Web-based intensive therapeutic contact for eating disorders

Contains fulltext : 121984.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Although many people suffer from eating disorders, which have high mortality and severe morbidity, only a small number of affected people in the Netherlands are treated by mental health professionals. Eating disorders are often not recognized. Many patients do not ask for help because of shame, a lack of awareness, or denial of the disorder. Even when the disorder is recognized, it is difficult to motivate patients to seek help. As a result, many patients are in urgent need of help.1 p

Risk of candidiasis associated with interleukin-17 inhibitors:A real-world observational study of multiple independent sources

BACKGROUND: Biologics directed against the T-helper (Th)-17 pathway have been approved for several inflammatory diseases. Interleukin (IL)-17 is involved in anti-Candida host defense, and clinical trials suggested increased candidiasis incidence during IL-17 inhibitor therapy. We describe the worldwide epidemiology of candidiasis during Th17 inhibitor therapy, and immunological mechanisms involved in candidiasis susceptibility. METHODS: A comprehensive analysis of multiple independent sources reporting Candida adverse events during biologics inhibiting the Th17 pathway was performed. Association between Th17 inhibitors and candidiasis was assessed using safety reports of (1) WHO and (2) EMA, (3) a population-based prescriptions registry, and (4) a psoriasis cohort. In a cohort of psoriasis patients experiencing candidiasis during Th17 inhibitors, Candida killing by immune cells and serum inflammatory proteome were analyzed. FINDINGS: A strong association between IL-17 inhibitors and candidiasis (ROR 10·20) was found in the WHO database, particularly for cutaneous (ROR 12·28), oropharyngeal (ROR 19·18), and esophageal candidiasis (ROR 21·20). Risk was higher relative to TNF-α inhibitors (4–10-fold, depending on candidiasis type), confirmed by EMA reports (16–33-fold), prescriptions registry (2–42-fold), and a psoriasis cohort (3–25-fold). After start of IL-17 inhibitors, patients’ risk of candidiasis requiring antifungals increased 2–16 fold. In the psoriasis cohort, 58% of IL-17 treatment episodes were associated with candidiasis. In Th17 inhibitor recipients, proteins involved in anti-Candida immunity and Candida killing by mononuclear leukocytes were impaired. INTERPRETATION: IL-17 inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of oropharyngeal, esophageal, and cutaneous candidiasis, posing a significant disease burden for IL-17 inhibitor recipients. FUNDING: RadboudUMC

Initial results of secukinumab drug survival in patients with psoriasis: A multicentre daily practice cohort study

Interleukin 17-antagonist secukinumab demonstrated high efficacy for treatment of psoriasis in randomized controlled trials. However, performance in daily practice may differ from trials. Drug survival is a comprehensive outcome covering effectiveness and safety, suitable for analyses of daily practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate drug survival of secukinumab in a daily practice psoriasis cohort. Data were collected from 13 hospitals. Drug survival was analysed using Kaplan–Meier survival curves, split for reason of discontinuation. In total, 196 patients were included (83% biologic experienced). Overall, 12 and 18 months drug survival of secukinumab was 76% and 67%, respectively, and was mostly determined by ineffectiveness. There was a trend towards shorter drug survival in women and in biologic experienced patients. Thirteen percent of patients experienced at least one episode of fungal infection. This is one of the first studies of drug survival of secukinumab in patients with psoriasis treated in daily practice

Blood-Based Immune Profiling Combined with Machine Learning Discriminates Psoriatic Arthritis from Psoriasis Patients

Psoriasis (Pso) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, and up to 30% of Pso patients develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which can lead to irreversible joint damage. Early detection of PsA in Pso patients is crucial for timely treatment but difficult for dermatologists to implement. We, therefore, aimed to find disease-specific immune profiles, discriminating Pso from PsA patients, possibly facilitating the correct identification of Pso patients in need of referral to a rheumatology clinic. The phenotypes of peripheral blood immune cells of consecutive Pso and PsA patients were analyzed, and disease-specific immune profiles were identified via a machine learning approach. This approach resulted in a random forest classification model capable of distinguishing PsA from Pso (mean AUC = 0.95). Key PsA-classifying cell subsets selected included increased proportions of differentiated CD4+CD196+CD183-CD194+ and CD4+CD196-CD183-CD194+ T-cells and reduced proportions of CD196+ and CD197+ monocytes, memory CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets and CD4+ regulatory T-cells. Within PsA, joint scores showed an association with memory CD8+CD45RA-CD197- effector T-cells and CD197+ monocytes. To conclude, through the integration of in-depth flow cytometry and machine learning, we identified an immune cell profile discriminating PsA from Pso. This immune profile may aid in timely diagnosing PsA in Pso

Biological treatment for psoriasis and the risk of herpes zoster: Results from the Psoriasis Longitudinal Assessment and Registry (PSOLAR).

PURPOSE: To describe the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with psoriasis and its relation to non-biologic systemic therapies or biologic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Psoriasis Longitudinal Assessment and Registry (PSOLAR) is an international, prospective, registry that follows adult patients with psoriasis eligible to receive non-biologic systemic therapies or biologic therapies. Mutually exclusive therapy cohorts were defined. HZ incident rates were calculated for each therapy cohort and rates between cohorts were compared using hazard ratios (HR) adjusted for potential confounders, in new users and prevalent-exposure patients. RESULTS: A total of 55 HZ events were identified in 10,469 patients in PSOLAR. The adjusted hazard ratio in the overall study population (new user and prevalent-exposed patients) was 2.22 (95% CI: 0.82-5.97; p = 0.116) for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) inhibitors, 2.73 (0.98-7.58; p = 0.054) for ustekinumab, and 1.04 (0.20-5.41; p = 0.966) for methotrexate vs. reference (combined phototherapy, systemic steroids, topical therapy, and immunomodulators other than methotrexate). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to ustekinumab, TNF-alpha inhibitors, and methotrexate was not associated with a statistically significant increased risk of HZ. However, HRs were elevated for ustekinumab and TNF-alpha inhibitors; a larger number of herpes zoster events would be needed to assess the presence or absence of risk

b-Defensin-2 Protein Is a Serum Biomarker for Disease Activity in Psoriasis and Reaches Biologically Relevant Concentrations in Lesional Skin

Abstract Background: Previous studies have extensively documented antimicrobial and chemotactic activities of beta-defensins. Human beta-defensin-2 (hBD-2) is strongly expressed in lesional psoriatic epidermis, and recently we have shown that high beta-defensin genomic copy number is associated with psoriasis susceptibility. It is not known, however, if biologically and pathophysiologically relevant concentrations of hBD-2 protein are present in vivo, which could support an antimicrobial and proinflammatory role of beta-defensins in lesional psoriatic epidermis

Initial Results of Secukinumab Drug Survival in Patients with Psoriasis:A Multicentre Daily Practice Cohort Study

Interleukin 17-antagonist secukinumab demonstrated high efficacy for treatment of psoriasis in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, performance in daily practice may differ from trials. Drug survival is a comprehensive outcome covering effectiveness and safety, suitable for analyses of daily practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate drug survival of secukinumab in a daily practice psoriasis cohort. Data were collected from 13 hospitals. Drug survival was analysed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, split for reason of discontinuation. In total, 196 patients were included (83% biologic experienced). Overall, 12 and 18 months drug survival of secukinumab was 76% and 67%, respectively, and was mostly determined by ineffectiveness. There was a trend towards shorter drug survival in women and in biologic experienced patients. Thirteen percent of patients experienced at least 1 episode of fungal infection. This is one of the first studies of drug survival of secukinumab in patients with psoriasis treated in daily practic

β-Defensin-2 Protein Is a Serum Biomarker for Disease Activity in Psoriasis and Reaches Biologically Relevant Concentrations in Lesional Skin

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have extensively documented antimicrobial and chemotactic activities of beta-defensins. Human beta-defensin-2 (hBD-2) is strongly expressed in lesional psoriatic epidermis, and recently we have shown that high beta-defensin genomic copy number is associated with psoriasis susceptibility. It is not known, however, if biologically and pathophysiologically relevant concentrations of hBD-2 protein are present in vivo, which could support an antimicrobial and proinflammatory role of beta-defensins in lesional psoriatic epidermis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that systemic levels of hBD-2 showed a weak but significant correlation with beta defensin copy number in healthy controls but not in psoriasis patients with active disease. In psoriasis patients but not in atopic dermatitis patients, we found high systemic hBD-2 levels that strongly correlated with disease activity as assessed by the PASI score. Our findings suggest that systemic levels in psoriasis are largely determined by secretion from involved skin and not by genomic copy number. Modelling of the in vivo epidermal hBD-2 concentration based on the secretion rate in a reconstructed skin model for psoriatic epidermis provides evidence that epidermal hBD-2 levels in vivo are probably well above the concentrations required for in vitro antimicrobial and chemokine-like effects. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Serum hBD-2 appears to be a useful surrogate marker for disease activity in psoriasis. The discrepancy between hBD-2 levels in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis could explain the well known differences in infection rate between these two diseases