The need for continuous quality assessment for providing optimal comprehensive care for patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Background: Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an orphan disease that mainly affecting the liver and the lung. This creates difficulties to ensure that comprehensive care is administered to both organ systems. Past assessments of care delivered to patients with AATD demonstrated that improvements are needed. For that reason, we reassessed a population of patients with AATD in a large health care system to see if past findings affected present care. Methods: We performed electronic health record (EHR) reviews on all patients with documented AATD and confirmed the diagnosis by evidence of genotyping. We then selected the patients with the ZZ genotype to review comprehensive care. We further compared the findings in patients treated by different specialists (allergy immunology, gastroenterology, and pulmonary). The data were captured and assessed by using a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and data bases. REDCap. Results: We found a total of 329 patients with diagnostic codes for AATD, of these, 203 patients had a confirmed abnormal genotype. Confirmed genotypes were MZ (n = 69), ZZ (n = 48), MS (n = 22), SZ (n = 22). Further focus was applied to the care of the ZZ population secondary to a predisposition to potential severe lung and liver disease. The findings suggest that care can be improved no matter which specialist cares for the patient. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that all three subspecialty groups had room for improvement in providing care to patients with AATD. Our study further demonstrated the need for recurrent quality-assurance programs that may be aided by care suggestions built into the EHR.

Assessment of Patient Perspectives and Barriers to Self-Infusion of Augmentation Therapy for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is an autosomal co-dominant genetic condition that predisposes individuals to pulmonary and hepatic disease, and in severe cases is treated with augmentation by intravenous infusion. Our aim was to assess patient reluctance to transition to self-administered augmentation of alpha-1-antitrypsin, during the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: A phone questionnaire was administered to 22 patients with severe alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency who were currently receiving AAT augmentation therapy. Inclusion criteria included patients [Formula: see text] 18 years old, diagnosed with AATD, and receiving intravenous AAT protein augmentation therapy. Information was gathered regarding demographics, perspectives on transitioning to self-administered treatment, and anxiety and depression prevalence. Results were collected anonymously using REDCap. Joint and marginal statistical analysis was done to quantify links between participants' willingness to transition to self-infusion and correlations with sex, age, years of therapy, anxiety, and depression. RESULTS: Of 22 patients, 14 were male and eight were female. Ages ranged from 36 to 79 years, with an average of 62.5. Genotypes were ZZ (14), MZ (3), and SZ (2) among others. Average length of intravenous augmentation was 9.5 years. The majority, 16 participants, were aware self-infusion was an option. Eight participants were willing to consider transitioning to self-infusion if trained and educated. Eight patients reported that fear of COVID-19 transmission influenced their decision-making. Above-normal anxiety, and depression scores, were found in four, and six patients, respectively. Neither sex, age, years of treatment, anxiety, or depression were found to be associated with willingness to consider self-infusion therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are many reasons AATD patients may benefit from AAT self-infusion, including decreased exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the majority preferred home nurse-infused therapy.

Functional Dynamics of Neutrophils After Ischemic Stroke.

Neutrophils are forerunners to brain lesions after ischemic stroke and exert elaborate functions. However, temporal alterations of cell count, polarity, extracellular trap formation, and clearance of neutrophils remain poorly understood. The current study was aimed at providing basic information of neutrophil function throughout a time course following stroke onset in patients and animal subjects. We found that neutrophil constitution in peripheral blood increased soon after stroke onset of patients, and higher neutrophil count indicated detrimental stroke outcomes. Comparably, neutrophil count in peripheral blood of stroke mice peaked at 12 h after cerebral ischemia, followed by a 1-2-day spike in brain lesions. In stroke lesion, clearance of neutrophils peaked at 2 days after stroke and extracellular traps were mostly detected at 2-3 days after stroke. In neutrophil infiltrated into stroke lesion, expression of the N2 marker CD206 was relatively stable. We found that the N2 phenotype facilitated neutrophil clearance by macrophage and did not further induce neuronal death after ischemic injury compared with N0 or N1 neutrophils. Skewing neutrophil toward the N2 phenotype before stroke reduced infarct volumes at 1 day after tMCAO. Conditioned medium of ischemic neurons drove neutrophils away from the protective N2 phenotype and increased the formation of extracellular traps. Conclusively, neutrophil function has an important impact on stroke outcomes. Neutrophil frequency in the peripheral blood could be an early indicator of stroke outcomes. N2 neutrophils facilitate macrophage phagocytosis and are less harmful to ischemic neurons. Directing neutrophils toward the N2 phenotype could be a promising therapeutic approach for ischemic stroke.

Cellular Metabolic Regulation in the Differentiation and Function of Regulatory T Cells.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential for maintaining immune tolerance and preventing autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The activity and function of Tregs are in large part determined by various intracellular metabolic processes. Recent findings have focused on how intracellular metabolism can shape the development, trafficking, and function of Tregs. In this review, we summarize and discuss current research that reveals how distinct metabolic pathways modulate Tregs differentiation, phenotype stabilization, and function. These advances highlight numerous opportunities to alter Tregs frequency and function in physiopathologic conditions via metabolic manipulation and have important translational implications.

Human gingival tissue-derived MSC suppress osteoclastogenesis and bone erosion via CD39-adenosine signal pathway in autoimmune arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Bone destruction is one of many severe complications that occurs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and current therapies are unable to cure this manifestation. This study here aims to determine whether GMSC can directly inhibit osteoclast formation and eventually attenuate osteoclastogenesis and bone erosion in an inflammatory milieu. METHOD: GMSC were co-cultured with osteoclast precursors with or without CD39 inhibitor, CD73 inhibitor or adenosine receptors inhibitors pretreatment and osteoclast formation were evaluated in vitro. 2×10^6 GMSC per mouse were transferred to CIA mice and pathology scores, the frequency of osteoclasts, bone erosion in joints were assessed in vivo. FINDING: GMSC but not control cells, markedly suppressed human or mice osteoclastogenesis in vitro. GMSC treatment also resulted in a dramatically decreased level of NF-κB p65/p50 in osteoclasts in vitro. Infusion of GMSC to CIA significantly attenuated the severity of arthritis, pathology scores, frequency of osteoclasts, particularly bone erosion, as well as a decreased expression of RANKL in synovial tissues in vivo. Blockade of CD39/CD73 or adenosine receptors has significantly abrogated the suppressive ability of GMSC in vitro and therapeutic effect of GMSC on bone erosion during CIA in vivo. INTERPRETATION: GMSC inhibit osteoclast formation in vitro and in vivo partially via CD39-CD73-adenosine signals. Manipulation of GMSC may have a therapeutic implication on rheumatoid arthritis and other bone erosion related diseases. FUND: This study was supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFA0105801 to F.H); the Zhujiang Innovative and Entrepreneurial Talent Team Award of Guangdong Province (2016 ZT 06S 252 to F·H) and National Institutes of Health (R01 AR059103, R61 AR073409 and NIH Star Award to S.G.Z).

Laparoscopic gastric bypass to robotic gastric bypass: time and cost commitment involved in training and transitioning an academic surgical practice.

The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the gold standard procedure for weight loss. This relatively complex procedure has excellent outcomes when performed via laparoscopy. The advent of the DaVinci robotic platform has been a technological advancement. Our goal is to provide information regarding the cost, time commitment, and advantages of transitioning an LRYGB program to an RRYGB program in an academic setting. We retrospectively reviewed the last 25 laparoscopic gastric bypass procedures and the first 25 robotic gastric bypass procedures performed by a single surgeon. We compared clinical outcomes and focused on time and hospital cost during this transition phase. There was no significant demographic difference between the groups. The mean age was 41.7 (RRYGB) years vs 43.4 (LRYGM) years. The mean BMI were similar between groups, 45.3 vs 46.5 kg/m(2) for RRYGB and LRYGB. No anastomotic leaks or mortalities were noted. There was one anastomotic stricture in both groups. Excess weight loss was similar in both groups at 1 year. There was a significant increase in operative time with RRYGB, mean 241 min vs mean 174 min (p = 0.0005). Operative time fell by 25 min after the first 10 cases. The hospital cost was also increased with RRYGB mean $5922 vs $4395 (p = 0.03). Transitioning from a laparoscopic to a robotic practice can be done safely, however, the initial operative times were longer and the hospital cost was higher for robotic gastric bypass. We hope in the future that these will decrease after overcoming the learning and as the technology becomes widespread.