Medicine
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During the last years there has been an increasing availability of drugs (biologics and small molecules) with different mechanisms of action (MoA) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). New issues about treatment strategies have arisen. The main aim of this study is to verify if there is a difference in terms of clinical efficacy (i.e. retention rate) between cycling (i.e. treating patients with the same MoA after the failure of the previous one) or swap (i.e choosing drugs with a MoA different from the failed previous one) strategies in PsA. ⋯ The CG retention rate was lower than in 1LG (P = .03). The findings of this study suggest that in PsA the swap strategy gives no remarkable advantage compared to cycling. However, patients undergoing swap strategy may experience the same failure rate observed in naives.
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Ground-glass opacity nodules (GGNs) are a computed tomography (CT) finding suggestive of lung cancer. Conventional bronchoscopy with brush cytology is a simple diagnostic modality but has a low diagnostic yield for peripheral lesions, especially peripheral GGNs. Therefore, maximizing the detection rate of bronchoscopic brushings should be a key objective. We report a case of a subpleural ground glass opacity (GGO) with a cytological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma by bronchoscopic brushing guided by manual mapping navigation. ⋯ Exfoliated cells present in peripheral GGNs are rarely detected on brush sampling. However, use of a manual mapping navigation system may help increase the sensitivity of conventional bronchoscopic brushing for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions.
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Stroke is the major leading cause of death and severe long-term disability worldwide. The consequences of stroke, aside from diminished survival, have a significant impact on an individual's capability in maintaining self-autonomy and life satisfaction (LS). Thus, this study aimed to assess LS and other specific domains of LS in stroke survivors following their first-ever stroke, and to describe the relationship using socio-demographic and stroke-related variables. ⋯ The results indicate that recovering social engagement is a positive predictor of higher LS in stroke survivors. More importantly, the findings revealed that cognitive and verbal dysfunctions were the most prominent negative predictors of the overall gross level of LS. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation for stroke survivors is therefore critical.
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Observational Study
Identification of mutations in the ATP7B gene in 14 Wilson disease children: Case series.
Wilson Disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive inherited metabolic disease caused by mutations in the ATPase copper transporting beta gene (ATP7B). WD can cause fatal neurological and hepatic disorders if not diagnosed and treated. ⋯ This study enriches the library of the ATP7B mutations that lead to WD and can be used as a basis for genetic counseling, for WD prevention and clinical and prenatal diagnosis. Those SNPs that are believed to be harmless to ATP7B protein may be involved in the pathogenesis of WD.
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Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is the most common skin manifestation of lupus; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying DLE remain unknown. Therefore, we aimed to identify key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in discoid lupus skin and investigate their potential pathways. To identify candidate genes involved in the occurrence and development of the disease, we downloaded the microarray datasets GSE52471 and GSE72535 from the Gene Expression Database (GEO). ⋯ Furthermore, 4 genes (CXCL10, ISG15, IFIH1, and IRF7) were found to be significantly upregulated in the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, from analysis of Enrichr and Cytoscape ClueGo. The results of this study may provide new insights into the potential molecular mechanisms of DLE. However, further experimentation is required to confirm these findings.