Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa may suffer from neuropathic pain : A Finnish multicenter study

Non peer reviewe

Biocompatibility of Thermally Hydrocarbonized Porous Silicon Nanoparticles and their Biodistribution in Rats

Peer reviewe

Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa Suffer from Low Health-Related Quality of Life as Measured by the Generic 15D Instrument

Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with various comorbidities and diminished quality of life (QoL). Among dermatological conditions, HS is reported to most severely diminish QoL. This study aimed to analyse the health-related QoL (HRQoL) of patients with HS in more detail by using generic to disease-specific HRQoL questionnaires. Correlations between the HRQoL measures and HS disease severity measures were assessed. Methods: We analysed the HRQoL and clinical severity of patients with HS (N = 92) treated in 5 Finnish hospitals using HRQoL measurement tools most often used in dermatological clinics, as well as the generic 15D instrument (standardized and self-administered 15-dimensional measure of HRQoL). The disease severity was assessed using the Hurley stage, International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System, and disease severity evaluation by the investigator. Results: The mean 15D score of HS patients was low and comparable with that of patients with cancers. No correlation was found between HS severity measures and 15D score, indicating that even mild HS has a high impact on HRQoL. Conclusions: Our findings strengthen the understanding about HS as a debilitating disease and even compared with non-dermatological conditions and highlight the need of comprehensive care of patients with HS.</p

Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa Suffer from Low Health-Related Quality of Life as Measured by the Generic 15D Instrument

Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with various comorbidities and diminished quality of life (QoL). Among dermatological conditions, HS is reported to most severely diminish QoL. This study aimed to analyse the health-related QoL (HRQoL) of patients with HS in more detail by using generic to disease-specific HRQoL questionnaires. Correlations between the HRQoL measures and HS disease severity measures were assessed. Methods: We analysed the HRQoL and clinical severity of patients with HS (N = 92) treated in 5 Finnish hospitals using HRQoL measurement tools most often used in dermatological clinics, as well as the generic 15D instrument (standardized and self-Administered 15-dimensional measure of HRQoL). The disease severity was assessed using the Hurley stage, International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System, and disease severity evaluation by the investigator. Results: The mean 15D score of HS patients was low and comparable with that of patients with cancers. No correlation was found between HS severity measures and 15D score, indicating that even mild HS has a high impact on HRQoL. Conclusions: Our findings strengthen the understanding about HS as a debilitating disease and even compared with non-dermatological conditions and highlight the need of comprehensive care of patients with HS.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Investigation of silicon nanoparticles produced by centrifuge chemical vapor deposition for applications in therapy and diagnostics

Porous silicon (PSi) is a biocompatible and biodegradable material, which can be utilized in biomedical applications. It has several favorable properties, which makes it an excellent material for building engineered nanosystems for drug delivery and diagnostic purposes. One significant hurdle for commercial applications of PSi is the lack of industrial scale production of nanosized PSi particles. Here, we report a novel two-step production method for PSi nanoparticles. The method is based on centrifuge chemical vapor deposition (cCVD) of elemental silicon in an industrial scale reactor followed by electrochemical post-processing to porous particles. Physical properties, biocompatibility and in vivo biodistribution of the cCVD produced nanoparticles were investigated and compared to PSi nanoparticles conventionally produced from silicon wafers by pulse electrochemical etching. Our results demonstrate that the cCVD production provides PSi nanoparticles with comparable physical and biological quality to the conventional method. This method may circumvent several limitations of the conventional method such as the requirements for high purity monocrystalline silicon substrates as starting material and the material losses during the top-down milling process of the pulse-etched films to porous nanoparticles. However, the electroless etching required for the porosification of cCVD-produced nanoparticles limited control over the pore size, but is amenable for scaling of the production to industrial requirements

Engineered antibody-functionalized porous silicon nanoparticles for therapeutic targeting of pro-survival pathway in endogenous neuroblasts after stroke

Generation of new neurons by utilizing the regenerative potential of adult neural stem cells (NSCs) and neuroblasts is an emerging therapeutic strategy to treat various neurodegenerative diseases, including neuronal loss after stroke. Committed to neuronal lineages, neuroblasts are differentiated from NSCs and have a lower proliferation rate. In stroke the proliferation of the neuroblasts in the neurogenic areas is increased, but the limiting factor for regeneration is the poor survival of migrating neuroblasts. Survival of neuroblasts can be promoted by small molecules; however, new drug delivery methods are needed to specifically target these cells. Herein, to achieve specific targeting, we have engineered biofunctionalized porous silicon nanoparticles (PSi NPs) conjugated with a specific antibody against polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM). The PSi NPs loaded with a small molecule drug, SC-79, were able to increase the activity of the Akt signaling pathway in doublecortin positive neuroblasts both in cultured cells and in vivo in the rat brain. This study opens up new possibilities to target drug effects to migrating neuroblasts and facilitate differentiation, maturation and survival of developing neurons. The conjugated PSi NPs are a novel tool for future studies to develop new therapeutic strategies aiming at regenerating functional neurocircuitry after stoke

Intravenous Delivery of Hydrophobin-Functionalized Porous Silicon Nanoparticles: Stability, Plasma Protein Adsorption and Biodistribution

Rapid immune recognition and subsequent elimination from the circulation hampers the use of many nanomaterials as carriers to targeted drug delivery and controlled release in the intravenous route. Here, we report the effect of a functional self-assembled protein coating on the intravenous biodistribution of ¹⁸F-labeled thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (THCPSi) nanoparticles in rats. ¹⁸F-Radiolabeling enables the sensitive and easy quantification of nanoparticles in tissues using radiometric methods and allows imaging of the nanoparticle biodistribution with positron emission tomography. Coating with <i>Trichoderma reesei</i> HFBII altered the hydrophobicity of ¹⁸F-THCPSi nanoparticles and resulted in a pronounced change in the degree of plasma protein adsorption to the nanoparticle surface <i>in vitro</i>. The HFBII-THCPSi nanoparticles were biocompatible in RAW 264.7 macrophages and HepG2 liver cells making their intravenous administration feasible. <i>In vivo</i>, the distribution of the nanoparticles between the liver and spleen, the major mononuclear phagocyte system organs in the body, was altered compared to that of uncoated ¹⁸F-THCPSi. Identification of the adsorbed proteins revealed that certain opsonins and apolipoproteins are enriched in HFBII-functionalized nanoparticles, whereas the adsorption of abundant plasma components such as serum albumin and fibrinogen is decreased