Vibration assisted analgesia during intralesional corticosteroid therapy for alopecia.

Intralesional corticosteroid therapy (ICT) is a recommended management strategy for various inflammatory hair loss disorders. Pain from ICT can limit the use of this treatment, particularly in younger people and those with needle phobia. We present data demonstrating that vibration assisted analgesia, is a safe, effective and easy to use technique, which minimises pain from ICT, allowing its use in a wider cohort of patients.

Establishing the financial burden of alopecia areata and its predictors.

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) can have a significant impact on wellbeing. Consequently, individuals with AA often seek treatments or products to promote hair regrowth or camouflage their hair loss that incur a financial cost to the individual.

Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the direct financial burden of AA to understand the wider impact of the condition and the factors which influence spending on products and services.

Predictors and prognostic factors influencing outcomes of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic review update.

Background: Anti-C20 monoclonal antibodies (MAb), such as rituximab, are commonly used for the treatment of patients with severe or refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but clinical outcomes are highly variable. We aimed to provide an update of a systematic review of predictive and prognostic factors of anti-CD20 MAb treatment in SLE.

Methods: A systematic literature search was undertaken to identify predictive and prognostic factors of clinical response following treatment with anti-CD20 therapies in SLE patients.

Causal Association Between Subtypes of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases.

Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), experienced in 10% to 20% of the population, has been associated with cardiovascular disease and death. However, the condition is heterogeneous and is prevalent in individuals having short and long sleep duration. We sought to clarify the relationship between sleep duration subtypes of EDS with cardiovascular outcomes, accounting for these subtypes.

Recommendations for intervertebral disc notochordal cell investigation: From isolation to characterization.

Background: Lineage-tracing experiments have established that the central region of the mature intervertebral disc, the nucleus pulposus (NP), develops from the embryonic structure called "the notochord". However, changes in the cells derived from the notochord which form the NP (i.e.

: A qualitative investigation of adolescents' coping goals when dealing with pain related to arthritis and the underlying parent-adolescent personal models.

The aim of the current study was to examine adolescents' goals when coping with pain and map these goals to the cognitive and emotional profiles of both adolescent and their parent. 17 adolescents (11-16 years) and their parents participated in a cohort study of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA); the adolescents, took part in a two-part interview (about their pain perceptions and about a recent pain experience) and the parents completed an open-ended qualitative survey. The three datasets were analysed following a qualitative framework approach.

Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors in Patients With COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Led by the International Society of Hypertension.

Background Published randomized controlled trials are underpowered for binary clinical end points to assess the safety and efficacy of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) in adults with COVID-19. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to assess the safety and efficacy of RASi in adults with COVID-19. Methods and Results MEDLINE, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.

Remotely Monitored Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Data Predict All-Cause and Cardiovascular Unplanned Hospitalization.

Background Unplanned hospitalizations are common in patients with cardiovascular disease. The "Triage Heart Failure Risk Status" (Triage-HFRS) algorithm in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices uses data from up to 9 device-derived physiological parameters to stratify patients as low/medium/high risk of 30-day heart failure (HF) hospitalization, but its use to predict all-cause hospitalization has not been explored. We examined the association between Triage-HFRS and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, or HF hospitalization.

Microvascular Dysfunction in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: Pathophysiology, Assessment, Prevalence and Prognosis.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) currently accounts for approximately half of all new heart failure cases in the community. HFpEF is closely associated with chronic lifestyle-related diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, and clinical outcomes are worse in those with than without comorbidities. HFpEF is pathophysiologically distinct from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, which may explain, in part, the disparity of treatment options available between the two heart failure phenotypes.

Impact of type-1 collagen hydrogel density on integrin-linked morphogenic response of SH-SY5Y neuronal cells.

Cellular metabolism and behaviour is closely linked to cytoskeletal tension and scaffold mechanics. In the developing nervous system functional connectivity is controlled by the interplay between chemical and mechanical cues that initiate programs of cell behaviour. Replication of functional connectivity in neuronal populations has proven a technical challenge due to the absence of many systems of biomechanical regulation that control directional outgrowth .

Recall of exposure in UK farmers and pesticide applicators: trends with follow-up time.

Background: Occupational epidemiological studies on pesticide use commonly rely on self-reported questionnaire or interview data to assess exposure. Insight into recall accuracy is important, as misclassification of exposures due to imperfect recall can bias risk estimates.

Methods: We assessed the ability of workers in three UK cohorts (Prospective Investigation of Pesticide Applicators' Health [PIPAH], Pesticide Users' Health Study [PUHS], and Study of Health in Agricultural Work [SHAW]) to remember their working history related to pesticide exposure over time periods ranging from 3 to 14 years prior.

Engagement with consumer smartwatches for tracking symptoms of individuals living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity): A longitudinal observational study.

Introduction: People living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) (MLTC-M) experience an accumulating combination of different symptoms. It has been suggested that these symptoms can be tracked longitudinally using consumer technology, such as smartphones and wearable devices.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate longitudinal user engagement with a smartwatch application, collecting survey questions and active tasks over 90 days, in people living with MLTC-M.

Laterality in laparoscopic hand assisted donor nephrectomy - Does it matter anymore? Outcomes of a large retrospective series.

This retrospective study was performed to analyse if laterality of the retrieved living donor kidney had any effect on donor and recipient outcomes after hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN). 739 donors who underwent HALDN between January 2006 and January 2018 at a large tertiary transplant centre in the United Kingdom were included. Donor outcomes in individuals undergoing right versus left HALDN were compared with respect to conversion rates, morbidity, warm and cold ischaemia times and recipient failure rates, vascular and ureteric complications.

Vinculin is required for neuronal mechanosensing but not for axon outgrowth.

Integrin receptors are transmembrane proteins that bind to the extracellular matrix (ECM). In most animal cell types integrins cluster together with adaptor proteins at focal adhesions that sense and respond to external mechanical signals. In the central nervous system (CNS), ECM proteins are sparsely distributed, the tissue is comparatively soft and neurons do not form focal adhesions.

Telephone delivery of psychological interventions: Balancing protocol with patient-centred care.

Common mental health problems of anxiety and depression affect significant proportions of the global population. Within the UK, and increasingly across western countries, a key policy response has been the introduction of high volume, low intensity psychological assessment and treatment services, such as the NHS's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, the largest service delivery model yet to be implemented at a national level (England). IAPT may be delivered in face-to-face meetings or over the telephone, as well as through other media.

The role of antirheumatics in patients with COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 2 million deaths globally. Two interconnected stages of disease are generally recognised; an initial viral stage and a subsequent immune response phase with the clinical characteristics of hyperinflammation associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Therefore, many immune modulators and immunosuppressive drugs, which are widely used in rheumatological practice, have been proposed as treatments for patients with moderate or severe COVID-19.

Coronavirus Disease 2019: Cardiac Complications and Considerations for Returning to Sports Participation.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. While the majority of symptoms and morbidity relate to the lung, cardiac complications have been well reported and confer increased mortality. Many countries in Europe have passed the peak of the pandemic and adaptations are being made as we progress towards a 'new normal'.

Lynch syndrome for the gynaecologist.

Key Content: Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant condition closely associated with colorectal, endometrial and ovarian cancer.Women with Lynch syndrome are at increased risk of both endometrial and ovarian cancer and should be offered personalised counselling regarding family planning, red flag symptoms and risk-reducing strategies.Surveillance for gynaecological cancer in women with Lynch syndrome remains controversial; more robust data are needed to determine its effectiveness.

Qualitative study of the needs of injured children and their families after a child's traumatic injury.

Objective: To explore the needs of children and their families after a child's traumatic injury.

Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with purposeful sampling for different types of injuries and a theoretical thematic analysis.

Participants: 32 participants; 13 children living at home after a traumatic injury, their parents/guardians (n=14) and five parents whose injured child did not participate.

Characterisation of protein isoforms encoded by the Drosophila Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 gene shaggy.

The Drosophila shaggy gene (sgg, GSK-3) encodes multiple protein isoforms with serine/threonine kinase activity and is a key player in diverse developmental signalling pathways. Currently it is unclear whether different Sgg proteoforms are similarly involved in signalling or if different proteoforms have distinct functions. We used CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering to tag eight different Sgg proteoform classes and determined their localization during embryonic development.