Eco-epidemiological analysis of Rickettsia parkeri in domestic dogs and Amblyomma ovale ticks in the Atlantic rainforest of Northeast Brazil.

In Brazil, spotted fever (SF) is caused by two species of Rickettsia, both of which are transmitted by Amblyomma ticks: Rickettsia rickettsii, which results in severe and often fatal cases, and Rickettsia parkeri, which causes a mild illness. This study focused on R. parkeri in Amblyomma ovale ticks from the Maciço de Baturité region, Ceará, Northeast Brazil, an area endemic for SF with mild symptoms.

Bimekizumab Efficacy in High-Impact Areas: Pooled 2-Year Analysis in Scalp, Nail, and Palmoplantar Psoriasis from Phase 3/3b Randomized Controlled Trials.

Introduction: Psoriasis in high-impact areas, including the scalp, nails, palms, and soles, can disproportionately impair patient quality of life. Here, we evaluate the 2-year efficacy of bimekizumab treatment in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in post hoc analyses of five phase 3/3b trials.

Methods: High-impact area efficacy data were pooled through 2 years across five phase 3/3b trials: BE VIVID, BE READY, BE SURE, their ongoing open-label extension (OLE) BE BRIGHT, and BE RADIANT (including its double-blinded treatment period and the first year of its OLE).

Efficacy and Safety of Risankizumab in Patients with Psoriasis Showing Suboptimal Response to Secukinumab or Ixekizumab: Results from a Phase 3b, Open-Label, Single-Arm (aIMM) Study.

Introduction: Risankizumab has demonstrated superior efficacy compared to other psoriasis treatments, including secukinumab, adalimumab, and ustekinumab; switching to risankizumab from other psoriasis treatments has shown superior clinical and quality of life (QoL) outcomes. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of directly switching patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and a suboptimal response to interleukin (IL)-17 inhibitors (secukinumab or ixekizumab) to risankizumab.

Methods: This 52-week, phase 3b study enrolled patients (≥ 18 years) with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who had previously been treated with the recommended dose of secukinumab or ixekizumab for ≥ 6 months but did not achieve an optimal response (static Physician's Global Assessment [sPGA] 2/3; body surface are [BSA] 3- < 10%).

Brodalumab Is Effective for Psoriasis Patients with Difficult-To-Treat Body Regions: Results from an Observational Clinical Study.

Introduction: Brodalumab, a human monoclonal antibody that selectively inhibits the interleukin (IL)-17 receptor subunit A, has been approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The treatment benefit of brodalumab has been clearly demonstrated in multiple clinical studies. However, data on effectiveness for difficult-to-treat body regions, especially in everyday clinical practice, are still limited.

Urine lipoarabinomannan concentrations among HIV-negative adults with pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis disease in Vietnam.

Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is a promising target biomarker for diagnosing subclinical and clinical tuberculosis (TB). Urine LAM (uLAM) testing using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) has been approved for people living with HIV (PLWH), however there is limited data regarding uLAM levels in HIV-negative (HIV-ve) adults with clinical TB. We conducted a clinical study of adults presenting with clinical TB-related symptoms at the National Lung Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Antibody-Fab and -Fc features promote restriction.

the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is a leading cause of death by an infectious disease globally, with no efficacious vaccine. Antibodies are implicated in control, but the mechanisms of antibody action remain poorly understood. We assembled a library of TB monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and screened for the ability to restrict in mice, identifying protective antibodies targeting known and novel antigens.

Complete Skin Clearance is Associated with the Greatest Benefits to Health-Related Quality of Life and Perceived Symptoms for Patients with Psoriasis.

Introduction: With newer biologics, the achievement of complete skin clearance has become an attainable treatment goal for patients with plaque psoriasis. We evaluate how improvements in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) responses, particularly at incremental improvements approaching complete skin clearance (PASI 100), translate into improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient-perceived symptoms.

Methods: Data from the BE RADIANT phase 3b trial (NCT03536884) and its open-label extension (OLE), pooled across all study visits and treatments over 16 weeks (randomised patients) and 2 years (patients entering the OLE), were analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression models.

Treatment of early oligoarticular psoriatic arthritis with apremilast: primary outcomes at week 16 from the FOREMOST randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: Oligoarticular psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is frequent but rarely studied. The objective was to assess the efficacy of apremilast in early oligoarticular PsA.

Methods: FOREMOST (NCT03747939) was a phase 4 multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Dose escalation and associated economic outcomes in patients with psoriasis treated with biologics: a retrospective analysis of German health claims data.

Background: In Germany, several biologic therapies are available for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, with the option of exceeding recommended dosages if standard dosing does not achieve a satisfactory treatment response.

Objectives: To examine dose escalation in patients with biologic-treated psoriasis and its implications on the costs for German statutory health insurance (SHI).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, noninterventional cohort study using German SHI health claims data from 2016 to 2021.

Species distribution modeling for disease ecology: A multi-scale case study for schistosomiasis host snails in Brazil.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly popular tools for profiling disease risk in ecology, particularly for infectious diseases of public health importance that include an obligate non-human host in their transmission cycle. SDMs can create high-resolution maps of host distribution across geographical scales, reflecting baseline risk of disease. However, as SDM computational methods have rapidly expanded, there are many outstanding methodological questions.

Noninferiority of 16-Week vs 8-Week Guselkumab Dosing in Super Responders for Maintaining Control of Psoriasis: The GUIDE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with unmet needs for tailored treatment and therapy de-escalation strategies.

Objective: To evaluate early intervention with and prolonging the dosing interval for guselkumab, a p19 subunit-targeted interleukin (IL)-23 inhibitor, in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The GUIDE clinical trial is an ongoing phase 3b, randomized, double-blinded trial conducted across 80 centers in Germany and France comprising 3 parts evaluating the impact of early disease intervention, prolonged dosing interval, and maintenance of response following treatment withdrawal among adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Endocannabinoid analysis in GlucoEXACT plasma: Method validation and sample handling recommendations.

Endocannabinoids (ECs), such as anandamide and 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2-AG), contribute to the pathology of inflammatory, malignant, cardiovascular, metabolic and mental diseases. The reliability of quantitative analyses in biological fluids of ECs and endocannabinoid-like (EC-like) substances depends on pre-analytical conditions such as temperature and "time-to-centrifugation". Standardization of these parameters is critical for valid quantification and implementation in clinical research.

Metabolomic and lipidomic fingerprints in inflammatory skin diseases - Systemic illumination of atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa and plaque psoriasis.

Auto-inflammatory skin diseases place considerable symptomatic and emotional burden on the affected and put pressure on healthcare expenditures. Although most apparent symptoms manifest on the skin, the systemic inflammation merits a deeper analysis beyond the surface. We set out to identify systemic commonalities, as well as differences in the metabolome and lipidome when comparing between diseases and healthy controls.

Association of disease duration and PASI response rates at week 12 in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis receiving biologics in the real-world psoriasis study of health outcomes (PSoHO).

Purpose: Currently, in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PsO) there is a lack of evidence demonstrating optimal biologic treatment response with respect to disease duration. The aim of this post-hoc analysis, using real world data from the Psoriasis Study of Health Outcomes (PSoHO), is to provide evidence if early intervention with biologics is associated with better treatment outcomes and if there is any difference among drug classes or individual biologics.

Materials And Methods: For this post-hoc analysis patients were categorised into two subgroups according to shorter (≤2 years) or longer (>2 years) disease duration.

Dose escalation of biologic treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis in Japan.

Patients receiving interleukin (IL)-inhibiting biologics for moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PsO) may be treated with escalated doses to optimize outcomes. This study evaluated escalation prevalence in a Japanese claims analysis of patients with PsO diagnosis preceding IL-inhibiting biologic treatment and ≥1 post-induction maintenance claim (index date) with sufficient data availability from January 2014 to May 2022. Patients with non-persistence were excluded.

Real-World Long-Term Effectiveness of Risankizumab Among Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis: Analysis from an International Medical Chart Review (RAPID) Study.

Introduction: Real-world data on the efficacy of risankizumab (RZB) in clinical moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) are limited. The RAPID study assessed real-world clinical and patient-reported outcomes in RZB-treated PsO patients using data collected from dermatologists in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, and Poland.

Methods: This ongoing, retrospective chart review collected data from medical records of RZB-treated adults with moderate-to-severe PsO (09/2022-06/2023).