About the Authors

Cheuk-Chun Szeto

ccszeto@cuhk.edu.hk

Affiliation Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

Bonnie Ching-Ha Kwan

Affiliation Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

Kai-Ming Chow

Affiliation Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

Chi-Bon Leung

Affiliation Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

Philip Kam-Tao Li

Affiliation Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

Competing Interests

The study was supported in part by Novartis Pharmaceuticals (Hong Kong) Limited, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong research accounts 6901031. The study medications, including placebo, were prepared and packed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. All authors declare no other conflict of interest. The funding sources do not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: CCS PKTL. Performed the experiments: CCS BCHK KMC CBL. Analyzed the data: CCS PKTL. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CCS PKTL. Wrote the paper: CCS PKTL.