Publications by authors named "Ferrada M"

Article Synopsis
  • VEXAS syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes bone marrow failure and systemic inflammation, which can lead to a higher risk of infections for affected patients.
  • In a study of 94 patients with VEXAS, 6% developed pneumonia (PJP), 15% experienced reactivation of the alphaherpesvirus, and 10% had non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections.
  • The research found that developing PJP or NTM significantly increases the risk of death, while prophylactic treatments for these infections were shown to be highly effective in reducing infection rates.
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Article Synopsis
  • VEXAS syndrome is a genetic disease primarily affecting older men, characterized by systemic inflammation, bone marrow failure, and skin issues, with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 4269 men over 50.
  • A study of 112 patients revealed that 83% experienced skin involvement, making it a common symptom, with various histopathologic findings indicating conditions like leukocytoclastic vasculitis and neutrophilic dermatosis.
  • Specific genetic variants were linked to different skin manifestations; treatment with oral prednisone was effective in improving skin symptoms for a majority of patients.
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Relapsing polychondritis is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent inflammation of cartilaginous structures, mainly of the ears, nose and respiratory tract, with a broad spectrum of accompanying systemic features. Despite its rarity, prompt recognition and accurate diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis is crucial for appropriate management and optimal outcomes. Our understanding of relapsing polychondritis has changed markedly in the past couple of years with the identification of three distinct patient clusters that have different clinical manifestations and prognostic outcomes.

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A consistent association has been observed between internet addiction and symptoms of social anxiety. However, there is a lack of empirical research that delves into potential explanations for this relationship and its directionality, making it difficult to translate findings into development of interventions for social anxiety that account for technology-related behaviors. The present study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal dynamics between internet addiction, symptoms of social anxiety, avoidance of social interactions, and using the internet to cope with loneliness.

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Article Synopsis
  • VEXAS syndrome is an autoinflammatory disorder linked to mutations in the UBA1 gene, with thrombosis being a significant clinical feature affecting 49% of patients.
  • The majority of thrombosis cases were venous thromboembolism (VTE), often occurring unprovoked, recurrent, and sometimes even in patients on anticoagulants.
  • Despite the high incidence of VTE, overall patient survival was good, with an 88% survival rate over nearly 5 years, indicating that thrombosis does not significantly impact long-term survival in these patients.
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VEXAS (Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic) syndrome is an adult-onset autoinflammatory syndrome characterized by somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene and is considered the prototype of hematoinflammatory diseases. Patients with VEXAS syndrome exhibit inflammatory and hematological manifestations that can lead to clinical diagnoses such as relapsing polychondritis, polyarteritis nodosa, Sweet syndrome, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Diagnosis requires bone marrow evaluation to identify cytoplasmic vacuoles in myeloid and erythroid precursors.

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Article Synopsis
  • Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic syndrome is a recently identified acquired disorder that causes widespread systemic issues and has a generally poor prognosis.* -
  • Dermatologists are crucial in identifying this condition due to the prevalence of skin lesions in affected individuals, which can aid in better disease management and treatment strategies.* -
  • As more is learned about the disorder, it's important for dermatologists to help fill the existing knowledge gaps to improve overall care for patients.*
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Objective: Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a systemic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. The objective of this study was to examine the contribution of rare genetic variations to RP.

Methods: We performed a case-control exome-wide rare variant association analysis that included 66 unrelated European American cases with RP and 2923 healthy controls (HC).

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Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is an uncommon inflammatory disorder that predominantly targets cartilaginous structures. The disease frequently affects the nose, ears, airways, and joints, but it can also impact organs that aren't primarily cartilage-based, such as blood vessels, skin, inner ear, and eyes. Given its infrequent occurrence and recurrent symptoms, patients often experience delays in proper diagnosis.

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VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is a pleiotropic, severe autoinflammatory disease caused by somatic mutations in the ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme 1 (UBA1) gene. To elucidate VEXAS pathophysiology, we performed transcriptome sequencing of single bone marrow mononuclear cells and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from VEXAS patients. HSPCs are biased toward myeloid (granulocytic) differentiation, and against lymphoid differentiation in VEXAS.

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Objective: Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a systemic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. The study objective was to examine the contribution of rare genetic variations in RP.

Methods: We performed a case-control exome-wide rare variant association analysis including 66 unrelated European American RP cases and 2923 healthy controls.

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Article Synopsis
  • VEXAS syndrome is a health condition caused by changes in a gene called UBA1, leading to serious inflammation and issues with blood cells.
  • Researchers studied 80 patients to understand how other gene mutations relate to VEXAS, finding that many had additional mutations but these didn’t seem to cause inflammation.
  • The study showed that the type of mutations these patients have can affect their health outcomes, with some patterns linked to better or worse survival rates over 10 years.
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  • VEXAS syndrome is a disease linked to variants in the UBA1 gene, leading to a variety of clinical symptoms that have been under-studied due to biases in patient selection.
  • A study involving 163,096 participants aimed to identify the prevalence of UBA1 variants and associated clinical features, utilizing data from the Geisinger MyCode Community Health Initiative.
  • Out of the participants, 11 individuals with pathogenic UBA1 variants were identified, all displaying symptoms of VEXAS syndrome, while 45% did not meet common diagnostic criteria but all exhibited anemia and related blood issues.
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Somatic mutations in UBA1 cause vacuoles, E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory somatic (VEXAS) syndrome, an adult-onset inflammatory disease with an overlap of hematologic manifestations. VEXAS syndrome is characterized by a high mortality rate and significant clinical heterogeneity. We sought to determine independent predictors of survival in VEXAS and to understand the mechanistic basis for these factors.

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Article Synopsis
  • VEXAS syndrome is an autoinflammatory condition linked to mutations, characterized by vacuoles in myeloid progenitors and somatic changes.
  • A study by Heiblig et al analyzed 30 patients with VEXAS syndrome who were treated with various Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors.
  • The findings showed positive results for the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib, leading to clinical remissions and less reliance on steroids for most patients.
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Objective: Mouth and genital ulcers with inflamed cartilage (MAGIC) syndrome is characterized by overlapping features of relapsing polychondritis (RP) and Behcet's disease (BD). To date, no studies have defined the clinical spectrum of disease in a cohort of patients with MAGIC syndrome.

Methods: Adult patients within an ongoing prospective, observational cohort study in RP were clinically assessed for MAGIC syndrome.

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Objectives: Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare, heterogeneous, systemic inflammatory disease that targets cartilage. Patient-reported outcome measures may differ from physician assessment. This study compared patient global assessment (PtGA) and physician global assessment (PhGA) scores in a prospective cohort of patients with RP.

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Somatic mutations in UBA1 involving hematopoietic stem and myeloid cells have been reported in patients with the newly defined VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome. Here, we report clinical hematologic manifestations and unique bone marrow (BM) features in 16 patients with VEXAS. All patients were male and had a history of severe autoinflammatory and rheumatologic manifestations and a somatic UBA1 mutation (p.

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Objective: Analyze the incorporation of climate change and environmental health courses in the curriculum grids of Medicine, Nursing, Nutrition and Clinical Psychology undergraduate courses in Latin American universities.

Methods: Descriptive and cross-sectional document review. Curriculum grids of the top ten Latin American universities were analyzed according to the rankings of QS Latin American University 2020, Times Higher Education World University 2020 and Academic Ranking of World Universities 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Findings revealed that a significant number of patients (83%) had moderate to high concerns about COVID-19, with older age, female sex, and immunosuppression linked to greater anxiety; many patients avoided medical visits and tests.
  • * The results indicate that patients’ healthcare engagement varied based on demographics and geography, highlighting the need for strategies to support these patients during the pandemic.
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Article Synopsis
  • A study identified somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene as the cause of a newly recognized syndrome called VEXAS, which affects a significant portion of patients diagnosed with relapsing polychondritis (RP).
  • Of the 92 RP patients tested, 7.6% had UBA1 mutations, with notable differences in clinical features, mortality rates, and accompanying health issues compared to those with typical RP.
  • A clinical algorithm was developed to help identify patients with VEXAS among those diagnosed with RP, showing high sensitivity and specificity based on factors like male sex and specific blood test results.
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