The Mediterranean Diet as a Potential Solution to the Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in Psoriasis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet (MeD) has been associated with lower disease severity in patients with psoriasis. However, the mechanism behind how this diet may lead to disease modification remain understudied. Recent studies have revealed dysbiosis of the gut microbiome in patients with psoriasis suggestive of inflammation and altered immune regulation. Diet affects the gut microbiome and this review aims to evaluate whether correcting this dysbiosis may be one theoretical mechanism by which the MeD may be associated with lower psoriasis severity. METHODS: A literature search of the PubMed database was conducted for the terms 1) psoriasis and microbiome or microbiota, and 2) Mediterranean diet and microbiome or microbiota with manual screening for relevant articles. In total, we identified 9 relevant primary research studies investigating the gut microbiome in patients with psoriasis and 16 relevant primary research studies investigating changes in the microbiota for those consuming a MeD. RESULTS: Though varying in exact levels of certain bacteria, studies analyzing the microbiome in psoriasis revealed dysbiosis. Those analyzing the effect of the Mediterranean diet on the microbiome revealed beneficial changes, including alleviating some of the same alterations seen in the microbiome of those with psoriasis. CONCLUSION: Microbiota change is a possible mechanism why the MeD has previously been associated with lower psoriasis severity

Commercial Diagnostics and Emerging Precision Medicine Technologies in Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis.

While psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD) are two common dermatological conditions, their diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making pathways are often complex. As a result, there has been increased focus on the development of precision medicine approaches for psoriasis and AD. Two companies at the forefront of dermatology precision medicine research are Mindera Health and Castle Biosciences. Here, we review the technologies developed by these two companies using a dermal diagnostic patch and superficial skin scrapings, respectively, their research published to date, and their future research goals. Research from both companies shows promise in predicting the response of inflammatory skin disease to biologics using minimally invasive techniques. However, challenges to adoption include insurance coverage and patient trust in the technologies. While there are several differences between Mindera Health and Castle Biosciences, they have a shared goal of utilizing minimally invasive technologies to sample skin and predict response to biologic treatments using a panel of optimized biomarkers

Adapting the Goeckerman Regimen for Psoriasis Treatment in Kenya: A Case Study of Successful Management in a Resource-Limited Setting.

INTRODUCTION:  Goeckerman therapy, which combines ultraviolet B (UVB) light with crude coal tar (CCT), remains highly effective for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. While it is rarely still used in the USA as effective biotherapeutics have become more readily available, it offers an alternative therapy in developing countries with limited access to newer medications. Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya, in collaboration with UCSF, developed a modified Goeckerman regimen suitable for local healthcare needs, condensing the treatment into an intensive two-week program. CASE REPORT:  A 55-year-old female with erythrodermic psoriasis traveled 350 kilometers to MTRH. After the diagnosis was confirmed, she underwent a nine-day inpatient treatment with narrow-band UVB phototherapy and topical medications under occlusion as a modified Goeckerman regimen. RESPONSE TO TREATMENT:  Significant improvement was observed within three days, with full recovery in ten days. Follow-up one month later showed no active lesions, and her psoriasis remained controlled for four months with topical treatments. CONCLUSION:  The modified Goeckerman regimen at MTRH, in collaboration with UCSF, effectively treated severe psoriasis in a challenging healthcare context. This case highlights the potential for adapting established treatments to improve patient outcomes in developing countries with limited access to systemic therapies

University Clinical Media Resource: Best Practices to Create, Maintain, and Maximize Visibility on a Social Media Platform

This paper reviews the need for social media platforms as a tool for healthcare facilities to provide resources, market their business, and interact directly with clients. Steps to creating a social media platform will be discussed, in addition to how healthcare facilities should frequently review competing healthcare providers’ social media pages to stay competitive with the target population. Special considerations for the audiology and speech-language pathology programs at Illinois State University will be explored, and ethical considerations for engaging in healthcare on a social media platform will also be analyzed in this paper. The Eckelmann-Taylor Speech and Hearing Clinic at Illinois State University (ETSHC) will benefit from the information and implementation of social media usage provided within this paper because it will allow the clinic to create a professional social media platform. This social media platform will improve patient outreach within the community to increase and diversify the clientele attending that clinic, and allow for the opportunity of interprofessional collaboration between the ETSHC and other speech-language pathology and audiology providers. Undergraduate students and graduate students in the programs of speech-language pathology and audiology will benefit from the ETSHC executing a social media platform to expand the opportunities and experiences provided throughout their education

Psoriasis and Sleep Disturbance: A US Population-Based Study Using the NHANES Database.

INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition, affects approximately 3.0% of the US population, with patients often experiencing significant sleep disturbances. These disturbances include a higher prevalence of conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and insomnia. Given the additional risks for cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and depression linked to both poor sleep and psoriasis, addressing sleep issues in this patient group is critical. METHODS: The study utilized National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, focusing on individuals aged ≥ 20 years who provided information on psoriasis status and sleep. Multistage stratified survey methodology was applied, with multivariable logistic regression models used to examine the association between psoriasis and sleep issues, adjusting for factors such as age, gender, and health history. RESULTS: Psoriasis diagnosis was significantly associated with trouble sleeping (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.88; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44-2.45). There was no significant association between psoriasis and sleep quantity. Older age, female gender, and a history of sleep disorders were predictors of trouble sleeping among psoriasis patients. CONCLUSIONS: Psoriasis is significantly associated with sleep disturbances, independent of sleep duration. This underscores the need for clinical screening focusing on sleep quality rather than quantity in psoriasis patients to effectively identify and treat sleep-related comorbidities. Further research using objective sleep measures is warranted to guide clinical management and improve patient quality of life

Edge-to-Fog Computing for Color-Assisted Moving Object Detection

Future Internet-of-Things (IoT) will be featured by ubiquitous and pervasive vision sensors that generate enormous amount of streaming videos. The ability to analyze the big video data in a timely manner is essential to delay-sensitive applications, such as autonomous vehicles and body-worn cameras for police forces. Due to the limitation of computing power and storage capacity on local devices, the fog computing paradigm has been developed in recent years to process big sensor data closer to the end users while it avoids the transmission delay and huge uplink bandwidth requirements in cloud-based data analysis. In this work, we propose an edge-to-fog computing framework for object detection from surveillance videos. Videos are captured locally at an edge device and sent to fog nodes for colorassisted L1-subspace background modeling. The results are then sent back to the edge device for data fusion and final object detection. Experimental studies demonstrate that the proposed color-assisted background modeling offers more diversity than pure luminance based background modeling and hence achieves higher object detection accuracy. Meanwhile, the proposed edge-to-fog paradigm leverages the computing resources on multiple platforms. [1

Using social media listening to understand barriers to genomic medicine for those living with Ehlers–Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders

Abstract Introduction Technological improvements alone have not led to the integration of genomic medicine across a broad range of diseases and populations. For genomic medicine to be successfully implemented across specialties and conditions, the challenges patients and caregivers experience need to be identified using a multi‐faceted understanding of the context in which these obstacles occur and how they are experienced. Individuals affected by rare conditions, like Ehlers–Danlos syndromes (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), express numerous challenges with accessing genomic medicine. Many patients living with rare diseases seek information and find comfort in online health communities. Methods Social media conversations facilitated through online health communities are windows into patients' and caregivers' authentic experiences. To date, no other study has examined genomic medicine barriers by analysing the content of social media posts, yet the novel methodological approach of social media listening permits the analysis of virtual, organic conversations about lived experiences. Results/Conclusions Using a modified social–ecological model, this study found that social–structural and interpersonal barriers most frequently impede access to genomic medicine for patients and caregivers living with EDS and HSD. Patient or Public Contribution Data were retrieved through social media conversations facilitated through publicly accessible health communities through Inspire, an online health community. Social media listening permits the analysis of virtual, organic conversations about lived experiences

Land sparing or sharing: strategies for conservation of arable plant diversity

Strategies to achieve agricultural production and biodiversity conservation fall into two categories, land-sparing or land-sharing. Plant species richness under organic arable (land sharing) versus conventional arable with land set-aside for conservation (land sparing) was evaluated on adjacent farms to compare these strategies. Sampled plant species richness was significantly higher under organic than conventional arable, as expected, but very similar to set-aside. Nevertheless, the Chao1 estimator of total plant species richness indicated that the larger area available to plants under organic arable may sustain more scarce species leading to a higher species richness. It appears that the conservation value of sparing versus sharing depends on the relative species richness of the portion of land spared (set-aside) compared to the larger area of shared land (organic), and not with the species richness on conventionally cropped land. Furthermore, in theory the land-shared use will have greater capacity to sustain populations of scarce low-density species simply due 100% of the land area being available to these species. These are important principals for assessing land sparing versus sharing strategies seeking to balance production and biodiversity conservation not just for arable land but all agricultural land uses