Digital Biotyping of FSHD Patients and Controls

Summary

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a devastating progressive muscle dystrophy. There is no treatment. FSHD is generally characterized by asymmetrical weakness and wasting of facial, shoulder girdle and upper arm muscles followed by weakness of muscles of the trunk and lower extremities, but disease severity varies widely between patients. Relatively long periods of stability are interspersed with short periods of potentially steep decline, leading overall to a slow but unpredictable rate of progression. Different genotypes underlying FSHD have been identified, but they result in highly similar phenotypes and at the molecular level converge on undue expression of the transcription factor, DUX4, in skeletal muscle, which is thought to (ultimately) lead to muscle wasting due to inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. There is no approved treatment, although various companies are engaged in FSHD drug discovery and development aimed in particular at reducing DUX4 expression. Multiple treatment options are currently under development in both preclinical and early clinical stages. However, these efforts face significant challenges in the path to regulatory approval. Because of the slow and variable rate of progression of FSHD, evidencing a significant treatment response will be cumbersome using only the existing measurements of muscle function. The successful development of these investigative treatments for FSHD is therefore highly dependent on the availability of validated disease and treatment biomarkers to monitor disease progression and response to treatment, respectively. To date, no such validated biomarkers exist. This study is important for four reasons: 1. Clinical testing of FSHD drug candidates requires the availability of clinical biomarkers that (a) change relatively rapidly over time; (b) allow for identification of fast progressors; and (c) correlate with "gold standard", but slowly changing, clinical severity and/or functional scores. This study is a first step in that direction as it seeks to explore if the investigational digital technologies described below are able to generate single or composite variables that (cross-sectionally) distinguish FSHD patients from controls. If identified, such variables will be tested as putative clinical FSHD biomarkers in a follow-up longitudinal study with FSHD patients. 2. Patient testimonies indicate that living with FSHD means living with pain, fatigue, social isolation, and anxiety about the future. This study provides the first-ever opportunity to gather objective, real-world data about the impact of FSHD on daily life. 3. Regulators have already indicated that Real-World Data (RWD) is a top strategic priority for their drug reviews. This study aims to fill this gap by gathering RWD about the physical and social activities of FSHD patients in comparison with controls. This way we aim to find (composite) scores that correlate with selected severity and functional scores and additionally distinguish FSHD patients from controls. 4. This study offers an opportunity to expand the spectrum of diseases in which RWD may be used as (a basis for) clinical outcome measures. A successful outcome of this study may support testing the MORE platform in other muscular dystrophies as well.

Conditions

• Muscular Dystrophy, Facioscapulohumeral

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

CHDR Monitoring Remotely (MORE)

CHDR MORE is a highly customizable platform which allows remote monitoring of patients and trial subjects, data ingestion, and data management. The current infrastructure includes an Android app to unobtrusively collect data from smartphone sensors, and a connection to the Withings Health online platform to collect wearable data. Data is stored on a secure server in a structured data scheme ensuring clear data management processes, forming a prerequisite for comprehensive data analysis. The Android app enables data collection from multiple smartphone sensors (e.g. location data, accelerometer and ambient light) as well as phone usage logs (e.g. app usage, calls and texts).

BEHAVIORAL

Withings Steel HR

The Withings Steel HR is a commercially available smartwatch that combines various sensors to measure activity (steps, sleep, etc.) and heart rate (HR). HR is measured using a PPG (photoplethysmogram, i.e. optically obtained volumetric measurement) based on a commercially available sensor (AS7000) incorporating low-noise and high-sensitivity analogue circuitry. The manufacturer supplies the algorithm for converting the PPG signal into HR values. Data is transferred from the watch to the smartphone using the Withings Health Mate app from where it will be uploaded to the output server.

BEHAVIORAL

Withings Body+ scale

Body composition (weight, BMI and Skeletal Muscle Mass) can be assessed with the Withings Body+ smart scale at home. A smart phone is required to store data and send collected data to the output server. The device does not require charging.

BEHAVIORAL

Withings Blood Pressure Monitor

Blood pressure can be assessed with the automated Withings Blood Pressure Monitor at home. A smart phone is required to store data and send collected data to the output server. The device does not require charging

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Facio Therapeutics

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Centre for Human Drug Research, Netherlands

  lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-04-14

Primary Completion

2019-10-04

Completion

2019-10-04

Countries

• Netherlands

Study Locations