Poly(vinylpyrolidone) (PVP) nanofibers incorporating gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were produced in combination with laser ablation and electrospinning techniques. The Au-NPs were directly synthesized ...in PVP solution by laser ablation and then, the electrospinning of PVP/Au-NPs solution was carried out for obtaining nanofibrous composites. The presence of Au-NPs in the PVP nanofibers was confirmed by SEM, TEM and EDX analyses. The SEM imaging elucidated that the electrospun PVP/Au-NPs nanofibers were bead-free having average fiber diameter of 810
±
480
nm. The TEM imaging indicated that the Au-NPs were in spherical shape having diameters in the range of 5 to 20
nm and the Au-NPs were more or less dispersed homogeneously in the PVP nanofiber matrix. The FTIR study suggested the presence of molecular interactions between PVP matrix and the Au-NPs in the nanofibrous composites. The UV–Vis measurement confirmed the enhancement of the optical properties of the PVP/Au-NPs nanofibers in the solid state due to the surface plasma resonance effect of Au-NPs.
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► PVP nanofibers incorporating Au-NPs were produced in combination with laser ablation and electrospinning. ► The morphology of PVP/Au-NPs nanofibers were investigated by SEM, TEM and EDX. ► The PVP/Au-NPs nanofibers showed enhanced optical properties in the solid state.
Atherosclerosis is considered to be an inflammatory disease in which the initial process is the augmented infiltration of monocytes into the vessel wall and their subsequent differentiation from ...macrophages into lipid-laden foam cells. Human cartilage glycoprotein-39 (YKL-40) is a new inflammatory marker found to be secreted by lipid-laden macrophages inside human atherosclerotic vessel wall. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum YKL-40 levels with the presence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by coronary angiography. We also studied the relation of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with the presence and angiographic severity of CAD. A total of 200 participants undergoing to coronary angiography was divided into four subgroups: control patients without CAD (n=53), and those with one-vessel disease (n=52), two-vessel disease (n=47), or three-vessel disease (n=48). Serum YKL-40 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both serum YKL-40 levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations in patients with CAD were significantly higher than in control participants (P<0.001). We also found a significant association between the levels of YKL-40 and the extent of CAD defined by the number of stenosed vessels (P<0.001). The relationship between the serum YKL-40 level and atherosclerosis may represent a new opportunity for the possible utility of serum YKL-40 as an inflammatory marker for coronary artery disease. Moreover, our findings revealed that plasma YKL-40 measurement might also be regarded as a quantitative indicator of disease extent besides being a marker of disease presence.
Summary
Background
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a rare, debilitating neutrophilic dermatosis characterized by chronic inflammation of hair follicles. Many inflammatory conditions may accompany ...HS.
Objectives
To investigate the association of variants of the MEFV gene with a complex HS phenotype.
Methods
Firstly, we identified the clinical characteristics of 119 patients with HS with a complex phenotype (Hurley stage III disease and/or additional inflammatory symptoms). Then, we searched for MEFV variants among these patients. The odds ratios (ORs) for pathogenic MEFV mutations were calculated using data from these patients with HS and 191 healthy controls.
Results
The male/female ratio was higher, and the mean age of onset was earlier, in our complex HS group compared with patients with HS in general. Five of the patients with HS (4·2%) had a diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) with a standardized morbidity ratio of 45 95% confidence interval (CI) 16·50–99·84, P < 0·001 when compared with the frequency of FMF in the general Turkish population. Of the patients with complex HS, 38% were positive for pathogenic variants of MEFV. The OR for carrying a pathogenic MEFV allele was 2·80 (95% CI 1·31–5·97, P < 0·001).
Conclusions
The frequency of MEFV mutations in the group of patients with complex HS was higher than that in healthy controls, suggesting that MEFV mutations may contribute to the pathogenesis of HS. Understanding the role of autoinflammation in HS is of fundamental importance for the development of novel therapies.
What's already known about this subject?
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a neutrophilic dermatosis with an unclear pathogenesis, but immune dysregulation has been implicated.
MEFV mutations are reported in several patients with PASH syndrome (pyoderma gangrenosum, acne and HS), which is a syndromic form of HS.
What does this study add?
Pathogenic MEFV variants are more frequent in patients with complex HS than in healthy controls.
HS in syndromic forms PASH, PAPASH (pyrogenic arthritis, pyoderma gangrenosum, acne and HS), severe HS and HS with additional inflammatory symptoms all belong to the category of autoinflammatory spectrum neutrophilic skin diseases.
What is the translational message?
The co‐occurence of inflammatory diseases with HS and the severity of HS, which we called ‘complex HS’, may indicate a more specific association with autoinflammation.
The complex HS group represented a distinct population characterized by the early onset of HS. Pathogenic MEFV variants were increased not only in patients with PASH but also among patients fulfilling the criteria for ‘complex HS’.
The proinflammatory status caused by mutations in the MEFV gene may contribute to pathogenicity in complex HS.
Linked Comment: Contrassot and French. Br J Dermatol 2019; 180:1294–1295.
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Background Atherosclerosis is considered to be an inflammatory disease in which the initial process is augmented infiltration of monocytes into the vessel wall and their subsequent differentiation ...from macrophages into lipid-laden foam cells. Chitotriosidase is one of the most quantitative proteins secreted by activated macrophages, so the aim of this study was to investigate the association of the level of serum chitotriosidase activity with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and Results A total of 200 subjects undergoing coronary angiography were divided into 4 subgroups according to the number of diseased vessels and their serum chitotriosidase activity levels were measured. Serum chitotriosidase activity in patients with CAD was significantly higher than in normal control subjects (p<0.001). Serum chitotriosidase activity was also significantly associated with the extent of CAD as defined by the number of stenosed vessels (p<0.001). Conclusion Serum chitotriosidase activity can be considered a strong inflammatory marker of CAD. Moreover, plasma chitotriosidase activity may be also regarded as a quantitative indicator of disease extent, as well as being a marker of disease presence. (Circ J 2008; 72: 71 - 75)
Introduction. Systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and arterial thickening contribute to the elevated cardiovascular risk of dialysis patients. However, the course of these derangements and ...their relative contribution to the cardiovascular risk of nondialysed chronic kidney disease (CKD) are scarcely investigated.
Methods. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and intima-media thickness (IMT) were assessed in 304 nondialysed CKD patients Stages 1-5 (mean age 46 ± 12 years, 158 men), together with routine biochemical measurements, C-reactive protein (CRP) and insulin resistance. Patients were then followed for time-to-event analysis of cardiovascular outcomes (fatal and nonfatal).
Results. CRP and IMT increased, while FMD decreased in parallel with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline (P < 0.001 for all). CRP and intact parathormone, as well as eGFR, appeared as strong determinants of FMD and IMT in multivariate analyses. After a median follow-up of 41 (range 6-46) months, 30 fatal and 59 nonfatal cardiovascular events occurred. In univariate analysis, FMD, IMT and CRP were significant predictors of outcome. In a multivariate Cox model excluding IMT, both FMD hazard ratios 0.52 (95% confidence intervals 0.37-0.73) per % and CRP 1.07 (1.03-1.11) per mg/L predicted cardiovascular outcomes independently of confounders. In a model excluding FMD, only CRP (and not IMT) was a significant predictor.
Conclusions. Endothelial dysfunction, arterial thickening and inflammation occur in parallel with the decline in eGFR, contributing to the increased cardiovascular risk of nondialysed CKD. Our results support the use of FMD over IMT measurements to monitor nondialysed CKD patients at risk.
Inherited ichthyoses are rare disorders in terms of patient numbers, but abundant in terms of clinical‐genetic subtypes. These disorders are often associated with severe systemic manifestations, in ...addition to significant medical, cosmetic and social problems. There are 17 subtypes of syndromic ichthyosis identified so far and most patients with these syndromes are living in countries with high consanguinity rates. Frequently, clinicians cannot make a definitive diagnosis and patients are not managed properly owing to the rarity and complexity of these disorders. These difficulties make this group of ichthyosis and the patients living with them ‘orphan’. After skin and skin appendages, nervous system is the most frequently involved system in ichthyosis syndromes. Thus, association of ichthyosis with neurological symptoms provides an important clue for diagnosis. In this article, we aim to increase clinicians' comprehension of ichthyosis syndromes by providing a symptomatology‐based approach based on this observation. Additionally, we provide a review of ichthyosis syndromes, with special emphasis on neurological symptoms, hoping to attract interest to this complicated field.
Pyrin mutations in complex hidradenitis suppurativa Vural, S.; Gündoğdu, M.; Gökpınar İli, E. ...
British journal of dermatology (1951),
June 2019, 2019-06-00, 20190601, Letnik:
180, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Summary
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory skin disease affecting approximately 1% of people worldwide. HS can cause a severe decline in quality of life, with chronic, painful lesions ...(affected patches) in hair bearing sites such as armpits and buttocks. This study, performed by researchers from Turkey and Germany, looked at the role of a gene called MEFV gene in HS, using a group of 119 people with the disease. The researchers identified some clinical characteristics (e.g. severity, presence of other diseases) associated with complex HS, such as the patient having more severe HS and an additional inflammatory condition (e.g. severe acne, arthritis or Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF, caused by mutations in the MEFV gene)). Patients were categorized into two subgroups, those with complex HS (38% of the 119 people) and those with noncomplex HS. The authors compared the percentage of MEFV mutations in the people with complex HS to those with noncomplex HS. Most of the patients in the complex HS group were men. The disease started earlier in the complex HS group when compared to HS patients in general, and a diagnosis of FMF was more common among HS patients when compared to the general population. The frequency of MEFV mutations in the group of patients with complex HS was higher than that in people without HS. The results of this study suggest that MEFV gene mutations may be a risk factor in a subset of HS patients, and this understanding may be important for the development of new treatments.
Linked Article: Vural et al. Br J Dermatol 2019; 180:1459–1467
To investigate the incidence of gallstone formation, and the use of Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA), weight loss and serum lipid profile changes following obesity surgery.
Patients who underwent ...bariatric surgery due to obesity were retrospectively reviewed and divided into 2 groups for their prophylactic UDCA use. Patients who had a previous gallbladder pathology and ones who did not have a preoperative ultrasonography (US) were excluded. The patients who have returned to our clinic for a control ultrasound between 6 and 18 months following the surgery were included in this study, but only if they did not have any gall bladder pathology demonstrated with an US prior to surgery. Body mass index (BMI) and lipid profile measurements were also recorded.
Of the 108 patients who had undergone obesity surgery, it is reported that 42 (38.9%) were given UDCA as a preventative medication, and 66 (61.1%) were not prescribed any preventative medications. During the ultrasound controls in the postoperative period between 6 and 18 months after surgery, gallbladder stones were seen in 42 patients (38.9%) and biliary sludge development was detected in 5 patients (4.6%). A total of 47 patients (43.5%) developed gallbladder pathology. Fewer patients who took UDCA developed gallstones when compared with the patients who did not take UDCA (10% vs 33%). Also, there is a correlation between BMI loss rate and the frequency of gallstone development. Though the decrease in triglyceride (TG) levels was higher in patients with gallstone development, this decrease was not statistically significant.
Stone or sludge development in the gallbladder due to rapid weight loss after obesity surgery is quite common. However, we observed that the gallstone development decreased significantly with the prophylactic use of UDCA in patients who had undergone obesity surgery.
•In laryngeal oncology it is crucial to assess mobility of vocal cord-arytenoid unit.•Current mobility assessment is flawed by weak inter-observer agreement.•Tumor extension assessment by dedicated ...radiologists is recommended.
In clinical practice the assessment of the “vocal cord-arytenoid unit” (VCAU) mobility is crucial in the staging, prognosis, and choice of treatment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). The aim of the present study was to measure repeatability and reliability of clinical assessment of VCAU mobility and radiologic analysis of posterior laryngeal extension.
In this multi-institutional retrospective study, patients with LSCC-induced impairment of VCAU mobility who received curative treatment were included; pre-treatment endoscopy and contrast-enhanced imaging were collected and evaluated by raters. According to their evaluations, concordance, number of assigned categories, and inter- and intra-rater agreement were calculated.
Twenty-two otorhinolaryngologists evaluated 366 videolaryngoscopies (total evaluations: 2170) and 6 radiologists evaluated 237 imaging studies (total evaluations: 477). The concordance of clinical rating was excellent in only 22.7% of cases. Overall, inter- and intra-rater agreement was weak. Supraglottic cancers and transoral endoscopy were associated with the lowest inter-observer reliability values. Radiologic inter-rater agreement was low and did not vary with imaging technique. Intra-rater reliability of radiologic evaluation was optimal.
The current methods to assess VCAU mobility and posterior extension of LSCC are flawed by weak inter-observer agreement and reliability. Radiologic evaluation was characterized by very high intra-rater agreement, but weak inter-observer reliability. The relevance of VCAU mobility assessment in laryngeal oncology should be re-weighted. Patients affected by LSCC requiring imaging should be referred to dedicated radiologists with experience in head and neck oncology.
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