia, hypertensive crises, cardiac arrhythmias and acute coronary events were complications reported in patients with benign CS.

The whole spectrum of acute and life-threatening complications in CS and their high prevalence was illustrated in this study both before disease diagnosis and after successful surgery.

Read the full article on Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

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Hydrocortisone in Granule Form Effectively Treats Childhood Adrenal Insufficiency

Posted on October 17, 2020 by MaryO

The treatment of adrenal insufficiency with hydrocortisone granules in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) was associated with an absence of adrenal crises and normal growth patterns over a 2-year period, according to study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The study included a total of 17 children with CAH and 1 child with hypopituitarism. All included participants were <6 years old who were receiving current adrenocortical replacement therapy, including hydrocortisone with or without fludrocortisone. Hydrocortisone medications used in this population were converted from pharmacy compounded capsules to hydrocortisone granules without changing the dose.

These study participants were followed by study investigators for 2 years. Glucocorticoid replacement therapy was given three times a day for a median treatment duration of 795 days. Treatment was adjusted by 3 monthly 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) profiles in children with CAH.

There were a 150 follow-up visits throughout the study. At each visit, participants underwent assessments that measured hydrocortisone dose, height, weight, pubertal status, adverse events, and incidence of adrenal crisis.

A total of 40 follow-up visits had changes in hydrocortisone doses based on salivary measurements (n=32) and serum 17-OHP levels (n=8).

At time of study entry, the median daily doses of hydrocortisone were 11.9 mg/m2 for children between the ages of 2 to 8 years, 9.9 mg/m2 for children between 1 month and 2 years, and 12.0 mg/m2 for children <28 days of age. At the end of the study, the respective doses for the 3 age groups were 10.2, 9.8, and 8.6.

The investigators observed no trends in either accelerated growth or reduced growth; however, 1 patient with congenital renal hypoplasia and CAH did show reduced growth. While 193 treatment-emergent adverse events, including pyrexia, gastroenteritis, and viral upper respiratory tract infection, were reported in 14 patients, there were no observed adrenal crises.

Limitations of this study included the small sample size as well as the relatively high drop-out rate of the initial sample.

The researchers concluded that “hydrocortisone granules are an effective treatment for childhood adrenal insufficiency providing the ability to accurately prescribe pediatric appropriate doses.”

Disclosure: Several study authors declared affiliations with the pharmaceutical industry. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

Reference

Neumann U, Braune K, Whitaker MJ, et al. A prospective study of children 0-7 years with CAH and adrenal insufficiency treated with hydrocortisone granules. Published online September 4, 2020. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa626

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Estrogen receptor α plays an important role in Cushing’s syndrome during pregnancy

Posted on July 16, 2020 by MaryO

Abstract

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) during pregnancy is very rare with a few cases reported in the literature.

Of great interest, some cases of CS during pregnancy spontaneously resolve after delivery. Most studies suggest that aberrant luteinizing hormone (LH)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LHCGR) seems to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of CS during pregnancy.

However, not all women during pregnancy are observed cortisol hypersecretion. Moreover, some cases of adrenal tumors or macronodular hyperplasia with LHCGR expressed, have no response to hCG or LH.

Therefore, alternative pathogenic mechanisms are indicated. It has been recently reported that estrogen binding to estrogen receptor α (ERα) could enhance the adrenocortical adenocarcinoma (ACC) cell proliferation.

Herein, we hypothesize that ERα is probably involved in CS development during pregnancy.

Better understanding of the possible mechanism of ERα on cortisol production and adrenocortical tumorigenesis will contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of CS during pregnancy.

Read the entire article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987720303893?via%3Dihub

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