Publications by authors named "Haruka Taira"
Article Synopsis
- Biologics have improved outcomes for psoriasis patients, but some end up needing to switch therapies for various reasons.
- This study analyzed 13 years of data to identify factors that lead to patients switching biologics, focusing on clinical characteristics and lab results.
- Key findings showed that higher disease severity and the presence of arthritis increased the likelihood of switching, with systemic inflammation (measured by neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio) playing a significant role in treatment adherence.
Article Synopsis
- - Psoriasis patients often need biologic treatments, particularly tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, which can lead to the production of autoantibodies, but the link with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) hasn't been thoroughly studied.
- - This study examined psoriasis patients on different biologics (TNF, IL-17, IL-23) to see how often they produced APS-related autoantibodies and how these correlated with their clinical condition and severity of the disease.
- - Results showed that TNF inhibitors were linked to higher rates of APS autoantibodies, especially in patients with more severe disease and arthritis, although no actual APS symptoms were reported, highlighting a complex relationship between autoimmunity
Article Synopsis
- Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a skin condition associated with chronic changes influenced by inflammation and blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), but the role of factors that inhibit angiogenesis is not well understood.
- A study focused on vasohibin-1 (VASH1), an angiogenesis inhibitory factor, found higher levels of VASH1 in the serum and skin of AD patients compared to healthy individuals.
- The research indicated a correlation between increased serum VASH1 and the duration of the disease, as well as a relationship between VASH1 and another factor related to blood vessel growth, suggesting that these processes may contribute to the worsening inflammation seen in chronic AD.
Article Synopsis
- A CT scan of the patient's neck was performed after a cricothyroidotomy due to an airway blockage.
- The scan showed that the tracheostomy tube was incorrectly placed into the thyrohyoid membrane instead of the intended cricothyroid ligament.
- This misplacement could lead to complications in airway management.
A 64-year-old woman presented with a fist-sized, severely painful lesion with scales, crusts, pustules, erythema with subcutaneous abscess, and hair loss on the left temporal region. Direct microscopic examination revealed a large number of spores around the hair, which indicated ectothrix hair invasion, and some hyphae were also found. Histopathological examination showed significant inflammatory cell infiltration from the dermis to the subcutaneous tissues and into the hair follicles, destruction of the hair follicles with granulomatous reactions, and fungal masses along the hair within the hair follicles.
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- Systemic inflammation is key to understanding psoriasis and was evaluated through various inflammatory markers in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis.
- The study found that certain markers, like neutrophil and CRP levels, were linked to the severity of psoriasis and the likelihood of developing psoriatic arthritis.
- Higher levels of inflammatory markers before treatment were associated with lower rates of continuing conventional therapies but did not impact retention rates for biologic treatments.
Article Synopsis
- Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune disease that causes blister formation due to immune cell activation and autoantibodies, with a notable increase in extracellular DNA levels.
- The study identifies interleukin (IL)-26 as a key factor that binds to extracellular DNA from immune cells, which leads to the formation of IL-26DNA complexes in patients with BP.
- These complexes not only boost inflammatory cytokine production but also enhance protease activity, contributing to the damage of the dermal-epidermal junction, thus promoting blister formation in BP.
Article Synopsis
- Recent studies highlight circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a promising biomarker for various cancers, showing elevated levels in patients that correlate with prognosis and disease activity.
- This research specifically focused on patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), finding significantly higher serum cfDNA levels compared to healthy individuals, which increased with the progression of the disease.
- The study suggests that cfDNA levels correlate with several clinical markers and indicate a worse prognosis, proposing it as a useful indicator for treatment decisions in CTCL.
(A) Computed tomography of the brain showing no abnormal finding. (B) Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showing a T1-weighted area of hyperintensity in the left putamen, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidum with sparing of the internal capsule (arrow). (C) T2*-weighted image showing hypointensity in the left putamen, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidum (arrowhead).
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