Real-world effectiveness and safety of apremilast in psoriasis at 52 weeks: a retrospective, observational, multicentre study by the Spanish Psoriasis Group.

BACKGROUND: Little has been published on the real-world effectiveness and safety of apremilast in psoriasis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness, safety and drug survival of apremilast at 52 weeks in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or palmoplantar psoriasis in routine clinical practice. METHODS: Retrospective, multicentre study of adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or palmoplantar psoriasis treated with apremilast from March 2016 to March 2018. RESULTS: We studied 292 patients with plaque psoriasis and 85 patients with palmoplantar psoriasis. The mean (SD) Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was 10.7 (7.0) at baseline and 3.0 (4.2) at 52 weeks. After 12 months of treatment, 73.6% of patients had a PASI score of 3 or less. In terms of relative improvement by week 52, 49.7% of patients achieved PASI-75 (≥75% reduction in PASI score) and 26.5% achieved PASI-90. The mean physician global assessment score for palmoplantar psoriasis fell from 4.2 (5.2) at baseline to 1.3 (1.3) at week 52. Overall drug survival after 1 year of treatment with apremilast was 54.9 %. The main reasons for treatment discontinuation were loss of efficacy (23.9%) and adverse events (15.9%). Almost half of the patients in our series (47%) experienced at least one adverse event. The most common events were gastrointestinal problems. CONCLUSIONS: Apremilast may be a suitable alternative for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis and palmoplantar psoriasis. Although the drug has a good safety profile, adverse gastrointestinal effects are common.

Reducing the impact of radioactivity on quantum circuits in a deep-underground facility.

As quantum coherence times of superconducting circuits have increased from nanoseconds to hundreds of microseconds, they are currently one of the leading platforms for quantum information processing. However, coherence needs to further improve by orders of magnitude to reduce the prohibitive hardware overhead of current error correction schemes. Reaching this goal hinges on reducing the density of broken Cooper pairs, so-called quasiparticles. Here, we show that environmental radioactivity is a significant source of nonequilibrium quasiparticles. Moreover, ionizing radiation introduces time-correlated quasiparticle bursts in resonators on the same chip, further complicating quantum error correction. Operating in a deep-underground lead-shielded cryostat decreases the quasiparticle burst rate by a factor thirty and reduces dissipation up to a factor four, showcasing the importance of radiation abatement in future solid-state quantum hardware.

Circuit quantum electrodynamics of granular aluminum resonators.

Granular aluminum (grAl) is a promising high kinetic inductance material for detectors, amplifiers, and qubits. Here we model the grAl structure, consisting of pure aluminum grains separated by thin aluminum oxide barriers, as a network of Josephson junctions, and we calculate the dispersion relation and nonlinearity (self-Kerr and cross-Kerr coefficients). To experimentally study the electrodynamics of grAl thin films, we measure microwave resonators with open-boundary conditions and test the theoretical predictions in two limits. For low frequencies, we use standard microwave reflection measurements in a low-loss environment. The measured low-frequency modes are in agreement with our dispersion relation model, and we observe self-Kerr coefficients within an order of magnitude from our calculation starting from the grAl microstructure. Using a high-frequency setup, we measure the plasma frequency of the film around 70 GHz, in agreement with the analytical prediction.

Italian Intersociety Recommendations on pain management in the emergency setting (SIAARTI, SIMEU, SIS 118, AISD, SIARED, SICUT, IRC).

BACKGRAUND: Pain is the primary reason for admission to the Emergency Department (ED). However, the management of pain in this setting is often inadequate because of opiophagia, fear of excessive sedation, and fear of compromising an adequate clinical assessment. METHODS: An intersociety consensus conference was held in 2010 on the assessment and treatment of pain in the emergency setting. This report is the Italian Intersociety recommendations on pain management in the emergency department setting. RESULTS: The list of level A recommendations includes: 1) use of IV acetaminophen for opioid sparing properties and reduction of opioid related adverse events; 2) ketamine-midazolam combination preferred over fentanyl-midazolam fentanyl-propofol in pediatric patients; 3) boluses of ketamine IV (particularly in the population under the age of 2 years and over the age of 13) can lead to impairment of the upper airways, including the onset of laryngospasm, requiring specific expertise and skills for administration; 4) the use of ketamine increases the potential risk of psychomotor agitation, which can happen in up to 30% of adult patients (this peculiar side effect can be significantly reduced by concomitant systemic use of benzodiazepines); 5) for shoulder dislocations and fractures of the upper limbs, the performance of brachial plexus block reduces the time spent in ED compared to sedation; 6) pain relief and the use of opioids in patients with acute abdominal pain do not increase the risk of error in the diagnostic and therapeutic pathway in adults; 7) in newborns, the administration of sucrose reduces behavioural responses to blood sampling from a heel puncture; 8) in newborns, breastfeeding or formula feeding during the procedure reduces the measures of distress; 9) in pediatric patients, non-pharmacological techniques such as distraction, hypnosis and cognitive-behavioural interventions reduce procedural pain caused by the use of needles; 10) in pediatric patients, preventive application of eutectic mixtures of prilocaine and lidocaine allows arterial and venous samples to be taken in optimum conditions; 11) in pediatric patients, the combination of hypnotics (midazolam) and N2O is effective for procedural pain, but may be accompanied by loss of consciousness. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic-therapeutic pathway of pain management in emergency should be implemented, through further interdisciplinary trials, in order to improve the EBM level of specific guidelines.

Cyclosporine enhances the synthesis of selected extracellular matrix proteins by renal cells "in culture". Different cell responses and phenotype characterization.

Glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis are 2 major side effects of protracted therapy with CsA in heart transplant patients and in nonrenal immunologic diseases. To investigate whether there is any cause-effect correlation between CsA and the synthesis of extracellular matrix in the kidney, we determined the amount and composition of collagens produced by various renal cells "in culture" upon exposure to increasing levels of CsA. The cellular models we used included primary cultures of both human and rat mesangial cells (hMC, rMC), human and rat renal fibroblasts (hFib, rFib), and human tubular epithelia as well as cell lines of rat renal fibroblasts (NRK49F) and of tubular epithelia (NRK52E). In the case of primary cell cultures, CsA induced a marked increment of total collagen synthesis. This was highest for renal fibroblasts (+330% hFib, +110% rFib), followed by rMC (+170%), hMC (+100%), and human tubular epithelia (+130%). At the highest dosage of CsA (5 ng/ml), this corresponded to a net increment in collagen III synthesis by both hMC and hFib (+150% and +300%), while collagen I and collagen IV were unaffected. On hMC, CsA also induced a maximal increase in a component with 70 kDa molecular mass, which was produced only in a negligible amount by these cells in standard conditions. This low molecular mass collagen was tentatively characterized by cyanogen-bromide digestion and fingerprint analysis as a novel molecule showing a peptide composition without comparable features for any reported collagen map. NRK49F and NRK52E cell lines were not affected by CsA. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that CsA is able to induce the synthesis of specific collagens, mainly of collagen III and of a 70-kDa component, by various renal cells in cultures. Since the same cells are the renal site of production of extracellular matrix in pathological conditions, we hypothesize that this effect is a relevant one in the pathogenesis of glomerulosclerosis/interstitial fibrosis during protracted therapies with CsA.

Peripheral nerve repair using a poly(organo)phosphazene tubular prosthesis.

Nerve regeneration experiments were carried out using tubular nerve guides of poly[(ethylalanato)1.4(imidazolyl)0.6phosphazene] (PEIP). By means of in vivo tests, this polymer was found to be biodegradable and transformed into harmless products. The tubular nerve guides were prepared by deposition of the dissolved polymer on a glass capillary tube, followed by evaporation of the solvent (methylene dichloride). After transectioning, rat sciatic nerve stumps were immediately sutured into the ends of 10-mm-long polymer tubes. On removal of the prosthesis, after implantation for 45 d, a tissue cable was found bridging the nerve stumps in all cases. Histological analysis revealed that the tissue cable was essentially composed of a regenerated nerve fibre bundle. A parallel series of experiments was undertaken to compare the use of silicone tubes that are not biodegradable and are most frequently used for studies of nerve regeneration with tubulization techniques. The advantages of biodegradable PEIP tubular nerve guides used for peripheral nerve repair are discussed.

Primary cultures of human hypertrophic prostate tissue in WAJC 404 medium: a study of cell morphology and kinetics.

222 biopsy fragments of human hypertrophic prostate tissue were cultured in WAJC 404 serum-free medium for three weeks. Growth halos were examined after 7, 14 and 21 days of culture by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Colonies formed of two concentric areas showed in the inner halo elementary pseudo-lobular morphological units similar to the prostate structure. The cell morphological patterns of the halo turned out to be four in number. Every cell pattern was defined morphologically, morphometrically and phenotypically. Results indicate that all morphological differences must be attributed to the various phases of cell life, as all cell types were positive to cytokeratin. The nonconstant display of PSAP and PSA showed a moderate tendency to cell differentiation in WAJC 404 medium. Cell kinetics were also studied and revealed a decrease in proliferation after 14 days of culture. Primary cultures from biopsy fragments of human hypertrophic prostate tissue may be used as an experimental model up to the 14th day of culture.

Growth, morphology, morphometry and keratin patterns of bovine corneal epithelial cells cultured in vitro.

In this study, the effects of different culture systems on bovine corneal epithelial cells were analysed in order to better understand the influence of bovine keratocytes on epithelial cells. Growth, morphological, morphometrical analyses of cells and keratin patterns were evaluated. The aim was to improve the culture technique in order to obtain a good in vitro proliferation of these cells for their employment in clinical and toxicological situations. The bovine corneal epithelial cells were cultured under different conditions: on keratocyte or 3T3-J2 fibroblast feeder layers, with media conditioned either by the two feeder layers or with a basal medium. The epithelial cells cultured on a keratocyte feeder layer as compared to those grown under the other conditions, proved to have a higher growth rate as well as to be smaller in the cytoplasmic and nuclear area; moreover, after 21 days of culture they expressed 64-kDa keratin, designed as a marker for corneal epithelial cell differentiation. To sum up, the keratocyte feeder layer is the most effective for stimulating the growth and differentiation of corneal epithelial cells, resembling the in vivo situation. It might also be successfully employed for clinical and toxicological purposes.

Morphological features and kinetics of primary cultures of BPH tissue supported by TV1 medium.

222 human prostatic biopsies were used to prepare cell cultures by means of a medium--colony formation permissive--containing fetal calf serum, called TV1. After 7, 14 and 21 days, the cultures were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. TV1 medium induces the formation and growth of two types of colonies, one mainly composed of epithelioid cells and distinguished by early growth; the second one made up exclusively of fibroblastoid cells which appear later in the culture. Epithelioid colonies, comprising three different cell types, appear to be arranged as a growth halo concentric to the bioptic fragment with a large central area, formed by a monolayer, and a pluristratified edge. Fibroblastoid cells weakly adhere to the substrate and form "satellite growth halos" separated from the primitive bioptic fragment. All the epithelioid cells were positive to cytokeratin LP34 Mab and negative to anti-smooth muscle-actin and anti-proline-4-hydroxylase antibodies. Fibroblastoid cells were only anti-proline-4-hydroxylase positive. The cell kinetics of epithelioid cells were also studied, revealing an extension of the S phase, in contrast to what happened with WAJC 404, and consequently a reduction of the percentage of cells entering mitosis. For this reason, the addition of fetal serum to the culture medium does not allow the use of prostate primary cultures for more than 14 days.

Modulation of natural killing by cyclo- and lipo-oxygenase inhibitors.

The effect on NK activity of two oxygenase inhibitors, indomethacin which is cyclo-oxygenase-specific at 10(-6) M and BW755C which blocks both cyclo- and lipo-oxygenase, has been analysed. The NK activity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) has been studied in a 18-hr 51Cr-release assay. PBMC were incubated with the drugs for different periods of time before and during NK assay in order to analyse the correlations between the time of incubation and the modulation of NK activity. The results show that the inhibition of the cyclo-oxygenase alone, by indomethacin, enhances the NK activity if the drug is added both during and prior to the assay. In the latter case the enhancement is time dependent, reaching a maximum level after 18 hr of incubation. The simultaneous inhibition of lipo- and cyclo-oxygenase by BW755C has a rather more complex effect. The NK activity is similar to that of untreated cells after 6 hr incubation with BW755C, but is inhibited or greatly enhanced after 4 and 18 hr of incubation, respectively. These effects seem largely independent of the presence of monocytes because they can be observed with non-adherent PBMC (NA-PBMC).

Fibroblast-keratinocyte co-cultures in vitro: growth, morphometry and nutrient exchange.

The interaction between fibroblasts and rat keratinocytes co-cultured in vitro was examined. The epidermal cells cultured with a basal medium or with a conditioning medium (derived from fibroblast cultures) presented a lower growth rate and significantly greater cellular dimensions than those cells grown in the presence of a feeder layer. Qualitative and quantitative differences in the keratin patterns of the cells grown in the three cultural conditions were found. Keratinocytes cultured with the feeder layer expressed seven keratin types (58, 57, 53, 52, 50, 48 and 45 kDa), those with conditioning medium, five types (58, 53, 52, 48 and 45 kDa) and those with basal medium, only one type (45 kDa). This data confirms the dependence of keratinocytes on fibroblasts. HPLC analysis of the culture media, suggested that a protein factor (MW approximately 65 kDa) was secreted by fibroblasts into the culture medium. This factor was added to the keratinocyte culture medium (conditioning medium), and, after a 48 hour culture, was apparently completely removed from the medium by the keratinocytes. Moreover, the keratinocytes cultured with the feeder layer and exposed to indomethacin, a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, showed a decrease in growth rate at drug concentrations of < or = 10 microM which did not induce a reduction in the viability of the fibroblasts and keratinocytes in separate cultures. This preliminary data suggests a relationship between fibroblast PGE2 secretion and keratinocyte growth.

In-vivo and in-vitro interference of antibiotics with antigen-specific antibody responses: effect of josamycin.

The effects of josamycin on the antigen-specific primary antibody responses of human peripheral blood cells have been studied by the method of haemolytic colonies in soft agar. The tests were performed before and after the oral administration of 1 g of josamycin or by adding the drug directly to cultures of cells from untreated donors. The results demonstrate that josamycin, added in vitro or administered in vivo significantly depresses the primary antibody responses. The mechanism by which josamycin exerts its activity on antibody production has been partially elucidated. The immunodepression depends on the stimulation of hydrogen peroxide production by monocytes and requires the actual presence of josamycin during the immune response. The stimulation of the respiratory burst of the phagocytic cell is a common feature of macrolide antibiotics and suggests the need for more extensive clinical and preclinical trials on antibacterial antibiotics that alter the human immune responses.

Macrolidic antibiotics: effects on primary in vitro antibody responses.

The effect of two macrolidic antibiotics, josamycin and erythromycin, on the primary immune response in cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), were studied using a soft agar hemolytic plaque assay. Both compounds induced an appreciable reduction in the primary antibody response in total PBMC cultures. The removal of plastic-adherent cells, however, profoundly modified the effect of macrolides on the immune response. Both josamycin and, to a lesser extent, erythromycin enhanced, rather than suppressed, the antibody response. Furthermore, the macrolide-induced immunodepression in cultures of total PBMC was completely reversed by the addition of catalase (8000 U/ml). Taken together, these findings suggest that the macrolide-induced depression of the antibody response depends upon the presence of adherent monocytic cells and is mediated by the production of hydrogen peroxide.

[Antibody response in cultures of lymphocytes from patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma: role of monocytes]. / Risposte anticorpali in coltura di linfociti di pazienti con linfoma di Hodgkin: ruolo dei monociti.

In the present study we investigated the role of monocytes and of their soluble products (prostaglandins and hydrogen peroxide) in the modulation of the immune response in 50 untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) compared with a group of healthy donors. The primary response in vitro has been studied with the method of haemolytic colonies in soft agar. A defective in vitro antibody production has been observed in HD patients. Both Indomethacin addition (10(-6) M, final concentration) and depletion of plastic adherent cells, slightly increased the number of haemolytic areas in cultures from HD patients as compared with healthy donors. Similarly, the addition of catalase (8000 U/ml) which destroys H2O2, that is the main mediator of monocytes suppressor activity in normal subjects, did not restore the response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from HD patients. These results suggest that monocytic cells play a minor role, if any, in the depression of the immune response in HD patients.

Impaired natural killing activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical characteristics and a study of defective mechanisms.

We have studied NK activity against K562 cells of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 83 patients affected with RA and searched for correlations with some clinical and laboratory parameters. In 65 patients T lymphocyte subsets were investigated by laser flow cytometry using monoclonal antibodies against OKT3, OKT4 and OKT8 antigens and in 25 patients also HNK-1+ cells were enumerated. NK activity in patients with RA resulted significantly decreased compared with controls (relative cytotoxic index = 0.68 +/- 0.74 versus 1.00 +/- 0.60, p less than 0.01). Decreased NK activity was not correlated with sex, age, duration of disease, ESR, haemoglobin, serum alpha-2-globulin, serum gamma-globulin, rheumatoid factor titre. The only clinical parameter correlated with decreased NK activity was the anatomical stage of the disease. NK activity depression resulted to be significantly correlated with OKT3+ cell percentage and at a lesser extent with OKT4+ and OKT8+ cell percentages. HNK-1+ cell percentage resulted only slightly reduced in patients with RA (13.1 +/- 8.7 versus 15.0 +/- 7.0) and there was only a modest correlation (p approximately equal to 0.10) between NK activity and HNK-1+ cell percentage. In order to elucidate the mechanisms of impaired NK activity in RA, experiments in vitro were carried out on PBMC of 23 patients to investigate the effects of the depletion of cells adherent to plastic, incubation with beta-interferon (1000 IU/ml) and incubation with indomethacin (10 -6M). Our data suggest that decreased NK activity in RA is mainly due to functional immaturity of NK cells and sometimes to inhibition by monocytes in some cases probably through prostaglandin release.

Effects of benzopsoralen derivatives on HL60 and HeLa cells.

The effect of 4-hydroxymethyl-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-2H-benzofuro-[3,2-g]-1-benzo piran-2-one (compound 1) and 4-hydroxymethyl-2H-benzofuro-[3,2g]-1-benzopiran-2-one (compound 2), two new benzopsoralen derivatives, was tested on HL60 and HeLa cell lines in the dark and by UVA irradiation; 8-methoxypsoralen was used as a reference compound. The action of the compounds was evaluated by means of the neutral red uptake assay, by means of ultrastructure, morphometry and interaction with human erythrocytes membrane. In both HL60 and HeLa cell lines benzopsoralen derivatives showed more antiproliferative activity after UVA irradiation, however less than 8-methoxypsoralen. Compound 1 was more effective than compound 2 both in the dark and after UVA irradiation. The ultrastructure showed a morphological rank damage caused by these compounds: compound 2 induced slight modifications in the cytoplasm organization, compound 1 induced some vacuolizations and 8-methoxypsoralen generated plenty of vacuoles and an empty space around the nucleus. Morphometrical data in HL60 cells turned out to be in accordance with the different action mechanisms existing between 8-methoxypsoralen and the two benzopsoralen derivatives; in HeLa cells we noted an increase in the nuclear area induced by all the three compounds. Only compound 1 caused the formation of echinocytes both in the dark and after UVA irradiation, suggesting the involvement of a mechanism not strictly related to DNA interaction and singlet oxygen production.