Effects of Hylan G-F 20 supplementation on cartilage preservation detected by magnetic resonance imaging in osteoarthritis of the knee: a two-year single-blind clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although viscosupplementation is an effective symptomatic treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA), the effect of longer term administration on articular cartilage has not been fully explored. We examined the effect of viscosupplementation with Hylan G-F 20 on knee cartilage over 2 years in patients with knee OA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this prospective, single-blind, parallel control group pilot study, 78 patients with symptomatic knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade II and III) were assigned to either intervention group (n = 39 receiving 4 courses of 3 × 2.0 ml of intra-articular Hylan G-F 20 injections at 6 month intervals) or control group (n = 39 receiving usual care for knee OA without injections). Magnetic resonance imaging of the study knee was performed at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Cartilage volume and defects were assessed using validated methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-five subjects (71%) completed 24 month follow up. Over 24 months, the intervention group had a reduced annual percentage rate of medial and lateral tibial cartilage volume loss (mean ± SD, -0.3 ± 2.7% and -1.4 ± 4.3%) compared with the control group (2.3 ± 2.6% and 1.4 ± 2.6%, P = 0.001 and 0.005 for difference, respectively). The intervention group also showed reduced cartilage defect score increment in the medial tibiofemoral compartment (0.1 ± 1.3) compared with the control group (0.8 ± 1.5, P = 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Six monthly intra-articular injections of Hylan G-F 20 administered to patients with symptomatic knee OA have a beneficial effect on knee cartilage preservation measured by both cartilage volume and cartilage defects. Hylan G-F 20 warrants further evaluation in larger clinical trials as a possible disease-modifying agent in the treatment of knee OA.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (<a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00393393">NCT00393393</a>).</p

PTPN22 is associated with susceptibility to psoriatic arthritis but not psoriasis: evidence for a further PsA-specific risk locus

Objectives Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis; it has a higher estimated genetic component than psoriasis alone, however most genetic susceptibility loci identified for PsA to date are also shared with psoriasis. Here we attempt to validate novel single nucleotide polymorphisms selected from our recent PsA Immunochip study and determine specificity to PsA. Methods A total of 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms were selected (PImmunochip <1×10−4) for validation genotyping in 1177 cases and 2155 controls using TaqMan. Meta-analysis of Immunochip and validation data sets consisted of 3139 PsA cases and 11 078 controls. Novel PsA susceptibility loci were compared with data from two large psoriasis studies (WTCCC2 and Immunochip) to determine PsA specificity. Results We found genome-wide significant association to rs2476601, mapping to PTPN22 (p=1.49×10−9, OR=1.32), but no evidence for association in the psoriasis cohort (p=0.34) and the effect estimates were significantly different between PsA and psoriasis (p=3.2×10−4). Additionally, we found genome-wide significant association to the previously reported psoriasis risk loci; NOS2 (rs4795067, p=5.27×10−9). Conclusions For the first time, we report genome-wide significant association of PTPN22 (rs2476601) to PsA susceptibility, but no evidence for association to psoriasis

Developments in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis

Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are common conditions for which treatment options have until recently been extremely limited. Recent advances in our understanding of the immunology and genetics underlying these conditions have been rapid, and have contributed to the development of new therapies for these diseases. This article discusses the current state of the art in our understanding of the aetiopathogenesis of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and current therapies for the diseases

Videolla verkkoon : Showreel-videon merkitys tuotantoyhtiölle sosiaalisessa mediassa

Opinnäytetyössäni tutkin showreel-videon merkitystä audiovisuaalisen alan yrityk-sessä. Tavoitteena on kehittää pienen tuotantoyhtiön markkinointia tuottamalla sosiaaliseen mediaan lyhyt showreel-video, joka esittelee yrityksen toiminnan 40 sekun-nissa. Tutkimuksessa selvitän mitä asioita tulee ottaa huomioon, jotta videosta tulee hyvä ja miten muut kotimaiset tuotantoyhtiöt käyttävät sosiaalista mediaa hyödyk-seen analysoimalla niiden Facebook -profiileja. Käytän tutkimukseni taustatietona digitaalista markkinointiviestintää, sosiaalista mediaa markkinointivälineenä ja viraalivideoita. Sosiaalinen media on muuttanut digitaalista markkinointiviestintää radikaalisti viime vuosina ja sitä myötä yritykset markkinoivat itseään yhä useammin viraalivideoita levittämällä. Myös audiovisuaalisella alalla markkinoidaan samalla tavalla koostamalla työnäytteistä niin kutsuttu showreel, joka toimii välineenä työnsaantiin. Tutkimukseni perustuu omiin kokemuksiini työskennellessäni Saha Prodilla showreelin tuottajana, joten käytän pääosin tekemällä tutkimisen menetelmää. Sen lisäksi täydennän tutkimusta omalla analyysillä kotimaisten tuotantoyhtiöiden sosiaalisen median käytöstä. Työni kirjallisena aineistona käytän digitaalisen markkinointiviestinnän kirjallisuutta ja Internet-artikkeleita sekä blogeja. Muun aineiston tukena haastattelin työnantajaani ja showreelin tilaajaa Mikko Pohjolaa sekä Lapin elokuvako-mission projektipäällikköä Johanna Karppista. Liikkuva kuva on kiistatta tehokkain viestintäväline ja se leviää sosiaalisessa mediassa yllättävän nopeasti. Tutkimus on osoittanut että showreel on nykyään hyvin merkittävä markkinointiväline tuotantoyhtiöissä ja toimii samalla hyvänä brändin rakentajana. Showreelistä voidaan saada menestyvä teos kiinnittämällä enemmän huomiota muun muassa pituuteen, kuvien valintaan, leikkaukseen, musiikkiin ja visuaaliseen ilmeeseen. Lapin elokuvakomission showreel on osoittanut, että se voi menestyä Youtubessa ja saa tuhansia katsojia käyttämällä verkostoja hyväksi ja kohdistaa se oikeaan yleisöön. Saha Prodille valmistunut showreel on tuonut yritystä paljon enemmän esille kuin koskaan aiemmin ja se on toiminut tehokkaana sisäänheittäjänä myös uusasiakashankinnoissa. Videon avulla on onnistuttu kertomaan kaikki Saha Prodista vain 40 sekunnissa ja se on tuonut lisää uskottavuutta imagoon.In my thesis I studied the importance of Showreel in a video production company. The aim is to develop a small production company’s marketing in social media with a short video that showcases the company’s operations in 40 seconds. My objective is to investigate how a good Showreel is created and how other Finnish production companies are using social media in marketing, by analyzing their Facebook profiles. My background information for this research is digital marketing, social media as a marketing tool and viral videos. Social media has changed the digital marketing radi-cally in recent years and therefore companies market themselves by spreading viral videos. In addition, the audiovisual sector is marketed in the same way by piling up a so-called Showreel from own work samples, which is used as a tool to getting work to the industry. This research is based on my own experience working in Saha Prod as a Showreel video producer. Therefore, I use the learning-by-doing method. I also have done my analysis of production companies’ activities on social media. Other written sources are literature on digital marketing, Internet articles and blogs. I also interviewed my employer and Showreel subscriber Mikko Pohjola and Lapland Film Commission project manager Johanna Karppinen. No doubt moving image is the most effective communication tool and it can spread in social media surprisingly fast. Research has shown that the Showreel is a significant marketing tool for production companies and it can also work as a brand builder. Showreel can become successful by paying more attention to the work, including the length, image selection, cutting, music and visuals. Lapland Film Commission Showreel has shown that Showreel can succeed by gaining thousands of viewers on Youtube, using networks and focusing it on the right audience. Saha Prod’s complete Showreel has made the company much more visible than ever before, and it has also served as an effective intro in customer purchases. Video has successfully informed everything about Saha Prod only in 40 seconds, and it has increased the credibility of the company image

Dense genotyping of immune-related susceptibility loci reveals new insights into the genetics of psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis and, despite the larger estimated heritability for PsA, the majority of genetic susceptibility loci identified to date are shared with psoriasis. Here, we present results from a case-control association study on 1,962 PsA patients and 8,923 controls using the Immunochip genotyping array. We identify eight loci passing genome-wide significance, secondary independent effects at three loci and a distinct PsA-specific variant at the IL23R locus. We report two novel loci and evidence of a novel PsA-specific association at chromosome 5q31. Imputation of classical HLA alleles, amino acids and SNPs across the MHC region highlights three independent associations to class I genes. Finally, we find an enrichment of associated variants to markers of open chromatin in CD8(+) memory primary T cells. This study identifies key insights into the genetics of PsA that could begin to explain fundamental differences between psoriasis and PsA

Management of Dactylitis in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis: An Updated Literature Review Informing the 2021 GRAPPA Treatment Recommendations

OBJECTIVE: This literature review aimed to identify the most efficacious current interventions for dactylitis and provide up-to-date scientific evidence to support the 2021 Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) recommendations on the management of psoriatic arthritis. METHODS: Original articles published from 2013 to 2020, registered in MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library, describing interventional trials and reporting dactylitis-related outcomes were included. The 20 members of the GRAPPA dactylitis group were divided into 9 subgroups according to treatment, and members of each group independently extracted data from articles/abstracts corresponding to their group by using a standardized data extraction form. RESULTS: Forty-nine publications were analyzed, representing 40 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and including 16,752 patients. Dactylitis was assessed as a secondary outcome in 97.5% of these trials and more than 40% of RCTs did not employ a specific dactylitis measure or instrument. CONCLUSION: The emergence of agents with novel mechanisms of action in recent years, such as interleukin 17 (IL-17), IL-12/23, IL-23, and Janus kinase inhibitors, has significantly expanded the available treatment options for dactylitis. This article points out the lack of consensus regarding dactylitis assessment and the paucity of data concerning the effect of local steroid injections, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Clinical trials evaluating the effect of these traditional and low-cost medications used to treat dactylitis should be encouraged