Telogen Effluvium

Telogen effluvium (TE) is a noninflammatory disease characterized by diffuse loss of telogen hair. It is the most frequent cause of diffuse hair loss and the actual incidence of the disease is not known. According to the underlying etiology, TE could be physiologically and pathologically classified. The evaluation of a patient with TE includes a detailed history, physical examination, and laboratory tests. The patients should be questioned in terms of TE subtype, duration, and clinical course of hair loss. The most important point in the treatment of TE is to consult about the natural course of the disease

The Dermatological Spectrum of Coronavirus Disease-19 Disease: Cutaneous Signs for Diagnostics and Prognosis and an Expanded Classification: COVID-19 and skin

During severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (CoV)-2- induced CoV disease (COVID)-19 pandemic cutaneous signs of the disease gained increasing interest for early diagnosis, to establish a prognosis and for differential diagnoses. The present review aims to summarize current knowledge on cutaneous findings in COVID-19. The findings are classified and described clinically. The spectrum of cutaneous signs include acro-ischemic lesions, rash, chilblain-like eruptions, and androgenetic alopecia. Their significance is given, and treatment options are presented. This may allow the clinicians to support triage and optimal treatment for COVID-19 patients. Key Bullets • _The COVID-19 pandemic has affected patients world-wide. Despite the leading symptoms are in the respiratory, cardiovascular, hematologic, and neurologic systems, cutaneous manifestations are increasingly be observed. • _Cutaneous findings in COVID-19 patients may have prognostic and therapeutic consequences. This review attempts to classify cutaneous symptoms, document the observed frequency of their occurrence, the significance for triage of COVID-19-patients, and the treatment of cutaneous manifestations

Optical coherence tomography findings in conversion disorder: are there any differences in the etiopathogenesis of subtypes?

Background: Optical coherence tomography is a contactless and fast neuroimaging method. Previous Studies have observed thinning of the ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer in many neurodegenerative diseases. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the layers of ganglion cell complex in conversion disorder. Methods: This study involved 50 conversion disorder patients and 50 healthy volunteers as the control. The parameters were measured and recorded automatically by a spectral optical coherence tomography device. Results: There was no difference in the retinal nerve fiber layers between the conversion disorder group and the control group (p > 0.05). The left and right choroid layer thickness acquired from three regions of the choroid layer was higher in patients compared with controls (p < 0.05). The ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer volumes were also significantly lower in the patient group (p < 0.05). Discussion: These ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer findings suggest that neurodegeneration occurs during the course of conversion disorder especially in subtype involved motor component. The choroid seems to be more related to the sensory component and it may be used to determine the active stage of the disease and to monitor inflammatory process like other inflammation markers used in systemic inflammatory diseases

Propolis-loaded liposomes: characterization and evaluation of the in vitro bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds

Background and purpose: Propolis has low water solubility, poor stability, and limited bioaccessibility of phenolic constituents when subjected to in vitro digestion. To overcome these drawbacks, the liposomal encapsulation method can be employed. Experimental approach: Soybean phosphatidylcholine lecithin mixed with Tween 80 (T80) and ammonium phosphatides (AMP) was used to produce propolis extract (PE)-loaded liposomes. The mean particle size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency values, and transmission electron microscopy analysis were used to characterize liposomes. Individual phenolics were determined for digested and nondigested propolis-loaded liposomes and propolis extract. Key results: Tween 80 incorporation reduced the size of unloaded liposomes, whereas AMP inclusion yielded larger liposomes. In both formulations, PE loading significantly increased the size and reduced the zeta potential values and homogeneity of the size distribution. In free PE, the most bioaccessible polyphenols were phenolic acids (3.20 to 5.63 %), and flavonoids such as caffeic acid phenethyl ester, galangin, pinobanksin, and pinocembrin (0.03 to 2.12 %) were the least bioaccessible. Both liposomal propolis provided significantly higher bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds. The liposomes with T80 and AMP in their compositions recovered 52.43 and 185.90 % of the total amount of phenolic compounds in the nondigested samples, respectively. The liposomes containing AMP not only exhibited high solubility for PE but also provided protection to the phenolic compounds during in vitro digestion. Conclusion: Liposomal encapsulation could be a promising approach to improving the solubility and stability of PE in digestive fluids, making it suitable for the delivery of propolis in oral formulations

Production of freeze-dried flaxseed oil powders by using rocket seed gum as an alternative novel encapsulation agent to improve oxidative stability

Flaxseed oil rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA) has many health beneficial properties, but suffers from oxidation degradation due to its unsaturated nature, and may need a protective delivery system to apply to different food formulations. In this study, the rocket seed gum was used as a novel encapsulation agent to produce freeze-dried powders. The rocket seed gum (RSG), gum arabic (GA), and their combination were used at two different oil: wall material ratios. Replacing GA with RSG changed the flow behavior of emulsions from Newtonian to shear-thinning, also RSG addition improved the rheological properties of flaxseed emulsion and provided viscoelastic solid characteristics. The encapsulation efficiency (EE %) of flaxseed oil was changed between 38.14 and 52.37%. The effect of wall material type was not significant while the ratio of wall material to oil was significant (p<0.05). The FT-IR image of powders showed that flaxseed oil was successfully encapsulated by the RSG. The flaxseed oil powders prepared by RSG showed 3.12 to 5.73 times higher oxidative stability than the flaxseed oil and the powder prepared only with GA. The more amount of air voids observed in SEM images of powders produced with GA might also be related to their lower oxidative stability. Our study showed that rocket seed gum can be successfully used as a new encapsulation agent to produce oxidatively stable microencapsulated flaxseed oil powders

Increased P-wave dispersion in patients with newly diagnosed lichen planus

OBJECTIVE: Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune mucocutaneous disease. Recent research has emphasized the strong association between inflammation and both P-wave dispersion and dyslipidemia. The difference between the maximum and minimum P-wave durations on an electrocardiogram is defined as P-wave dispersion. The prolongation of P-wave dispersion has been demonstrated to be an independent risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to investigate P-wave dispersion in patients with lichen planus. METHODS: Fifty-eight patients with lichen planus and 37 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included in this study. We obtained electrocardiographic recordings from all participants and used them to calculate the P-wave variables. We also assessed the levels of highly sensitive C-reactive protein, which is an inflammatory marker, and the lipid levels for each group. The results were reported as the means ± standard deviations and percentages. RESULTS: The P-wave dispersion was significantly higher in lichen planus patients than in the control group. Additionally, highly sensitive C-reactive protein, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in lichen planus patients compared to the controls. There was a significant positive correlation between highly sensitive C-reactive protein and P-wave dispersion (r = 0.549,

Chemerin as a marker of subclinical cardiac involvement in psoriatic patients

Background: Chemerin has been associated with psoriasis and inflammation, but there are no studies demonstrating an association between chemerin and subclinical cardiac involvement in psoriatic patients. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate whether psoriatic patients with increased epicardial fat tissue, impaired flow-mediated dilatation, and diastolic dysfunction have higher serum chemerin levels than a healthy control group. Methods: The study included 60 psoriatic patients and 32 healthy controls. Echocardiographic parameters, epicardial fat tissue, flow-mediated dilatation, and chemerin levels were recorded for both groups. Results: The serum levels of chemerin in the psoriatic patients were significantly higher than in the control group. The diastolic function parameters, including isovolumic contraction and relaxation time, E’/A’ (early diastolic mitral annular velocity/late diastolic mitral annular velocity), and E/E’ (early diastolic peak velocity of mitral inflow/early diastolic mitral annular velocity) values, differed significantly between the groups. Epicardial fat tissue was significantly higher and flow-mediated dilatation was significantly lower in psoriatic patients than in the controls. Chemerin was significantly positively correlated with age, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, waist circumference, E/E’, and epicardial fat tissue. Serum chemerin was significantly negatively correlated with E’, E’/A’, and flow-mediated dilatation. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that chemerin was independently correlated with E/E’. Conclusions: Psoriatic patients exhibit early subclinical atherosclerosis and diastolic dysfunction. Chemerin can be used as a marker to screen for patients with subclinical cardiac involvement

Impact of a 6-wk olive oil supplementation in healthy adults on urinary proteomic biomarkers of coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes (types 1 and 2): a randomized, parallel, controlled, double-blind study

Background: Olive oil (OO) consumption is associated with cardiovascular disease prevention because of both its oleic acid and phenolic contents. The capacity of OO phenolics to protect against low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation is the basis for a health claim by the European Food Safety Authority. Proteomic biomarkers enable an early, presymptomatic diagnosis of disease, which makes them important and effective, but understudied, tools for primary prevention. Objective: We evaluated the impact of supplementation with OO, either low or high in phenolics, on urinary proteomic biomarkers of coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and diabetes. Design: Self-reported healthy participants (n = 69) were randomly allocated (stratified block random assignment) according to age and body mass index to supplementation with a daily 20-mL dose of OO either low or high in phenolics (18 compared with 286 mg caffeic acid equivalents per kg, respectively) for 6 wk. Urinary proteomic biomarkers were measured at baseline and 3 and 6 wk alongside blood lipids, the antioxidant capacity, and glycation markers. Results: The consumption of both OOs improved the proteomic CAD score at endpoint compared with baseline (mean improvement: –0.3 for low-phenolic OO and −0.2 for high-phenolic OO; P &#60; 0.01) but not CKD or diabetes proteomic biomarkers. However, there was no difference between groups for changes in proteomic biomarkers or any secondary outcomes including plasma triacylglycerols, oxidized LDL, and LDL cholesterol. Conclusion: In comparison with low-phenolic OO, supplementation for 6 wk with high-phenolic OO does not lead to an improvement in cardiovascular health markers in a healthy cohort. This trial was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN93136746

Analysis of the common genetic component of large-vessel vasculitides through a meta- Immunochip strategy

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) are major forms of large-vessel vasculitis (LVV) that share clinical features. To evaluate their genetic similarities, we analysed Immunochip genotyping data from 1,434 LVV patients and 3,814 unaffected controls. Genetic pleiotropy was also estimated. The HLA region harboured the main disease-specific associations. GCA was mostly associated with class II genes (HLA-DRB1/HLA-DQA1) whereas TAK was mostly associated with class I genes (HLA-B/MICA). Both the statistical significance and effect size of the HLA signals were considerably reduced in the cross-disease meta-analysis in comparison with the analysis of GCA and TAK separately. Consequently, no significant genetic correlation between these two diseases was observed when HLA variants were tested. Outside the HLA region, only one polymorphism located nearby the IL12B gene surpassed the study-wide significance threshold in the meta-analysis of the discovery datasets (rs755374, P?=?7.54E-07; ORGCA?=?1.19, ORTAK?=?1.50). This marker was confirmed as novel GCA risk factor using four additional cohorts (PGCA?=?5.52E-04, ORGCA?=?1.16). Taken together, our results provide evidence of strong genetic differences between GCA and TAK in the HLA. Outside this region, common susceptibility factors were suggested, especially within the IL12B locus