Shaping Treatment Expectation to Optimize Efficacy of Interleukin 17A Antagonist Secukinumab in Psoriasis Patients.

Purpose: Patients' treatment expectations significantly influence the effectiveness of medical and pharmacological treatments. This clinical proof-of-concept study aimed to enhance treatment outcomes by targeting positive treatment expectations of psoriasis patients beginning systemic anti-psoriatic therapy with secukinumab, an interleukin (IL)-17A antagonist.

Patients And Methods: We randomly assigned patients to three groups: a treatment as usual (TAU) group receiving the standard 300mg dose of secukinumab, a dose-control (DC) group with 75% dose reduction and an experimental (EXP) group receiving the same reduced dose along with a "cover story" designed to positively influence treatment expectations.

Sick and detached: Does experimental inflammation impact on movement synchrony in humans?

Interpersonal connectedness is a central feature of human interaction that can be compromised during illness. Nonverbal signals play a crucial role in this context, and humans, like other animals, have evolved a behavioral immune system that enables individuals to detect subtle cues of sickness in others. Conversely, sick individuals often tend to avoid social interaction, a key component of sickness behavior.

Behavioral Analyses in Dark Agouti Rats Following Repeated Systemic Treatment With Fingolimod (FTY720).

Background: Studies in experimental animals revealed that acute and chronic treatment with small-molecule immunosuppressive drugs lead to neurobehavioral alterations in rodents.

Methods: Against this background, this study investigated behavioral alterations in rats after repeated administration of FTY720, an immunosuppressive drug used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, employing the open field, elevated plus maze, and dark/light tests.

Results: Compared to controls, repeated FTY720 treatment affected behavior in rats, reflected by a reduction in distance traveled as well as increased time engaged in freezing in the open field and elevated plus maze.

The effect of live-performed music therapy with physical contact in preterm infants on parental perceived stress and salivary cortisol levels.

Introduction: Parents of preterm infants face a stressful life event which might have long term impact on the parent-child relation as well as on the infant's cognitive and socio-emotional development. Both music therapy (MT) and physical contact (PC) are stress-reducing interventions for parents and preterm infants on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Meanwhile, especially close PC is considered as standard care (SC) in most NICUs.

Acute hypoxic conditions preceding endotoxin administration result in an increased proinflammatory cytokine response in healthy men.

Tissues often experience hypoxia at sites of inflammation due to malperfusion, massive immune cell recruitment, and increased oxygen consumption. Organisms adapt to these hypoxic conditions through the transcriptional activation of various genes. In fact, there is significant crosstalk between the transcriptional responses to hypoxia and inflammatory processes.