Nitisinone Attenuates Aortic Stenosis Disease Progression in Patients
with Alkaptonuria: An Analysis of the SONIA 2 Study
Abstract
Background and Aim: Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a rare metabolic disorder
characterised by the accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA). Deposition
of HGA in the aortic valve leading to progressive aortic stenosis is a
serious complication. Nitisinone has been shown to improve morbidity and
slow disease progression in AKU but the effects of this treatment on
aortic stenosis progression have not yet been described. This review
extrapolated from the data set of SONIA 2, a 4-year multi-centre
randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of nitisinone on
AKU disease activity, but specifically examined measures of aortic
stenosis disease progression. Methods: Data were obtained from
echocardiograms performed on 138 patients over 48 months of follow-up. A
linear mixed effects regression model was used to ascertain the
difference in the maximal trans-aortic valve pressure gradient (Pmax) at
baseline and 48 months between the treatment and control groups.
Results: At baseline, 18/138 patients (13.0%) had aortic stenosis of
varying degrees of severity and 25/138 (18.1%) had aortic sclerosis.
The difference in Pmax between the control (N=69) and treatment (N=69)
groups at baseline was 0.063mmHg [95% CI: -0.054mmHg to 0.18mmHg) and
did not reach statistical significance (p=0.23). At the end of the
4-year treatment period, the difference in Pmax was 0.10mmHg [95% CI:
-0.0007mmHg to 0.20mmHg] and was statistically significant (p=0.05).
Conclusion: Nitisinone slowed progression of aortic stenosis in patients
with AKU. This supports the argument for timely initiation of nitisinone
to reduce the incidence and severity of aortic valvular disease in AKU
patients.