Standardized reporting of the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM): a recommendation by the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) Initiative

Several organizations from multiple fields of medicine are setting standards for clinical research including protocol development,1 harmonization of outcome reporting,2 statistical analysis,3 quality assessment4 and reporting of findings.1 Clinical research standardization facilitates the interpretation and synthesis of data, increases the usability of trial results for guideline groups and shared decision‐making, and reduces selective outcome reporting bias. The mission of the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative is to establish an agreed‐upon core set of outcomes to be measured and reported in all clinical trials of atopic dermatitis (AD)

Lymnaea schirazensis, an Overlooked Snail Distorting Fascioliasis Data: Genotype, Phenotype, Ecology, Worldwide Spread, Susceptibility, Applicability

BACKGROUND: Lymnaeid snails transmit medical and veterinary important trematodiases, mainly fascioliasis. Vector specificity of fasciolid parasites defines disease distribution and characteristics. Different lymnaeid species appear linked to different transmission and epidemiological patterns. Pronounced susceptibility differences to absolute resistance have been described among lymnaeid populations. When assessing disease characteristics in different endemic areas, unexpected results were obtained in studies on lymnaeid susceptibility to Fasciola. We undertook studies to understand this disease transmission heterogeneity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A ten-year study in Iran, Egypt, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru, demonstrated that such heterogeneity is not due to susceptibility differences, but to a hitherto overlooked cryptic species, Lymnaea schirazensis, confused with the main vector Galba truncatula and/or other Galba/Fossaria vectors. Nuclear rDNA and mtDNA sequences and phylogenetic reconstruction highlighted an old evolutionary divergence from other Galba/Fossaria species, and a low intraspecific variability suggesting a recent spread from one geographical source. Morphometry, anatomy and egg cluster analyses allowed for phenotypic differentiation. Selfing, egg laying, and habitat characteristics indicated a migration capacity by passive transport. Studies showed that it is not a vector species (n = 8572 field collected, 20 populations): snail finding and penetration by F. hepatica miracidium occur but never lead to cercarial production (n = 338 experimentally infected). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This species has been distorting fasciolid specificity/susceptibility and fascioliasis geographical distribution data. Hence, a large body of literature on G. truncatula should be revised. Its existence has henceforth to be considered in research. Genetic data on livestock, archeology and history along the 10,000-year post-domestication period explain its wide spread from the Neolithic Fertile Crescent. It is an efficient biomarker for the follow-up of livestock movements, a crucial aspect in fascioliasis emergence. It offers an outstanding laboratory model for genetic studies on susceptibility/resistance in F. hepatica/lymnaeid interaction, a field of applied research with disease control perspectives

Circulating Cytokines after Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Preliminary Study

Several studies show cytokine concentrations in the peripheral blood are associated with inflammatory activity and surgical trauma. Cytokine concentrations have more rapid increase and quicker return to normal values than either C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate – a matter of hours rather than weeks; some studies suggest they are better predictors of postoperative infection than C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Threshold levels of interleukin-6 after joint arthroplasty have been determined, but levels of other potentially useful cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-8, interleukin-10, etc) are not known. We measured the serum levels of 25 different cytokines before and after hip and knee arthroplasties and identified those associated with surgical trauma. Peripheral venous blood samples (one preoperative and three postoperative) from 49 patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty were analyzed by laser chromatography. Three of the 25 cytokines had a relationship with postsurgical trauma, which included one deep infection. Serum levels of these three cytokines might be useful to identify periprosthetic infections during the early postoperative period when C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate remain elevated