Comparison of personality traits among patients with psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and stress: a pilot study

Background: Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis are chronic skin diseases that greatly affect the quality of life. Both diseases can be triggered or exacerbated by stress. Objective: We aimed to differentiate personality traits between patients with chronic skin conditions and people treated for stress in a pilot study. Methods: Patients participating voluntarily in educational programs in Belgium and Switzerland were recruited to complete personality trait questionnaires, including the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). A comparison was made with patients treated for work-related stress. Results: A total of 48 and 91 patients suffering from skin diseases and work-related stress, respectively, were included in the study. Based on the questionnaires, we found that dermatology patients were less persistent and impulsive than those with work-related stress. Dermatology patients also exhibited more rigidness and less focus on performance. Finally, patients with work-related stress seem more likely to change in response to health-promoting programs than patients with chronic dermatoses. Conclusion: Patients with chronic skin diseases may perceive and cope with stress differently in comparison to patients with work-related stress due to inherent personality traits. Therefore, stress coping mechanisms may differ among different diseases. More research is needed into the design of educational interventions and the impact of personality traits in disease-specific groups

Short-term dexamethasone treatment transiently, but not permanently, attenuates fibrosis after acute-to-chronic kidney injury

Figure S4. Original blots of F4/80 and α-SMA protein expression. Dex/Veh Wk3: Animals were euthanized after treatment with dexamethasone/vehicle respectively (3 weeks after UIRI); Dex/Veh Wk6: animals were euthanized 3 weeks after treatment with dexamethasone/vehicle respectively (6 weeks after UIRI); Untreated: animals were euthanized 3 weeks after UIRI; Sham: animals were euthanized 6 weeks after mock-UIRI. A: Original Western Blot of F4/80 macrophage/monocyte and β-actin protein expression. It should be noted that under non-reducing circumstances the molecular weight of F4/80 is 102 kDa. For reducing circumstances (i.e. boiling in 2-mercaptoethanol), as used in our study, Starkey et al. [38] reported that the antigen is cleaved in two fragments of 20 kDa and 80 kDa, the latter of which detected in our analysis. B: Original Western Blot of α-SMA macrophage/monocyte and β-actin protein expression. (JPG 439 kb

Use of principal component analysis to assess factors controlling net N mineralization in deciduous and coniferous forest soils.

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