Using Self-Reported Patient Experiences to Understand Patient Burden: Learnings from Digital Patient Communities in Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Introduction: Online communities contain a wealth of information containing unsolicited patient experiences that may go beyond what is captured by guided surveys or patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments used in clinical settings. This study described patient experiences reported online to better understand the day-to-day disease burden of ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: Unguided, English-language patient narratives reported between January 2010 and May 2016 were collected from 52 online sources (e.

Evaluation of Self-reported Patient Experiences: Insights from Digital Patient Communities in Psoriatic Arthritis.

Objective: To evaluate the types of experiences and treatment access challenges of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using self-reported online narratives.

Methods: English-language patient narratives reported between January 2010 and May 2016 were collected from 31 online sources (general health social networking sites, disease-focused patient forums, treatment reviews, general health forums, mainstream social media sites) for analysis of functional impairment and 40 online sources for assessment of barriers to treatment. Using natural language processing and manual curation, patient-reported experiences were categorized into 6 high-level concepts of functional impairment [social, physical, emotional, cognitive, role activity (SPEC-R), and general] and 6 categories to determine barriers to treatment access (coverage ineligibility, out-of-pocket cost, issues with assistance programs, clinical ineligibility, formulary placement/sequence, doctor guidance).

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Pelvic MRI as alternative to pelvic ultrasound for the diagnosis in overweight and obese adolescent girls.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrinopathy in women of childbearing age, affecting 5-15% women in this age group. Suggestive cardinal features comprise hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and/or polycystic ovary appearance. The gold standard radiological tool is the pelvic ultrasound (PUS) whose yield may be limited in overweight and obese adolescent girls.

Transcriptional activator TAp63 is upregulated in muscular atrophy during ALS and induces the pro-atrophic ubiquitin ligase Trim63.

Mechanisms of muscle atrophy are complex and their understanding might help finding therapeutic solutions for pathologies such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We meta-analyzed transcriptomic experiments of muscles of ALS patients and mouse models, uncovering a p53 deregulation as common denominator. We then characterized the induction of several p53 family members (p53, p63, p73) and a correlation between the levels of p53 family target genes and the severity of muscle atrophy in ALS patients and mice.

Atypical manifestation of cat-scratch disease: isolated epigastric pain in an immunocompetent, 12-year-old child.

We present a 12-year-old immunocompetent girl with hepato splenic cat-scratch disease (CSD). Her sole inaugural complaint was isolated epigastric pain. She fully recovered, with normalized abdominal CT scan following 2 weeks course of Azythromycin®.

Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-2 (IRAK2) is a critical mediator of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress occurs when unfolded proteins accumulate in the lumen of the organelle, triggering signal transduction events that contribute either to cellular adaptation and recovery or alternatively to cellular dysfunction and death. ER stress has been implicated in numerous diseases. To identify novel modulators of ER stress, we undertook a siRNA library screen of the kinome, revealing Interleukin-1 Receptor-Associated Kinase-2 (IRAK2) as a contributor to unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling and ER stress-induced cell death.

Complex regulation of p73 isoforms after alteration of amyloid precursor polypeptide (APP) function and DNA damage in neurons.

Genetic ablations of p73 have shown its implication in the development of the nervous system. However, the relative contribution of ΔNp73 and TAp73 isoforms in neuronal functions is still unclear. In this study, we have analyzed the expression of these isoforms during neuronal death induced by alteration of the amyloid-β precursor protein function or cisplatin.

A ruthenium-containing organometallic compound reduces tumor growth through induction of the endoplasmic reticulum stress gene CHOP.

Cisplatin-derived anticancer therapy has been used for three decades despite its side effects. Other types of organometallic complexes, namely, some ruthenium-derived compounds (RDC), which would display cytotoxicity through different modes of action, might represent alternative therapeutic agents. We have studied both in vitro and in vivo the biological properties of RDC11, one of the most active compounds of a new class of RDCs that contain a covalent bond between the ruthenium atom and a carbon.

Multiple neurotoxic stresses converge on MDMX proteolysis to cause neuronal apoptosis.

MDMX has been shown to modulate p53 in dividing cells after DNA damage. In this study, we investigated the role of MDMX in primary cultures of neurons undergoing cell death. We found that DNA damage, but also membrane-initiated apoptotic stresses (glutamate receptor; Amyloid beta precursor) or survival factor deprivation downregulated MDMX protein levels.

Sprouty2 inhibits BDNF-induced signaling and modulates neuronal differentiation and survival.

Sprouty (Spry) proteins are ligand-inducible inhibitors of receptor tyrosine kinases-dependent signaling pathways, which control various biological processes, including proliferation, differentiation and survival. Here, we investigated the regulation and the role of Spry2 in cells of the central nervous system (CNS). In primary cultures of immature neurons, the neurotrophic factor BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) regulates spry2 expression.