CD19 + CD21lo/neg cells are increased in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The purpose of this study was to examine recirculating lymphocytes from SSc patients for potential biomarkers of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients with SSc and healthy controls enrolled in the Vanderbilt University Myositis and Scleroderma Treatment Initiative Center cohort between 9/2017–6/2019. Clinical phenotyping was performed by chart abstraction. Immunophenotyping was performed using both mass cytometry and fluorescence cytometry combined with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding analysis and traditional biaxial gating. This study included 34 patients with SSc-ILD, 14 patients without SSc-ILD, and 25 healthy controls. CD21^lo/neg cells are significantly increased in SSc-ILD but not in SSc without ILD (15.4 ± 13.3% vs. 5.8 ± 0.9%, p = 0.002) or healthy controls (5.0 ± 0.5%, p < 0.0001). While CD21^lo/neg B cells can be identified from a single biaxial gate, tSNE analysis reveals that the biaxial gate is comprised of multiple distinct subsets, all of which are increased in SSc-ILD. CD21^lo/neg cells in both healthy controls and SSc-ILD are predominantly tBET positive and do not have intracellular CD21. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated that CD21^lo/neg B cells diffusely infiltrate the lung parenchyma of an SSc-ILD patient. Additional work is needed to validate this biomarker in larger cohorts and longitudinal studies and to understand the role of these cells in SSc-ILD.

     

COVID-19 Gender Disparities and Mitigation Recommendations: A Narrative Review

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly created widespread impacts on global health and the economy. Data suggest that women are less susceptible to severe illness. However, sex-disaggregated data are incomplete, leaving room for misinterpretation, and focusing only on biologic sex underestimates the gendered impact of the pandemic on women. This narrative review summarizes what is known about gender disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic, domestic, and health burdens along with overlapping vulnerabilities related to the pandemic. In addition, this review outlines recommended strategies that advocacy groups, community leaders, and policymakers should implement to mitigate the widening gender disparities related to COVID-19.     

Hip Displacement in Cerebral Palsy: The Role of Surveillance

IntroductionHip displacement is common in cerebral palsy (CP) and is related to the severity of neurological and functional impairment. It is a silent, but progressive disease, and can result in significant morbidity and decreased quality of life, if left untreated. The pathophysiology of hip displacement in CP is a combination of hip flexor-adductor muscle spasticity, abductor muscle weakness, and delayed weight-bearing, resulting in proximal femoral deformities and progressive acetabular dysplasia. Due to a lack of symptoms in the early stages of hip displacement, the diagnosis is easily missed. Awareness of this condition and regular surveillance by clinical examination and serial radiographs of the hips are the key to early diagnosis and treatment.Hip surveillance programmesSeveral population-based studies from around the world have demonstrated that universal hip surveillance in children with CP allows early detection of hip displacement and appropriate early intervention, with a resultant decrease in painful dislocations. Global hip surveillance models are based upon the patients’ age, functional level determined by the Gross Motor Function Classification system (GMFCS), gait classification, standardized clinical exam, and radiographic indices such as the migration percentage (MP), as critical indicators of progressive hip displacement.ConclusionDespite 25 years of evidence showing the efficacy of established hip surveillance programmes, there is poor awareness among healthcare professionals in India about the importance of regular hip surveillance in children with CP. There is a need for professional organizations to develop evidence-based guidelines for hip surveillance which are relevant to the Indian context.     

Emerging therapeutic options in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease that requires chronic treatment throughout the evolution of the disease, with a complex physiopathology that entails great challenges for the development of new and specific treatments for ulcerative colitis and Crohn´s disease. The anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapy has impacted the clinical course of IBD in those patients who do not respond to conventional treatment, so there is a need to develop new therapies and markers of treatment response. Various pathways involved in the development of the disease are known and the new therapies have focused on blocking the inflammatory process at the gastrointestinal level by oral, intravenous, subcutaneous, and topical route. All these new therapies can lead to more personalized treatments with higher success rates and fewer relapses. These treatments have not only focused on clinical remission, but also on achieving macroscopic changes at the endoscopic level and microscopic changes by achieving mucosal healing. These treatments are mainly based on modifying signaling pathways, by blocking receptors or ligands, reducing cell migration and maintaining the integrity of the epithelial barrier. Therefore, this review presents the efficacy and safety of the new treatments that are currently under study and the advances that have been made in this area in recent years.     

中医药治疗动脉粥样硬化临床研究进展

中医药防治动脉粥样硬化的研究具有良好的实践基础和应用前景,治疗方法可归于四类,即活血化瘀、化痰调脂、痰瘀同治、扶正祛邪,研究者辨证施治,多在临床上取得了满意的疗效。目前研究仍存在一些亟待解决的问题:首先,中医药防治动脉粥样硬化临床研究重复性差,缺乏大样本、多中心、高质量的临床研究及系统深入的实验研究;其次,对专家经验方及中药复方研究不够深入,临床药效物质基础不明确,缺乏对其作用机制的深入挖掘;再次,目前的研究不够系统和全面,主要集中在对动脉粥样硬化的形成和发展过程的研究,对斑块易损性研究相对较少。针对上述问题,今后应加强中医药治疗动脉粥样硬化的基础及临床研究,为治疗提供更加明确的理论依据和临床证据;同时,建立具有中医特色的研究模式,以中医宏观辨证理论为指导,利用现代医学技术,参考现代中药药理实验结果选药组方,扩大辨证选药思路,加强对中药方剂配伍规律的研究,以及对其有效成分的分离提取、鉴定和作用机制研究,并将传统组方理论与针对发病机制的对病治疗相结合,多角度、多层次探索中医药的作用机理。此外,应不断深入探索动脉粥样硬化的发病机制,并结合细胞工程、分子生物学及基因科学,积极研究中医药的药效学基础和机制。