Usefulness of Ultrasound Imaging in Detecting Psoriatic Arthritis of Fingers and Toes in Patients with Psoriasis

Background. Given that clinical evaluation may underestimate the joint damage and that early treatment can slow down psoriatic arthritis (PsA) progression, screening psoriasis patients with imaging tools that can depict early PsA changes would entail clear benefits. Objective. To compare the ability of X-ray and ultrasound (US) examination in detecting morphological abnormalities consistent with early PsA in patients with psoriasis, using rheumatological evaluation as the gold standard for diagnosis. Methods. Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and no previous PsA diagnosis attending our outpatient dermatology clinic and reporting finger/toe joint and/or tendon pain underwent X-ray and US evaluation; they were subsequently referred to a rheumatologist for clinical examination and review of imaging findings. Results. Abnormal US and/or X-ray findings involving at least one finger and/or toe (joints and/or tendons) were seen in 36/52 patients: 11 had one or more X-ray abnormalities, including erosion, joint space narrowing, new bone formation, periarticular soft tissue swelling, and periarticular osteoporosis; 36 had suspicious changes on US. Conclusion. US proved valuable in detecting joint and/or tendon abnormalities in the fingers and toes of patients with suspicious changes. The dermatologist should consider US to obtain an accurate assessment of suspicious findings

CROSSMODAL INTERACTIONS ON FLAVOR PERCEPTION OF BEVERAGES: IMPACT OF COLORS, MATERIALS AND MUSIC

As shown by many studies the perception of flavor is the result of a multi-sensory combination. This paper, through a series of empirical studies, has the aim to verify how different stimuli impact food flavor. To this end, three experiments have been conducted. In the first one, the study (15 participants) focused on the influence of material in the case of a beverage container. In the second experiment, involving 31 participants, it was analyzed how the congruence or the incongruity between color and aroma might influence the identification of a particular drink. Finally, the third experiment focused on the influence of music on taste of red and white wine (two kind of music were tested, namely Mozart to represent classical music and Justin Timberlake to represent pop music). Participants were asked to mark a value on a scale: data was analyzed through the ANOVA model. Findings and marketing implications are finally discussed

Infliximab monotherapy in neuro-Beh\ue7et's disease: four year follow-up in a long-standing case resistant to conventional therapies

Beh\ue7et's disease (BD) is a vasculitis characterized by hallmark lesions of oral and genital ulcers (Krause andWeinberger, 2008). Involvement of parenchymal central nervous system (neuro-BD) is a serious complication commonly characterized by brainstem and/or basal ganglia lesions (Al- Araji and Kidd, 2009). To date, the treatment of neuro-BD remains largely empirical, andmay not adequately control the disease (Al-Araji and Kidd, 2009). Given the well-recognized role played by tumor necrosis factor-\u3b1 (TNF\u3b1) in the pathogenesis of active BD (Santos Lacomba et al., 2001), infliximab (a monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes the activity of TNF\u3b1) has been adopted with favorable results in patients resistant to conventional immunosuppressive therapies and in a small placebo controlled study (Goossens et al., 2001; Arida et al., 2010)

Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment in nail psoriasis: a randomized controlled open-label study.

Background\u2002 Despite recent advances in the treatment of psoriasis, the therapeutic options for nail psoriasis are very limited, particularly when this is the only manifestation of the disease. Objective\u2002 We performed a randomized controlled open-label study to assess the efficacy and safety of a topical treatment with tacrolimus 0.1% ointment in nail psoriasis. Methods\u2002 In each patient, tacrolimus 0.1% ointment was prescribed for application only on the affected nails of a randomly selected hand for 12\u2003weeks, whereas nails of the other hand did not receive any treatment. Severity of nail psoriasis was evaluated using the Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) score. Results\u2002 We enrolled 21 consecutive psoriatic patients. At week 12, a statistically significant (P\u2003<\u20030.001) improvement was obtained in the treated hands with respect to the hands used as control (NAPSI score absolute change 13.0 and 3.0 respectively). Each of the enrolled patients concluded the period of treatment, but one patient was withdrawn from tacrolimus application after 9\u2003weeks because of the appearance of acute paronychia. Discussion\u2002 Our study showed that tacrolimus 0.1% ointment may be an efficacious and safe therapeutic opportunity in the treatment of nail psoriasis. Our data should be confirmed by a double-blind study with a larger sample of patients

Treatment of psoriasis with etanercept in immunocompromised patients: Two case reports

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α blocking agents have revolutionized the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Concerns remain about increased susceptibility to infection and onset of malignancies, and the use of TNF-α agents in patients with HIV infection or undergoing immunosuppressant treatment is debated. We report cases of severe plaque psoriasis in a patient with HIV infection and in a liver transplant recipient who were successfully treated with etanercept, an anti-TNF-α agent, without notable side-effects

Combined treatment with etanercept 50\ua0mg once weekly and narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy in chronic plaque psoriasis

The combination of etanercept, a tumour necrosis factor \u3b1 inhibitor, with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy has recently been reported to be effective in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, yielding better results than either monotherapy. To assess the efficacy and safety of this combined treatment using the lower approved etanercept dosage. In this single-arm open-label study patients received etanercept 50 mg once weekly combined with NB-UVB phototherapy three times weekly for 8 weeks, followed by etanercept alone until week 12. We evaluated the proportion of patients achieving 75%, 90% and 100% improvement of their initial PASI score (PASI75, PASI90, and PASI100, respectively). Patients were 19 men and 14 women, mean age 48.3 years \ub1 12.1 standard deviation (SD) and mean baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score 22.5 \ub1 7.5. On treatment weeks 4, 8, and 12, 24.2%, 66.7%, and 81.8% of patients achieved PASI75; 8.0%, 15.1%, and 57.6% reached PASI90, and 0%, 6.0%, and 24.2% attained PASI100, respectively. There were no severe side effects. Low-dosage etanercept combined with NB-UVB phototherapy is an effective, safe and economical approach to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Further studies are clearly required to assess its long-term efficacy and safety