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Background: Previous studies exploring the impact of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children focused on factors associated with parental quality of life at one point in time. Objective: To examine factors associated with change of quality of life among parents of children affected with AD. Methods: The study cohort comprised 98 parent–children pairs treated for AD at the Clinic of Dermatovenereology; however, 18 parents (18.4%) were lost to follow‐up after 1 year. Children were assessed with SCORing Atopic Dermatitis Index (SCORAD) and Children Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) or the Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL), depending on their age. Parents filled in socio‐demographic questionnaire and Dermatitis Family Impact Questionnaire (DFI). After 1 year, both children and parents were reassessed using the same AD‐related battery of questionnaires. Results: After follow‐up, a significant improvement in the average total DFI score was observed, especially for domains of fatigue/exhaustion, emotional distress and impact of helping in child treatment. Lower baseline SCORAD, greater improvement of SCORAD over follow‐up, better CDLQI/IDQOL at baseline, greater improvement in CDLQI/IDQOL over follow‐up, not having asthma and having older child with AD were associated with better parental quality of life after 1 year of follow‐up. Parental higher education level, shorter AD duration, better baseline SCORAD and greater improvement in CDLQI/IDQOL over follow‐up were associated with greater improvement in parental life quality over 1 year of follow‐up. Conclusion: Contributors to parental quality of life after 1 year included clinical features of AD and child's comorbidity (asthma), but also the perception of child's quality of life and its improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and Aim: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Serbian government instituted a 24-h curfew for people aged ≥65 years for 2 months. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of curfew for older people in Serbia 15 months after the curfew had ended., Methods: In-depth interviews were carried out with 23 older adults from urban areas in Serbia. We identified the first three participants, while others were selected using the snowballing method. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and data were analyzed according to guidelines for qualitative studies., Results: Six topics emerged: (1) perception of the curfew announcement; (2) attitude toward the curfew; (3) organization of daily living; (4) mood; (5) frustrations/limitations and 6) making sense of the curfew 15 months after. Older people in this study overall remember not feeling disturbed by the curfew because they perceived it as prevention, especially because this population group is considered to have the highest rate of mortality from COVID-19. Some people remember being extremely frustrated because of the restrictions and considered them unnecessary. Most people remembered that the lack of social interactions and lack of physical activity were the most difficult to cope with., Conclusions: Although challenging and bothersome, the majority of older people in this study accepted the curfew as an appropriate measure to avoid catching the virus and combat the COVID-19 pandemic., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) influence recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) therapy response in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Serum levels of MMPs and TIMPs along with the expression of genes coding these proteins are related to the recovery and appearance of adverse effects (AE) after AIS. Consequently, it is important to explore whether polymorphisms in regulatory sequences of MMPs and TIMPs are associated with rtPA response in AIS patients., Objectives: To determine whether selected polymorphic variants within MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-2 genes may influence rtPA therapy response with regard to outcomes in patients with AIS and the occurrence of AE., Methods: Our study included 166 patients suffering AIS, treated with rtPA. Patients' recovery was estimated using the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 3 months after the AIS occurred. Favorable outcome was defined with scores 0-1 and poor outcome with scores 2-6. Genotyping was performed using real-time PCR (rs243866, rs243865, rs243864, rs2277698, and rs8179090) and PCR-RFLP (rs2285053, rs3918242) methods. Additionally, rtPA AE were followed during the hospitalization., Results: There was no significant association between genotypes and alleles of selected polymorphisms and rtPA therapy response measured through the decrease of the mRS score in patients with AIS. Intracranial hemorrhage, as well as parenchymal hematoma type 2, was significantly more frequent in patients with TT genotype of the MMP-9-1562C/T polymorphism (p = 0.047, p = 0.011, respectively). Patients with intracranial hemorrhages after rtPA were significantly more likely to have the TT genotype of TIMP-2-303C/T polymorphism and the TT genotype of MMP-9-1562C/T polymorphism (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: TT genotype of the MMP-9-1562C/T polymorphism may be a risk factor for rtPA-induced hemorrhagic complications after AIS., (© 2021 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.)

A case-control study of 110 consecutive psoriatic outpatients and 200 unmatched controls was carried out in order to analyze the association of psoriasis with smoking habits, alcohol consumption, family history of psoriasis and stressful life events. Stressful life events were assessed with Paykel's Interview for Recent Life Events, a semi-structured interview covering 63 life events. According to our results, the risk of psoriasis is higher in urban dwellers (odds ratio [OR] = 3.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.99-13.18), patients who were divorced (OR = 5.69; 95% CI = 2.26-14.34) and those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home (OR = 2.29; 95% CI = 1.12-4.67). Alcohol consumption (OR = 2.55; 95% CI = 1.26-5.17), family history of psoriasis (OR = 33.96; 95% CI = 14.14-81.57) and change in work conditions (OR = 8.34; 95% CI = 1.86-37.43) are also risk factors for psoriasis. Separate analyses for men and women showed that the risk of developing psoriasis was stronger in men with a family history of psoriasis (OR = 30.39; 95% CI = 6.72-137.42) than in women (OR = 16.99; 95% CI = 7.21-40.07). The effect of environmental tobacco smoke at home was found only in women (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.26-4.73). Future well-designed epidemiological studies need to be performed in order to determine whether lifestyle factors and stress could be risk factors triggering or aggravating psoriasis.