GENIPSO: a French prospective study assessing instantaneous prevalence,clinical features and impact on quality of life of genital psoriasis among patients consulting for psoriasis

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, affecting about 3% of the general population and approximately 2.5 million people in France, where this study took place. The genital area may be affected, however prevalence is poorly understood, meaning we do not know exactly how commonly this occurs. While it affects quality of life, genital psoriasis is under-recognized, probably due to the reluctance of patients to discuss genital involvement and sexual quality of life. The aims of this study, called the GENIPSO study, were to determine the prevalence of genital psoriasis, its clinical characteristics (its symptoms), whether it is associated with a particular type of psoriasis, and its impact on quality of life. The study included 776 adults seeing their doctor for psoriasis between November 2016 and March 2017. Among them, 336 (43.2%) had genital psoriasis. All these patients were aware that they had psoriasis on their genitals (genital lesions) but only 135 (40%) had already had a genital medical examination. Genital lesions were associated with (linked to) male gender, more severe psoriasis, first developing psoriasis when aged over 20 years, psoriasis of the skin folds, psoriasis on the scalp, nail and external auditory (ear) canal, but they were not associated with obesity or psoriatic arthritis. Itching was the main symptom. Genital psoriasis was associated with reduced quality of life and sexual health. The study found that genital psoriasis has a high prevalence in patients seeing their doctors about their psoriasis generally, it affects quality of life and should be better taken into account by dermatologists for the best possible care for patients.     

An Environmental Scan of the National and Provincial Diagnostic Reference Levels in Canada for Common Adult Computed Tomography Scans

Several regulatory bodies have agreed that low-dose radiation used in medical imaging is a weak carcinogen that follows a linear, non-threshold model of cancer risk. While avoiding radiation is the best course of action to mitigate risk, computed tomography (CT) scans are often critical for diagnosis. In addition to the as low as reasonably achievable principle, a more concrete method of dose reduction for common CT imaging exams is the use of a diagnostic reference level (DRL). This paper examines Canada's national DRL values from the recent CT survey and compares it to published provincial DRLs as well as the DRLs in the United Kingdom and the United States of America for the 3 most common CT exams: head, chest, and abdomen/pelvis. Canada compares well on the international scale, but it should consider using more electronic dose monitoring solutions to create a culture of dose optimization.     

Functionalizing bioinks for 3D bioprinting applications

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Predictive factors of positive online patient ratings of spine surgeons

BACKGROUND

Online physician rating websites are increasingly used by patients to evaluate their doctors. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate factors associated with better spine surgeon ratings.

No Influence of the Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated Gene rs9939609 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism on Blood Lipids in Young Males

The fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) rs9939609 A-allele is linked to obesity and dyslipidemia, yet the independent influence of this polymorphism on blood lipids remains equivocal. We examined the influence of the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism on fasting and postprandial blood lipids in individuals homozygous for the risk A-allele or T-allele with similar anthropometric and demographic characteristics. 12 AA and 12 TT males consumed a standardized meal after fasting overnight. Blood samples were collected at baseline (−1.5 h), before the meal (0 h), and for five hours postprandially to measure lipid, glucose, and insulin concentrations. Time-averaged total area under the curve (TAUC) values (0–5 h) were calculated and compared between genotypes. Fasting triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), glucose, and insulin concentrations were similar between groups (p ≥ 0.293). TAUC for TG was similar in AAs and TTs (95% confidence interval (CI) −0.52 to 0.31 mmol/L/h; p = 0.606). Likewise, TAUC values were similar for NEFA (95% CI −0.04 to 0.03 mmol/L/h; p = 0.734), glucose (95% CI −0.41 to 0.44 mmol/L/h; p = 0.951), and insulin (95% CI −6.87 to 2.83 pmol/L/h; p = 0.395). Blood lipids are not influenced by the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism, suggesting the FTO-dyslipidemia link is mediated by adiposity and weight management is important in preventing FTO-related lipid variations.