Cross-National Study on the Convergent, Discriminant, and Concurrent Validity of the "Body Size Perception" Item in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey.

Background: Despite its significant usefulness in adolescent health studies, the single-item "body size perception" question, developed within the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, has yet to undergo multidimensional validation. Objectives: To assess the convergent, divergent and concurrent validity of the HBSC body size perception question among adolescents. Methods: The single-item HBSC body size perception question is as follows: "Do you think your body is…?," with answers ranging from "much too thin" to "much too fat." Fifteen-year-old participants included in the analysis were 72,086 from 45 HBSC countries in 2017/18 (concurrent validity), and 595, 127, and 615 in 2021/22 in French-speaking Belgium, Ireland, and Poland, respectively. The convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity was assessed with body dissatisfaction, social desirability, and selfesteem, respectively. The concurrent validity was also examined with body mass index (BMI) from the 2017/18 HBSC data. All analyses were sex-stratified. Results: Cohen's Kappa values were 0.67 [confidence interval (CI): 95%: 0.62, 0.72] and 0.64 (0.59, 0.69) for boys and girls, respectively, in all 3 countries together. Body size perception was associated with social desirability, selfesteem, and BMI, with a stronger association in girls than that in boys. For instance, girls with higher social desirability were less likely to perceive themselves as "too thin" [Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) = 0.78 (0.69, 0.89)] rather than as the "right size." Boys with higher selfesteem were less likely to perceive themselves as "too fat" [0.93 (0.90, 0.97)] rather than the "right size." Girls with underweight were less likely to perceive themselves as "too fat" [0.38 (0.34, 043)] rather than "right size" and girls with overweight/obesity were more likely to perceive themselves as such [8.19 (7.49, 8.95)]. Conclusions: The single-item HBSC body size perception question demonstrated good convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity. It reflects adolescents' own perception of body size, possibly influenced by societal norms and ideals.

Profiling the patient with autoimmune hepatitis on calcineurin inhibitors: a real-world-experience.

OBJECTIVE: Therapy for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) consists of steroid induction therapy, followed by maintenance therapy with azathioprine. However, up to 20% of patients experience either insufficient response or intolerance on first-line therapy. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) are frequently used when first-line therapy fails. Although a number of studies report on efficacy, less is known on the patient trajectory before switch to CNIs. Our aim was to describe the road toward CNI therapy in AIH patients. METHODS: Patients with an AIH diagnosis who used CNIs as either second- or third-line treatment were included in the study. Reason for switch to CNI was assessed as either an insufficient response or intolerance to prior therapy. Efficacy was assessed by normalization of transaminases at last moment of follow-up. RESULTS: Final analysis included 20 patients who were treated with CNIs. Ten patients were treated with tacrolimus and ten patients received cyclosporine. In patients who used CNI treatment as third-line therapy (n = 13), duration of first-line therapy was almost twice as long as duration of second-line therapy (2.58 years vs. 1.33 years; P = 0.67). Patients treated with tacrolimus had relatively high trough levels (7.6 ng/mL) and more (minor) adverse events. Fifty-five percent of patients had normalization of transaminases at last moment of follow-up. CONCLUSION: CNI treatment in AIH as second- or third-line therapy is effective in ~50% of patients. The trajectory before switch varies considerably between patients.

Inducible expression of FGF2 by a rat oligodendrocyte precursor cell line promotes CNS myelination in vitro.

Transplantation of glial cells into the central nervous system (CNS) may be a promising approach for the treatment of myelin disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Myelination by transplantation of oligodendrocyte precursors has been obtained in different animal models of demyelination. A strategy to favor CNS remyelination is to enrich the lesioned areas in growth factors to stimulate the quiescent population of oligodendrocyte precursors. In this context, we have developed a genetically modified CG4 cell line (CG4-FGF2), which are able to release significant amounts of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in a controlable fashion in vitro. The data presented here demonstrate that upon induction with Dox, CG4-FGF2 cells retain their capacity to differentiate in vitro. Additionally, we provide evidence that FGF2 release by engineered cells enhance proliferation and migration of cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage without preventing them to differentiate and myelinate axons in vitro.