Validation and clinical interpretability of PsAID - psoriatic arthritis impact of disease.

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of widely varying presentation, which determines functional and psychological impairment, with a high negative impact on patients' quality of life. Therefore, knowing the patient's perception of their health status is of fundamental importance for understanding the real impact of PsA. Given this context, the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recently developed the Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID) - instrument to specifically assess the impact of PsA for the patient. OBJECTIVE: Validate the brazilian portuguese version of PsAID-12 (Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease) and to verify its interpretability in clinical practice, through its relation with measures of psoriatic arthritis activity. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study, which recruited 160 patients, who met the Classification criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR), in six Brazilian centers of rheumatology. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The construct validity was evaluated by exploratory factorial analysis and also by Spearman correlation with other PROMs and measures of disease activity evaluation. RESULTS: Of the total number of participants, 50% were female, with a mean age (SD) of 54.0 ± 11.2 years; 68% had only peripheral arthritis and 32% had pure or mixed axial involvement. The majority (67.7%) of the patients were using biological treatment. The reliability of internal consistency (alpha-Cronbach = 0.93) and test-retest (ICC = 0.996) were good. Factor analysis revealed two factors, named physical and psychosocial, which included the skin evaluation item. PsAID-12 correlated significantly with other PROMs, demonstrating good construct validity. PsAID-12 was also significantly associated with the disease activity assessment instruments (DAS28-ESR, ASDAS, and BASDAI) and the MDA status: "Minimum Disease Activity". Fibromyalgia did not significantly affect the final PsAID-12 score. CONCLUSION: The brazilian version of PsAID-12 has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of the impact of the disease in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Moreover, it associated significantly with the scores of disease activity assessment.

Cutaneous granulocytic sarcoma in myelodysplastic syndrome.

Granulocytic sarcoma is an extramedullary tumor of immature cells of granulocytic series, generally associated to acute myelogenous leukemia. The skin is one of the most commonly affected sites. Granulocytic sarcoma can complicate myelodysplastic syndromes and is considered a sign of poor prognosis. They are often misdiagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the lymphoblastic type, Burkitt lymphoma and large cell lymphoma. In children, the differential diagnoses also include small, round cell tumors. It is important to diagnose these lesions early because they can precede peripheral blood and bone marrow transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia. We report a case of an elderly patient with myelodysplastic syndrome who developed multiple cutaneous granulocytic sarcoma lesions and discuss prognostic and treatment implications.

Stomatodynia or burning mouth syndrome.

We reviewed the literature on stomatodynia particularly to identify the factors associated with this annoying manifestation in order to better understand it and treat it. No consensus was found in the literature regarding etiological factors, associated morbidity, treatment, and definition of the burning mouth syndrome. This review aims at defining the disease, its characteristics, criteria for the diagnosis, and treatment.

Alpha-hydroxy acids: unapproved uses or indications.

Alpha-hydroxy acids have been used for rejuvenation since ancient times, and now there are several on the market. Depending on the concentration, some have been shown to be effective as peeling agents and for rejuvenation. Glycolic acid and lactic acid are the alpha-hydroxy acids most frequently used in cosmetics, although there are many others used in combination. Some of the most striking advances in dermatology have followed the off-label use of drugs, which is widespread and unavoidable, but a well founded scientific approach to an individual patient's pathology must be emphasized as the number of products, regimens, and adjuncts increases exponentially in the cosmetic field. In this article the authors review some unapproved uses of alpha-hydroxy acids. More published data on the scientific value of these off-label indications that proves whether they are effective or not is needed.

Syphilis mimicking other dermatological diseases: reactive arthritis and mucha-habermann disease.

THE AUTHORS PRESENT TWO CASES OF SYPHILIS: one mimicking reactive arthritis and the other Mucha-Habermann disease. Both reports illustrate syphilis as 'the great imitator', a description given by Sir William Osler, and call attention to the strong need for awareness among physicians of all specialties, especially the younger ones, who are not used to seeing this increasingly prevalent disease, as it once was in the past.

Elderly skin and its rejuvenation: products and procedures for the aging skin.

In the last few decades, there has been a substantial increase in the population of people over 60 years of age. Most of them maintain a good general health and physical activity and fitness. For these individuals there is a good number of dermatologic procedures, medications, and cosmetics that can be prescribed to improve the aspect of skin aging, providing an improvement in their self-esteem and quality of life as a result of their better look. We will discuss the mechanisms of skin aging, and the procedures and substances used to minimize its deleterious effects, such as sunscreens, estrogens, chemical peels, toxin botulinum, fillers and surgical procedures, among others. The use of makeup and the adverse reactions to cosmetics will also be mentioned.