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Empirical decisions to select therapies for psoriasis (PSO) and atopic dermatitis (AD) can lead to delays in disease control and increased health care costs. However, routine molecular testing for AD and PSO are lacking.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.Cutaneous melanoma (CM) survival is assessed using averaged data from the American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition (AJCC8). However, subsets of AJCC8 stages I–III have better or worse survival than the predicted average value. The objective of this study was to determine if the 31-gene expression profile (31-GEP) test for CM can further risk-stratify melanoma-specific mortality within each AJCC8 stage. This retrospective multicenter study of 901 archival CM samples obtained from patients with stages I–III CM assessed 31-GEP test predictions of 5-year melanoma-specific survival (MSS) using Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards. In stage I–III CM population, patients with a Class 2B result had a lower 5-year MSS (77.8%) than patients with a Class 1A result (98.7%) and log-rank testing demonstrated significant stratification of MSS [χ2(2df, n= 901) = 99.7, P< 0.001). Within each stage, 31-GEP data provided additional risk stratification, including in stage I [χ2(2df, n= 415) = 11.3, P= 0.004]. Cox regression multivariable analysis showed that the 31-GEP test was a significant predictor of melanoma-specific mortality (MSM) in patients with stage I–III CM [hazard ratio: 6.44 (95% confidence interval: 2.61–15.85), P< 0.001]. This retrospective study focuses on Class 1A versus Class 2B results. Intermediate results (Class 1B/2A) comprised 21.6% of cases with survival rates between Class 1A and 2B, and similar to 5-year MSS AJCC stage values. Data from the 31-GEP test significantly differentiates MSM into lower (Class 1A) and higher risk (Class 2B) groups within each AJCC8 stage. Incorporating 31-GEP results into AJCC8 survival calculations has the potential to more precisely assess survival and enhance management guidance.

Aim:Cutaneous melanocytic neoplasms with diagnostic and/or clinical ambiguity pose patient management challenges. Methods:Six randomized case scenarios with diagnostic/clinical uncertainty were described with/without a benign or malignant diagnostic gene expression profile (GEP) result. Results:Clinical impact was assessed by reporting the mean increase/decrease of management changes normalized to baseline (n = 32 dermatologists). Benign GEP results prompted clinicians to decrease surgical margins (84.2%). Malignant GEP results escalated surgical excision recommendations (100%). A majority (72.2%) reduced and nearly all (98.9%) increased follow-up frequency for benign or malignant GEP results, respectively. There was an overall increase in management plan confidence with GEP results. Conclusion:Diagnostic GEP tests help guide clinical decision-making in a variety of diagnostically ambiguous or clinicopathologically discordant scenarios.

Aim:This study explored uveal melanoma patient experiences and regret following molecular prognostic testing using a 15-gene expression profile (GEP) test. Materials & methods:A retrospective, cross-sectional survey study was conducted through an online questionnaire capturing patient-reported experiences with prognostic biopsy/molecular testing. Results:Of 177 respondents, 159 (90%) wanted prognostic information at diagnosis. Most 15-GEP-tested patients who shared their results (99%) reported gaining value from testing, as did patients tested with other methods. Patients who received prognostic testing experienced lower decision regret than those who opted out. Decision regret did not differ based on GEP class. Conclusion:Most uveal melanoma patients desire prognostic testing and gain value from the GEP, independent of a high- or low-risk result.

Aim:This study explored uveal melanoma patient experiences and regret following molecular prognostic testing using a 15-gene expression profile (GEP) test. Materials & methods:A retrospective, cross-sectional survey study was conducted through an online questionnaire capturing patient-reported experiences with prognostic biopsy/molecular testing. Results:Of 177 respondents, 159 (90%) wanted prognostic information at diagnosis. Most 15-GEP-tested patients who shared their results (99%) reported gaining value from testing, as did patients tested with other methods. Patients who received prognostic testing experienced lower decision regret than those who opted out. Decision regret did not differ based on GEP class. Conclusion:Most uveal melanoma patients desire prognostic testing and gain value from the GEP, independent of a high- or low-risk result.

Electrophysiological activity was recorded from single neurons (units) in the hippocampal formation (HF) of freely moving homing pigeons in order to provide a taxonomy of unit types found in the avian HF; a taxonomy that could be used to define regional subdivisions and be compared with unit types found in the mammalian hippocampus. Two distinct types of unit were observed in the avian HF. One type was uniformly characterized by relatively rapid firing rates and shorter spike widths, and was found throughout the HF. The other type was more variable in activity profile but, compared with the fast‐firing units, was characterized by slower firing rates and longer spike widths. However, despite the variable nature of the slow‐firing units, most slow‐firing units recorded within a given anatomical region displayed similar firing rates, spike widths, and interspike intervals. In general, ventral HF units displayed activity patterns similar to projection cells found in the mammalian Ammon's horn. Most dorsocaudal units displayed activity patterns similar to presumed granular cells in the mammalian dentate gyrus. By contrast, most dorsorostral units displayed activity patterns similar to a type of unit found in the mammalian subiculum. Although different in some details, the overall activity profile of units found in the avian HF, and their regional distribution, is strikingly similar to unit types found in the mammalian hippocampus, suggesting that unit activity profile is one hippocampal dimension conserved through evolution. J. Comp. Neurol. 445:256–268, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

No abstract.

Mechanisms of experience-dependent plasticity have been well characterized in mouse primary visual cortex (V1), including a form of potentiation driven by repeated presentations of a familiar visual sequence (“sequence plasticity”). The prefrontal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) responds to visual stimuli, yet little is known about if and how visual experience modifies ACC circuits. We find that mouse ACC exhibits sequence plasticity, but in contrast to V1, the plasticity expresses as a change in response timing, rather than a change in response magnitude. Sequence plasticity is absent in ACC, but not V1, in a mouse model of a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intellectual disability and autism-like features. Our results demonstrate that simple sensory stimuli can be used to reveal how experience functionally (or dysfunctionally) modifies higher-order prefrontal circuits and suggest a divergence in how ACC and V1 encode familiarity.