Search

Background: Line‐field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC‐OCT) is a new, valid means for a rapid and non‐invasive in vivo examination of the epidermis and upper dermis, allowing digital interpretation and measurement of high‐resolution images on a cellular level. Given these properties, it may represent a valid tool for monitoring psoriasis during treatment, allowing a new method to set a precise objective severity of the disease. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the potentialities of LC‐OCT in the non‐invasive monitoring of microscopical changes associated with moderate–severe plaque psoriasis (PP) during the treatment with the most common biological drugs. Materials and Methods: We performed LC‐OCT imaging of PP lesions from 17 patients before and after 8 weeks of treatment. The clinical severity of the single lesions was evaluated using a lesion score (LS), designed considering three parameters: erythema, desquamation and infiltration. LC‐OCT images were segmented by artificial intelligence and evaluated based on three microscopic criteria: the thickness of the stratum corneum, the thickness of the living epidermis and the undulation of the dermo‐epidermal junction. Results: Line‐field confocal optical coherence tomography digital analysis allowed recognition and quantification of the three microscopic criteria, showing a reduction of all these during the follow‐up. Furthermore, a high correlation between change in LS and the thickness of the stratum corneum and the thickness of the living epidermis was found. Conclusion: Line‐field confocal optical coherence tomography can non‐invasively monitor the response of PP to different treatments. Morphometric changes occurring in the psoriatic lesion during the 8‐week treatment period were identified by in vivo LC‐OCT and measured by using artificial intelligence. Although future studies are required, based on these preliminary results, LC‐OCT may represent a valid potential tool for precise monitoring of therapeutic response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor progression locus 2 (Tpl2) is a serine/threonine kinase in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction cascade known to regulate inflammatory pathways. Previously identified as an oncogene, its mutation or overexpression is reported in a variety of human cancers. To address its role in skin carcinogenesis, Tpl2−/− or wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice were subjected to a two-stage dimethylbenzanthracene/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) mouse skin carcinogenesis model. Tpl2−/− mice developed a significantly higher incidence of tumors (80%) than WT mice (17%), as well as a reduced tumor latency and a significantly higher number of total tumors (113 vs 6). Moreover, Tpl2−/− mice treated with TPA experienced significantly higher nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) activation, edema, infiltrating neutrophils and production of proinflammatory cytokines than did WT mice. We investigated the role of the p38, JNK, MEK and NF-κB signaling pathways both in vitro and in vivo in WT and Tpl2−/− mice by using inhibitors for each of these pathways. We confirmed that the proinflammatory effect in Tpl2−/− mice was due to heightened activity of the NF-κB pathway. These studies indicate that Tpl2 may serve more as a tumor suppressor than as an oncogene in chemically induced skin carcinogenesis, with its absence contributing to both tumorigenesis and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 58-year-old female with acquired haemophilia A (AHA). Topics include diagnosis by abdominal ultrasound and skull computed tomography, reactions of antiphospholipid antibodies, and symptoms of the hamophilia such as cutaneous haematomas and ecchymoses. Also mentions the utilization of factor VIII bypassing agents for achieving hemostasis.

Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory condition, often presents challenges in treatment, particularly in areas such as nails, palms/soles, scalp/face, and genitalia. Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) like risankizumab targeting interleukin-23 (IL-23) have emerged as promising treatments, yet data on long-term efficacy remain limited. This multicenter retrospective study aimed to evaluate the drug survival at 12 and 36 months of 191 psoriasis patients treated with risankizumab, focusing on critical areas. Patients, previously unresponsive to first-line therapies, were treated according to Italian Guidelines. Survival analysis revealed a 97.6% one-year and 95% three-year drug survival rate. Secondary ineffectiveness was the primary reason for discontinuation, particularly in palmoplantar involvement cases. Factors such as BMI, gender, age, disease duration, baseline severity, and previous biologic exposure did not significantly impact drug survival, except for palmoplantar psoriasis (HR 4.72). Risankizumab demonstrated prolonged response with low treatment switch requirements, especially notable in challenging areas. Understanding such factors can aid in optimizing therapeutic approaches for improved patient care and long-term outcomes in managing psoriasis. Further research is warranted to refine treatment strategies in difficult-to-treat areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Batata muon counter was designed as one of the foreseen detector upgrades of the Pierre Auger Observatory with the main goal of quantifying the electromagnetic contamination of the muon signal as a function of the depth for cosmic ray shower energies above 10PeV. Nevertheless Batata offers also the possibility of measuring the incoming direction of secondary muons from both GeV and PeV primary cosmic rays. Large efforts have been already done to quantify from simulations the amount of the electromagnetic contamination and the expected muon identification performances. The present work is focused on the evaluation of the detector performances for muon track reconstruction. To this aim and in view of the detector installation in the field, expected to be completed by the first half of current year, we performed a Geant4 end-to-end simulation of such device and set up a track reconstruction procedure. Typical results concerning achieved acceptance and angular resolution for muons are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A letter to the editor is presented that discusses the medical case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour of the right labium majus.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Six cases of tinea bullosa in Siena, Italy," in the previous issue.

The article discusses the clinical case of a 65 year old man who complained of a month history of fever of unknown origin, hematuria and rash, was diagnosed with diffuse intravascular B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL). It describes the clinical characteristics of the patient, including his skin biopsy results and the manifestations of IVLBCL.