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Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an autoinflammatory disorder of keratinization with a prominence of B cells and plasma cells. Fostamatinib is a spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting B cells and plasma cells., Objectives: To assess the safety, tolerability, and clinical response at week 4 and week 12 of fostamatinib in moderate-to-severe HS., Methods: Twenty participants were administered fostamatinib 100 mg twice a day for 4 weeks, escalating to 150 mg twice a day thereafter until week 12. Participants were assessed for adverse events and clinical response assessed by HiSCR (Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response Score) and IHS4 (International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score) as well as other outcomes including DLQI (Dermatology Life Quality Index), visual analog scale, and physician global assessment., Results: All 20 participants completed the week 4 and week 12 endpoints. Fostamatinib was well tolerated in this cohort with no grade 2/3 adverse events reported. A total of 85% achieved HiSCR at week 4 and 85% at week 12. The greatest reduction in disease activity was seen at weeks 4/5 with worsening in a proportion of patients thereafter. Significant improvements were seen in pain, itch, and quality of life., Conclusions: Fostamatinib was well tolerated in this HS cohort with no serious adverse events and improvement in clinical outcomes. Targeting B cells/plasma cells may be a viable therapeutic strategy in HS and requires further exploration., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest Dr Frew has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, Chemocentryx, Abbvie, Azora, Novartis, and UCB; participated in trials for Pfizer, UCB, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, CSL, and Azora; and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics, Sun Pharma, LEO Pharma, UCB and La Roche Posay. Jepsen, Edwards, Flora, and Kozera have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest J.W.F. has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, ChemoCentryx, AbbVie, Azora, Novartis, and UCB; participated in trials for Pfizer, UCB, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, CSL, and Azora; and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics, Sun Pharma, LEO Pharma, UCB, and La Roche Posay.

Introduction: Academic dermatologists in Australia and New Zealand provide high-quality and meaningful contributions to the understanding of disease and therapeutic translational research. Concerns have been raised by the Australian Medical Association regarding the decline of clinical academics in Australia as a whole, however, such trends in scholarly output have not previously been analysed for Australasian dermatologists., Methods: A bibliometric analysis of dermatologists in Australia and New Zealand was conducted in January and February 2023. Available Scopus profiles for all dermatologists were used to measure lifetime H index, scholarly output, citation counts and field-weighted citation impact (FWCI) in the last 5 years (2017-2022). Trends in output over time were measured using non-parametric tests. Differences in output between subgroups stratified by gender and academic leadership positions (associate professor or professor) were measured using Wilcoxon rank-sum and one-way ANOVA tests. The scholarly output of recent College graduates was also analysed as a subgroup, comparing the same bibliographic variables in the 5 years preceding and 5 years following awarding of their fellowships., Results: From the 463 practising dermatologists in Australia and New Zealand, 372 (80%) were successfully matched to Scopus researcher profiles. Of these dermatologists, 167 were male (45%) and 205 (55%) were female, and 31 (8%) held academic leadership positions. Most dermatologists (67%) published at least one paper in the last 5 years. The median lifetime H index was 4, and between 2017 and 2022 median scholarly output was 3, the median citations were 14 and the median FWCI was 0.64. There was a non-significant trend towards fewer publications per year, however, citation count and FWCI decreased significantly. By subgroups, female dermatologists published significantly more papers between 2017 and 2022, and other bibliographic variables were comparable to male dermatologists. However, women were underrepresented in positions of academic leadership-comprising only 32% of this cohort despite representing 55% of dermatologists. Professors were also significantly more likely to have higher bibliographic outcomes than associate professors. Finally, analysis of recent College graduates highlighted a significant decline in bibliometric outcomes pre- and post-fellowship., Conclusion: Overall, our analysis identifies a trend towards decreased research output by dermatologists in Australia and New Zealand in the last 5 years. Strategies to support dermatologists in research endeavours, particularly women and recent graduates, will be essential in maintaining strong scholarly output among Australasian dermatologists and thereby sustaining optimal evidence-based patient care., (© 2023 The Authors. Australasian Journal of Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College of Dermatologists.)

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorder that also occurs in the setting of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Biological therapy has transformed the treatment landscape for psoriasis; however, individuals with HIV are excluded from clinical trials. The impact of biological therapy on blood parameters in HIV is unclear and is only observed in small case series., Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of biological therapy in psoriasis vulgaris in individuals with well-controlled HIV on CD4 + cell counts, CD4 + proportion and HIV viral load over 12 months., Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary referral centre in Sydney, Australia and included 36 HIV-positive individuals with psoriasis treated with biological therapy, compared with 144 age-, gender- and HAART-matched individuals without psoriasis seen between 2010 and 2022. Outcomes of interest included HIV viral load, CD4 + cell count and incidence of infections., Results: No statistically significant difference was seen in baseline HIV viral load and CD4 + count between individuals with and without psoriasis. No significant change in CD4 + count or HIV viral load was seen over the 12-month period of analysis in the HIV cohort without psoriasis. The HIV cohort treated with biological therapy for psoriasis also did not demonstrate any significant change in HIV viral load and CD4 + counts over the 12-month period examined. Stratification by type of biological therapy used did not identify any significant changes in these parameters. Rates of infections and adverse events were also not significantly different between cohorts. It is possible that minor blips seen in the biologics cohort may be a risk factor for future virological failure, and future prospective longitudinal studies are required., Conclusions: In individuals with well-controlled HIV, the use of biological therapy for psoriasis does not significantly impact HIV viral load, CD4 + cell count, CD4 + proportion and rates of infection over the first 12 months of therapy., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest JWF has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, Chemocentryx, Abbvie, Azora, Novartis and UCB, participated in trials for Pfizer, UCB, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, CSL, Azora and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics, Sun Pharma, LEO Pharma, UCB and La Roche Posay.

Competing Interests: Dr. Frew has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, Chemocentryx, AbbVie, Azora, Novartis, and UCB; participated in trials for Pfizer, UCB, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, CSL, Azora; and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics, Sun Pharma, LEO Pharma, UCB, and La Roche-Posay. Drs Selvaraj and Stewart have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest Dr Frew has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, Chemocentryx, AbbVie, and UCB; participated in trials for Pfizer, UCB, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and CSL; and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics and Sun Pharma. Authors Kozera, Flora, Stewart, Gill, Xu, and De La Vega have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest Dr Frew has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, Chemocentryx, Abbvie, Azora, Novartis, and UCB, participated in trials for Pfizer, UCB, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, CSL, and Azora, and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics, Sun Pharma, LEO Pharma, UCB, and La Roche Posay.

Background: Although hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) shares some transcriptomic and cellular infiltrate features with psoriasis, their skin proteome remains unknown., Objective: To define and compare inflammatory protein biomarkers of HS and psoriasis skin., Methods: We assessed 92 inflammatory biomarkers in HS (n = 13), psoriasis (n = 11), and control skin (n = 11) using Olink high-throughput proteomics. We also correlated HS skin and blood biomarkers using proteomics and RNA sequencing., Results: We identified 57 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in lesional psoriasis and 64 DEPs in lesional HS skin, compared to healthy controls. Both HS and psoriasis lesional skin demonstrated a significant upregulation of T helper 1 and T helper 17 proteins. Healthy-appearing perilesional HS skin had 63 DEPs compared to healthy controls. Nonlesional HS and psoriasis skin had 24 and 7 DEPs, respectively, compared to healthy controls. Tumor necrosis factor and 8 other proteins were significantly correlated with clinical severity in perilesional HS skin (2 cm from a nodule)., Limitations: Inclusion of only moderate-to-severe patients and the cohort size., Conclusion: HS has a greater inflammatory profile and is more diffusely distributed compared with psoriasis. Proteins correlated with disease severity are potential disease mediators. Perilesional skin is comparably inflamed to lesional skin, suggesting the need to treat beyond skin nodules., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest Dr Krueger has received research support (grants paid to the institution) from AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Boehringer, EMD Serono, Innovaderm, Kineta, LEO Pharma, Novan, Novartis, Paraxel, Pfizer, Regeneron, and Vitae and personal fees from AbbVie, Acros, Allergan, Aurigne, BiogenIdec, Boehringer, Escalier, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, and Valeant. Dr Guttman-Yassaky is an employee of Mount Sinai and has received research funds (grants paid to the institution) from AbbVie, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Medimmune/Astra Zeneca, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, Vitae, Glenmark, Galderma, Asana, Innovaderm, Dermira, and UCB, and is a consultant for Sanofi Aventis, Regeneron, Stiefel/GlaxoSmithKline, MedImmune, Celgene, Anacor, AnaptysBio, Dermira, Galderma, Glenmark, Novartis, Pfizer, Vitae, LEO Pharma, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Kyowa, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Asana Biosciences, and Promius. Authors Navrazhina, Zheng, and Coats and Drs Garcet and Frew have no relevant conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the skin with a predilection for women. The role of sex hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, is incompletely understood, but alterations in hormone levels may play a role in disease activity for many patients. Specific clinical considerations should be made for women with HS, particularly in the setting of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and menopause. Current knowledge gaps regarding HS include the cumulative impact of disease across an individual's lifespan, as well as the mechanistic role of sex hormones in the disease. An improved understanding of the pathophysiologic role of hormones in HS would optimize our ability to use targeted therapies for hormonally driven disease. Psychological and psychosexual support for women with HS is an important facet of any holistic management strategy for the disease. This article integrates up-to-date pathogenic and mechanistic insights with evidence-based clinical management to optimize care for women with HS., Competing Interests: Michelle A. Lowes has served on the advisory boards for Abbvie, InflaRx, Janssen, and Viela Bio, and consulted for Almirall, BSN Medical, Incyte, Janssen, Kymera, Phoenicis, and XBiotech. She is also on the medical board of the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation. Jennifer L. Hsiao is on the board of directors for the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation, a speaker for AbbVie, and a consultant for Novartis. John W. Frew has conducted advisory work for Janssen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Kirin, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, and UCB; participated in trials for UCB, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly; and received research support from Ortho Dermatologics., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), also known as acne inversa, is a chronic, painful, and burdensome inflammatory disease manifesting in nodules and abscesses, with progression to chronically draining tunnels in later-stage disease., Objective: We sought to determine whether HS tunnels are immunologically active participants in disease activity., Methods: Skin biopsy specimens were obtained by using ultrasound guidance in untreated patients with HS and those enrolled in an open-label study of brodalumab (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03960268) for patients with moderate-to-severe HS., Results: Immunohistochemistry of HS biopsy specimens demonstrated that the epithelialized HS tunnels recapitulate the psoriasiform epidermal hyperplasia morphology of the overlying epidermis, displaying molecular inflammation, including S100A7 (psoriasin) positivity, as well as features of epidermal skin, including loricrin, filaggrin, lipocalin-2, and Melan-A positive cells. Tunnels were associated with increased infiltration of T cells, dendritic cells, and neutrophils; formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, and increased expression of psoriasiform proinflammatory cytokines. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering demonstrated a separation of HS samples based on the presence or absence of tunnels. Tunnels isolated by microdissection had higher levels of epithelium-derived inflammatory cytokines compared with the overlying epidermis and healthy controls. Clinically, the size and draining of the tunnels were decreased with treatment with the IL-17RA antagonist brodalumab., Conclusion: These data suggest that tunnels are a source of inflammation in HS., (Copyright © 2021 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) demonstrates high placebo response rates in clinical trials, possibly due to the natural variability of the disease. No quantification of variability in lesion counts of untreated disease has been undertaken., Objective: To quantify the variability of untreated HS., Methods: Deidentified individual patient data from the placebo arms of PIONEER studies were analyzed, and measurements of within-subject coefficients of variation were examined. Variability was stratified by disease-associated variables (Hurley stage, BMI, sex, smoking, family history) and body site., Results: Analysis of within-subject coefficients of variation demonstrated that half of the participants had a middle spread [difference between 75 th and 25 th percentiles of the subject's abscess and nodule counts] greater than 33% and 40% of their median abscess and nodule counts, and 25% of the subjects had a middle spread greater than 70% and 78% of their median abscess and nodule counts in PIONEER I and II, respectively. Hurley stage 2 participants had significantly greater within-subject variation than Hurley stage 3 patients. Variation was greater in the axillary and groin regions than in other anatomical locations., Limitations: Limitations include the use of precollected clinical trial data., Conclusion: The within-subject variability of the lesion counts in untreated HS was greater than previously appreciated. This has profound effects on outcome measures and the conduct of future clinical trials of HS., (© 2020 by the American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa is an autoinflammatory disorder of keratinization, with dysregulation of T helper type 17 cytokines. Brodalumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets the interleukin (IL) 17 receptor A receptor., Objectives: To assess the safety and tolerability and clinical response at weeks 12 and 24 of brodalumab in moderate to severe HS. Ten participants with no history of inflammatory bowel disease were administered brodalumab 210 mg/1.5 mL subcutaneously at weeks 0, 1, and 2 and every 2 weeks thereafter until week 24. Participants were assessed for adverse events (grade 2/3 adverse events) and clinical response (Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response [HiSCR], Sartorius, International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Scoring System [IHS4]), including ultrasonography and skin biopsies., Results: All 10 participants completed the study. No grade 2/3 adverse events associated with the use of brodalumab were reported. All patients (100%) achieved HiSCR, and 80% achieved IHS4 category change at week 12. HiSCR achievement occurred as early as week 2, likely due to the unique blockade of IL-17A, IL-17C, and IL-17F by brodalumab. Significant improvements were seen in pain, itch, quality of life, and depression., Conclusions: Brodalumab was well tolerated in this HS cohort, with no serious adverse events and improvement in clinical outcomes. Alterations in dose frequency may be required in those with advanced disease, which requires further exploration., (Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The pathogenic model of hidradenitis suppurativa is in the midst of a paradigm shift away from a disorder of primary follicular occlusion to an autoinflammatory keratinization disease. Observational, experimental, and therapeutic evidence supports the concept of hidradenitis suppurativa as a primarily inflammatory disorder, a disorder of autoimmunity, or both, in contrast to the current prevailing paradigm of primary follicular occlusion. The lack of reliable and high-fidelity disease models has limited the available experimental and mechanistic evidence to support or refute one pathogenic model over another. This scholarly review synthesizes the existing clinical, histologic, and molecular data to evaluate the extant evidence supporting the autoinflammatory paradigm and further informing the molecular mechanisms of hidradenitis suppurativa pathogenesis. Follicular hyperkeratosis/occlusion and perifollicular inflammation coexist in histologic specimens, with interleukin 1α demonstrated to stimulate comedogenesis in the infundibulum. pH elevation in occluded body sites alters the microbiome and amplifies existing T-helper cell type 17 immunoresponses. Known metabolic comorbidities and smoking are known to upregulate interleukin 1α in follicular keratinocytes. Identified genetic variants may alter epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, leading to upregulated keratinocyte inflammatory responses. The process of follicular rupture and dermal tunnel formation can be explained as secondary responses to inflammatory activation of fibroblasts and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, with antibody production associated with inflammatory amplification in advanced disease. This review aims to reevaluate and integrate the current clinical, histologic, and molecular data into a pathogenic model of hidradenitis suppurativa. This is essential to advance our understanding of the disease and identify novel therapeutic targets and approaches., (© 2020 by the American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: The hidradenitis suppurativa clinical response (HiSCR) is the gold standard primary outcome measure for hidradenitis suppurativa clinical trials; however, it does not assess the presence of draining tunnels, a common finding in advanced disease. It is unclear what the effect of the presence or absence of draining tunnels has on the efficacy of adalimumab therapy in moderate and advanced disease., Objectives: We evaluated the efficacy of adalimumab versus placebo using the International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Scoring System (IHS4). Additionally, we assessed the effect of draining tunnels on therapeutic response as measured by both the HiSCR and change in nodule counts., Methods: Reanalysis was conducted with the IHS4 and PIONEER 1 and 2 individual patient data. Both binary outcomes (achieving HiSCR and achieving change in IHS4 severity category) and continuous outcomes (nodule counts and IHS4 score) were calculated with R. Regression modeling was undertaken to assess the effect of draining tunnels and other variables. P < .05 was considered statistically significant., Results: The significance of adalimumab therapy depended on the outcome measure used. Placebo response rates were highest when binary outcome measures were used. Draining tunnels, smoking, antibiotics, and body mass index influenced HiSCR response in PIONEER 2. Significant differences in disease severity were observed between PIONEER 1 and 2 data sets., Conclusions: Elevated placebo response rates in PIONEER 1 and 2 are partially attributable to the use of binary outcome measures. Draining tunnels influence clinical response as measured by HiSCR and nodule counts in PIONEER 2. Further investigation into the effect of body mass index on clinical response is required., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Defining the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients suffering from the heritable blistering disease epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is important in assessing the efficacy of new treatments. The quality of life in EB questionnaire (QOLEB) is an English 17-item EB-specific HRQoL measurement tool. The aim of this study was to develop a validated and reliable QOLEB in Dutch and assess the HRQoL in Dutch EB patients. The QOLEB was translated to Dutch according to protocol. Fifty-five adult patients across 4 EB subtypes participated. The QOLEB had excellant correlation with the Skindex-29 (ρs = 0.86), good correlation with the SF-36 physical score (ρs = -0.75), and moderate correlation with the SF-36 mental score (ρs = -0.43). The discriminative validity between the 4 different EB subtypes was significant (p = 0.002). The internal consistency was excellent (α = 0.905), and the test-retest reliability strong (ρs = 0.88). In conclusion, the Dutch QOLEB is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of the HRQoL in adult EB patients.