ABSTRACT
People with HIV (PWH) may be particularly vulnerable to the psychological impacts of COVID-19. To assess this, participants were recruited from two established cohorts of PWH and HIV- adults with the available pre-pandemic baseline data and completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Alcohol Use Identification Test (AUDIT), National Institute on Drug Abuse Quick Screen (NIDA-QS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at two distinct intra-pandemic time periods. All outcomes were evaluated using generalized linear mixed models. In total, 87 participants completed all the questionnaires; 45 were PWH and 42 were HIV-. The pre-pandemic mean BDI-II, BAI, AUDIT and PSQI scores were higher in the PWH cohort. After the onset of the pandemic, the mean BDI-II, AUDIT and PSQI scores increased within the sample as a whole (p < 0.001, p = 0.029 and p = 0.046, respectively). The intra-pandemic mean BDI-II scores fell slightly for both groups and the AUDIT scores increased slightly for the PWH group and fell slightly for the HIV- group, but not significantly. The intra-pandemic PSQI scores increased sharply for both groups. The percentage of PWH and HIV- participants who moved into a more severe category of depression was identical (18%), but more PWH met the criteria for clinical evaluation. The BAI and NIDA-QS scores did not increase significantly. In conclusion, the measures of mental health symptoms and alcohol use increased in both groups after the onset of the pandemic. Although there were no significant differences in the changes between the groups, the PWH had higher baseline scores and the changes in this group had more clinical impacts.
ABSTRACT
Granuloma annulare (GA) is a common benign granulomatous inflammatory disorder of the dermis or subcutis with classic morphologic and histologic presentation. Common clinical subtypes of granuloma annulare include localized, generalized, subcutaneous, perforating, and patch types. A biopsy is critical in cases of granuloma annulare with atypical features. We present a case of a 58-year-old male who presented with an annular scaly erythematous plaque on the right dorsal hand. Shave biopsy demonstrated irregular nests of mildly atypical squamous epithelium present within the superficial dermis, with abundant histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells arranged in palisades peripherally. These findings were consistent with invasive well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with surrounding granuloma annulare. This case highlights a unique presentation in which clinicopathologic correlation is critical prior to arriving at a correct diagnosis.
ABSTRACT
Sjögren-Larsson syndrome (SLS) is an inherited metabolic disease characterized by ichthyosis, spasticity, intellectual disability and deficient oxidation and accumulation of of fatty aldehydes and alcohols. We investigated whether excess fatty alcohols in SLS are diverted into biosynthesis of ether glycerolipids (eGLs) by measuring the 1-O-alkylglycerol (AG) backbone of eGLs in stratum corneum, plasma and red blood cells (RBCs). In all tissues, saturated and monounsaturated AGs were detected. In stratum corneum from SLS patients, saturated AGs (C15-C20) were increased 97-fold (range: 86- to 169-fold) compared to controls. AGs were largely (67 ± 9%) derived from neutral esterified eGLs (i.e. alkyl-diacylglyerol) and free non-esterified AGs (28 ± 10%), but very little from plasmalogens (3 ± 5%). Plasma from SLS patients had 2-fold more C18:0-AG (p < 0.005) and 40% less C16:1-AG (p < 0.01) than controls but the total concentration of AGs was not increased, and the AG profile in RBCs from SLS subjects was normal. All AGs were profoundly reduced in plasma and RBCs from patients with Zellweger spectrum disorder, who have impaired eGL (i.e. plasmalogen) synthesis. The striking accumulation of AGs in stratum corneum of SLS patients constitutes a novel lipid biomarker for this disease, and may contribute to the pathogenesis of the ichthyosis. Measurement of AGs is a simple and convenient method to assess global synthesis of eGLs and potentially identify patients with defects in their metabolism.
