Google search trends for itch in Europe: a retrospective longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Itch is a common symptom in the general population. Affected individuals often do not seek medical consultation and rely on Internet searches to obtain information regarding their itch. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to attain insights into common concerns of the general population regarding itch can by analysing itch-related Internet search behaviour. METHODS: Google AdWords Keyword Planner was used to assess search volumes for itch-related terms in 15 European countries between September 2014 and August 2018. All identified keywords were qualitatively categorized. Itch-related terms were descriptively analysed and are shown as number of searches/100 000 inhabitants. RESULTS: The search volume for the keyword 'itch' per 100 000 inhabitants was highest in Northern Europe, followed by Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. In 4/15 countries, itch was searched for more often in the autumn/winter months compared to in the spring/summer months. Most itch-related terms were related to dermatological conditions such as inflammatory skin diseases (e.g. psoriasis, atopic dermatitis), allergic or immunologic conditions (e.g. urticaria), and infectious diseases or infestations (e.g. scabies). In terms of body location, genitoanal itch dominated the searches. Symptoms and signs related to itch, possible non-dermatological aetiologies, and treatment options were also among the most searched terms. CONCLUSIONS: These analyses provided for the first time insights into the search behaviour patterns related to itch across Europe. People from Northern and Eastern Europe are more likely to seek online information regarding itch. Causes for the itch, especially dermatological conditions, and genitoanal itch are the most important concerns for Internet users. This unconventional and inexpensive method identifies medical needs of people beyond the medical setting, including people who do not seek medical consultation. Accordingly, the data could be used to guide public health interventions and manage respective inhabitants' medical needs.

Pre-operative Assessment of Shoulder Pathologies on MRI by a Radiologist and an Orthopaedic Surgeon.

Introduction: Pathologies of the shoulder, i.e. rotator cuff tears and labral injuries are very common. Most patients receive MRI examination prior to surgery. A correct assessment of pathologies is significant for a detailed patient education and planning of surgery. Materials and methods: Sixty-nine patients were identified, who underwent both, a standardised shoulder MRI and following arthroscopic shoulder surgery in our hospital. For this retrospective comparative study, the MRIs were pseudonymised and evaluated separately by an orthopaedic surgeon and a radiologist. A third rater evaluated images and reports of shoulder surgery, which served as positive control. Results of all raters were then compared. The aim was an analysis of agreement rates of diagnostic accuracy of preoperative MRI by a radiologist and an orthopaedic surgeon. Results: The overall agreement with positive control of detecting transmural cuff tears was high (84% and 89%) and lower for partial tears (70-80%). Subscapularis tears were assessed with moderate rates of agreement (60 - 70%) compared to intra-operative findings. Labral pathologies were detected mostly correctly. SLAP lesions and pulley lesions of the LHB were identified with only moderate agreement (66.4% and 57.2%) and had a high inter-rater disagreement. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that tears of the rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus) and labral pathologies can be assessed in non-contrast pre-operative shoulder MRI images with a high accuracy. This allows a detailed planning of surgery and aftercare. Pathologies of the subscapularis tendon, SLAP lesions and biceps instabilities are more challenging to detect correctly. There were only small differences between a radiologic and orthopaedic interpretation of the images.

Guanidinylations of albumin decreased binding capacity of hydrophobic metabolites.

AIM: As post-translational modifications of proteins may have an impact on the pathogenesis of diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease (CKD), post-translational modifications are currently gaining increasing interest. In this study, a comprehensive method for analysis of these post-translational modifications is established for the clinical diagnostic routine. METHODS: Here, we analysed albumin - the most abundant plasma protein in human - isolated from patients with CKD and healthy controls by chromatographic steps and identified by MALDI mass spectrometry. Post-translational modifications of albumin were identified after digestion by analysing mass signal shifts of albumin peptides using pertinent mass databases. RESULTS: Albumin isolated from plasma of patients with CKD but not from healthy control subjects was specifically post-translationally modified by guanidinylation of lysines at positions 249, 468, 548, 565 and 588. After identification of guanidinylations as post-translational modifications of albumin isolated from patients with CKD, these modifications were quantified by mass spectrometry demonstrating a significant increase in the corresponding mass signal intensities in patients with CKD compared to healthy controls. The relative amount of guanidinylation of lysine at position 468 in patients with CKD was determined as 63 ± 32% (N = 3). Subsequently, we characterized the pathophysiological impact of the post-translational guanidinylation on the binding capacity of albumin for representative hydrophobic metabolic waste products. In vitro guanidinylation of albumin from healthy control subjects caused a decreased binding capacity of albumin in a time-dependent manner. Binding of indoxyl sulphate (protein-bound fraction) decreased from 82 ± 1% of not post-translationally modified albumin to 56 ± 1% after in vitro guanidinylation (P < 0.01), whereas the binding of tryptophan decreased from 20 to 4%. These results are in accordance with the binding of indoxyl sulphate to albumin from healthy control subjects and patients with CKD (88 ± 3 vs. 74 ± 10, P < 0.01). Thus, in vitro post-translational guanidinylation of albumin had a direct effect on the binding capacity of hydrophobic metabolites such as indoxyl sulphate and tryptophan. CONCLUSION: We used a mass spectrometry-based method for the characterization of post-translational modification and demonstrated the pathophysiological impact of a representative post-translational modification of plasma albumin. The data described in this study may help to elucidate the pathophysiological role of protein modifications.