and14 Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, United Kingdom
Key Points• In women presenting with an initial diagnosis of TTP during pregnancy, cTTP was more common than acquired TTP.• Active monitoring and management during pregnancy results in positive pregnancy outcomes.Pregnancy can precipitate thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). We present a prospective study of TTP cases from the United Kingdom Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (UK TTP) Registry with clinical and laboratory data from the largest cohort of pregnancy-associated TTP and describe management through pregnancy, averting fetal loss and maternal complications. Thirty-five women presented with a first TTP episode during pregnancy: 23/47 with their first congenital TTP (cTTP) episode and 12/47 with acute acquired TTP in pregnancy. TTP presented primarily in the third trimester/ postpartum, but fetal loss was highest in the second trimester. Fetal loss occurred in 16/38 pregnancies before cTTP was diagnosed, but in none of the 15 subsequent managed pregnancies. Seventeen of 23 congenital cases had a missense mutation, C3178T, within exon 24 (R1060W). There were 8 novel mutations. In acquired TTP presentations, fetal loss occurred in 5/18 pregnancies and 2 terminations because of disease. We also present data on 12 women with a history of nonpregnancy-associated TTP: 18 subsequent pregnancies have been successfully managed, guided by ADAMTS13 levels. cTTP presents more frequently than acquired TTP during pregnancy and must be differentiated by ADAMTS13 analysis. Careful diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment in congenital and acquired TTP have assisted in excellent pregnancy outcomes. (Blood. 2014;124(2):211-219)
Background
Current treatment for severe hemophilia A is replacement of deficient factor. Although replacement therapy has improved life expectancy and quality, limitations include frequent infusions and high costs. Gene therapy is a potential alternative that utilizes an adeno‐associated virus (
AAV
) vector containing the human genetic code for factor 8 (
FVIII
) that transduces the liver, enabling endogenous production of
FVIII
. Individuals with preexisting immunity to
AAV
serotypes may be less likely to benefit from this treatment.
Objectives
This study measured seroprevalence of antibodies to
AAV
5 and 8 in an
UK
adult hemophilia A cohort.
Patients/Methods
Patients were recruited from seven hemophilia centres in the
UK
. Citrated plasma samples from 100 patients were tested for preexisting activities against
AAV
5 and 8 using
AAV
transduction inhibition and total antibodies assays.
Results
Twent‐one percent of patients had antibodies against
AAV
5 and 23% had antibodies against
AAV
8. Twenty‐five percent and 38% of patients exhibited inhibitors of
AAV
5 or
AAV
8 cellular transduction respectively. Overall seroprevalence using either assay against
AAV
5 was 30% and against
AAV
8 was 40% in this cohort of hemophilia A patients. Seropositivity for both
AAV
5 and
AAV
8 was seen in 24% of participants.
Conclusions
Screening for preexisting immunity may be important in identifying patients most likely to benefit from gene therapy. Clinical studies may be needed to evaluate the impact of preexisting immunity on the safety and efficacy of
AAV
mediated gene therapy.
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