Abstract Cannabis use is widespread, with genetic differences partly explaining variation in individual patterns of use. We performed the largest-to-date genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of cannabis ever-use (N=736,322, 76% European ancestry) and various measures of frequency of use (N=269,160 cannabis users, 84% European ancestry). We identified 54 independent genome-wide significant loci for ever-use and 6 for frequency and show that the genetic architecture of ever-use, frequency, and cannabis use disorder (CUD) are overlapping but distinguishable. We identified 63 loci that were associated with common liability (‘ All-cannabis ’) to different cannabis use traits in European-ancestry individuals. Across analyses, we identified 75 unique loci that had not previously been implicated in cannabis use. Gene prioritization analyses identified 349 genes for ever-use, 5 genes for frequency of use, and 429 for All-cannabis , including previously identified and novel genes. We found enrichment of genetic signals for cannabis use in biologically meaningful categories and relevant human brain cell types, including excitatory neuronal populations. There were substantial genetic correlations between cannabis use and a range of psychiatric disorders and substance use traits, while cannabis polygenic scores were associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorders. Mendelian Randomization showed evidence for (bidirectional) causal associations between cannabis use and ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD.
Indigenous tribal communities are frequently underserved by genomic medicine because they are under-represented in research, often live in remote locations and have ethical and cultural perspectives that vary from westernised standpoints. The Rakeiora platform, a permissioning and analytical environment that incorporates Māori perspectives and ethical frameworks on how precision medicine research is best conducted was used to host a pharmacogenetic exemplar project to demonstrate proof of principle in a tribal community. The project was prospectively co-designed alongside community representatives through an extensive series of kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) consultation hui, drawing on the strengths, insights, and aspirations of the community. Narratives socialising the study were metaphorically located in tribal-specific histories to improve participation. The cohort of 148 Māori individuals consented to have variants in CYP2C19 extracted from whole genome sequence datasets and correlated to the medicines they were prescribed and had dispensed over a 12-month period. Genotyping indicated that 7
The major anxiety disorders (ANX; including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and phobias) are highly prevalent, often onset early and cause substantial global disability. Although distinct in their clinical presentations, they probably represent differential expressions of a dysregulated threat-response system. Here, we present a genome-wide association meta-analysis comprising 122,341 European ancestry ANX cases and 729,881 controls. We identified 58 independent genome-wide significant risk variants and 66 genes with robust biological support. In an independent sample of 1,175,012 self-report ANX cases and 1,956,379 controls, 51 out of the 58 associations replicated. As predicted by twin studies, we found substantial genetic correlation between ANX and depression, neuroticism and other internalizing phenotypes. Follow-up analyses demonstrated enrichment in all major brain regions and highlighted GABAergic signaling as one potential mechanism implicated in ANX genetic risk. These results advance our understanding of the genetic architecture of ANX and prioritize genes for functional follow-up studies.
Eating disorders-including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder-are clinically distinct but exhibit symptom overlap and diagnostic crossover. Genomic analyses have mostly examined AN. Here we conducted a genomic meta-analysis of case-control studies of binge-eating behavior (BE; 39,279 cases, 1,227,436 controls), alongside analyses of AN (24,223 cases, 1,243,971 controls) and its subtypes (all European ancestries). We identified six BE-associated loci, including loci associated with a higher body mass index and impulse-control behaviors. AN genome-wide association studies yielded eight loci, validating six loci. Subsequent polygenic risk score analysis demonstrated an association with AN in two East Asian ancestry studies. BE and AN exhibited similar positive genetic correlations with psychiatric disorders but opposing genetic correlations with anthropometric traits. Most of the genetic signal in BE and AN was not shared with body mass index. We have extended eating disorder genomics beyond AN; future work will incorporate multiple diagnoses and global ancestries.
CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 are two important pharmacogenes responsible for metabolising a wide range of medications. Both genes exhibit a high level of variation, which can lead to variable activity of the enzymes they encode, with risks of adverse drug reactions and treatment failure. Understanding this variation is therefore of great importance, but the full extent of variability in these genes is not yet documented, particularly for understudied populations. We employed targeted nanopore sequencing to identify genetic variants within CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 for a group of Māori individuals, largely affiliated with the Ngāti Porou iwi from Te Tairāwhiti (Gisborne), Aotearoa New Zealand. 135 CYP2D6 and 73 CYP2C19 genotypes were sequenced, with metaboliser phenotypes inferred for the majority of participants. CYP2D6 normal metabolisers make up 54% of the cohort and 45% of the cohort are CYP2C19 intermediate metabolisers. Nearly 20% had an uncertain CYP2D6 activity due to the prevalence of CYP2D6*71, which is of unknown functional impact. Understanding the extent of variation in these genes should contribute to equitable application of pharmacogenetic testing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of 290,134 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom measures of 70,953 unique individuals from multiple raters, ages and instruments (ADHDSYMP). Next, we meta-analyzed the results with a study of ADHD diagnosis (ADHDOVERALL). ADHDSYMP returned no genome-wide significant variants. We show that the combined ADHDOVERALL GWAMA identified 39 independent loci, of which 17 were new. Using a recently developed gene-mapping method, Fine-mapped Locus Assessment Model of Effector genes, we identified 22 potential ADHD effector genes implicating several new biological processes and pathways. Moderate negative genetic correlations (rg < -0.40) were observed with multiple cognitive traits. In three cohorts, polygenic scores (PGSs) based on ADHDOVERALL outperformed PGSs based on ADHD symptoms and diagnosis alone. Our findings support the notion that clinical ADHD is at the extreme end of a continuous liability that is indexed by ADHD symptoms. We show that including ADHD symptom counts helps to identify new genes implicated in ADHD.
Identifying and understanding the genetic contributors to mental health conditions remains a challenge. This is partially due to the complex, polygenic nature of these conditions and the range of underlying genetic variants, including copy number variants (CNV), that contribute to risk. Here we report an individual with severe ADHD who displayed an unusual blood methylome profile, and a strongly positive response during a treatment trial of micronutrients for this condition. The unusual methylome profile prompted a search for structural variants in the genome of this individual, leading to the discovery of two large, rare CNVs, which may help to account for the clinical and epigenetic aspects observed in this case. These CNVs impacted several genes, including RNF4 and EHMT1, both of which encode enzymes involved in DNA methylation, and CACNA1B, which is implicated in neuropsychiatric phenotypes. These CNVs are classified as variants of unknown significance and are likely benign in the clinical setting. Although there is no strong clinical evidence to suggest reclassification of these CNVs, gene regions adjacent to the CNV have been implicated in neuropsychiatric conditions. It seems reasonable to suggest that these rare CNVs may drive the observed perturbation in this individual's methylome profile, and may partially contribute to their ADHD phenotype.
The Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative 2 (EDGI2) is designed to explore the role of genes and environment in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) with a focus on broad population representation and severe and/or longstanding illness. A total of 20,000 new participants (18,700 cases and 1,300 controls) will be ascertained from the United States (US), Mexico (MX), Australia (AU), Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), Sweden (SE), and Denmark (DK). Comprehensive phenotyping and genotyping will be performed for participants in US, MX, AU, NZ, and SE using the EDGI2 questionnaire battery and participant saliva samples. In DK, case identification and genotyping will be through the National Patient Register and bloodspots archived near birth. Case–control and case-case genome-wide association studies will be conducted within EDGI2 and enhanced via meta-analysis with external data from the Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC-ED). Additional analyses will explore genetic correlations between eating disorders (EDs) and other psychiatric and metabolic traits, calculate polygenic risk scores (PRS), and leverage functional biology to evaluate clinical outcomes. Moreover, analyzing PRS for patient stratification and linking identified risk loci to clinically relevant phenotypes highlight the potential of EDGI2 for clinical translation. EDGI2 is a global expansion of the EDGI study to increase sample size, increase participant representation across multiple ancestral backgrounds, and to include ARFID. ED genetics research has historically lagged behind other psychiatric disorders, and EDGI2 is designed to rapidly advance the study of the genetics of the major EDs. Exploring EDs at both the diagnostic level and the symptom level will provide an unprecedented look at the genetic architecture underlying EDs. EDGI2 is a registered clinical trial: clinicaltrials.gov NCT06594913. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06594913 (posted September 19, 2024).
This study represents the first large-scale investigation of rare (<1% population frequency) copy number variants (CNVs) in anorexia nervosa (AN). Large, rare CNVs are reported to be causally associated with anthropometric traits, neurodevelopmental disorders, and schizophrenia, yet their role in the genetic basis of AN is unclear. Using genome-wide association study (GWAS) array data from the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI), which included 7414 AN case and 5044 controls, we investigated the association of 67 well-established syndromic CNVs and 178 pleiotropic disease-risk dosage-sensitive CNVs with AN. To identify novel CNV regions (CNVRs) that increase the risk of AN, we conducted genome-wide association studies with a focus on rare CNV-breakpoints (CNV-GWAS). We found no net enrichment of rare CNVs, either deletions or duplications, in AN, and none of the well-established syndromic or pleiotropic CNVs had a significant association with AN status. However, the CNV-GWAS found 21 nominally associated CNVRs that contribute to AN risk, covering protein-coding genes implicated in synaptic function, metabolic/mitochondrial factors, and lipid characteristics, like the CD36 (7q21.11) gene, which transports long-chain fatty acids into cells. CNVRs intersecting genes previously related to neurodevelopmental traits include deletions of NRXN1 intron 5 (2p16.3), IMMP2L (7q31.1), and PTPRD (9p23). Overall, given that our study is well powered to detect the CNV burden level reported for schizophrenia, we can conclude that rare CNVs have a limited role in the etiology of AN, as reported for bipolar disorder. Our nominal associations for the 21 discovered CNVRs are consistent with AN being a metabo-psychiatric trait, as demonstrated by the common genetic architecture of AN, and we provide association results to allow for replication in future research.
Background and Aims We investigated the effects of high dose dietary micronutrient supplementation or placebo on the human gut microbiome in pregnant women who had moderate symptoms of antenatal depression. There is a significant absence of well-controlled clinical studies that have investigated the dynamic changes of the microbiome during pregnancy and the relationship among diet, microbiome and antenatal depression. This research is among the first to provide an insight into this area of research. Methods This 12 - week study followed a standard double blinded randomised placebo-controlled trial (RCT) design with either high dose micronutrients or active placebo. Matching stool microbiome samples and mood data were obtained at baseline and post-treatment, from participants between 12 and 24 weeks gestation. Stool microbiome samples from 33 participants (17 in the placebo and 16 in the treatment group) were assessed using 16s rRNA sequencing. Data preparation and statistical analysis was predominantly performed using the QIIME2 bioinformatic software tools for 16s rRNA analysis. Results Microbiome community structure became increasingly heterogenous with decreased diversity during the course of the study, which was represented by significant changes in alpha and beta diversity. This effect appeared to be mitigated by micronutrient administration. There were less substantial changes at the genus level, where Coprococcus decreased in relative abundance in response to micronutrient administration. We also observed that a higher abundance of Coprococcus and higher alpha diversity correlated with higher antenatal depression scores. Conclusions Micronutrient treatment appeared to support a more diverse (alpha diversity) and stable (beta diversity) microbiome during pregnancy. This may aid in maintaining a more resilient or adaptable microbial community, which would help protect against decreases or fluctuations that are observed during pregnancy.
Pharmacogenetics is the study of genetic variants in genes which may impact on the outcome of drug treatment, either through safety considerations (occurrence of adverse drug reactions or therapeutic failure) or altered drug pharmacokinetics. This paper provides a brief history of pharmacogenetics research in the Aotearoa/New Zealand context, and a commentary on our current state. Factors that have limited translation of pharmacogenetic knowledge into ou r healthcare system are considered, and possible solutions to these are proposed. Pharmacogenetic knowledge has long been invoked as a way to improve the safety and success of drug prescribing, but (with some notable exceptions) it has largely failed to achieve this promise. Several barriers to clinical implementation need to be overcome to ensure that pharmacogenetics becomes a key component of precision health for all people in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Objective The significant cost burden of eating disorders (EDs) could be lessened with quicker access to treatment. Little is known about the time it takes to reach treatment. We aimed to examine the time to access treatment in New Zealand. Method 468 respondents of the Costs of Eating Disorders online survey provided data including demographics; diagnoses; treatment journey, length of time to seek help; time to diagnosis after seeking help; GP referral to a specialist after diagnosis; and waiting time to see an EDs specialist. Results Half the sample took more than a year to seek help. Those with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED) took significantly longer to seek help than those with anorexia nervosa and Other EDs. Once participants sought help, half the sample was diagnosed within 1 week. GPs referred most participants to an EDs specialist. Of those placed on a waiting list to see an EDs specialist, just under half were seen within 6 weeks, with no significant differences by diagnosis in waiting time. Conclusions Improving the acceptability of seeking help, particularly in those with BN and BED, early recognition of symptoms, and improving treatment pathways are key to minimising longer term impacts.
Background Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a polygenic, severe metabopsychiatric disorder with poorly understood aetiology. Eight genome wide significant loci have been identified and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) account for ∼11-17% heritability (Watson et al., 2019). A key challenge to understanding mechanisms through which these loci alter AN risk is the uncertainty around which variants in the risk region drive the effect, as linkage disequilibrium (LD) across these regions means variants other than the most strongly associated SNP may be relevant. Therefore, it is important to define the spectrum of genetic variants in these regions. Advancements in long read genetic sequencing technologies such as nanopore sequencing, present a heretofore unseen opportunity to interrogate complex genetics at base pair resolution in individuals with high accuracy. Methods We implemented a novel pilot approach with targeted nanopore sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) of the eight loci associated with AN in 10 individuals with AN. Sequencing data was aligned to human reference genome GRCh38. We leveraged a variety of publicly available variant calling algorithms and databases, including calculating LD for SNPS identified in the recent AN genome wide association study (GWAS) with the newly developed TopLD tool, and variation annotations by Variant Effect Predictor (VEP), to characterise these loci. The primary focus was on less characterised variant types, including retrotransposons, tandem repeats, and short tandem repeats in regions of high LD with functional variant annotations. Results Target regions were clearly enriched (average coverage per sample ≥10.3X) and contained putatively relevant variants. Prioritised variants primarily occurred in introns, intergenic regions, or, in the case of one variant overlapping FOXP1, in the 3ʹ UTR. Notably, we identified a SINE-VNTR-Alu like sub-family D element (SVA-D), ∼2000bp, in the lead GWAS target region, intergenic with IP6K2 and PRKAR2A. This element had reported variations (both expansions and contractions) in all samples and bordered a precipitous decrease in LD. This variant overlaps several putative regulatory elements and interaction regions for surrounding genes. Discussion We successfully applied adaptive sampling to uncover genetic variation at base pair resolution in eight selected AN associated loci. Our results highlight the potential of this technology for uncovering novel or complex variation not captured by GWAS potentially underpinning risk regions. We present a subset of prioritized variants as examples of targets for investigation. While preliminary, variants such as the polymorphic SVA-D element in the lead GWAS locus could contribute to mechanisms of phenotypic risk. Based on protein, gene, and regulatory annotations in the UCSC Genome Browser, we speculate this SVA variant may influence regulation of several neighbouring genes, including already implicated plausible players in AN biology. This study is an exploratory investigation, not powered to detect significant effects, results interpreted cautiously; however, the rich variation with putative regulatory effects captured in this pilot study, much of which has not been previously explored, provides new opportunities for improved understanding of genetic risk mechanisms AN. We aim to continue characterisation of these types of genetic elements in larger, more diverse cohorts, to better understand whether and how these variants may contribute to risk.
Abstract Background Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a polygenic, severe metabopsychiatric disorder with poorly understood aetiology. Eight significant loci have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability was estimated to be ~ 11–17, yet causal variants remain elusive. It is therefore important to define the full spectrum of genetic variants in the wider regions surrounding these significantly associated loci. The hypothesis we evaluate here is that unrecognised or relatively unexplored variants in these regions exist and are promising targets for future functional analyses. To test this hypothesis, we implemented a novel approach with targeted nanopore sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) for 200 kb regions centred on each of the eight AN-associated loci in 10 AN case samples. Our bioinformatics pipeline entailed base-calling and alignment with Dorado and minimap2 software, followed by variant calling with four separate tools, Sniffles2, Clair3, Straglr, and NanoVar. We then leveraged publicly available databases to characterise these loci in putative functional context and prioritise a subset of potentially relevant variants. Results Targeted nanopore sequencing effectively enriched the target regions (average coverage 14.64x). To test our hypothesis, we curated a list of 20 prioritised variants in non-coding regions, poorly represented in the current human reference genome but that may have functional consequences in AN pathology. Notably, we identified a polymorphic SINE-VNTR-Alu like sub-family D element (SVA-D), intergenic with IP6K2 and PRKAR2A, and a poly-T short tandem repeat (STR) in the 3ʹUTR of FOXP1. Conclusions Our results highlight the potential of targeted nanopore sequencing for characterising poorly resolved or complex variation, which may be initially obscured in risk-associated regions detected by GWAS. Some of the variants identified in this way, such as the polymorphic SVA-D and poly-T STR, could contribute to mechanisms of phenotypic risk, through regulation of several neighbouring genes implicated in AN biology, and affect post-transcriptional processing of FOXP1, respectively. This exploratory investigation was not powered to detect functional effects, however, the variants we observed using this method are poorly represented in the current human reference genome and accompanying databases, and further examination of these may provide new opportunities for improved understanding of genetic risk mechanisms of AN.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder for which genetic factors explain up to 75% of the variance. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of ADHD symptom measures, with an effective sample size of 120,092 (71,733 unique individuals from 28 population-based cohorts, with 288,887 quantitative ADHD symptom measures). Next, we meta-analyzed the results with a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of ADHD diagnosis. The GWAMA of ADHD symptoms returned no genome-wide significant variants. However, we estimated strong genetic correlations between our study of quantitative ADHD symptoms and the earlier study of ADHD diagnosis ( r g= 1.00, SE= 0.06). Moderate negative genetic correlations ( r g< -0.40) were observed with several cognitive traits. Genetic correlations between ADHD and aggressive behavior and antisocial behavior were around 1. This provides further evidence of the wide pleiotropic effects of genetic variants and the role that genetic variants play in the co-occurrence with (mental) health traits. The GWAMAs of ADHD symptoms and diagnosis identified 2,039 genome-wide significant variants, representing 39 independent loci, of which 17 were new. Using a novel fine-mapping and functional annotation method, we identified 22 potential effector genes which implicate several new potential biological processes and pathways that may play a role in ADHD. Our findings support the notion that clinical ADHD is at the extreme end of a continuous liability that is indexed by ADHD symptoms. We show that including ADHD symptom counts in large-scale GWAS can be useful to identify novel genes implicated in ADHD and related symptoms. ### Competing Interest Statement J.A.R.Q. was on the speakers bureau and/or acted as consultant for Biogen, Idorsia, Casen-Recordati, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, Takeda, Bial, Sincrolab, Neuraxpharm, Novartis, BMS, Medice, Rubio, Uriach, Technofarma and Raffo in the last 3 years. He also received travel awards (air tickets + hotel) for taking part in psychiatric meetings from Idorsia, Janssen-Cilag, Rubio, Takeda, Bial and Medice. The Department of Psychiatry chaired by him received unrestricted educational and research support from the following companies in the last 3 years: Exeltis, Idorsia, Janssen-Cilag, Neuraxpharm, Oryzon, Roche, Probitas and Rubio. M.C. has received fees to give talks for TAKEDA and Laboratorios RUBIO. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. ### Clinical Protocols <https://www.action-euproject.eu/sites/default/files/Action%20AGG%20AP%20SOP.pdf> ### Funding Statement The project was supported by the Aggression in Children: Unraveling gene-environment interplay to inform Treatment and InterventiON strategies project (ACTION). ACTION received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 602768. Cohort-specific acknowledgements and funding information are included in the Supplementary text. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Study approval was obtained from the Central Ethics Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects of the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam (NTR 25th of May 2007 and ACTION 2013/41 and 2014.252), an Institutional Review Board certified by the U.S. Office of Human Research Protections (IRB number IRB00002991 under Federal-wide Assurance-FWA00017598; IRB/institute codes). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced are available online at <link to follow>
OBJECTIVE:The selection and reporting of core outcome measures in clinical trials is essential for patients, researchers, and healthcare providers for clinical research to have an impact on healthcare. In this systematic scoping review, we aimed to quantify the extent to which gout clinical trials are collecting and reporting data in accordance with the core outcome domains from Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) published in 2009 applicable for both acute and chronic trials and evaluate the reporting according to the core domains before and after the 2009 OMERACT endorsement. METHODS:We searched multiple databases PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and www. CLINICALTRIALS:gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) allocating people with gout versus an active pharmacological gout treatment or a control comparator (no date limitation). We extracted the data in accordance with the core outcome sets, focusing individually on core outcome domains and the core outcome measurements for acute and chronic trials, respectively. In this study 'Acute trials' reflect studies that describe interventions for short term management of gout flares, and 'chronic trials' describe interventions for long-term urate lowering therapy in the management of gout. RESULTS:From 8,522 records identified in the database search, 134 full text papers were reviewed, and 71 trials were included, of which 36 were acute and 35 were chronic. Only 3 of 36 (8%) acute trials reported all five core domains and none of the 35 included chronic trials reported all 7 core domains. In the acute trials, twenty-seven unique measurement instruments across the 5 core domains were identified. For chronic trials there were 31 unique measurement instruments used across the 7 core domains. Serum urate was reported in 100% of the chronic trials and gout flares in 80%. However, other core domains were reported in <30% of chronic trials. In particular the patient-important domains such as HR-QOL, patient global assessment and activity limitations were rarely reported. A broad variety of different measurement instruments were used to assess each endorsed core domain, a minority of trials used the OMERACT endorsed instruments. For acute trials, the number reporting on all core domains was consistently low and no change was detected before and after the endorsement of the core domains in 2009. None of the included chronic trials reported on all 7 endorsed core domains at any time. CONCLUSION:In this study we found a low adherence with the intended endorsed (i.e., core) outcome domains for acute and chronic gout studies which represents a poor uptake of the global OMERACT efforts for the minimum of what should be measured in clinical trials. In addition, there is a significant variation in how the OMERACT endorsed outcome domains have been measured. This systematic review demonstrates the need for continuous encouragement among gout researchers to adhere to OMERACT core domains as well as further guidance on outcome measurements reporting. REGISTRATION:Prospero: CRD42019151316.
BACKGROUND:Heart disease and stroke are major and often unheralded causes of serious morbidity and premature death in middle age. Early detection of those most at risk is an urgent unmet need for instituting preventative measures. In an earlier community study (Canterbury Health, Ageing and Life Course [CHALICE]) of healthy people aged 50 years, contrary to previous reports, low levels of the heart hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) were associated with reduced measures of heart function and higher markers of vascular risk. A specific gene variant (rs198358) was found to be an independent contributor to higher BNP levels. A closely related vascular hormone (C-type natriuretic peptide [CNP]) showed opposite associations-higher levels were correlated with higher vascular risk and reduced cardiac function. To determine whether these novel findings predict serious heart or vascular disease in later life, this proposal re-examines the same CHALICE participants 15 years later.OBJECTIVE:The primary objective is to determine the predictive value of (1) low plasma concentrations of the circulating cardiac hormones (atrial natriuretic peptide [ANP] and BNP) and (2) high levels of the vascular hormone CNP at age 50 years in detecting impaired cardiac and vascular function 15 years later. Secondary objectives are to determine specific associations of individual analytes (ANP, BNP, CNP, cyclic guanosine monophosphate [cGMP]) with echo-derived changes in cardiac performance at ages 50 years and 65 years.METHODS:All of the 348 participants (205/348, 58.9% female; 53/348, 15.2% Māori or Pacifica ethnicity) participating in the original CHALICE study-free of history of heart or renal disease at age 50 years and who consented to further study-will be contacted, recruited, and restudied as previously described. Data will include intervening health history, physical examination, heart function (speckle-tracking echocardiography), vascular status (carotid intimal thickness), and genetic status (genome-wide genotyping). Laboratory measures will include fasting blood sampling and routine biochemistry, ANP, BNP, CNP, their downstream effector (cGMP), and their bio-inactive products. Humoral metabolic-cardiovascular risk factors will be measured after an overnight fast. Primary outcomes will be analyzed using multiple linear regression.RESULTS:The study will commence in 2022 and be completed in 2024.CONCLUSIONS:Proving our hypothesis-that low BNP and high CNP at any age in healthy people predict premature aging of heart and blood vessels, respectively-opens the way to early detection and improved outcomes for those most at risk. Confirmation of our hypotheses would improve current methods of screening and, in appropriate cases, enable interventions aimed at increasing natriuretic hormones and reducing risk of serious cardiovascular complications using drugs already available. Such advances in detection, and from interventional corrections, have the potential to not only improve health in the community but also reduce the high costs inevitably associated with heart failure.INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):PRR1-10.2196/37011.
Pharmacogenetics has potential for optimizing use of psychotropics. CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 are two clinically relevant pharmacogenes in the prescribing of antidepressants. Using cases recruited from the Understanding Drug Reactions Using Genomic Sequencing (UDRUGS) study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of genotyping CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 in antidepressant response. Genomic and clinical data for patients who were prescribed antidepressants for mental health disorders, and experienced adverse reactions (ADRs) or ineffectiveness, were extracted for analysis. Genotype-inferred phenotyping of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 was carried out as per Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) guidelines. A total of 52 patients, predominantly New Zealand Europeans (85%) with a median age (range) of 36 years (15-73), were eligible for analysis. Thirty-one (60%) reported ADRs, 11 (21%) ineffectiveness, and 10 (19%) reported both. There were 19 CYP2C19 NMs, 15 IMs, 16 RMs, one PM and one UM. For CYP2D6, there were 22 NMs, 22 IMs, four PMs, three UMs, and one indeterminate. CPIC assigned a level to each gene-drug pair based on curated genotype-to-phenotype evidence. We analyzed a subgroup of 45 cases, inclusive of response type (ADRs/ineffectiveness). Seventy-nine (N = 37 for CYP2D6, N = 42 for CYP2C19) gene-drug/antidepressant-response pairs with CPIC evidence levels of A, A/B, or B were identified. Pairs were assigned as 'actionable' if the CYP phenotypes potentially contributed to the observed response. We observed actionability in 41% (15/37) of CYP2D6-antidepressant-response pairs and 36% (15/42) of CYP2C19-antidepressant-response pairs. In this cohort, CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genotypes were actionable for a total of 38% pairs, consisting of 48% in relation to ADRs and 21% in relation to drug ineffectiveness.