Challenges and optimal strategies of CAR T therapy for hematological malignancies / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Remarkable improvement relative to traditional approaches in the treatment of hematological malignancies by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has promoted sequential approvals of eight commercial CAR T products within last 5 years. Although CAR T cells' productization is now rapidly boosting their extensive clinical application in real-world patients, the limitation of their clinical efficacy and related toxicities inspire further optimization of CAR structure and substantial development of innovative trials in various scenarios. Herein, we first summarized the current status and major progress in CAR T therapy for hematological malignancies, then described crucial factors which possibly compromise the clinical efficacies of CAR T cells, such as CAR T cell exhaustion and loss of antigen, and finally, we discussed the potential optimization strategies to tackle the challenges in the field of CAR T therapy.

Clinical and genetic characteristics of adolescent and adult Krabbe disease / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical and genetic characteristics of patients with late-onset subtypes (adolescent or adult) of Krabbe disease.Methods:The clinical data of 7 patients with Krabbe disease admitted to Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People′s Hospital and Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from September 2006 to June 2021 were analyzed and Sanger sequencing of the galactosylceramidase (GALC) gene (NM_000153) and detection of the activity of GALC were conducted. A total of 61 cases of Krabbe disease reported in domestic literature were reviewed and summarized.Results:Among the 7 patients with Krabbe disease, there were 4 males and 3 females. All of them had lower limb weakness or walking difficulty as the initial symptoms, and presented as spastic paraplegia. The symptoms were relatively mild in patients with late onset. There were 4 out of 5 patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging examination, who showed abnormal signals: 2 had brain atrophy and the remaining 2 had white matter lesions. A total of 5 GALC gene mutations were detected by genetic analysis. Among these, c.1901T>C (p.L634S), c.908C>T(p.S303F) and c.461C>A(p.P154H) are known variants, while c.50_51insTT (p.M17Ifs) and c.1130delT(p.L337X) are novel variants reported for the first time in this paper.Conclusions:Krabbe disease is a rare neurodegenerative disease with phenotypic heterogeneity, which is inherited in an autosomal recessive mode. The severity of clinical manifestations of Krabbe disease is correlated with the age of onset.

Clinical phenotype and genotype analysis of hereditary spastic paraplegia type 35 / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To report 8 cases of hereditary spastic paraplegia type 35 (SPG35) in Chinese mainland, summarize the clinical and genetic features of this disease.Methods:Eight probands with SPG35, admitted in Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People′s Hospital and Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from September 2006 to June 2021, were collected in detail. Physical examination, cranial imaging examination and whole exome sequencing were conducted, followed by Sanger sequencing and family co-segregation. In addition, the recent advances in clinical, genetic and pathogenesis studies of the disease were also reviewed.Results:Among all of the 8 patients, 7 had juvenile-onset and 1 was adult-onset. The clinical phenotype of 2 cases was pure spastic paraplegia. The other 6 cases presented with complicated form, which was characterized by not only motor dysfunction, but also cognitive impairment and dysphagia, etc. Genetic testing revealed a total of 13 fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FA2H) gene (NM_024306) mutations, of which 6 were reported and 7 were newly reported in this study.Conclusions:SPG35 is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease with highly phenotypic heterogeneity, with the causative gene as FA2H. The genotype-phenotype correlations in SPG35 are not clear.

Excessive Startle with Novel GLRA1 Mutations in 4 Chinese Patients and a Literature Review of GLRA1-Related Hyperekplexia

Background@#and PurposeHyperekplexia (HPX), a rare neurogenetic disorder, is classically characterized by neonatal hypertonia, exaggerated startle response provoked by the sudden external stimuli and followed by a shortly general stiffness. Glycine receptor alpha 1 (GLRA1) is the major pathogenic gene of the disease. We described the clinical manifestations of genetically confirmed HPX patients and made a literature review of GLRA1-related HPX to improve the early recognition and prompt the management of the disorder. @*Methods@#Extensive clinical evaluations were analyzed in 4 Chinese HPX patients from two unrelated families. Next generation sequencing was conducted in the probands. Sanger sequence and segregation analysis were applied to confirm the findings. @*Results@#All four patients including 3 males and 1 female presented with excessive startle reflex, a cautious gait and recurrent falls. Moreover, startle episodes were dramatically improved with the treatment of clonazepam in all cases. Exome sequencing revealed 2 homozygous GLRA1 mutations in the patients. The mutation c.1286T>A p.I429N has been previously reported, while c.754delC p.L252* is novel. @*Conclusions@#HPX is a treatable disease, and clonazepam is the drug of choice. By studying and reviewing the disorder, we summarized the phenotype, expanded the genotype spectrum, and discussed the possible pathogenic mechanisms to enhance the understanding and recognition of the disease. Early awareness of the disease is crucial to the prompt and proper administration, as well as the genetic counseling.

Clinical research progress of exoskeleton robot in patients with lower limb dyskinesia / 中华神经科杂志

In recent years, the number of patients who have lost their mobility due to neurological diseases such as stroke and spinal cord injury has been increasing. Guidelines state that early and scientific rehabilitation training is essential to improve prognosis and quality of life. However, existing rehabilitation methods rely on therapists to train one-on-one or many-to-one, which is not sufficient to meet clinical needs. As a new technology, the exoskeleton robot provides a unique rehabilitation program for patients with lower limb movement disorders, which has become a hot research topic at home and abroad, and related clinical research is also being carried out rapidly. This review summarizes the clinical research progress of exoskeleton robots in patients with lower limb movement disorders caused by nervous system damage in the past ten years, and the prospect of research, development, and clinical promotion about exoskeleton robots.