Laughter as a diagnostic measure of psoriasis severity

Laughter has been studied for its beneficial effects on health and as a therapeutic method to prevent and treat medical conditions. We explore the predictive potential of laughter as a psoriasis severity diagnostic tool. In this study, the dermatologist first examines the patient and registers the PASI and BSA scores. Then patients complete the DLQI and EQ-5D-3L (quality of life), as well as the HADS (anxiety and depression) and the NEO PI-R (personality traits). Finally, the laughs of 30 patients with plaque psoriasis (15 mild cases and 15 moderate to severe cases), and 30 healthy controls will be registered. To do this, patients and accompanying health controls (in pairs), watch a 15-minute video with humorous sketches..

The psychosocial burden of hidradenitis suppurativa: the patients' perspectives

We designed a qualitative study to interview 12 patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa. This was done by means of a semistructured interview. Questions on quality of life, the impact of their skin disease on family, friends, work, intimate relationships, treatments, etc. were asked. Patients consented to be interviewed and to be video taped to facilitate the transcription of the interviews. The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and were carried out by a psychologist and a social worker. The dermatologist had previously seen the patients and filled in a form with the Hurley Stage, years of evolution and treatment..

The sociotype questionnaire: assessing the social burden of skin diseases

Skin diseases can cause a significant psychosocial burden. A number of studies have considered issues such as a lower quality of life, increased anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and other psychological disorders. However, adequate means for evaluating social interaction difficulties, diminished social networks, and the impoverished conversational exchanges that affect the wellbeing and mental health of the individual, have not been sufficiently developed. This study is based on the sociotype approach that has recently been proposed as a new theoretical construct implemented in the form of a questionnaire; it examines the social bonding structures and relational factors associated with dermatological conditions..

Impairment of Sexual Life in 3,485 Dermatological Outpatients From a Multicentre Study in 13 European Countries

Skin conditions may have a strong impact on patients' sexual life, and thus influence personal relationships. Sexual issues are difficult to discuss directly in clinical practice, and a mediated instrument may be useful to capture such information. In this study item 9 of the Dermatology Life Quality Index was used to collect information on sexual impact of several skin conditions in 13 European countries. Among 3,485 patients, 23.1% reported sexual problems. The impairment was particularly high in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, prurigo, blistering disorders, psoriasis, urticaria, eczema, infections of the skin, or pruritus. Sexual impact was strongly associated with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. It was generally more frequent in younger patients and was positively correlated with clinical severity and itch. It is important to address the issue of sexual well-being in the evaluation of patients with skin conditions, since it is often linked to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Identification and reproducibility of diagnostic DNA markers for tuber starch and yield optimization in a novel association mapping population of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

KEY MESSAGE: SNPs in candidate genesPain-1,InvCD141(invertases),SSIV(starch synthase),StCDF1(transcription factor),LapN(leucine aminopeptidase), and cytoplasm type are associated with potato tuber yield, starch content and/or starch yield. ABSTRACT: Tuber yield (TY), starch content (TSC), and starch yield (TSY) are complex characters of high importance for the potato crop in general and for industrial starch production in particular. DNA markers associated with superior alleles of genes that control the natural variation of TY, TSC, and TSY could increase precision and speed of breeding new cultivars optimized for potato starch production. Diagnostic DNA markers are identified by association mapping in populations of tetraploid potato varieties and advanced breeding clones. A novel association mapping population of 282 genotypes including varieties, breeding clones and Andean landraces was assembled and field evaluated in Northern Spain for TY, TSC, TSY, tuber number (TN) and tuber weight (TW). The landraces had lower mean values of TY, TW, TN, and TSY. The population was genotyped for 183 microsatellite alleles, 221 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in fourteen candidate genes and eight known diagnostic markers for TSC and TSY. Association test statistics including kinship and population structure reproduced five known marker–trait associations of candidate genes and discovered new ones, particularly for tuber yield and starch yield. The inclusion of landraces increased the number of detected marker–trait associations. Integration of the present association mapping results with previous QTL linkage mapping studies for TY, TSC, TSY, TW, TN, and tuberization revealed some hot spots of QTL for these traits in the potato genome. The genomic positions of markers linked or associated with QTL for complex tuber traits suggest high multiplicity and genome wide distribution of the underlying genes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00122-016-2665-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users