JEWJITSU PEPTIDES News Roundup: Imaging, a Relaxin Agonist, and a Traditional Formula: Three Recent Primary Reports

REVEAL (JAMA) evaluated 124I-evuzamitide PET/CT as a noninvasive diagnostic for suspected cardiac amyloidosis in a prospective, multicenter, single‑group study. Investigators enrolled 195 adults presenting for diagnostic evaluation and included 170 in the analysis. Scans were obtained 3–5 hours after administration of 1 mCi 124I-evuzamitide with oral potassium iodide given for three days beginning before injection. Three cardiac PET/CT reviewers read images blinded to clinical data; three amyloidosis experts independently adjudicated diagnosis blinded to imaging. The abstract reports high sensitivity (94%) and specificity (86%) with corresponding predictive values and describes an acceptable safety profile. The report frames 124I-evuzamitide PET/CT as a diagnostic test to evaluate patients with suspected cardiac amyloidosis and cites ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT06788535.

LUMINARA (Circulation) tested AZD5462, an oral relaxin family peptide receptor 1 agonist, in a multicenter, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled, dose‑ranging design. Adults with chronic heart failure were randomized into two cohorts by ejection fraction (≤35% and 41–55%) and received once‑daily AZD5462 at 20, 80, or 360 mg or placebo. Primary endpoints were end‑systolic volume index in cohort A and systemic vascular resistance index in cohort B after 24 weeks. The trial randomized 235 participants in cohort A and 140 in cohort B across multiple sites. AZD5462 was well tolerated versus placebo. In cohort A the 20 mg group showed a placebo‑adjusted change in end‑systolic volume index of −5.4 mL/m2 (P = 0.054); in cohort B all dose groups produced significant placebo‑adjusted reductions in systemic vascular resistance index. The authors conclude that AZD5462 had encouraging hemodynamic effects and that larger, longer trials are needed to assess clinical outcomes.

YA3D3 (Acta Academiae Medicinae Sinicae) reports preclinical mechanistic and behavioral data for a traditional Chinese herbal formula in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. The study used network pharmacology to predict targets and compared water extract (YA3D3‑HF) and fermented preparation (YA3D3‑MHF) in vitro and in vivo. YA3D3‑MHF showed stronger antioxidant activity in vitro; in BV2 cells both preparations reversed ATG14 knock‑down effects and up‑regulated ATG14 and ATG16L1 expression, with MHF more potent. In mice, multiple dose groups given drug in drinking water for 90 days showed improved performance in the Morris water maze and reduced Aβ fluorescence versus the APP/PS1 model; high‑dose YA3D3‑MHF had effects similar to donepezil in this report. qPCR indicated up‑regulation of ATG14 and modulation of downstream autophagy‑related genes. The authors note limitations: they did not directly verify the necessity of ATG14 in vivo, causal links between ATG14 up‑regulation and efficacy remain to be confirmed, and autophagy flux was not demonstrated.