Ductus Arteriosus, Patent

TUESDAY, Feb. 11, 2025 -- Among simple congenital heart diseases (CHD), patent foramen ovale (PFO) is associated with a significantly higher risk for epilepsy, according to a study published in the February issue of CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics . Lei Chen, M.D., Ph.D., from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, and colleagues compared the risk for epilepsy in patients with different types of simple CHD. The analysis included 10,914 patients born (January 2008 to June 2022) with atrial septal defect (ASD), PFO, ventricular septal defect (VSD), and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The researchers found that 108 individuals were diagnosed with epilepsy at an average follow-up of 2.19 years. Epilepsy incidence in patients with PFO, VSD, PDA, and ASD was 8.58, 4.85, 3.98, and 2.63 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. The risk for epilepsy was elevated in patients with PFO, VSD, and PDA (risk ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 3.28 [2.00 to 5.43], 1.47 [0.79 to 2.68], and 1.46 [0.70 to 2.82], respectively) compared with patients with ASD. Patients with simple CHD who underwent CHD surgery had a lower risk for epilepsy than those who did not undergo surgery. "These findings have implications for future research on the pathogenesis of PFO and incidence of central nervous system diseases, and perhaps importantly, for the prevention and treatment of epilepsy in patients with PFO," the authors write. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

FRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 -- Combination treatment with entinostat and nivolumab results in durable responses in a small subset of patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), according to a study published online Nov. 12 in Nature Communications . Marina Baretti, M.D., from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues combined entinostat and nivolumab in patients with advanced PDA in a phase 2 study. A 14-day lead-in of entinostat 5 mg orally once weekly was followed by entinostat and nivolumab treatment. Twenty-seven evaluable patients were enrolled between November 2017 and November 2020. The researchers found partial responses in three patients (objective response rate, 11 percent), with a median response duration of 10.2 months. Median progression-free survival was 1.89 months and overall survival was 2.729 months. Nineteen patients (63 percent) had grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events, including reduced lymphocyte count, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hyponatremia. Entinostat yielded increases in dendritic cell activation and maturation. In a small subset of PDA patients, entinostat and nivolumab showed durable responses, although the primary end point was not met. "This study creates a roadmap for this strategy, and future areas of exploration include additional mechanistic studies that will lead to combinatorial approaches, both preclinically and clinically, to expand the subset of patients that could benefit from an histone deacetylase inhibitor-based immunomodulatory strategy," the authors write. Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Syndax, which manufactures entinostat and supplied the study medications. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

MONDAY, July 15, 2024 -- For very low birth-weight (VLBW) infants, transcatheter closure of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is increasingly used, with selected short-term outcomes slightly more favorable, according to a study published online July 15 in Pediatrics . Brianna F. Leahy, M.B.B.S., from the University of Vermont in Burlington, and colleagues describe survival and short-term outcomes among VLBW infants (born from 401 to 1,500 g or 22 to 29 weeks of gestational age) who underwent transcatheter or surgical PDA closure from 2018 to 2022. Data were included for 6,410 of 216,267 infants at 726 hospitals who received invasive PDA treatment. The researchers observed an increase in the use of transcatheter closure, from 29.8 percent in 2018 to 71.7 percent in 2022. Higher survival was seen for VLBW infants undergoing transcatheter closure, and they had a similar length of stay, neonatal complications, and receipt of discharge support. Survival and discharge support were found to be similar in subgroup analyses conducted for infants with birth weight ≥700 g and born in 2020 to 2022, whereas selected neonatal complications and length of stay were reduced after transcatheter closure. "Although selected VLBW short-term outcomes after transcatheter closure, including survival, neonatal complications, and length of stay, may be slightly more favorable compared with surgical closure, this retrospective observational study did not include many important clinical factors, and statistical observations should be interpreted cautiously and in the appropriate neonatal clinical context," the authors write. Abstract/Full Text Editorial Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.