Improving Reliability of Immunological Assays by Defining Minimal Criteria for Cell Fitness.

Human PBMC-based assays are often used as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of disease, as well as for the prediction and tracking of response to biological therapeutics. However, the development and use of PBMC-based biomarker assays is often limited by poor reproducibility. Complex immunological assays can be further complicated by variation in cell handling before analysis, especially when using cryopreserved cells.

Epidemiologic Associations Between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Hodgkin Lymphoma or Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Aims: Epidemiologic evidence suggests that Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and multiple sclerosis (MS) share a common set of risk factors with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). It was hypothesized that such shared risk factors would lead to similar geographic distributions of these 4 diagnoses and their concurrence in identical patients.

Methods: All subjects with HL, MS, CD, or UC were identified in the complete Inpatient Standard Analytic File of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2018.

Sarm1 is not necessary for activation of neuron-intrinsic growth programs yet required for the Schwann cell repair response and peripheral nerve regeneration.

Upon peripheral nervous system (PNS) injury, severed axons undergo rapid SARM1-dependent Wallerian degeneration (WD). In mammals, the role of SARM1 in PNS regeneration, however, is unknown. Here we demonstrate that is not required for axotomy induced activation of neuron-intrinsic growth programs and axonal growth into a nerve crush site.

Advancements in non-invasive skin sampling: Clinical conditions characterization via the assessment of skin surface cytokine biomarkers.

The skin is increasingly recognized as a biological active organ interacting with the immune system. Given that the epidermal skin layer actively releases various cytokines, non-invasive skin sampling methods could detect these cytokines, offering insights into clinical conditions. This study aims non-invasively measuring cytokine levels directly from the skin surface to characterize different inflammatory chronic disorders in the adult and elderly population: psoriasis, diabetes type 2, rosacea, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and aging.

Clinical Predictors of Early and Late Endoscopic Recurrence Following Ileocolonic Resection in Crohn's Disease.

Background And Aims: Multiple factors are suggested to place Crohn's disease patients at risk of recurrence after ileocolic resection with conflicting associations. We aimed to identify clinical predictors of recurrence at first [early] and further [late] postoperative colonoscopy.

Methods: Crohn's disease patients undergoing ileocolic resection were prospectively recruited at six North American centres.

Cutaneous Nrf2-Keap1 pathway modulation by environmental factors: The Dead Sea area as a test case.

The skin is constantly exposed to exogenous environmental stressors and has to cope with excessive oxidative stress and tissue damage. However, exposure to moderate environmental stressors may be beneficial for the cutaneous tissue and assist in protecting against oxidative damage via the enhanced activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Nrf2-Keap1) pathway. Such moderate stressors can be found in various locations around the globe.

The injured sciatic nerve atlas (iSNAT), insights into the cellular and molecular basis of neural tissue degeneration and regeneration.

Upon trauma, the adult murine peripheral nervous system (PNS) displays a remarkable degree of spontaneous anatomical and functional regeneration. To explore extrinsic mechanisms of neural repair, we carried out single-cell analysis of naïve mouse sciatic nerve, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and crushed sciatic nerves at 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days following injury. During the first week, monocytes and macrophages (Mo/Mac) rapidly accumulate in the injured nerve and undergo extensive metabolic reprogramming.

Do low molecular weight antioxidants contribute to the Protection against oxidative damage? The interrelation between oxidative stress and low molecular weight antioxidants based on data from the MARK-AGE study.

A redox steady state is important in maintaining vital cellular functions and is therefore homeostatically controlled by a number of antioxidative agents, the most important of which are enzymes. Oxidative Stress (OS) is associated with (or/and caused by) excessive production of damaging reactive oxygen and/or nitrogen species (ROS, RNS), which play a role in many pathologies. Because OS is a risk factor for many diseases, much effort (and money) is devoted to early diagnosis and treatment of OS.

eDNA-Mediated Cutaneous Protection Against UVB Damage Conferred by Staphylococcal Epidermal Colonization.

The human skin is a lush microbial habitat which is occupied by a wide array of microorganisms. Among the most common inhabitants are spp., namely and, in ≈20% of healthy individuals, .

Brief Psychosocial Intervention to Address Poststroke Depression May Also Benefit Fatigue and Sleep-Wake Disturbance.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if brief psychosocial/behavioral therapy directed to reduce poststroke depression would decrease fatigue and improve sleep-wake disturbance.

Design: A preplanned secondary data analysis from a completed clinical trial was conducted.

Methods: One hundred participants received usual care, in-person intervention, or telephone intervention.

The Burden of Anemia Remains Significant over Time in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at a Tertiary Referral Center.

Background And Aims: Anemia is a common complication of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), as well as a predictor of poor outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia over time and the management of moderate to severe anemia at a tertiary referral IBD center.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the occurrence of anemia at the time of referral or diagnosis and during follow-up at the McGill University Health Centre IBD center.

Serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms and depressive symptoms in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

: We examined the relationship between polymorphisms in the promoter region of the serotonin transport (SERT) gene (5-HTTLPR, short 'S' and long 'L' alleles) and in intron 2 variable number tandem repeat (STin2VNTR, 9, 10, or 12-repeat alleles) with depression or anxiety in patients with COPD.: 302 patients with moderate to severe COPD participated in SERT study. History and number of prior depressive episodes were measured using the Structured Clinical Interview for Depression; Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HAD) depression ≥8 or a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) >,10.

The Cutaneous Physiological Redox: Essential to Maintain but Difficult to Define.

Skin is a unique tissue, possessing extremely efficient protective and regulative mechanisms, similar only to the gut and lungs. These tissues serve as an interface with the environment and are exposed to stressors from both endogenous and exogenous sources. Interestingly, all these stressors lead downstream to a cellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other electrophiles, which, in turn could have deleterious outcomes for the living organism.

RAI1 Regulates Activity-Dependent Nascent Transcription and Synaptic Scaling.

Long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity such as synaptic scaling are critically dependent on transcription. Activity-dependent transcriptional dynamics in neurons, however, remain incompletely characterized because most previous efforts relied on measurement of steady-state mRNAs. Here, we use nascent RNA sequencing to profile transcriptional dynamics of primary neuron cultures undergoing network activity shifts.

Saturated and aromatic aldehydes originating from skin and cutaneous bacteria activate the Nrf2-keap1 pathway in human keratinocytes.

Skin homeostasis is constantly challenged by environmental factors, affecting its delicate redox balance. The skin is also home to a wide variety of bacterial species, including Staphylococci. The cutaneous redox state is governed by the Nrf2-keap1 pathway, which is responsible for the induction of phase II cytoprotective enzymes, thus sustaining a healthy oxidative state.

Benefits of implementing a rapid access clinic in a high-volume inflammatory bowel disease center: Access, resource utilization and outcomes.

Background: Emergency situations in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) put significant burden on both the patient and the healthcare system.

Aim: To prospectively measure Quality-of-Care indicators and resource utilization after the implementation of the new rapid access clinic service (RAC) at a tertiary IBD center.

Methods: Patient access, resource utilization and outcome parameters were collected from consecutive patients contacting the RAC between July 2017 and March 2019 in this observational study.

Greasing the Wheels of Regeneration.

In this issue of Neuron, Yang et al. (2020) identify glycerolipid metabolism as a neuron-intrinsic mechanism that regulates axonal growth and regeneration. Shifting glycerolipid metabolism toward increased triglyceride synthesis blocks PNS neuron regeneration, whereas shifting it toward membrane phospholipid synthesis overcomes regeneration failure in CNS neurons.

Stroke impact symptoms are associated with sleep-related impairment.

Background: Sleep-related impairment is a common but under-appreciated complication after stroke and may impede stroke recovery. Yet little is known about factors associated with sleep-related impairment after stroke.

Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to examine the relationship between stroke impact symptoms and sleep-related impairment among stroke survivors.

Giardia lamblia miRNAs as a new diagnostic tool for human giardiasis.

Background: Giardia lamblia is a very common cause of gastrointestinal symptoms worldwide. There are several methods for the diagnosis of Giardia infection, however none are ideal. We aim to find a new, microRNA-based method that will improve the currently available diagnostic methods for giardiasis.

High Adherence to Surveillance Guidelines in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Results in Low Colorectal Cancer and Dysplasia Rates, While Rates of Dysplasia are Low Before the Suggested Onset of Surveillance.

Background: Patients with Crohn's disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC] are at increased risk for colorectal dysplasia [CRD] and colorectal cancer [CRC]. Adherence to CRC surveillance guidelines is reportedly low internationally.

Aim: To evaluate surveillance practices at the tertiary IBD Center of the McGill University Health Center [MUHC] and to determine CRD/CRC incidence.

UTAP: User-friendly Transcriptome Analysis Pipeline.

Background: RNA-Seq technology is routinely used to characterize the transcriptome, and to detect gene expression differences among cell types, genotypes and conditions. Advances in short-read sequencing instruments such as Illumina Next-Seq have yielded easy-to-operate machines, with high throughput, at a lower price per base. However, processing this data requires bioinformatics expertise to tailor and execute specific solutions for each type of library preparation.

Perceived Quality of Care is Associated with Disease Activity, Quality of Life, Work Productivity, and Gender, but not Disease Phenotype: A Prospective Study in a High-volume IBD Centre.

Background And Aims: Measuring quality of care [QoC] in inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] has become increasingly important, yet complex assessment of QoC from the patients' perspective is rare. We evaluated perceived QoC using the Quality of Care Through the Patient's Eyes-IBD [QUOTE-IBD] questionnaire, and investigated associations between QoC, disease phenotype, work productivity, and health-related quality of life [HRQoL] in a high-volume IBD centre.

Methods: Consecutive patients attending McGill University Health Centre [MUHC]-IBD Centre completed the QUOTE-IBD, Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire [SIBDQ], IBD-Control, and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment [WPAI] questionnaires.