Safety, Efficacy, and Drug Survival of Colchicine in Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis in a Real-World Setting

Background@#Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common disorder characterized by episodic ulcerations in the oral mucosa. Although colchicine has been a common systemic treatment for RAS, there is still considerable uncertainty regarding its efficacy and drug survival in this setting. @*Objective@#We aimed to study drug survival, efficacy, and safety of colchicine for the treatment of RAS, especially in the real clinical setting. @*Methods@#Between 2012 and 2016, 150 patients given colchicine for RAS were selected for a single-centre retrospective study of real-world efficacy and drug survival. @*Results@#Among the 114 patients who qualified, 81.6% showed moderate or substantial responses (>25% improvement). Gastrointestinal complications (16.7%), neutropenia (3.5%), and liver enzyme elevation (4.4%) were reported within 2 weeks after initiating treatment.Delayed adverse manifestations were rare. One year after onset, colchicine use was sustained in roughly one-half (49.5%) of patients, whereas many (30.3%) had discontinued the drug, primarily due to lack of efficacy or adverse events. In Cox proportional hazard analysis, minor ulcers were identified as potential determinants of longer drug survival owing to less probability of non-efficacy. However, major ulcers had emerged as predictors of early discontinuation due to lack of efficacy. @*Conclusion@#In patients with RAS, colchicine may be an effective and safe treatment amenable to long-term maintenance. Monitoring of adverse events within 2 weeks after initiating treatment is advisable to ensure safe administration.

Immunologic strategies and outcomes in ABO-incompatible living donor liver transplantation

Antibody mediated rejection (AMR) after adult ABO-incompatible living donor liver transplantation (ABO-I LDLT) induced hepatic necrosis or diffuse intrahepatic biliary complications, which were related with poor graft and patient survival. Various desensitization protocols have been used to overcome these problems. Since using rituximab, the outcomes of ABO-I LDLT show a similar survival rate to those of ABO-compatible living donor liver transplantation. However, diffuse bile duct complications still occur after ABO-I LDLT. We have reviewed the past and current immune strategies for desensitization and to provide outcomes and ABO incompatibility-related complications in ABO-I LDLT.

Incidence and risk factors for herpes zoster after adult liver transplantation

PURPOSE: Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which occurs frequently in liver transplant recipients with impaired cellular immunity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for HZ after adult liver transplantation (LT). METHODS: In our institution, 993 patients underwent adult LT from January 1997 to December 2013. We retrospectively analyzed the incidence rate of HZ and risk factors for HZ after LT. RESULTS: Of 993 LT recipients, 101 (10.2%) were diagnosed with HZ. The incidence of HZ at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years was 6.6%, 9.1%, 10.0%, and 11.9%, respectively. Therefore, we observed that the incidence of HZ after LT was 16.3 per 1,000 person-years. Older age (≥50 years) at LT and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) exposure were independent risk factors of HZ infection after adult LT. CONCLUSION: Patients older than 50 years or with MMF exposure are considered to be at high risk for HZ. Therefore, adult liver recipients with such factors should not be given strong immunosuppression treatments.

Clinical and Radiographic Characteristics of Neuro-Behçet's Disease in South Korea

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neurological involvement in Behçet's disease [neuro-Behçet's disease (NBD)] is uncommon, but it is worth investigating since it can cause substantial disability. However, difficulties exist in understanding the clinical features of NBD due to regional variations and the lack of studies utilizing well-established diagnostic criteria. We therefore analyzed the clinical features of patients with NBD based on the recent international consensus recommendation. METHODS: We retrospectively searched electronic databases for patients with Behçet's disease (BD) between 2000 and 2017, and reviewed their medical records. Based on the recent international consensus recommendation, patients with definite or probable NBD were included. RESULTS: Of 9,817 patients with the diagnosis code for BD, 1,682 (17.1%) visited the neurology clinic and 110 (1.1%) were classified as NBD. Ninety-eight patients exhibited parenchymal NBD and 12 exhibited nonparenchymal NBD. Their age at the onset of NBD was 37.6±10.6 years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.24:1. Brainstem syndrome (43.9%) was the most common condition in the 98 patients with parenchymal NBD, followed by multifocal (32.7%) and spinal cord (12.2%) syndromes. 72.4% exhibited acute NBD and 27.6% exhibited a progressive disease course. Frequent manifestations included pyramidal signs (52.0%), headache (45.9%), dysarthria (42.9%), and fever (31.6%). A frequent pattern in brain MRI was an upper brainstem lesion extending to the thalamus and basal ganglia. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1% of the patients with suspected BD exhibited NBD. Neurologists must understand the clinical characteristics of NBD in order to perform the differential diagnosis and management of these patients.

Use of Topical Rapamycin as Maintenance Treatment after a Single Session of Fractionated CO₂ Laser Ablation: A Method to Enhance Percutaneous Drug Delivery

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disorder with an incidence of approximately 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 live births. TSC has various clinical manifestations such as multiple hamartomas in systemic organs, including the skin. Angiofibromas are the most common skin lesions in patients with TSC. Although benign, angiofibromas develop in childhood and puberty, and can be psychosocially disfiguring for patients. Skin lesions in TSC, specifically angiofibromas, have no significant risk of malignant transformation after puberty; thus, they require no treatment if not prominent. However, the presentation of TSC is important owing to its impact on patient cosmesis. Surgical treatment and laser therapy are the mainstream treatments for angiofibromas. Although the evidence is limited, topical mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors such as sirolimus (rapamycin) are effective in facial angiofibroma treatment. We describe an adult patient with an angiofibroma who had an excellent response to treatment with topical rapamycin after a single session of carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser ablation. The patient showed no sign of relapse or recurring lesions for a year. CO₂ laser ablation may serve as a new paradigm of treatment for angiofibromas in TSC. Since the selection of laser devices can be limited for some institutions, we suggest a rather basic but highly effective approach for angiofibroma treatment that can be generally applied with the classic CO₂ device.

Treatment Outcomes and Response Pattern of Ustekinumab in Korean Patients with Psoriasis: A Retrospective Single-center Study / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease affecting 2~3% of the worldwide population. Ustekinumab, an IL-12/23p40 inhibitor, is a biologic reported to be effective and safe in treating psoriasis. However, there are limited data on the treatment outcomes of ustekinumab in patients with psoriasis in Korea. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the treatment outcomes and response pattern of ustekinumab in patients with psoriasis in Korea. METHODS: This was a retrospective single-center study. Eighty-four patients with psoriasis treated with ustekinumab were analyzed. Each patient's medical records, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score, and body surface area were reviewed at baseline and up to week 52. RESULTS: A total of 84 patients were included (male:female=1.8:1). The mean age was 44.5 years. At week 16, 86.7% achieved PASI75, 59.0% achieved PASI90, and 20.5% achieved PASI100. By week 16, 84.8% of subjects had attained PASI75 for the head region, whereas 79.0% had attained it for the lower extremities, indicating a relatively slower treatment response of psoriatic lesions on the lower extremities. Four patients discontinued treatment due to lack of effect. No severe adverse events occurred during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Ustekinumab demonstrated highly effective and safe treatment profiles in Korean psoriatic patients, consistent with the previous reports from mainly Western countries. Psoriasis severity and treatment responsiveness may vary with body region.