Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis syndrome

Objective: Aim of this paper is to illustrate the methodology, design, and development of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to patients with the Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome. Methods: This is a physician-driven, non-population- and electronic-based registry proposed to gather real-world demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data from PFAPA patients. Data recruitment is realized through the on-line Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool. This registry is thought to collect standardized information for clinical research leading to solid real-life evidence. The international scope and the flexibility of the registry will facilitate the realization of cutting-edge study projects through the constant updating of variables and the possible merging and transfer of data between current and future PFAPA registries. Results: A total of 112 centers have already been involved from 23 countries and 4 continents starting from August 24th, 2021, to April 6th, 2022. In total 56/112 have already obtained the formal approval from their local Ethics Committees. The platform counts 321 users (113 principal investigators, 203 site investigators, two lead investigators, and three data managers). The registry collects retrospective and prospective data using 3,856 fields organized into 25 instruments, including PFAPA patient's demographics, medical histories, symptoms, triggers/risk factors, therapies, and impact on the healthcare systems. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for PFAPA patients will enable the on-line collection of standardized data prompting real-life studies through the connection of worldwide groups of physicians and researchers. This project can be found on NCT 05200715

Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis: Myth or Reality? An Unending Debate

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA) accounts for 1–7% of all cases of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and its definition has been a matter of controversy among pediatric rheumatologists for many years. The traditional attribution of JPsA to the spondyloarthropathy group was challenged in the early 1990s, whereas the recent demonstrations of its heterogenous nature have led to questions about its identification as a distinct category in JIA classification. It has been shown that children with the phenotype of JPsA can be divided in two subgroups, one presenting with the features of early-onset ANA-positive JIA, and another that belongs to the spectrum of spondyloarthropathies. The few studies that have compared the clinical characteristics and genetic determinants of JPsA with those of the other JIA categories have obtained contrasting findings. The debate on the categorization of JPsA as a distinct entity within JIA classification is still ongoing and has prompted the revision of its current classification

Shiga Toxin Producing Escherichia coli-Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Mimicking Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis in a Child With Bloody Diarrhea

No abstract availabl

Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis: Myth or Reality? An Unending Debate

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA) accounts for 1–7% of all cases of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and its definition has been a matter of controversy among pediatric rheumatologists for many years. The traditional attribution of JPsA to the spondyloarthropathy group was challenged in the early 1990s, whereas the recent demonstrations of its heterogenous nature have led to questions about its identification as a distinct category in JIA classification. It has been shown that children with the phenotype of JPsA can be divided in two subgroups, one presenting with the features of early-onset ANA-positive JIA, and another that belongs to the spectrum of spondyloarthropathies. The few studies that have compared the clinical characteristics and genetic determinants of JPsA with those of the other JIA categories have obtained contrasting findings. The debate on the categorization of JPsA as a distinct entity within JIA classification is still ongoing and has prompted the revision of its current classification

Gastrointestinal involvement in patients affected with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Objective. Enteropathy is a very common feature in patients with primary immunodeficiencies. In patients with Del22 gastrointestinal (GI) alterations, including feeding disorders and congenital abnormalities have been often reported, mostly in the first year of life. Material and methods. Aim of this monocentric study is to better define the GI involvement in a cohort of 26 patients affected with Del22 syndrome. Anamnestic information was retrospectively collected for each patient. Weight and height parameters at the time of the screening were recorded. Plasma levels of hemoglobin, iron, ferritin, albumin, total protein, calcium, phosphorus, transaminase levels, antigliadin (AGA) IgA and IgG, and antitissue transglutaminase (anti-TGase) titers were measured. Results. A GI involvement was identified in the 58% of patients. The prominent problems were abdominal pain, vomiting, gastroesophageal reflux and chronic constipation. Weight deficiency, short stature and failure to thrive were reported in 54, 42, and 30% of the patients, respectively. The evidence of sideropenic anemia, in keeping with hypoproteinemia, impaired acid steatocrit or cellobiose/mannitol test suggested an abnormal intestinal permeability. In this cohort, a high prevalence of AGA IgA and IgG positivity was observed. Celiac disease (CD) was suspected in three patients, and in one of them confirmed by histology. In this patient, a long-lasting gluten-free diet failed to restore the intestinal architecture. Conclusions. In conclusion, GI involvement is a very common feature in Del22 patients. A better characterization of GI involvement would be very useful to improve the management of these patients

Nursing Teleconsultation for the Outpatient Management of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease during COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: During the COVID-19 outbreak, non-urgent clinic visits or cardiac interventional procedures were postponed to a later date, and the implementation of telemedicine has guaranteed continuity of care for patients with chronic diseases. The aim of our study was to describe the medical interventions following nursing teleconsultation for the outpatient management of patients with cardiovascular diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: All patients who did not attend the follow-up visit from 4 to 15 April 2020 at our institution and who were re-scheduled due to the COVID-19 lockdown were selected to be enrolled in the study. Each patient was followed by a semi-structured telephonic interview performed by a nurse. The outcomes of our study were to assess the patients’ adherence to nursing teleconsultation and the usefulness of nursing teleconsultation to detect clinical conditions in need of medical intervention. Results: In total, 203 patients (81%) underwent nursing teleconsultation in a mean time of 7 ± 3 days from the outpatient visit lost due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, 53 patients (26%) showed poor adherence to nursing teleconsultation. Among the 150 patients (mean age 67 ± 10 years; 68% male) who completed the telephonic interview, the nursing teleconsultation revealed the need of medical intervention in 69 patients (46%), who were more likely at very high cardiovascular risk (77% vs. 48%; p < 0.0003) and who showed a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia (97% vs. 64%; p < 0.0001) and coronary artery disease (75% vs. 48%, p < 0.0008) compared to those not in need of any intervention. The up-titration of the lipid-lowering drugs (n: 32, 74%) was the most frequent medical intervention following the nursing teleconsultation. The mean time between the nursing teleconsultation and the date of the rescheduled in-person follow-up visit was 164 ± 36 days. Conclusions: Nursing teleconsultation is a simple and well-tolerated strategy that ensures the continuity of care and outpatient management for patients with cardiovascular diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic

TLR9 signaling in patients with ectodermal dysplasia and immunodeficiency associated with Nuclear Factor Essential Modulator (NEMO) mutations

Background: Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) is a group of disorders of ectodermal tissues, resulting from mutations in the ectodysplasin-A (EDA) pathway. Hypomorphic mutations in the NF-?B essential modulator (NEMO) result in HED with immunodeficiency (HED-ID, OMIM 300291), characterized by susceptibility to encapsulated bacteria, mycobacteria, and herpes virus infections. Objective: To analyze B-cell compartment and TLR9 signaling in HED-ID patients. Methods: Two HED-ID patients and a patient with HED caused by EDA gene mutation (XLHED) to confirm the implication of NFkB in this pathway were studied. Results: In HED-ID, differently from XLHED, only few B cells acquired the phenotype of IgM memory and differentiated into plasma cells upon TLR9 stimulation. Memory B cells did not produce IgG and IgA, and only small amounts of IgM in vitro. Conclusion: In HED-ID patients, TLR9 signaling is abnormal, in keeping with the lack of IgM memory B cells and natural antibodies. In individuals at a high risk of developing pneumococcal diseases, increased susceptibility to Streptococcus pneumonia infections and poor response to polysaccharide antigens have been associated with the lack of IgM memory B cells, required for the T-independent response toward encapsulated bacteria, whose differentiation from transitional B cells is under TLR9 control. This finding helps explain the susceptibility to infections by encapsulated bacteria

Networking Between γc and GH-R Signaling in the Control of Cell Growth

The family of type I cytokines, including IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15 and IL-21, shares common transducing element the common cytokine receptor γc. The receptors containing γc exert prominent mitogenic effects and play an important role in several immunological functions and in supporting cell survival. The γc-dependent cytokine receptors use the Janus Kinase (JAK)/Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway to mediate gene activation or repression. The Growth Hormone (GH) is a peptide of 191 amino acids and 22 kDa molecular weight, produced by the adenohypophysis, that regulates many important functions, as control of cellular metabolism, immune functions, fertility and somatic growth. Of note, the existence of a previously unappreciated functional interaction between γc and Growth Hormone receptor (GH-R) has been recently documented. The impairment of various GHinduced events in patients affected with severe combined immunodeficiencies due to γc defects suggests a potential functional interaction between GH-R pathways and γc, indicating a further link between endocrine and immune system with potential implication of the molecule in the cell cycle progression and control. GH-R pathways and γc interaction leads to the activation and intranuclear translocation of STAT5b protein. Moreover, evidence suggests that both GHinduced and spontaneous cell cycle progression and cell growth are strongly dependent on the amount of γc expression. To date, the regulation of cell survival and apoptosis can be considered a delicate teamwork and a proper functionality of γc-dependent cytokines on the whole seems to play prominent roles, as revealed by the profound impact that their abnormal function can have on the homeostasis of the immune system