From joint pains to hair gains: baricitinib's double duty for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia areata.

Personalised medicine is a key goal across medical specialties today: using biomarkers and knowledge of pathophysiology to ensure the right patients get the right treatment. This becomes more challenging when patients have more than one disease requiring a targeted treatment. Autoimmune diseases commonly co-occur, and thus, multidisciplinary working is important in rheumatology.

The Alopecia Areata Severity and Morbidity Index (ASAMI) Study: Results From a Global Expert Consensus Exercise on Determinants of Alopecia Areata Severity.

Importance: Current measures of alopecia areata (AA) severity, such as the Severity of Alopecia Tool score, do not adequately capture overall disease impact.

Objective: To explore factors associated with AA severity beyond scalp hair loss, and to support the development of the Alopecia Areata Severity and Morbidity Index (ASAMI).

Evidence Review: A total of 74 hair and scalp disorder specialists from multiple continents were invited to participate in an eDelphi project consisting of 3 survey rounds.

Correlation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Neurography) and Electrodiagnostic Study Findings with Intraoperative Findings in Post Traumatic Brachial Plexus Palsy.

 The majority of brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) are caused by trauma; most commonly due to two-wheeler road accidents. It is important to determine whether the lesion in question is pre-ganglionic or post-ganglionic for purposes of surgical planning and prognosis. Diagnostic testing helps the surgeon to not only decide whether surgical intervention is required, but also in planning the procedure, thereby maximizing the patient's chances of early return to function.

Analysis of Results of Contralateral Hemi-C7 Root Used for Restoring Hand Function in Global Birth Brachial Plexus Palsy.

Purpose: To analyze the outcome of the use of contralateral hemi-C7 for the restoration of hand function in patients with birth brachial plexus global palsy.

Methods: From 2004 to 2017, 19 infants with Narakas types III and IV birth brachial plexus palsy underwent transfer of contralateral hemi-C7 (posterior division of the contralateral C7 root) to the lower trunk or medial cord on the affected side. All the patients were evaluated for shoulder function using the Gilbert and Mallet scores, elbow flexion using the modified Medical Research Council score for children, and hand function using the Raimondi score.

Frontal fibrosing alopecia: survey of severity assessment methods in routine clinical practice and validation of the International Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia Cooperative Group measurement guidance.

Background: The lack of validated and responsive outcome measures in the management of frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) significantly limits assessment of disease progression and treatment response over time.

Aim: To understand how FFA extent and progression is currently assessed in UK specialist centres, to validate components of the International FFA Cooperative Group (IFFACG) statement on FFA assessment, and to identify pragmatic advice to improve FFA management in clinic.

Methods: Consultant dermatologists with a specialist interest in hair loss (n = 17) were invited to take part.

Design and characterization of cereblon-mediated androgen receptor proteolysis-targeting chimeras.

Proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC)-mediated protein degradation is a rapidly emerging therapeutic intervention that induces the degradation of targeted proteins. Herein, we report the design and biological evaluation of a series of androgen receptor (AR) PROTAC degraders for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Predominantly, instead of thalidomide, we utilized the TD-106 scaffold, a novel cereblon (CRBN) binder that was identified in our previous study.

Management of nail psoriasis.

Nail involvement is estimated to affect 80-90% of patients with psoriasis at some point in their lives and is often associated with severe disease. Patients with nail involvement experience pain, functional impairment and social stigma, with significant restriction of daily activities and quality of life. Nail psoriasis is also considered a risk factor for the development of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Peripheral Nerve Injury to the Lower Limb: Repair and Secondary Reconstruction.

This article is based on literature review of relevant articles as well as the authors' own experiences in treating peripheral nerve injuries of the lower limb. The article deals with causative factors of lower limb nerve injuries, various grading systems of the injuries, approaches to such injuries, and techniques to repair lower limb nerve injuries. It also enumerates several reasons to explain the poorer prognosis of peroneal nerve injuries and the possible distal nerve transfers in lower limb albeit with poorer outcomes.

Genome-wide association study in frontal fibrosing alopecia identifies four susceptibility loci including HLA-B*07:02.

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a recently described inflammatory and scarring type of hair loss affecting almost exclusively women. Despite a dramatic recent increase in incidence the aetiopathogenesis of FFA remains unknown. We undertake genome-wide association studies in females from a UK cohort, comprising 844 cases and 3,760 controls, a Spanish cohort of 172 cases and 385 controls, and perform statistical meta-analysis.

Global perspectives for the management of onychomycosis.

Onychomycosis is a fungal nail infection caused by dermatophytes, nondermatophyte molds, and yeasts. This difficult-to-treat chronic infection has a tendency to relapse despite treatment. This paper aims to offer a global perspective on onychomycosis management from expert physicians from around the world.

Novel Influences of IL-10 on CNS Inflammation Revealed by Integrated Analyses of Cytokine Networks and Microglial Morphology.

Coordinated interactions between cytokine signaling and morphological dynamics of microglial cells regulate neuroinflammation in CNS injury and disease. We found that pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression showed a pronounced recovery following systemic LPS. We performed a novel multivariate analysis of microglial morphology and identified changes in specific morphological properties of microglia that matched the expression dynamics of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFα.

Patient-reported outcome measures in nonmelanoma skin cancer of the face: a systematic review.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common malignancy in the western world, with an incidence of 98,000 in the U.K. Since 2009 the Department of Health (DoH) has collected patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) data following four common surgical procedures.

Efficacy and tolerability of borage oil in adults and children with atopic eczema: randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group trial.

Objective: To study the efficacy and tolerability of borage oil, which contains a high concentration of gamma linolenic acid, in children and adults with atopic eczema.

Design: Single centre, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group trial.

Setting: Acute district general hospital in Nuneaton, England.

Gas chromatography: an investigative tool in multiple allergies to essential oils.

Essential or fragrant oils are volatile odourous mixtures of organic chemical compounds that are widely used in aromatherapy and in the perfume industry. Because of their frequent use, allergy to essential oils is being increasingly recognized. We report 2 cases of multiple allergies to essential oils in professional aromatherapists.

Imiquimod 5% cream for the treatment of superficial and nodular basal cell carcinoma: randomized studies comparing low-frequency dosing with and without occlusion.

Background: Imiquimod 5% cream has been investigated for non-surgical treatment of superficial and nodular basal cell carcinoma (BCC) tumours.

Objectives: Two studies were conducted to examine the effect of occlusion at low dosing frequencies on the safety and efficacy of topical imiquimod 5% cream for the treatment of superficial and nodular BCC.

Patients And Methods: Both open-label studies were conducted in Europe.

Azathioprine in severe adult atopic dermatitis: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.

Background: There is a limited range of treatments for severe atopic dermatitis (AD). Azathioprine has often been used but there has been no randomized controlled trial of this drug to confirm its efficacy in AD.

Objectives: To establish or refute the efficacy of azathioprine in severe AD.

Tinea capitis in two elderly women: transmission at the hairdresser.

Tinea capitis is rare in the elderly. We report cases of two elderly women who presented to our dermatology clinic within 8 weeks of each other, with scalp scaling and alopecia. In both cases, Microsporum canis grew on fungal culture of their hair, and required prolonged treatment with terbinafine.