Zopiclone's residual effects on actual driving performance in a standardized test: a pooled analysis of age and sex effects in 4 placebo-controlled studies.
In many European countries, Canada, and Japan, the nonbenzodiazepine zopiclone is now among the most frequently prescribed hypnotic drugs. This finding can be explained by the growing view among physicians that zopiclone is more effective and safer than conventional benzodiazepines. However, in 4 studies using similar procedures, it has been shown that zopiclone 7.5 mg causes moderate to severe impairment in driving performance.
The goal of the present article was to review these studies and analyze the pooled data to determine whether the severity of effects is modified by the sex and age of the subjects.
The driving data of the placebo and zopiclone 7.5 mg evening treatment periods from a total of 4 studies conducted at Maastricht University were included in this pooled analysis. All studies were conducted according to balanced double-blind, crossover designs. The effects on driving were always measured the next morning, between 10 and 11 hours after administration, by using a standardized highway driving test. A total of 101 healthy volunteers of both sexes in equal proportions (with no reports of insomnia) participated. Subjects comprised young volunteers (age range, 21-45 years) in 3 studies and older volunteers (age range, 55-75 years) in the fourth study.
Results show that zopiclone 7.5 mg has significant and clinically relevant performance-impairing effects on driving in the morning, until 11 hours after bedtime ingestion. The effects did not differ between male and female subjects and did not increase with age, at least until 75 years. The effects of zopiclone 7.5 mg are comparable to the effects of a mean blood alcohol concentration between 0.5 and 0.8 mg/mL, which has been associated with a 2- to 3-fold increase in the risk of becoming involved in a traffic accident.
We concluded that patients using an evening dose of zopiclone 7.5 mg should avoid activity in skilled work and participation in traffic the morning after intake. General practitioners' beliefs regarding the beneficial safety profile of zopiclone may need adjustment, and patients using zopiclone 7.5 mg should be warned accordingly. There is no need to differentiate warnings about zopiclone's residual impairing effects depending on the sex of the patient.
Leufkens TR
,Vermeeren A
《-》
Safety, clinical activity, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics of IMU-856, a SIRT6 modulator, in coeliac disease: a first-in-human, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 trial.
IMU-856 is an orally available and systemically acting small molecule modulator of sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), a protein that serves as a transcriptional regulator of bowel epithelium regeneration. We aimed to evaluate the safety, clinical activity, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics of IMU-856 in healthy participants and in patients with coeliac disease.
This study reports the results from a completed first-in-human, three-part, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of IMU-856 in healthy participants and patients with coeliac disease done in Australia and New Zealand. In part A, healthy participants were enrolled in six cohorts and randomly assigned (3:1) using a block randomisation algorithm to receive single ascending doses of IMU-856 ranging from 10 mg to 160 mg or matching placebo. Based on the results from part A, three doses were selected for part B to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of IMU-856 once daily for 14 days using the same randomisation algorithm. Part C enrolled patients with well controlled coeliac disease. Participants were centrally randomised 1:1:1 using an interactive web response system to receive either low dose or high dose of IMU-856 or placebo once daily for 28 days that included a 15-day gluten challenge starting on day 14. The primary objective was safety and tolerability of IMU-856. Safety analyses were done on all patients who received at least one dose of the study drug. The trial is registered with the ANZCTR registry (ACTRN12620000901909).
Between July 27, 2020, and Oct 28, 2022, 71 healthy participants were enrolled in part A and B and assigned to either placebo (n=19) or IMU-856 (n=52). In part A and B, the IMU-856 doses were 10 mg (n=6), 20 mg (n=6), 40 mg (n=13), 80 mg (n=12), 120 mg (n=4), 160 mg (n=11). 43 patients with coeliac disease were enrolled in part C and assigned to either placebo (n=14), IMU-856 80 mg (n=14), or IMU-856 160 mg (n=15). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) occurred in 24 (73%) of 33 participants in part A and 15 (79%) of 19 participants in part B receiving any dose of IMU-856 compared with six (50%) of 12 participants in part A and five (71%) of seven participants in part B with placebo. TEAEs were mainly mild in severity. In part C, TEAEs occured in 26 (90%) of 29 patients on any dose of IMU-856 and ten (71%) of 14 receiving placebo; the most common TEAEs with any dose of IMU-856 by preferred term were headache (13 [45%] of 29), nausea (nine [31%]), diarrhoea (eight [28%]), and abdominal distension (seven [24%]). Two serious adverse events occurred with IMU-856 treatment (one in part B [bacterial myocarditis] and one in part C [biliary colic]), both of which were unrelated to IMU-856. No dose-limiting toxicities, systematic safety laboratory changes, or deaths occurred during the study. In part C, mean decrease in villous height was -20·9 μm (SD 34·8) among patients who received IMU-856 80 mg, -22·5 μm (51·1) among those who received IMU-856 160 mg, and -60·3 μm (52·2) among those who received placebo.
The favourable safety profile, along with preliminary activity, suggests that IMU-856 should be studied in future trials of coeliac disease.
Immunic Australia.
Daveson AJM
,Stubbs R
,Polasek TM
,Isola J
,Anderson R
,Tye-Din JA
,Schoeman M
,Lionnet C
,Mei SLCY
,Mihajlović J
,Wirth M
,Peelen E
,Schreieck A
,Kohlhof H
,Vitt D
,Muehler A
,Buriánek F
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《The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology》
Evaluation of proximod, a selective agonist of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1, in healthy volunteers and patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a phase 1, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, ascending dose trial.
Proximod is a selective agonist of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1PR1). It acts by redirecting lymphocytes from the circulation to secondary lymph nodes, and is under development as an immunomodulator for rheumatoid arthritis. We aimed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy of proximod in healthy volunteers and patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
We did a two part, phase 1, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, ascending dose trial at a single centre in China. Eligible participants were adults aged 18-50 years with a BMI of 18-28 kg/m2 for healthy volunteers and aged 18-70 years with a BMI of 18-30 kg/m2 for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In part 1, healthy volunteers were randomly assigned within ten cohorts to receive a single oral dose of proximod (0·125 mg, 0·25 mg, 0·5 mg, 1 mg, 1·5 mg, 2 mg, 3 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg in cohorts 1-10) or placebo. In part 2, healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive once-daily doses of proximod 5 mg or placebo, and patients with rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to receive once-daily doses of proximod 5 mg, proximod 10 mg, or placebo, for 28 days. Patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary outcomes were safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of proximod for 72 days in healthy volunteers and for 48 days in patients with rhematoid arthritis, assessed in all treated participants. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06361199, NCT06361186), and is complete.
Between Nov 1, 2017, and June 22, 2021, 124 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned in part 1 of the study and 124 were included in the analyses (mean age 34·3 years [SD 6·9], 62 [50%] of 124 participants were women and 62 [50%] were men, and 116 [94%] were Han Chinese ethnicity). Between Feb 16, 2022, and Oct 8, 2023, 113 participants were screened for inclusion in part 2 (80 healthy volunteers and 33 patients with rheumatoid arthritis). 79 participants were excluded and 34 were randomly assigned (10 healthy participants and 24 patients with rheumatoid arthritis), 34 of whom were included in the analyses. Ten (100%) of ten healthy participants were Han Chinese ethnicity, with a mean age of 39·9 years (SD 7·3). Five (50%) of ten healthy volunteers were women and five (50%) were men). 22 (92%) of 24 participants with rheumatoid arthritis were Han Chinese ethnicity, with a mean age of 52·7 years (SD 6·8). 22 (92%) of 24 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were women and two (8%) were men. In part 1, all doses of proximod were well tolerated, with no dose-related adverse reactions or serious adverse events observed. In part 2, 74 adverse reactions were reported in eight (80%) of ten healthy volunteers and 22 (92%) of 24 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Adverse events associated with proximod were predominantly mild or moderate. In part 2, the concentration of proximod and its active metabolite, proximod-phosphate, gradually increased in all three groups receiving proximod and the EC50 of the S1PR1 agonist for proximod-phosphate (6·1 ng/mL) was reached on day 14 for both 5 mg groups, and on day 7 for the 10 mg group. The mean Ctrough values for proximod-phosphate on day 28 were 7·7 ng/mL and 10·2 ng/mL for 5 mg in healthy volunteers and patients with rheumatoid arthritis, respectively, and 15·3 ng/mL for 10 mg in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lymphocyte count decreased after treatment in all proximod groups reaching nadir at approximately day 28, with a corresponding percentage decline from baseline of 65·25% in the 5 mg group, 71·64% in the 10 mg group, and 20·57% in the placebo group.
Proximod exhibited good tolerability over the 28-day treatment period, demonstrating its potential in reducing blood lymphocyte count. These results highlight the promise of the S1PR1 agonist proximod as a potential candidate for rheumatoid arthritis treatment, warranting further investigation in subsequent clinical studies.
Beijing Union Pharmaceutical Factory and Jian Kuan (Suzhou) Biotechnology.
Zhang H
,Li Q
,Li C
,Wu M
,Chen H
,Li Y
,You F
,Zhao Y
,Jin J
,Chen X
,Ding Y
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《Lancet Rheumatology》