University of Genova

THURSDAY, Aug. 3, 2023 -- More girls started puberty before age 8 during the COVID-19 pandemic, a phenomenon called precocious puberty , researchers say. The reasons include potential risk factors such as increased screen time and less exercise, according to a new study, published online Aug. 3 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society . In precocious puberty, children's bodies begin changing into adult bodies too soon. These changes normally begin between age 8 and 14. The number of girls referred to pediatric endocrinologists for precocious puberty rose substantially over the past two years, researchers found. COVID-19 has also been linked to endocrine diseases, including obesity, which can contribute to early puberty in girls. “Our study confirms the rise in precocious puberty diagnoses during COVID-19 and identifies contributing factors such as poor eating and exercise habits, too much screen time and impaired sleep,” said study author Dr. Mohamad Maghnie , of the University of Genoa and the Giannina Gaslini Institute in Italy. “We found an increase in weight gain among girls diagnosed with precocious puberty during the pandemic, and rapid increase in body weight is associated with advanced pubertal development," he said in a journal news release. The researchers studied data on rates of precocious puberty from before and after the pandemic in 133 girls in Italy. They also considered the possible relationship between COVID-19 and pandemic-related lifestyle changes. They found 72 cases of precocious puberty between January 2016 and March 2020, and 61 between March 2020 and June 2021. Girls diagnosed with precocious puberty during the pandemic tended to have a higher BMI than girls who did not. (BMI, or body mass index, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.) They also spent an average of two hours per day using electronic devices. About 88.5% of them stopped all physical activity. “The role of stress, social isolation, increased conflicts between parents, economic status and the increased use of hand and surface sanitizers represent potentially further interesting hypotheses as to why early puberty is increasing in youth,” Maghnie said. “Although, the consequence of biological adaptation cannot be entirely ruled out." Sources Journal of the Endocrine Society , news release, Aug. 3, 2023 Posted August 2023 Further Support and Information on COVID-19 COVID-19: Prevention & Investigational Treatments COVID-19 Support Group Coronavirus Disease Guide

In people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), hematopoietic stem cell transplants may delay disability longer than some other MS medications, according to a new study. The study involved autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants, which use healthy blood stem cells from a person's own body to replace diseased cells. In people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), hematopoietic stem cell transplants may delay disability longer than some other MS medications, according to a study published in the December 21, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants, which use healthy blood stem cells from a person's own body to replace diseased cells. While most people with MS are first diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS, marked by symptom flare-ups followed by periods of remission, many people with relapsing-remitting MS eventually transition to secondary progressive MS, which does not have wide swings in symptoms but instead a slow, steady worsening of the disease. "Hematopoietic stem cell transplants have been previously found to delay disability in people with relapsing-remitting MS, but less is known about whether such transplants could help delay disability during the more advanced stage of the disease," said study author Matilde Inglese, MD, PhD, of the University of Genoa in Italy and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our results are encouraging, because while current treatments for secondary progressive MS have modest or small benefits, our study found stem cell transplants may not only delay disability longer than many other MS medications, they may also provide a slight improvement in symptoms." The retrospective study included 79 people with active secondary progressive MS who received stem cell transplants and 1,975 people from the Italian MS registry who were treated with MS drugs. All received treatment after being diagnosed with active secondary progressive MS. The two groups were matched for age, sex and level of disability. Drugs included beta-interferons, azathioprine, glatiramer acetate, mitoxantrone, fingolimod, natalizumab, methotrexate, teriflunomide, cyclophosphamide, dimethyl fumarate and alemtuzumab. Participants' level of disability was measured on the Expanded Disability Status Scale, a common method to quantify disability with scores ranging from 0, no symptoms, to 10 points, death due to MS. Participants were assessed at various time points over 10 years. At the beginning of the study, participants had a median score of 6.5 for both those who received transplants and those receiving the medications. Scores of 6.0 are defined as needing to use a cane or brace intermittently or on one side to walk about 100 meters with or without resting. Scores of 6.5 are defined as needing to use a cane or brace constantly on both sides to walk about 20 meters without resting. Five years into the study, researchers found 62% of the people who had stem cell transplants experienced no worsening of their MS disability compared to 46% of those who took medications. Also, at five years, researchers found people who received stem cell transplants were more likely to see sustained improvements over time, with 19% experiencing less disability than at the start of the study, compared to just 4% of people taking medications. Over 10 years, the disability score for people who had stem cell transplants decreased by an average of 0.01 points per year, signifying less disability, while the average score for people taking medications increased by 0.16 points per year, an increase in disability. "Our study shows that hematopoietic stem cell transplants were associated with a slowing of disability progression and a higher likelihood of disability improvement compared to other therapies," said Inglese. "While these results are encouraging, they are not applicable to patients with secondary progressive MS who do not have signs of inflammatory disease activity; more research is needed in larger groups of people to confirm our findings." A limitation of the study is that it was retrospective and observational, and does not prove cause and effect. It only suggests an association. The study also did not include people taking the MS drugs siponimod, cladribine, ocrelizumab, ofatumumab, or rituximab. The study was funded by the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

MONTREAL, Nov. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Find Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases, today announced the formation of a clinical advisory board to support its lead program, FTX-101, a novel remyelinating agent. The clinical advisory board will guide the company in the development of its autoimmune programs in demyelinating diseases such as optic neuritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS). "We are honored to work with such an esteemed group of highly accomplished clinicians and researchers," said Philippe Douville, Chief Executive Officer of Find Therapeutics. "Their deep knowledge of complex underlying disease processes and their understanding of patient needs will be instrumental as we advance our autoimmune programs. With the formation of our clinical advisory board, we have positioned ourselves to benefit from strategic insights from world leaders in demyelinating diseases." "Similar to other members of Find's Clinical Advisory Board, I have dedicated my career to uncovering new notions of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis. I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the talented Clinical Advisory Board team working with Find to translate these exciting discoveries into new treatments for patients," said Dr. Mark Freedman. The members of the clinical advisory board include: Douglas Arnold, MD – Dr. Douglas Arnold is a world leading expert and key opinion leader in neuroimaging. He is a Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Studies lab in the Brain Imaging Center at the Montreal Neurological Institute, and President of NeuroRx Research, a CNS imaging CRO dedicated to drug development for MS. He has special expertise in myelin-sensitive imaging and other advanced MRI acquisition and analysis techniques, particularly as they relate to understanding the evolution of multiple sclerosis and its response to drug therapy. Jeffrey Cohen, MD – Dr. Jeffrey Cohen is an internationally recognized expert in multiple sclerosis and is Professor of Neurology in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and holds the Hazel Prior Hostetler Endowed Chair. He received a BA from Connecticut College in 1976 and MD from the University of Chicago School of Medicine in 1980. He completed a Neurology Residency in 1984 then a Post-doctoral Research Fellowship in Neuroimmunology in 1987, both at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cohen has worked at Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center for MS since 1994 and was Director 2014-2017. He currently is Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Program and the Clinical Neuroimmunology Fellowship. Dr. Cohen has published extensively on clinical, immunologic, imaging, and therapeutic aspects of MS. He has had a leadership role in a large number of clinical trials of potential therapies for MS, translational studies, studies to validate outcome measures, and observational studies. He recently served as Chair of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS and Co-Chair of the International Panel on Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis which developed the 2017 McDonald Diagnostic Criteria. He was President of ACTRIMS 2019-2022. Jérôme De Sèze, MD, PhD – Professor Jérôme De Sèze is a world leader in neurology and professor in neurology and head of the neuroimmunological department at the University Hospital of Strasbourg, France. He has a PhD in immunology and is a specialist in multiple sclerosis and neuro-ophthalmology as well as head of the clinical investigation centre at the same University where he oversees phase I to III trials predominantly in the field of neurology. Professor de Sèze's research interests include biopathology of myelin, imaging of animal models for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system and evaluation of new therapeutic targets in these animal models. In 2007, Professor de Sèze founded the "alSacEP", a network to improve the provision of MS care in the French region of Alsace. He is the Past President of the French Multiple Sclerosis society. Mark S. Freedman, MD – Dr. Mark Freedman is an internationally recognized neurologist and key opinion leader. He is Professor of Medicine (Neurology) at the University of Ottawa, Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at the Ottawa Hospital-General Campus. Dr. Freedman conducts extensive research in molecular neurochemistry, cellular immunology, and clinical studies in MS. His basic science interest concerns immune mechanisms of damage in MS, with a particular interest in the role of the innate immune system such as gamma-delta T-cells. His main clinical interests are cell-based therapies for MS. He was the lead investigator of the Canadian Bone Marrow Transplant Study in MS and he co-headed an international study of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of MS. He is the current President of ACTRIMS. Maria Pia Sormani, PhD – Dr. Sormani is a leading expert in statistics for clinical trials in demyelinating diseases. She is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Genoa, Italy. She received her Masters in Medical Biostatistics at the University of Milan, her Master in Medical Physics at the University of Pisa, and her PhD degree in Bio-Physics at the University of Genoa in Italy. She has a background in Oncology, but her main field of Research is in Multiple Sclerosis. She collaborated for more than ten years with the Neuroimaging Research Unit at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, studying the methodological issues related to the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis. She is now faculty member at the University of Genoa, where she teaches Biostatistics and Research Methods to students in medicine. She serves on the US Multiple Sclerosis National Society Clinical Trials Advisory Committee, in the Multiple Sclerosis Outcome Assessment Consortium (MSOAC), is on the Editorial Board of Multiple Sclerosis Journal and has published more than 470 papers in peer reviewed journals, mostly on MS. Find Therapeutics also announced the launch of its new website to reflect the company's dedication to bringing hope to people suffering from autoimmune diseases. Find's website can be found at . ABOUT Find Therapeutics ( Montreal, Canada) Find Therapeutics is dedicated to the development of next generation therapies to treat inflammatory autoimmune diseases. The company was launched in 2020 with investments from CTI Life Sciences, adMare BioInnovations, Domain Therapeutics, and GPCR technology and know-how from Peptimimesis Pharma. SOURCE Find Therapeutics