Background

Prader Willi syndrome (PWS) without strict environmental modifications can lead to obesity associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In addition to increased appetite, these individuals have decreased energy expenditure with lower insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which contributes to adiposity. No effective treatment is available for this condition. Endocannabinoid receptor CB1 antagonist, rimonobant, has been effective for treatment of obesity in adult subjects. Rimonabant promotes weight loss by multiple proposed mechanisms, including decreased appetite and lipogenesis, and increased energy expenditure. Therefore, we conducted this pilot study to evaluate the effect of rimonabant on body weight and composition of adults with PWS.

Method

This was a double blind placebo controlled study. Body weight, total fat mass, fasting ghrelin, leptin, IGF1 and insulin like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP3) were collected at baseline, and after 90 and 180 days of treatment with placebo or 20 mg of rimonabant.

Results

Due to psychiatric adverse effects, 50% of subjects in the rimonabant group withdrew, and the study was terminated early (N=10) for safety concerns. There was a trend for weight loss, lower fat mass and higher IGF1 level at the end of study in this group. Leptin followed the fat mass and decreased with rimonabant treatment.

Conclusion

Rimonabant administration may be efficacious for weight loss in adults with PWS; unfortunately it is associated with an unacceptably high risk of psychiatric side effects. Future CB1 antagonists will need a better psychiatric profile before considered in the treatment of obesity in this genetic condition.

Objective

To measure body composition in patients with thalassemia and explore its relationship to abnormal growth and bone mass.

Study design

Cross-sectional, multi-center study. Fat, lean, and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed by DXA. Medical history, food frequency and physical activity questionnaires were conducted in 257 transfused thalassemia patients (23.7 ± 11 yr, Mean±SD, 51% male) compared with 113 non-transfused patients (21.3 ± 13 yr, 44% male).

Results

Subjects with thalassemia were leaner compared with healthy Americans from NHANES III data. Transfused subjects had higher percentage body fat compared with non- transfused after controlling for age, sex and ethnicity; 11.8% of non-transfused pediatric subjects were considered underweight, significantly lower than NHANES data (p=0.03). Hemoglobin level was positively related to lean mass (p=0.008). Body fat and lean mass were positive predictors for both height and BMD Z-scores after adjustment for transfusion status, age, sex, ethnicity, calcium intake and physical activity (all p<0.001).

Conclusions

Though the majority of adult patients with thalassemia had healthy body composition with rare obesity, young, non-transfused patients appear at risk for being underweight. Optimizing physical activity and appropriate use of transfusion therapy may improve growth and bone health in these at risk patients.

Osteoporosis and fractures occur frequently in patients with beta thalassemias, a group of congenital hemolytic anemias characterized by decreased synthesis of the beta chain of hemoglobin. In this study, we determined the bone abnormalities of the th3 thalassemia mouse, generated by deletion of the mouse beta chain genes. The heterozygote th3/+ mouse has moderate anemia, and serves as a model of beta thalassemia intermedia (TI), which represents the mild thalassemia phenotype. The th3/th3 mouse has lethal anemia and is a model of beta thalassemia major (TM), which is characterized by life-threatening anemia requiring regular transfusions to sustain life.

Compared to controls: i) Micro-CT of trabecular bone showed decreased bone volume fraction, number of trabeculae and trabecular thickness in both th3/+ and th3/th3 (p<0.05). ii) Cortical bone analysis showed thinner cortices and increased marrow area in th3/+ animals (p<0.05). iii) Micro-CT abnormalities in th3/+ mice were present by 2 months and did not worsen with age. iv) Histomorphometry was significant for decreased bone formation and resorption in both th3/+ and th3/th3. Similarly, cathepsin K and osteocalcin expression from bone of both th3/+and th3/th3 animals was reduced (p<0.05). vi) Biomechanics showed reduced maximum load, maximum moment and structural stiffness in both th3/+and th3/th3 (p<0.01).

In conclusion, the th3 mouse model of thalassemia manifests bone changes reminiscent of those in humans, and can be used for further bone studies in thalassemia. Bone changes are associated with decreased bone turnover, and develop early on during the period of bone accrual.

Adults with β thalassemia major frequently have low BMD, fractures, and bone pain. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of low BMD, fractures, and bone pain in all thalassemia syndromes in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, associations of BMD with fractures and bone pain, and etiology of bone disease in thalassemia. Patients of all thalassemia syndromes in the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network, ≥6 yr of age, with no preexisting medical condition affecting bone mass or requiring steroids, participated. We measured spine and femur BMD and whole body BMC by DXA and assessed vertebral abnormalities by morphometric X-ray absorptiometry (MXA). Medical history by interview and review of medical records, physical examinations, and blood and urine collections were performed. Three hundred sixty-one subjects, 49% male, with a mean age of 23.2 yr (range, 6.1–75 yr), were studied. Spine and femur BMD Z-scores < −2 occurred in 46% and 25% of participants, respectively. Greater age, lower weight, hypogonadism, and increased bone turnover were strong independent predictors of low bone mass regardless of thalassemia syndrome. Peak bone mass was suboptimal. Thirty-six percent of patients had a history of fractures, and 34% reported bone pain. BMD was negatively associated with fractures but not with bone pain. Nine percent of participants had uniformly decreased height of several vertebrae by MXA, which was associated with the use of iron chelator deferoxamine before 6 yr of age. In patients with thalassemia, low BMD and fractures occur frequently and independently of the particular syndrome. Peak bone mass is suboptimal. Low BMD is associated with hypogonadism, increased bone turnover, and an increased risk for fractures.