Neurological symptoms in essential thrombocythemia: impact of JAK2V617F mutation and response to therapy

Patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) often suffer from neurological symptoms (NS) not ever resulting from previous thrombotic cerebral events (TCE). We reported NS occurred in 282 patients, in order to identify the factors influencing ET‐related NS in the absence of TCE, and the response to therapy. Overall, 116 of 282 patients (41%) presented NS; 101 of them (87%) reported subjective transient and fluctuating NS, without concurrent TCE, which we defined as ET‐related NS, by frequency: cephalalgia, chronic paresthesias, dizziness or hypotension, visual disturbances, and tinnitus. In univariate analysis, ET‐related NS resulted more frequently in young people (P = 0.017) and in females (P = 0.025). We found a higher prevalence of JAK2V617F mutation in ET‐related NS patients (P = 0.021). In multivariate analysis, gender (P = 0.024) and JAK2V617F mutation (P = 0.041) remained significantly associated with the development of ET‐related NS, with a risk of about four times higher for JAK2V617F‐mutated patients (OR = 3.75). Ninety‐seven of 101 patients with ET‐related NS received an antiplatelet (AP) agent at the time of NS, whereas only selected high‐risk ET‐related NS patients were treated with a cytoreductive drug, according to the published guidelines and similarly to patients without NS. We observed that only 32 of 97 (33%) patients with ET‐related NS achieved a complete response after AP treatment. Among the 65 non‐responder patients, 36 (55.4%) improved NS after the introduction of cytoreductive therapy; therefore, the addition of cytoreductive treatment should be considered in this setting.     

C-reactive protein,platelets, and patent ductus arteriosus

The association between inflammation, platelets, and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) has not been studied so far. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether C-reactive protein (CRP) is related to low platelet count and PDA. This was a retrospective study of 88 infants with a birth weight ≤1500 g and a gestational age ≤30 weeks. Platelet count, CRP, and an echocardiogram were assessed in all infants. The subjects were matched by sex, gestational age, and birth weight. Differences were compared using the χ², t-test, or Mann–Whitney U-test, as appropriate. Significant variables were entered into a logistic regression model. The association between CRP and platelets was evaluated by correlation and regression analysis. Platelet count (167 000 vs. 213 000 µl^?1, p = 0.015) was lower and the CRP (0.45 vs. 0.20 mg/dl, p = 0.002) was higher, and the platelet count correlated inversely with CRP (r = ?0.145, p = 0.049) in the infants with vs. without PDA. Only CRP was independently associated with PDA in a logistic regression model (OR 64.1, 95% confidence interval 1.4–2941, p = 0.033).     

Age-related differences in distractor interference on line bisection

Using a bisection paradigm, we investigated age-related differences in susceptibility to distractor interference. Older and younger participants were asked to bisect a horizontal line flanked by a pair of distractors, placed in either left or right hemispace. The results showed that (1) in both groups the distractors interfered with line bisection so that the localization of subjective midpoint was selectively shifted away from their position; (2) the shifting of subjective midpoint was greater in the older than in the younger group when the distractors were placed in the left hemispace. We suggest that the increase of the bisection bias in the older group depends on changes in attentional mechanisms involved in inhibiting irrelevant information.     

Atomic force microscopy for biomechanical and structural analysis of human dermis: A complementary tool for medical diagnosis and therapy monitoring

Skin mechanical properties are usually measured considering the entire skin thickness and very little is known about the mechanical behaviour of individual skin layers. We propose atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a tool to quantify nanoscale changes in the biomechanical properties and ultrastructure of human papillary dermis exposed to different mechanical and physical stimuli. Samples from 3 human skin biopsies were studied: one stretched by obesity, one subjected to a high level of sun exposure and normal skin as control. Slices of the papillary dermis layer were harvested at controlled depths from each skin biopsy and 25 μm² areas of each slice were imaged and D‐periodicity of collagen fibres measured by AFM, together with their stiffness. Standard histological analysis was also carried out to correlate biochemical properties and their distribution with stiffness and topography. We obtained similar stiffness values between the sample affected by obesity and the control sample at any depth level into the dermis, while the sun‐exposed sample presented a significantly lower stiffness. Additionally, all samples presented an increase in the stiffness at higher depths into the papillary dermis layer. Collagen fibres close to the epidermis of sample affected either by obesity and sun exposure—the former even more than the latter—are thicker and present a larger D‐period than those in the control sample. Our results open the possibility to use structural and mechanical analysis based on AFM as a complementary tool for medical diagnosis and therapy monitoring.     

DNA methylation patterns of genes related to immune response in the different clinical forms of oral lichen planus

Background

The oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease. Although its aetiology is not well understood, the role of T lymphocytes in its inflammatory events is recognised. Identifying the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of this immune‐mediated condition is fundamental for understanding the inflammatory reaction that occurs in the disease. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the methylation pattern of 21 immune response‐related genes in the different clinical forms of oral lichen planus.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was performed to analyse the DNA methylation patterns in three distinct groups of oral lichen planus: (i) reticular/plaque lesions; (ii) erosive lesions; (iii) normal oral mucosa (control group). After DNA extraction from biopsies, the samples were submitted to digestions by methylation‐sensitive and methylation‐dependent enzymes and double digestion. The relative percentage of methylated DNA for each gene was provided using real‐time polymerase chain reaction arrays.

Results

Hypermethylation of the STAT5A gene was observed only in the control group (59.0%). A higher hypermethylation of the ELANE gene was found in reticular/plaque lesions (72.1%) compared to the erosive lesions (50.0%).

Conclusion

Our results show variations in the methylation profile of immune response‐related genes, according to the clinical type of oral lichen planus after comparing with the normal oral mucosa. Further studies are necessary to validate these findings using gene expression analysis.