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Effect of a single high dose of vitamin D3 on cytokines, chemokines, and growth factor in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19.
Fernandes, AL, Murai, IH, Reis, BZ, Sales, LP, Santos, MD, Pinto, AJ, Goessler, KF, Duran, CSC, Silva, CBR, Franco, AS, et al
The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2022;(3):790-798
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BACKGROUND The modulating effect of vitamin D on cytokine concentrations in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate the effect of a single high dose of vitamin D3 on cytokines, chemokines, and growth factor in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. METHODS This is a post hoc, ancillary, and exploratory analysis from a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 were recruited from 2 hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil. Of 240 randomly assigned patients, 200 were assessed in this study and randomly assigned to receive a single oral dose of 200,000 IU vitamin D3 (n = 101) or placebo (n = 99). The primary outcome was hospital length of stay, which has been published in our previous study. The prespecified secondary outcomes were serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D. The post hoc exploratory secondary outcomes were IL-4, IL-12p70, IL-17A, IFN-γ, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-8, IFN-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and leukocyte count. Generalized estimating equations for repeated measures, with Bonferroni's adjustment, were used for testing all outcomes. RESULTS The study included 200 patients with a mean ± SD age of 55.5 ± 14.3 y and BMI of 32.2 ± 7.1 kg/m2, of which 109 (54.5%) were male. GM-CSF concentrations showed a significant group-by-time interaction effect (P = 0.04), although the between-group difference at postintervention after Bonferroni's adjustment was not significant. No significant effects were observed for the other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The findings do not support the use of a single dose of 200,000 IU vitamin D3, compared with placebo, for the improvement of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factor in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04449718.
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Evaluation of Month-24 Efficacy and Safety of Epimacular Brachytherapy for Previously Treated Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The MERLOT Randomized Clinical Trial.
Jackson, TL, Soare, C, Petrarca, C, Simpson, A, Neffendorf, JE, Petrarca, R, Muldrew, A, Peto, T, Chakravarthy, U, Membrey, L, et al
JAMA ophthalmology. 2020;(8):835-842
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IMPORTANCE Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment offers better outcomes than the natural history of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), a less burdensome, less expensive, and more durable treatment is needed. OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and safety of epimacular brachytherapy (EMB) for chronic, active, neovascular ARMD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Macular Epiretinal Brachytherapy vs Ranibizumab (Lucentis) Only Treatment (MERLOT) pivotal device trial was conducted at 24 National Health Service hospitals across the UK. Patients who had neovascular ARMD and received intravitreal ranibizumab were enrolled between November 10, 2009, and January 30, 2012. Eligible patients were randomized 2:1 and were stratified by lens status and angiographic lesion type to receive either EMB plus as-needed ranibizumab or as-needed ranibizumab monotherapy. Participants were followed up monthly for 24 months and then assessed at a final visit at month 36. Masking of participants and clinicians was not possible, but best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and imaging were analyzed by masked assessors. Analysis followed the intent-to-treat approach. INTERVENTIONS Pars plana vitrectomy with 24 Gy EMB plus as-needed ranibizumab vs as-needed ranibizumab monotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Coprimary outcomes were the number of as-needed ranibizumab injections and the mean change in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) BCVA with a noninferiority margin of -5 ETDRS letters. Secondary outcomes were the percentage of participants losing fewer than 15 ETDRS letters and gaining 0 or more or 15 or more ETDRS letters and the mean change in angiographic total lesion size, choroidal neovascularization size, and foveal thickness on optical coherence tomography. RESULTS Of 363 participants, 329 (90.6%) completed 24 months of follow-up (222 participants in the EMB group and 107 in the ranibizumab group). The mean (SD) age of the combined groups was 76.5 (7.4) years. The mean (SD) number of ranibizumab injections was 9.3 (6.7) in the EMB group and 8.3 (4.5) in the ranibizumab group, with a difference of 1.0 injection (95% CI, -0.3 to 2.3; P = .13). The mean (SD) BCVA change was -11.2 (15.7) ETDRS letters in the EMB group and -1.4 (10.9) ETDRS letters in the ranibizumab group, with a difference of 9.8 ETDRS letters (95% CI, -6.7 to -12.9). In the EMB group, 65.6% of participants (160 of 244) lost fewer than 15 ETDRS letters vs 86.6% (103 of 119) in the ranibizumab group, with a difference of 21% (95% CI, 12.4%-29.5%; P < .001). Microvascular abnormalities occurred in 20 of 207 eyes (9.7%) in the EMB group and 1 of 97 eyes (1.0%) in the ranibizumab group. These abnormalities occurred outside the foveal center, and there were no unexpected safety concerns. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The MERLOT trial found that despite the acceptable safety of EMB, it did not reduce the number of ranibizumab injections and was associated with worse visual acuity than anti-VEGF treatment alone; these results do not support EMB use as an adjunct treatment for chronic, active neovascular ARMD. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01006538.
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A first-in-human phase 1a study of the bispecific anti-DLL4/anti-VEGF antibody navicixizumab (OMP-305B83) in patients with previously treated solid tumors.
Jimeno, A, Moore, KN, Gordon, M, Chugh, R, Diamond, JR, Aljumaily, R, Mendelson, D, Kapoun, AM, Xu, L, Stagg, R, et al
Investigational new drugs. 2019;(3):461-472
Abstract
Purpose Navicixizumab (OMP-305B83) is a bispecific antibody that inhibits delta-like ligand 4 and vascular endothelial growth factor. This Phase 1a trial assessed escalating doses of navicixizumab in refractory solid tumors patients. Design A 3 + 3 dose escalation design was used followed by the treatment of additional patients in an expansion cohort. Study objectives were determination of the maximum tolerated dose, safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity and efficacy. Results Sixty-six patients were treated once every 3 weeks in 8 dose-escalation cohorts (0.5, 1, 2.5, 3.5, 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 mg/kg) and an expansion cohort (7.5 mg/kg). The median age was 60 years and 68% of the patients were female. The most commonly enrolled tumor types were ovarian (12), colorectal (11) and breast, pancreatic, uterine and endometrial (4 each) cancers. As only 1 dose limiting toxicity occurred, the maximum tolerated dose was not reached, but 7.5 mg/kg was chosen as the dose for the expansion cohort. The treatment related adverse events (≥15% of patients) were hypertension (57.6%), headache (28.8%), fatigue (25.8%), and pulmonary hypertension (18.2%). Pulmonary hypertension was mostly asymptomatic at doses ≤5 mg/kg (6 Gr1, 1 Gr2), but was more severe at higher doses (4 Gr2, 1 Gr3). Navicixizumab's half-life was 11.4 days and there was a moderate (29%) incidence of anti-drug antibody formation. Four patients (3 ovarian cancer, 1 uterine carcinosarcoma) had a partial response and 17 patients had stable disease. Nineteen patients had a reduction in the size of their target lesions including 7/11 patients with ovarian cancer. Four patients remained on study for >300 days and 2 of these patients were on study for >500 days. Conclusions Navicixizumab can be safely administered with manageable toxicities and these data showed preliminary signs of antitumor activity in multiple tumor types, but was most promising in ovarian cancer. As a result these data justify its continued development in combination Phase 1b clinical trials.
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Genetic Variants of VEGFA and FLT4 Are Determinants of Survival in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients Treated with Sorafenib.
Crona, DJ, Skol, AD, Leppänen, VM, Glubb, DM, Etheridge, AS, Hilliard, E, Peña, CE, Peterson, YK, Klauber-DeMore, N, Alitalo, KK, et al
Cancer research. 2019;(1):231-241
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Molecular markers of sorafenib efficacy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) are not available. The purpose of this study was to discover genetic markers of survival in patients with mRCC treated with sorafenib. Germline variants from 56 genes were genotyped in 295 patients with mRCC. Variant-overall survival (OS) associations were tested in multivariate regression models. Mechanistic studies were conducted to validate clinical associations. VEGFA rs1885657, ITGAV rs3816375, and WWOX rs8047917 (sorafenib arm), and FLT4 rs307826 and VEGFA rs3024987 (sorafenib and placebo arms combined) were associated with shorter OS. FLT4 rs307826 increased VEGFR-3 phosphorylation, membrane trafficking, and receptor activation. VEGFA rs1885657 and rs58159269 increased transcriptional activity of the constructs containing these variants in endothelial and RCC cell lines, and VEGFA rs58159269 increased endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation. FLT4 rs307826 and VEGFA rs58159269 led to reduced sorafenib cytotoxicity. Genetic variation in VEGFA and FLT4 could affect survival in sorafenib-treated patients with mRCC. These markers should be examined in additional malignancies treated with sorafenib and in other angiogenesis inhibitors used in mRCC. SIGNIFICANCE Clinical and mechanistic data identify germline genetic variants in VEGFA and FLT4 as markers of survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
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CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF THE MULTIFACTORIAL NATURE OF DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA.
Chakravarthy, U, Yang, Y, Lotery, A, Ghanchi, F, Bailey, C, Holz, FG, Downey, L, Weber, M, Eter, N, Dugel, PU
Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.). 2018;(2):343-351
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PURPOSE To report functional and morphologic outcomes, based on diabetic macular edema (DME) chronicity and baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), from a subanalysis of the fluocinolone acetonide for macular edema (FAME) trials. METHODS Patients were categorized by DME duration (nonchronic [ncDME] or chronic [cDME] DME) and three nonexclusive baseline vision strata. Anatomic and visual acuity VA outcomes of these cohorts were compared with treatment assignment. RESULTS For all patients with ncDME and cDME who received sham control, 27.8% and 13.4%, respectively, gained ≥15 BCVA letters, whereas 22.3% and 34.0% of 0.2 μg/day fluocinolone acetonide (FAc)-treated patients, respectively, gained ≥15 BCVA letters. Among patients with ncDME who received sham control, as baseline vision decreased, the percentage gaining ≥15 BCVA letters increased; however, among those with cDME, the percentage gaining ≥15 BCVA letters did not change as baseline vision decreased. Conversely, among 0.2 μg/day FAc-treated patients, the percentage gaining ≥15 BCVA letters increased with decreasing baseline vision, regardless of DME chronicity. Anatomical outcomes were similar within treatment arms, regardless of the DME duration. CONCLUSION Patients with cDME and poor baseline vision who were exposed to low-dose FAc experienced BCVA improvements that were not observed in a similar group from the sham-control arm. These data support the multifactorial pathogenesis of cDME.
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Safety and long-term efficacy of repeated dexamethasone intravitreal implants for the treatment of cystoid macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion with or without a switch to anti-VEGF agents: a 3-year experience.
Blanc, J, Deschasse, C, Kodjikian, L, Dot, C, Bron, AM, Creuzot-Garcher, C
Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie. 2018;(8):1441-1448
Abstract
PURPOSE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of repeated dexamethasone intravitreal implants (DEX implants) over 3 years in eyes with macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). METHODS We conducted a 3-year, retrospective, multicenter study that included adult patients with ME secondary to BRVO or CRVO treated with first-line DEX implants. Patients were divided into two different subgroups: patients who received DEX implant injections only (group 1) and those who received DEX implants first and then were switched to anti-VEGF agents (group 2). Primary endpoints were changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) from baseline to month 6 and month 36. Secondary endpoints included changes in both BCVA and CRT after each DEX implant and adverse events, particularly cataract extraction and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). RESULTS Sixty-six patients with a median [IQR (interquartile ratio)] age of 72 [65.0; 81.1] years were included (40.9% BRVO, 59.1% CRVO), who received a median of 5.0 [min, 1.0; max, 10.0] DEX implants over 3 years. Median [IQR] time to retreatment was 4.8 [4.2; 6.0] months. The median [IQR] improvements in BCVA from baseline until months 6 and 36 were respectively + 10.0 [0; + 20.0] letters (P = 0.040) and + 10.0 [- 8.7; + 20.0] letters (P = 0.364) in the whole population. In group 1, the results were similar, whereas in group 2, BCVA significantly increased at M36 compared with baseline (P = 0.003). The median [IQR] CRT reductions from baseline to months 6 and 36 were respectively - 227.5 [- 337.0; - 52.7] μm and - 224.0 [- 405.0; - 83.8] μm (P < 0.001) in the whole population. Results were similar in both groups. The most common adverse events were cataract extraction (70.4%) and elevated IOP (54.5%). No other serious local complications were observed. Treatment was switched to anti-VEGF agents in 16 (24.2%) patients. CONCLUSIONS DEX implants are an effective treatment for BRVO and CRVO-associated ME over 3 years. It is a valid treatment even though complications remain frequent. However, functional efficacy seems to decrease with time and repeated injections.
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Early Response to Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Two-Year Outcomes Among Eyes With Diabetic Macular Edema in Protocol T.
Bressler, NM, Beaulieu, WT, Maguire, MG, Glassman, AR, Blinder, KJ, Bressler, SB, Gonzalez, VH, Jampol, LM, Melia, M, Sun, JK, et al
American journal of ophthalmology. 2018;:93-100
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PURPOSE Assess associations of 2-year visual acuity (VA) outcomes with VA and optical coherence tomography central subfield thickness (CST) after 12 weeks of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment for diabetic macular edema in DRCR.net Protocol T. DESIGN Randomized clinical trial. METHODS Setting: Multicenter (89 U.S. sites). PATIENT POPULATION Eyes with VA and CST data from baseline and 12-week visits (616 of 660 eyes randomized [93.3%]). INTERVENTION Six monthly injections of 2.0 mg aflibercept, 1.25 mg bevacizumab, or 0.3 mg ranibizumab; subsequent injections and focal/grid laser as needed for stability. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Change in VA from baseline and VA letter score at 2 years. RESULTS Twelve-week VA response was associated with 2-year change in VA and 2-year VA letter score for each drug (P < .001) but with substantial individual variability (multivariable R2 = 0.38, 0.29, and 0.26 for 2-year change with aflibercept, bevacizumab, and ranibizumab, respectively). Among eyes with less than 5-letter gain at 12 weeks, the percentages of eyes gaining 10 or more letters from baseline at 2 years were 42% (20 of 48), 31% (21 of 68), and 47% (28 of 59), and median 2-year VA was 20/32, 20/32, and 20/25, in the aflibercept, bevacizumab, and ranibizumab groups, respectively. Twelve-week CST response was not strongly associated with 2-year outcomes. CONCLUSIONS A suboptimal response at 12 weeks did not preclude meaningful vision improvement (ie, ≥ 10-letter gain) in many eyes at 2 years. Eyes with less than 5-letter gain at 12 weeks often had good VA at 2 years without switching therapies.
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Dual Antagonism of PDGF and VEGF in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Phase IIb, Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial.
Jaffe, GJ, Ciulla, TA, Ciardella, AP, Devin, F, Dugel, PU, Eandi, CM, Masonson, H, Monés, J, Pearlman, JA, Quaranta-El Maftouhi, M, et al
Ophthalmology. 2017;(2):224-234
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PURPOSE To assess the safety and efficacy of E10030 (Fovista; Ophthotech, New York, NY), a platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) antagonist, administered in combination with the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent ranibizumab (Lucentis; Roche, Basel, Switzerland) compared with ranibizumab monotherapy in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). DESIGN Phase IIb global, multicenter, randomized, prospective, double-masked, controlled superiority trial. PARTICIPANTS Four hundred forty-nine patients with treatment-naïve nAMD. METHODS Participants were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to 1 of the following 3 intravitreal treatment groups: E10030 0.3 mg in combination with ranibizumab 0.5 mg, E10030 1.5 mg in combination with ranibizumab 0.5 mg, and sham in combination with ranibizumab 0.5 mg (anti-VEGF monotherapy). Drugs were administered monthly in each of the groups for a total duration of 24 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The prespecified primary end point was the mean change in visual acuity (VA; Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy [ETDRS] letters) from baseline to 24 weeks. RESULTS No significant safety issues were observed in any treatment group. The E10030 (1.5 mg) combination therapy regimen met the prespecified primary end point of superiority in mean VA gain compared with anti-VEGF monotherapy (10.6 compared with 6.5 ETDRS letters at week 24; P = 0.019). A dose-response relationship was evident at each measured time point commencing at 4 weeks. Visual acuity outcomes favored the E10030 1.5 mg combination therapy group regardless of baseline VA, lesion size, or central subfield thickness on optical coherence tomography. All clinically relevant treatment end points of visual benefit (≥15 ETDRS letter gain, final VA ≥20/40 or ≥20/25) and visual loss (≥1 ETDRS line loss, ≥2 ETDRS line loss, final VA ≤20/125 or ≤20/200) favored the E10030 1.5 mg combination group. CONCLUSIONS In this phase IIb clinical trial, a 62% relative benefit from baseline was noted in the E10030 1.5 mg combination therapy group compared with the anti-VEGF monotherapy group. A favorable safety and efficacy profile of E10030 combination therapy for nAMD was evident across multiple clinically relevant end points. This highly powered study provides strong rationale for a confirmatory phase III clinical trial.
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Effect of leaking perifoveal microaneurysms on resolution of diabetic macular edema treated by combination therapy using anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and short pulse focal/grid laser photocoagulation.
Hirano, T, Toriyama, Y, Iesato, Y, Imai, A, Hirabayashi, K, Nagaoka, T, Takamura, Y, Sugimoto, M, Murata, T
Japanese journal of ophthalmology. 2017;(1):51-60
Abstract
PURPOSE The effect of combination therapy using intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) injections and short pulse focal/grid laser photocoagulation was evaluated for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS The current investigation was a preliminary single-arm, open-label, prospective clinical study conducted on 21 eyes at 4 sites in Japan. Treatment protocol consisted of two phases. The induction IVR phase included two monthly IVRs followed by PRN IVR phase in which additional IVR was administered if the central macular thickness (CMT) exceeded 300 μm. One week after each IVR in both phases, short pulse focal/grid laser was delivered to treat residual leakage outside of the fovea (>500 μm) and reduce edema fluid influx. At the 6-month endpoint, the effects of treatment were examined in terms of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), CMT, and required number of IVR injections in eyes with or without perifoveal leaking microaneurysms (MAs). RESULTS In eyes with initial BCVA ≤70 letters, mean BCVA was significantly ameliorated by 7.0 ± 7.4 letters (P = 0.0324) and mean CMT improved significantly by 174.8 ± 105.0 µm (P = 0.0005). Both BCVA improvement (P = 0.8693) and CMT reduction (P = 0.9336) were comparable between MA(-) and MA(+) groups. The MA(-) group required significantly fewer PRN-IVR injections than did the MA(+) group over the 6-month study period (mean 3.4 ± 1.6 vs. 5.3 ± 0.9, median 3.0 vs. 5.5; P = 0.0229). CONCLUSIONS Short pulse focal/grid laser photocoagulation could reduce the number of IVR injections required to resolve macular edema and increase BCVA in a possible mechanism of reduced influx of edema fluid into the foveal area in eyes without apparent perifoveal microaneurysms.
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Ranibizumab 0.5 mg treat-and-extend regimen for diabetic macular oedema: the RETAIN study.
Prünte, C, Fajnkuchen, F, Mahmood, S, Ricci, F, Hatz, K, Studnička, J, Bezlyak, V, Parikh, S, Stubbings, WJ, Wenzel, A, et al
The British journal of ophthalmology. 2016;(6):787-95
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AIMS: To demonstrate non-inferiority of ranibizumab treat-and-extend (T&E) with/without laser to ranibizumab pro re nata (PRN) for best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO). METHODS A 24-month single-masked study with patients randomised 1:1:1 to T&E+laser (n=121), T&E (n=128) or PRN (control; n=123). All patients received monthly injections until BCVA stabilisation. The investigator decided on re-treatment in the PRN and treatment-interval adaptations in the T&E groups based on loss of BCVA stability due to DMO activity. Likewise, laser treatment was at investigator's discretion. Collectively, these features reflect a real-life scenario. Endpoints included mean average change in BCVA from baseline to months 1-12 (primary), mean BCVA change from baseline to months 12 and 24, treatment exposure and safety profile. RESULTS Both T&E regimens were non-inferior to PRN based on mean average BCVA change from baseline to months 1-12 (T&E+laser: +5.9 and T&E: +6.1 vs PRN: +6.2 letters; both p<0.0001). Mean BCVA change at month 24 was similar across groups (+8.3, +6.5 and +8.1 letters, respectively). The mean number of injections was 12.4 and 12.8 in the T&E+laser and T&E groups and 10.7 in the PRN group. The T&E regimens showed 46% reduction in the number of clinic visits. Over 70% of patients maintained their BCVA, with treatment intervals of ≥2 months over 24 months. Safety profile was consistent with that described in the product information. CONCLUSIONS T&E is a feasible treatment option for patients with DMO, with a potential to reduce treatment burden. Slightly more injections were required versus PRN, likely due to the specifics of the T&E regimen applied here. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT01171976.