Unconventional Imaging Methods in Psoriatic Arthritis.

Purpose Of Review: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a complex heterogeneous inflammatory disease that affects about one-third of patients with psoriasis. PsA leads to significant physical impairment and reduced quality of life. Therefore, early diagnosis and intervention are critical for improving long-term outcomes.

Distinct gut microbial signature and altered short chain fatty acid metabolism at disease onset in a rat preclinical model of superimposed preeclampsia.

Chronic hypertension is an increasingly prevalent condition that constitutes a risk factor for superimposed preeclampsia during pregnancy. In this study, we assessed the gut microbiome in a rat model of superimposed preeclampsia to characterize the microbial signature associated with defective placentation processes identified at the preclinical disease stage. The blood pressure profile, renal function parameters and fetal phenotype were evaluated in pregnant Stroke-prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRSP) and their normotensive controls.

Hyperreactive B cells instruct their elimination by T cells to curb autoinflammation and lymphomagenesis.

B cell immunity carries the inherent risk of deviating into autoimmunity and malignancy, which are both strongly associated with genetic variants or alterations that increase immune signaling. Here, we investigated the interplay of autoimmunity and lymphoma risk factors centered around the archetypal negative immune regulator TNFAIP3/A20 in mice. Counterintuitively, B cells with moderately elevated sensitivity to stimulation caused fatal autoimmune pathology, while those with high sensitivity did not.

Reduction in Renal Heme Oxygenase-1 Is Associated with an Aggravation of Kidney Injury in Shiga Toxin-Induced Murine Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome.

Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) is a systemic complication of an infection with Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing enterohemorrhagic , primarily leading to acute kidney injury (AKI) and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. Although free heme has been found to aggravate renal damage in hemolytic diseases, the relevance of the heme-degrading enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1, encoded by ) in HUS has not yet been investigated. We hypothesized that HO-1 also important in acute phase responses in damage and inflammation, contributes to renal pathogenesis in HUS.

Long-Term Safety and Effectiveness of Canakinumab in Patients with MKD/HIDS: Interim Analysis of the RELIANCE Registry.

Introduction: Interim analysis of the long-term safety and effectiveness of canakinumab, at a patient level, in the mevalonate kinase deficiency/hyperimmunoglobulin-D syndrome (MKD/HIDS) cohort of the RELIANCE registry.

Methods: From June 2018, the RELIANCE registry enrolled paediatric (aged ≥ 2 years) and adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) with MKD/HIDS who were receiving canakinumab as part of their routine medical care. Safety, physician- and patient-reported measures of disease activity and dosing patterns were evaluated at baseline and every 6 months until end-of-study visit.

Disturbed spatial WNT activation - a potential driver of the reticularized skin phenotype in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc).

Objectives: Little is known on the mechanisms necessary to maintain the physiological adult human skin integrity. This study aims to quantitatively describe anatomical changes in systemic sclerosis (SSc)-skin compared to controls and investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Skin morphology was histologically assessed in twenty-three SSc-patients, eighteen controls and fifteen patients with hypertrophic scars.

Signaling events driving Aspergillus fumigatus-induced eosinophil activation.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is an incurable disease caused by the environmental mold Aspergillus fumigatus. This hypersensitivity pneumonia is characterized by an inflammatory type 2 immune response, accompanied by influx of eosinophils into the lung. To investigate the mode of action of eosinophils and the signaling events triggered by A.

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Introducing the OECD guidance document on occupational biomonitoring: A harmonized methodology for deriving occupational biomonitoring levels (OBL).

Derivation of occupational biomonitoring levels (OBLs) is needed to effectively utilize biomonitoring for assessing exposures to chemical substances, and consequently, implement risk reduction measures to reduce health risks among workers. OBLs are the appropriate option for chemical substances that can be absorbed through the skin. This methodology for derivation of OBLs has been developed in collaboration with scientific and regulatory experts from more than 40 institutes in 15 countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) framework.

Long-Acting Growth Hormone Therapy in Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency: A Consensus Statement.

Context: Several long-acting growth hormone (LAGH) therapies have recently become available, but guidance on their usage in children with growth hormone (GH) deficiency is limited.

Methods: International experts in pediatric endocrinology were invited to join a consensus group based on their expertise in treating children with daily GH and LAGH. The group comprised 11 experts from 10 countries across the world.

Autonomous medical evaluation for guideline adherence of large language models.

Autonomous Medical Evaluation for Guideline Adherence (AMEGA) is a comprehensive benchmark designed to evaluate large language models' adherence to medical guidelines across 20 diagnostic scenarios spanning 13 specialties. It includes an evaluation framework and methodology to assess models' capabilities in medical reasoning, differential diagnosis, treatment planning, and guideline adherence, using open-ended questions that mirror real-world clinical interactions. It includes 135 questions and 1337 weighted scoring elements designed to assess comprehensive medical knowledge.

German Version of the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire and Derived Short Questionnaires for Usability and Perceived Usefulness in Health Care Assessment in Telehealth and Digital Therapeutics: Instrument Validation Study.

Background: The exponential growth of telehealth is revolutionizing health care delivery, but its evaluation has not matched the pace of its uptake. Various forms of assessment, from single-item to more extensive questionnaires, have been used to assess telehealth and digital therapeutics and their usability. The most frequently used questionnaire is the "Telehealth Usability Questionnaire" (TUQ).

Successful generation of fully human, second generation, anti-CD19 CAR T cells for clinical use in patients with diverse autoimmune disorders.

Background: B-cell targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, which lead to profound B-cell depletion, have been well-established in hematology-oncology. This deep B-cell depletion mechanism has prompted the exploration of their use in B-cell driven autoimmune diseases. We herein report on the manufacturing of KYV-101, a fully human anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, derived from patients who were treated across a spectrum of autoimmune diseases.

Baricitinib as monotherapy for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: analysis of real-world data.

Objective: Baricitinib is an oral, reversible and selective inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK)1 and JAK2 that is approved as monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have responded inadequately to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Evidence supporting the approved monotherapy indication is growing in real-world settings that reflect routine clinical practice.

Methods: Results of separate analyses of real-world data from the observational prospective RA-BE-REAL, Erlangen Baricitinib cohort, the BSRBR-RA, and Swiss Clinical Quality Management in Rheumatic Diseases (SCQM) registries, and the retrospective ORBIT-RA and SUSTAIN long-term chart reviews were reported, documenting baseline data and outcomes for a total of 932 patients with active RA receiving baricitinib as monotherapy.

Unaltered Responses of Distal Motor Neurons to Non-Targeted Thoracic Spinal Cord Stimulation in Chronic Pain Patients.

Introduction: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) represents an established interventional pain therapeutic; however, the SCS effects of SCS waveforms on motor neuron recruitment of the lower limbs of chronic pain patients remain largely unknown.

Methods: We investigated these effects by performing isometric ankle-dorsal flexions at varying force levels under four SCS conditions: SCS Off (1 week), burst SCS (40 Hz), SCS Off (acute), and tonic SCS (130 Hz). Muscle activity was recorded via high-density surface electromyography (64-electrode grid) on the tibialis anterior muscle.

Back on track - digital health applications to treat back pain of rheumatic patients? Results of a qualitative interview study.

Non-specific low back pain (NLBP) is prevalent among patients with rheumatic conditions. Digital health applications (DiGAs) provide reimbursed, personalized home treatment for patients, promising to overcome limitations of traditional healthcare systems. However, the adoption and effectiveness of back pain-specific DiGAs in rheumatology are not well understood.

Deceased donor urinary Dickkopf-3 associates with future allograft function following kidney transplantation.

Predicting future kidney allograft function is challenging. Novel biomarkers, such as urinary Dickkopf-3 (uDKK3), may help guide donor selection and improve allograft outcomes. In this prospective multicenter pilot trial, we investigated whether donor uDKK3 reflects organ quality and is associated with future allograft function.

A harmonized occupational biomonitoring approach.

Biomonitoring has been widely used in assessing exposures in both occupational and public health complementing chemical risk assessments because it measures the concentrations of chemical substances in human body fluids (e.g., urine and blood).

Anti-inflammatory effects of MerTK by inducing M2 macrophage polarization via PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway in gout.

Mer tyrosine kinase (MerTK) has been found to regulate the secretion of inflammatory factors and exert immunosuppressive effects, but its role in gout remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the immnue effects of MerTK in gout. MerTK in synovium or serum of gout patients was determined by immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Macrophage-Induced Pro-Fibrotic Gene Expression in Tubular Cells after Ischemia/Reperfusion Is Paralleled but Not Directly Mediated by C5a/C5aR1 Signaling.

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is inevitable during kidney transplantation and causes acute kidney injury (AKI), which affects immediate outcome and leads to chronic changes such as fibrotic remodeling of the graft. We investigated pro-fibrotic signaling after I/R, focusing on the complement component and receptor C5a/C5aR1 and macrophage/tubule crosstalk. Male Dark Agouti rats were subjected to I/R and their kidneys were harvested 10 min, 6 h, 24 h, 3 days, 5 days and 8 weeks after reperfusion.