A novel case of an aggressive superficial spindle cell sarcoma in an adult resembling fibrosarcomatous dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and harboring an EML4‐NTRK3 fusion

Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2wyyBwc

Changes in plasma interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels during the early treatment period as a predictor of the response to sorafenib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to identify a biomarker for predicting the response to sorafenib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

Of 100 patients with unresectable HCC who received sorafenib treatment in our institute (Cohort A), 48 had stored plasma samples collected within 28 days before the start of treatment (Cohort B). Concentrations of 18 plasma cytokines were measured in plasma samples using a sandwich immunoassay with multiplexed fluorescent bead-based technology. Among 27 patients with follow-up plasma samples taken at 5–10 days of treatment (Cohort C), changes in the 18 cytokines were also evaluated.

Results

In Cohort A, progressive disease (PD) according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) was associated with poor overall survival by multivariate analysis (p = 0.024). In Cohort B, no significant differences in baseline concentrations of α-fetoprotein, des-γ-carboxy prothrombin, or the 18 cytokines were found between patients with PD and those with stable disease (SD) or partial response (PR). In Cohort C, the increase in interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was significant in the PD group (p = 0.0063 and p < 0.001, respectively) but not in the SD + PR group (p = 0.67 and p = 0.15, respectively). In addition, the fold changes in interleukin-8 and in TNF-α were correlated (p < 0.001, r = 0.67).

Conclusions

Changes in plasma interleukin-8 and TNF-α levels during the first few days could predict the response to sorafenib therapy in HCC patients.

https://ift.tt/2Ndv146

Mycobacterium abscessus infection following penetrations through wetsuits

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, EarlyView.


https://ift.tt/2LScJ3I

Adjuvant treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis in adults by a herbal combination: Open German trial and review of the literature

Dermatologic Therapy, EarlyView.


https://ift.tt/2LQDiXb

Sudanese Association of Dermatologists Special Meeting, Khartoum, Sudan

Dermatologic Therapy, EarlyView.


https://ift.tt/2wBkWEG

Growth of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase in infancy, glucocorticoid requirement and the role of mineralocorticoid therapy

Journal Name: Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
Issue: Ahead of print


https://ift.tt/2NcNU7g

Brain network connectivity associated with anticipatory postural control in children and adults

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2018

Source: Cortex

Author(s): Fabien Cignetti, Marianne Vaugoyeau, Leslie M. Decker, Marie-Hélène Grosbras, Nadine Girard, Yves Chaix, Patrice Péran, Christine Assaiante

Abstract

Internal models provide a coherent framework for understanding motor behavior. Examples for the use of internal models include anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs), where the individual anticipates and cancels out the destabilizing effect of movement on body posture. Yet little is known about the functional changes in the brain supporting the development of APAs. Here, we addressed this issue by relating individual differences in APAs as assessed during bimanual load lifting to interindividual variation in brain network interactions at rest. We showed that the strength of the connectivity between three main canonical brain networks, namely the cingulo-opercular, the fronto-parietal and the somatosensory-motor networks, is an index of the ability to implement APAs from late childhood (9- to 11-year-old children). We also found an effect of age on the relationship between APAs and coupling strength between these networks, consistent with the notion that APAs are near but not yet fully mature in children. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of learning disorders with impairment in predictive motor control.

https://ift.tt/2NF9MoX

Trauma exposure acutely alters neural function during Pavlovian fear conditioning

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2018

Source: Cortex

Author(s): Nathaniel G. Harnett, Edward W. Ference, Kimberly H. Wood, Muriah D. Wheelock, Amy J. Knight, David C. Knight

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with dysfunction of the neural circuitry that supports fear learning and memory processes. However, much of what is known about neural dysfunction in PTSD is based on research in chronic PTSD populations. Less is known about neural function that supports fear learning acutely following trauma exposure. Determining the acute effects of trauma exposure on brain function would provide new insight into the neural processes that mediate the cognitive-affective dysfunction associated with PTSD. Therefore, the present study investigated neural activity that supports fear learning and memory processes in recently Trauma-Exposed (TE) and Non-Trauma-Exposed (NTE) participants. Participants completed a Pavlovian fear conditioning procedure during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During fMRI, participants' threat expectancy was continuously monitored. NTE participants showed greater threat expectancy during warning than safety cues, while no difference was observed in the TE group. This finding suggests TE participants overgeneralized the fear association to the safety cue. Further, only the TE group showed a negative relationship between fMRI signal responses within dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and threat expectancy during safety cues. These results suggest the dorsomedial PFC mediates overgeneralization of learned fear as an acute result of trauma exposure. Finally, neural activity within the PFC and inferior parietal lobule showed a negative relationship with PTSD symptom severity assessed three months posttrauma. Thus, neural activity measured acutely following trauma exposure predicted future PTSD symptom severity. The present findings elucidate the acute effects of trauma exposure on cognitive-affective function and provide new insight into the neural mechanisms of PTSD.

https://ift.tt/2oyxk3G

Polarity-Dependent Modulation of Multi-Spectral Neuronal Activity by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2018

Source: Cortex

Author(s): Alex I. Wiesman, Mackenzie S. Mills, Timothy J. McDermott, Rachel K. Spooner, Nathan M. Coolidge, Tony W. Wilson

Abstract

The ability to preferentially deploy neural resources to the visual space is an important component of normative cognitive function, however, the population-level cortical dynamics that sub-serve this ability are not fully understood. Specifically, rhythmic activity in the occipital cortices (e.g., theta, alpha, and gamma oscillations) has been strongly implicated in this cognitive process, but these neural responses are difficult to non-invasively manipulate in a systematic manner. In this study, transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) was used to modulate brain activity, while high-density magnetoencephalography (MEG) was employed to quantify changes in rhythm-specific neural activity in the occipital cortices of 57 adults performing a visuospatial processing paradigm. All MEG data was analyzed using advanced source reconstruction and oscillatory analysis methods. Our results indicated that basal levels of occipital alpha activity were increased by an occipital-anodal/supraorbital-cathodal tDCS montage, while basal gamma levels in the same cortices were decreased by tDCS using the same montage with its polarity reversed (occipital-cathodal/supraorbital-anodal). In other words, stimulation with the occipital-anodal montage increased local spontaneous alpha (10-16 Hz) activity, while stimulation with the occipital-cathodal montage selectively decreased local gamma (64-90 Hz) activity. Neither polarity affected stimulus-induced oscillations in the alpha or gamma range. Additionally, these modulations strongly predicted the subsequent formation of fronto-visual functional connectivity within distinct oscillatory rhythms, as well as behavior on the visuospatial discrimination task. These findings provide insight into the multifaceted effects of tDCS on cortical activity, as well as the dynamic oscillatory coding of salient information in the human brain.

https://ift.tt/2NJrxnf

Morphological processing in the brain: the good (inflection), the bad (derivation) and the ugly (compounding)

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2018

Source: Cortex

Author(s): A. Leminen, E. Smolka, J.A. Duñabeitia, C. Pliatsikas

Abstract

There is considerable behavioral evidence that morphologically complex words such as 'tax-able' and 'kiss-es' are processed and represented combinatorially. In other words, they are decomposed into their constituents 'tax' and '-able' during comprehension (reading or listening), and producing them might also involve on-the-spot combination of these constituents (especially for inflections). However, despite increasing amount of neurocognitive research, the neural mechanisms underlying these processes are still not fully understood. The purpose of this critical review is to offer a comprehensive overview on the state-of-the-art of the research on the neural mechanisms of morphological processing. In order to take into account all types of complex words, we include findings on inflected, derived, and compound words presented both visually and aurally. More specifically, we cover a wide range of electro- and magnetoencephalography (EEG and MEG, respectively) as well as structural/functional magnetic resonance imaging (s/fMRI) studies that focus on morphological processing. We present the findings with respect to the temporal course and localization of morphologically complex word processing. We summarize the observed findings, their interpretations with respect to current psycholinguistic models, and discuss methodological approaches as well as their possible limitations.

https://ift.tt/2N7pDzz

Altered expression of microRNA-23a in psoriatic arthritis modulates synovial fibroblast pro-inflammatory mechanisms via phosphodiesterase 4B

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2018

Source: Journal of Autoimmunity

Author(s): Sarah M. Wade, Michelle Trenkmann, Trudy McGarry, Mary Canavan, Viviana Marzaioli, Siobhan C. Wade, Douglas J. Veale, Ursula Fearon

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the functional role of miR-23a in synovial fibroblasts (SFC) activation in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods

Differential expression of the miR-23a-27a-24-2 cluster was identified by real-time quantitative PCR in PsA synovial tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) compared to osteoarthritis (OA) and correlated with disease activity. For regulation experiments, PsA synovial fibroblasts (SFC) were cultured with Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and pro-inflammatory cytokines. PsA SFC were transfected with a miR-23a inhibitor to assess the functional effect on migration, invasion and expression of pro-inflammatory meditators. The direct interaction between miR-23a and predicted target mRNA, phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B), was examined by luciferase reporter gene assay, with the expression and regulation confirmed by RT-PCR and western blot. A PDE4 inhibitor was used to analyse the function of PDE4B signalling in both miR-23a and Poly(I:C)-induced PsA SFC activation.

Results

Synovial tissue expression of miR-23a was lower in PsA compared to OA and correlated inversely with disease activity and synovitis. TLR activation via Poly(I:C) and LPS, but not Pam3CSK4, significantly decreased miR-23a expression, with no significant effect observed in reponse to stimulation with pro-inflammatory cytokines. Decreased miR-23a expression enhanced PsA SFC migration, invasion and secretion of IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, RANTES and VEGF. We identified PDE4B as a direct target of miR-23a and demonstrated enhanced mRNA and protein expression of PDE4B in anti-miR-23a transfected PsA SFC. Poly(I:C) and/or miR-23a-induced migration and enhanced cytokine expression was suppressed by the blockade of PDE4 signalling.

Conclusions

In PsA, dysregulated miR-23a expression contributes to synovial inflammation through enhanced SFC activation, via PDE4B signalling, and identifies a novel anti-inflammatory mechanism of PDE4 blockade.

https://ift.tt/2N7keZj

Granuloma Annulare’s Triangular Association with Malignancy

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2018

Source: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Author(s): Warren R. Heymann

https://ift.tt/2oxrfEK

Diagnostic heuristics in dermatology, Part 2: Metacognition and other fixes

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2LOXusj

Topical resiquimod dosing regimens in patients with multiple actinic keratosis: a multi‐centre, partly placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, clinical trial

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2wy5hWI

Assessing the Severity of Pyoderma Gangrenosum – A Need for Validated Measurement Tools

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2NDtpxy

Lack of Confidence Interval Reporting in Dermatology: A Call to Action

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2wC31xw

Protection of glucotoxicity by a tripeptide derivative of α‐melanocyte‐stimulating hormone in human epidermal keratinocytes

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2LNYBZt

To what extent do disease severity and illness perceptions explain depression, anxiety and quality of life in Hidradenitis Suppurativa

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2wy72mQ

Autoantibodies undetectable by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay require extended antigen‐antibody reaction time for detection

British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2LRhLO9

Reliability of clonidine testing for the diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency in children and adolescents

Clinical Endocrinology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


https://ift.tt/2LPG9zl