Integrated safety analysis of baricitinib in adults with severe alopecia areata from two randomized clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Baricitinib, an oral, selective, reversible Janus kinase (JAK)1/JAK2 inhibitor, is an approved treatment for adults with severe alopecia areata (AA) in the USA, European Union and Japan. OBJECTIVES: To report safety data for baricitinib in patients with severe AA from two clinical trials including long-term extension periods. METHODS: This analysis includes pooled patient-level safety data from two trials, an adaptive phase II/III trial (BRAVE-AA1) and a phase III trial (BRAVE-AA2) (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03570749 and NCT03899259). Data are reported in three datasets: (i) the placebo-controlled dataset (up to week 36): baricitinib 2 mg and 4 mg vs. placebo; (ii) the extended dataset (up to the data cutoff): patients remaining on continuous treatment with baricitinib 2 mg or 4 mg from baseline; and (iii) the all-baricitinib dataset (all-BARI, up to the data cutoff): all patients receiving any dose of baricitinib at any time during the trials. Safety outcomes include treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), adverse events of special interest and abnormal laboratory changes. Proportions of patients with events and incidence rates (IR) were calculated. RESULTS: Data were collected for 1303 patients who were given baricitinib, reflecting 1868 patient-years of exposure (median 532 days). The most frequently reported TEAEs during the placebo-controlled period (based on the baricitinib 4-mg group) were upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, headache, acne and elevated blood creatine phosphokinase (CPK). During the placebo-controlled period, the frequency of acne was higher with baricitinib than placebo, and elevated CPK was higher with baricitinib 4 mg than placebo and baricitinib 2 mg. In all-BARI, the IR of serious infections was low (n = 16, IR 0.8). There was one opportunistic infection (IR 0.1), and 34 cases of herpes zoster (IR 1.8). There was one positively adjudicated major adverse cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction) (IR 0.1), one pulmonary embolism (IR 0.1), three malignancies other than nonmelanoma skin cancer (IR 0.2) and one gastrointestinal perforation (IR 0.1). No deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: This integrated safety analysis in patients with severe AA is consistent with the overall safety profile of baricitinib. Some differences with atopic dermatitis were noted that may be attributable to the disease characteristics of AA.

Granulomatose faciale 38 ans après des injections de produits de comblement : rôle précipitant de la COVID-19 et intérêt du méthotrexate

Introduction Les injections de produit de comblement sont des gestes esthétiques bien maîtrisés. L’utilisation de produits récents, associés à une meilleure connaissance des méthodes d’injection limitent les complications. La granulomatose faciale est rare mais peut entraîner une gêne importante et répercussions esthétiques invalidantes. Matériel et méthodes Une femme de 73 ans, sans antécédent, présentait brutalement un œdème induré du visage, quelques semaines après une COVID-19 symptomatique mais sans critère de sévérité. Aucune amélioration n’était notée après antihistaminiques, antibiotiques, métronidazole topique, dermocorticoïdes, prescrits pour respectivement différents diagnostics : urticaire, érysipèle, rosacée, dermite au masque, eczéma. En dermatologie, on notait des formations nodulaires fermes, infiltrées à la partie basse du visage et au front, suivant les rides, sans symptôme associé. Après un interrogatoire orienté, elle rapportait des injections des sillons naso-géniens et du front en 1983 (produit inconnu). La biopsie cutanée confirmait une granulomatose sur injections (granulomes et vacuoles dermiques), possiblement de silicone. Les examens complémentaires dont un scanner thoracique étaient normaux, éliminant une sarcoïdose. À 4 mois du diagnostic, le taux d’interféron-α (IFN-α) après stimulation in vitro était bas (5,56pg/mL) alors que les taux d’IL-1ß (1263pg/mL) et d’IL-6 (>5304pg/mL) étaient très augmentés. Une corticothérapie générale (CTG, 1mg/kg/j, 50mg/j) associée à de la doxycycline 200mg/j était débutées, permettant une régression quasi complète mais avec rechute à la baisse de 15 à 10mg/j, puis échec de CTG à 0,8mg/j+hydroxychloroquine. Finalement du méthotrexate 10mg/semaine était débuté avec régression complète de l’œdème. A 7 mois du début du traitement, la CTG était arrêtée, le méthotrexate maintenu, sans récidive. Discussion Les granulomatoses faciales aux produits de comblement peuvent survenir plusieurs mois après l’injection, exceptionnellement après plusieurs années. Normalement, ces produits à effet prolongé restent localisés aux zones d’injection, sans réaction immunologique. Des processus infectieux (e.g. virose, soins dentaires, vaccination) peuvent stimuler la formation de granulomes ;récemment des cas ont été décrits après infection par SARS-CoV2 ou après vaccination par vaccin ARNm (plus fréquemment avec Moderna© et après la seconde dose). Chez deux patients VHC+, le traitement par IFN-α a pu induire des granulomes faciaux. Une production d’IFN-α rapide et importante chez les patients Covid-19 est corrélée à une rapide élimination du virus et des infections peu sévères/modérées. Notre patiente ayant « contrôlé » sa COVID-19 par la production d’IFN-α, aurait pu stimuler en parallèle la formation de granulomes. Le dosage bas d’IFN-α fait à distance n’élimine pas cette hypothèse.

Myopathie nécrosante chez un patient atteint d’un mélanome avancé traité par immunothérapie après une vaccination contre la COVID-19

Introduction L’association ipilimumab (IPI)+nivolumab (NIVO) offre un taux de réponse et de guérison supérieur aux anti-PD1 en monothérapie mais expose à des événements indésirables immunitaires (EII) plus fréquents. La COVID-19 a tué plus de 3M de personnes. Comme les patients atteints de cancers sont particulièrement exposés aux formes sévères/mortelles, la vaccination est recommandée. Il n’existe pas de données testant la relation entre vaccination et développement/exacerbation des EII au cours du traitement par ICI. Nous rapportons un cas de myopathie nécrosante survenue 10jours après la vaccination contre la COVID-19 chez un patient atteint d’un mélanome avancé traité par IPI+NIVO. Matériel et méthodes Un homme de 43 ans était inclus en 2015 dans l’essai adjuvant EORTC MK-3475 (pembrolizumab vs. placebo) pour un mélanome stade IIIb. E n 02/2021 une récidive ganglionnaire lombo-aortique, non opérable survenait. Malgré un statut BRAF (+) et une levée d’aveugle révélant qu’il avait reçu le pembrolizumab (sans EII à l’époque), un traitement par IPI+NIVO était alors débuté. Il recevait sa 1ère et 2e injection les 25/02 et 19/03/21. Le 12/03, il recevait sa 1ère dose de vaccin COVID-19 (Pfizer/BioNTech), sans réaction immédiate. Le 22/03 il développait un tableau associant: myalgies, faiblesse musculaire des membres, dysphagie, dyspnée, dysphonie et diplopie bilatérale avec rhabdomyolyse (CK 12647 U/L). Le bilan immunologique revenait négatif. L’ENMG décrivait un syndrome myogène. L’IRM musculaire révélait un aspect de myosite (muscles rotateurs du cou/de la cuisse) et l’histologie retrouvait un aspect de myopathie inflammatoire avec nécrose multifocale de myocytes et infiltrat inflammatoire à prédominance macrophagique. Le diagnostic de myopathie nécrosante grade IV était retenu. L’immunothérapie était arrêtée et une corticothérapie (bolus puis per os) permettait une amélioration progressive. Le patient est toujours sous corticothérapie orale, la surveillance oncologique montre à ce jour une réponse partielle. La 2e injection du vaccin n’a pas été faite d’autant plus que les IgG étaient fortement positives. Discussion Des myosites secondaires aux ICI, au COVID-19 et de façon plus anecdotique à la vaccination ont été rapportées. Ici, l’association temporelle étroite de la bi-ICI et du diagnostic de myopathie suggère que la myopathie est un EII et que la vaccination a contribué au développement de la myopathie par un effet de boost immunitaire. Le scénario inverse ne peut être exclu. Parce que de plus en plus de patients traités par ICI seront vaccinés dans les prochains mois, les cliniciens doivent être conscients de cette association potentielle du vaccin COVID-19 et de l’exacerbation des EII. Des données prospectives de pharmacovigilance sont nécessaires.

[Histopathological features due to the SARS-CoV-2]. / Les lésions histologiques associées à l'infection par le SARS-CoV-2.

The infection due to the SARS-CoV-2 leads lesions mainly observed at the respiratory tract level, but not exclusively. The analyses of these lesions benefited from different autopsy studies. Thus, these lesions were observed in different organs, tissues and cells. These observations allowed us to rapidly improve the knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with this emergent infectious disease. The virus can be detected in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues using immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, molecular biology and/or electron microscopy approaches. However, many uncertainties are still present concerning the direct role of the SARS-CoV-2 on the different lesions observed in different organs, outside the lung, such as the heart, the brain, the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, the kidney and the skin. In this context, it is pivotal to keep going to increase the different tissue and cellular studies in the COVID-19 positive patients aiming to better understanding the consequences of this new infectious disease, notably considering different epidemiological and co-morbidities associated factors. This could participate to the development of new therapeutic strategies too. The purpose of this review is to describe the main histological and cellular lesions associated with the infection due to the SARS-CoV-2.

Functional Exhaustion of Type I and II Interferons Production in Severe COVID-19 Patients.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged in Wuhan in December 2019 and has since spread across the world. Even though the majority of patients remain completely asymptomatic, some develop severe systemic complications. In this prospective study we compared the immunological profile of 101 COVID-19 patients with either mild, moderate or severe form of the disease according to the WHO classification, as well as of 50 healthy subjects, in order to identify functional immune factors independently associated with severe forms of COVID-19. Plasma cytokine levels, and cytokine levels upon in vitro non-specific stimulation of innate and adaptive immune cells, were measured at several time points during the course of the disease. As described previously, inflammatory cytokines IL1ß, IL6, IL8, and TNFα associated with cytokine storm were significantly increased in the plasma of moderate and severe COVID-19 patients (p < 0.0001 for all cytokines). During follow-up, plasma IL6 levels decreased between the moment of admission to the hospital and at the last observation carried forward for patients with favorable outcome (p = 0.02148). After in vitro stimulation of immune cells from COVID-19 patients, reduced levels of both type I and type II interferons (IFNs) upon in vitro stimulation were correlated with increased disease severity [type I IFN (IFNα): p > 0.0001 mild vs. moderate and severe; type II IFN (IFNγ): p = 0.0002 mild vs. moderate and p < 0.0001 mild vs. severe] suggesting a functional exhaustion of IFNs production. Stimulated IFNα levels lower than 2.1 pg/ml and IFNγ levels lower than 15 IU/mL at admission to the hospital were associated with more complications during hospitalization (p = 0.0098 and p =0.0002, respectively). A low IFNγ level was also confirmed by multivariable analysis [p = 0.0349 OR = 0.98 (0.962; 0.999)] as an independent factor of complications. In vitro treatment with type IFNα restored type IFNγ secretion in COVID-19 patients while the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6 and IL1ß remained stable or decreased, respectively. These results (a) demonstrate a functional exhaustion of both innate and adaptive immune response in severe forms of COVID-19; (b) identify IFNα and IFNγ as new potential biomarkers of severity; and (c) highlight the importance of targeting IFNs when considering COVID-19 treatment in order to re-establish a normal balance between inflammatory and Th1 effector cytokines.

Clinical, Laboratory, and Interferon-Alpha Response Characteristics of Patients With Chilblain-like Lesions During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: Chilblain-like lesions have been reported during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The pathophysiology of such manifestations remains largely unknown. Objective: To perform a systematic clinical, histologic, and biologic assessment in a cohort of patients with chilblain-like lesions occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this prospective case series carried out with a COVID-19 multidisciplinary consultation group at the University Hospital of Nice, France, 40 consecutive patients presenting with chilblain-like lesions were included. Main Outcomes and Measures: Patients underwent a thorough general and dermatologic examination, including skin biopsies, vascular investigations, biologic analyses, interferon-alpha (IFN-α) stimulation and detection, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serologic analysis. Results: Overall, 40 consecutive patients with chilblain-like lesions were included. Most patients were young, with a median (range) age of 22 (12-67) years; 19 were male and 21 were female. The clinical presentation was highly reproducible with chilblain-like lesions mostly on the toes. Bullous and necrotic evolution was observed in 11 patients. Acrocyanosis or cold toes were reported in 19 (47.5%) cases. Criteria compatible with COVID-19 cases were noted in 11 (27.5%) within 6 weeks prior to the eruption. The real-time PCR (rt-PCR) testing results were negative in all cases. Overall, SARS-CoV-2 serology results were positive in 12 patients (30%). D-dimer concentration levels were elevated in 24 (60.0%) cases. Cryoglobulinemia and parvovirus B19 serologic results were negative for all tested patients. The major histologic findings were features of lymphocytic inflammation and vascular damage with thickening of venule walls and pericyte hyperplasia. A significant increase of IFN-α production after in vitro stimulation was observed in the chilblain population compared with patients with mild-severe acute COVID-19. Conclusions and Relevance: Taken together, our results suggest that chilblain-like lesions observed during the COVID-19 pandemic represent manifestations of a viral-induced type I interferonopathy. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04344119.