Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, in patients from China mainland, Taiwan, and South Korea with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis: a phase 3 randomized clinical trial.

Background: Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, is approved in the United States, European Union, Japan, South Korea, China, and other countries for treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of deucravacitinib in Asian patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Methods: In the 52-week, blinded, phase 3 POETYK PSO-3 trial (NCT04167462), patients were randomized 1 : 2 to placebo (n = 74) or deucravacitinib 6 mg once daily (n = 146) for 16 weeks followed by deucravacitinib alone.

Pegbelfermin in Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Compensated Cirrhosis (FALCON 2): A Randomized Phase 2b Study.

Background & Aims: Pegbelfermin is a polyethylene glycol-conjugated analog of human fibroblast growth factor 21, a nonmitogenic hormone that regulates energy metabolism. This phase 2b study evaluated 48-week pegbelfermin treatment in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with compensated cirrhosis.

Methods: FALCON 2 (NCT03486912) was a randomized (1:1:1:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Pegbelfermin in Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Stage 3 Fibrosis (FALCON 1): A Randomized Phase 2b Study.

Background & Aims: Pegbelfermin is a polyethlene glycol-conjugated analog of human fibroblast growth factor 21, a nonmitogenic hormone that regulates energy metabolism. This phase 2b study evaluated 48-week pegbelfermin treatment in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and stage 3 (bridging) fibrosis.

Methods: The FALCON 1 study (NCT03486899) was a multicenter, randomized (1:1:1:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Pembrolizumab for previously treated advanced anal squamous cell carcinoma: results from the non-randomised, multicohort, multicentre, phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study.

Background: Outcomes in advanced anal squamous cell carcinoma are poor, with few treatment options and controlled clinical trials. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced anal squamous cell carcinoma (cohort A) from the phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study.

Methods: Eligible patients enrolled in the ongoing non-randomised, multicohort, multicentre, phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study, which was done across 38 centres worldwide, were aged 18 years or older; had histologically or cytologically confirmed advanced or metastatic anal squamous cell carcinoma; had previous failure of or intolerance to standard therapy or no standard therapy options; and had a PD-L1-evaluable tissue sample.

Efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced mesothelioma in the open-label, single-arm, phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has few treatment options. Pembrolizumab showed preliminary clinical benefit in programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive MPM. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with previously treated MPM irrespective of PD-L1 status in the KEYNOTE-158 study.

Efficacy, Safety and Steroid-sparing Effect of Topical Cyclosporine A 0.05% for Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis in Indian Children.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and steroid-sparing effect of topical cyclosporine A (Cs A) 0.05% in patients with moderate to severe steroid dependent vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC).

Methods: A prospective, comparative, placebo controlled study was carried out on 68 VKC patients, with 34 patients treated with topical Cs A 0.

Pembrolizumab in Relapsed or Refractory Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: Patients with relapsed or refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (rrPMBCL) have a poor prognosis, and their treatment represents an urgent and unmet need. Because PMBCL is associated with genetic aberrations at 9p24 and overexpression of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) ligands (PD-L1), it is hypothesized to be susceptible to PD-1 blockade.

Methods: In the phase IB KEYNOTE-013 (ClinicalTrials.

A Phase Ib Dose-Escalation Study of Encorafenib and Cetuximab with or without Alpelisib in Metastatic -Mutant Colorectal Cancer.

Preclinical evidence suggests that concomitant BRAF and EGFR inhibition leads to sustained suppression of MAPK signaling and suppressed tumor growth in colorectal cancer models. Patients with refractory -mutant metastatic CRC (mCRC) were treated with a selective RAF kinase inhibitor (encorafenib) plus a monoclonal antibody targeting EGFR (cetuximab), with ( = 28) or without ( = 26) a PI3Kα inhibitor (alpelisib). The primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or a recommended phase II dose.

A note on posterior predictive checks to assess model fit for incomplete data.

We examine two posterior predictive distribution based approaches to assess model fit for incomplete longitudinal data. The first approach assesses fit based on replicated complete data as advocated in Gelman et al. (2005).

Frontal osteomyelitis presenting as upper eyelid ectropion: A cautionary tale.

Frontal osteomyelitis is a rare clinical entity that can occur as sequelae to frontal sinusitis, head trauma, as a postoperative complication following sinus surgery or due to haematogenous spread. It usually presents with a soft, fluctuant forehead swelling with pain and fever. Cicatricial ectropion is an extremely rare feature of frontal osteomyelitis.

Peripapillary nerve fibre layer thickness and macular thickness in children with anisometropic amblyopia attending a referral centre in Eastern India.

To study the macular thickness and peripapillary nerve fibre layer thickness in children with anisometropic amblyopia, a prospective non-randomised case series study was undertaken among 39 children (25 boys and 14 girls) aged between 5 and 16 years. This study was carried out between January 2010 and April 2011. The peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness and macular layer thickness was measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT), the RNFL thickness and the macular layer thickness of the amblyopic eye was assessed and compared to the normal eye of the same subject.

Bayesian model selection for incomplete data using the posterior predictive distribution.

We explore the use of a posterior predictive loss criterion for model selection for incomplete longitudinal data. We begin by identifying a property that most model selection criteria for incomplete data should consider. We then show that a straightforward extension of the Gelfand and Ghosh (1998, Biometrika, 85, 1-11) criterion to incomplete data has two problems.

Photodynamic therapy for circumscribed choroidal haemangioma: a case report.

Choroidal haemangioma is a benign tumour with visual acuity diminution due to subretinal fluid accumulation. There are many modalities of treatment of this visually disabling syndrome, some of them being argon laser photocoagulation, cryotherapy, external beam irradiation, proton beam radiotherapy, episcleral plaque radiotherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy. Another new modality of treatment with remarkable success rate is photodynamic therapy.

Study of alkaline phosphatase activity and DNA content of pterygium tissue showing its degenerative character.

A prospective, non-randomised, interventional case series study was designed among 127 specimens obtained from 100 consecutive patients presenting with primary pterygium attending the outpatient department of a teaching hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal between September 2009 and August 2010. After harvesting the pterygium it was transported in 10% formol saline for staining, fixing and embedding prior to evaluation of tissue alkaline phosphatase level and estimation of DNA content in nucleus of cells in pterygium tissue. The main outcome was to measure alkaline phosphatase activity and DNA content in pterygium tissue and normal bulbar conjunctiva along with histopathological staining and to see if any correlation exists between alkaline phosphatase activity and DNA content of pterygium tissue in different stages of evolution as suggested by histological staining.

Microparticulated anti-HIV vaginal gel: in vitro-in vivo drug release and vaginal irritation study.

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a Zidovudine (AZT)-loaded microparticulated bioadhesive vaginal gel (MBVG) in order to obtain a controlled releasing, safe gel delivery system. AZT microparticles (ZMPs) were evaluated for encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, surface morphology and in vitro drug release profiles and drug release mechanism and optimized. The optimized ZMPs were then encompassed in bioadhesive gel using different bioadhesive polymers and evaluated for the drug encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, in vitro and in vivo drug release profiles, drug release mechanism and vaginal irritancy study.