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Improving our understanding of the effects of satellite tags on large whales is a critical step in ongoing tag development to minimise potential health effects whilst addressing important research questions that enhance conservation management policy. In 2014, satellite tags were deployed on 9 female southern right whales Eubalaena australis accompanied by a calf off Australia. Photo-identification resights (n = 48) of 4 photo-identified individuals were recorded 1 to 2894 d (1-8 yr) post-tagging. Short-term (<22 d) effects observed included localised and regional swelling, depression at the tag site, blubber extrusion, skin loss and pigmentation colour change. Broad swelling observable from lateral but not aerial imagery (~1.2 m diameter or ~9% of body length) and depression at the tag site persisted up to 1446 d post-tagging for 1 individual, indicating a persistent foreign-body response or infection. Two tagged individuals returned 4 yr post-tagging in 2018 with a calf, and the medium-term effects were evaluated by comparing body condition of tagged whales with non-tagged whales. These females calved in a typical 4 yr interval, suggesting no apparent immediate impact of tagging on reproduction for these individuals, but longer-term monitoring is needed. There was no observable difference in the body condition between the 2 tagged and non-tagged females. Ongoing monitoring post-tagging is required to build on the sample size and statistical power. We demonstrate the value of long-term monitoring programmes and a collaborative approach for evaluating effects from satellite-tagging cetaceans to support species management.

We performed high-resolution (4-digit) HLA-DRB1 genotyping in an Australian cohort of 105s-IBM patients and 189 controls. Our findings showed that whilst the strongest association was with the HLA-DRB1*03:01 allele and the HLA-DRB1*03:01/*01:01 diplotype, HLA-DRB1*01:01 and HLA-DRB1*13:01 are also risk alleles. A number of other alleles, HLA-DRB1*04:01, *04:04, *07:01, *09:01, *11:01 and *15:01, as well as the HLA-DRB1*03:01/*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*03:01/*07:01 diplotypes were reduced in s-IBM cases and may be protective. The HLA-DRB1*03:01 and HLA-DRB1*13:01 alleles also appear to have an influence on the age at onset of the disease and severity of muscle weakness. Our findings indicate that the influence of HLA-DRB1 in s-IBM is complex and that epistatic interactions at the HLA-DRB1 locus contribute both to disease susceptibility and to the clinical phenotype., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The prevalence of sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is variable in different populations and ethnic groups. A previous survey in Western Australia in 2000 found a prevalence of 9.3 per million population. We have now performed a follow-up survey to determine whether there has since been any change in prevalence. The current prevalence was found to be 14.9 per million population, with a prevalence of 51.3 per million population in people over 50 years of age. This is the highest reported prevalence of sIBM and correlates with a high frequency of HLA-DR3 and the 8.1 major histocompatibility complex ancestral haplotype in this population. Review of a combined cohort of 57 sIBM cases from three Australian centres revealed a high rate of initial misdiagnosis and a mean time to diagnosis of 5.2 years, which suggests that even the latest prevalence figure may be an underestimate, and emphasising the need to increase the level of awareness of the condition among the medical community.

Background and Aims: There have been few studies of the variability in the clinical phenotype in sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) and it is not known whether the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype influences the phenotype and course of the disease. We studied a large cohort of patients with sIBM in order to determine the degree of phenotypic variability and different modes of presentation, as well as the influence of HLA haplotypes., Method: A cross-sectional study of 57 biopsy-proven sIBM cases from three Australian centres was performed. Patients were interviewed and examined by a single investigator, and had HLA typing and autoantibody studies., Results: Although the initial symptoms in the majority of cases were attributable to quadriceps weakness (79%), a proportion of patients presented due to finger weakness (12%), foot drop (7%) or dysphagia (1.8%). Although the majority had the classic combination of quadriceps and forearm muscle involvement, some patients had predominantly forearm weakness with sparing of the quadriceps, or severe involvement of the anterior tibial muscles. Asymmetrical involvement was common (82%), particularly of the forearm muscles, with the non-dominant side being more severely affected in most cases. Carriage of the HLA-DRB1*0301 (DR3) allele was associated with lower quadriceps muscle strength and a more rapid decline in strength., Conclusions: The findings emphasise the variability in the mode of presentation, patterns of muscle involvement and clinical course of sIBM in this population, and indicate that the HLA-DRB1*0301 (DR3) allele may influence the rate of progression as well as susceptibility to the disease.