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EffeCtiveness of biologic treAtmeNts for plaque psOriasis in Italy: An obserVAtional (CANOVA) study was aimed at providing real-world evidence of the effectiveness of biologics in Italian patients with moderate–severe psoriasis. It was an observational, retro-prospective cohort study conducted in 17 Italian dermatology clinics. Adult patients with moderate–severe plaque psoriasis, who started a biologic treatment between 24 weeks and 24 months before enrolment, were included. With a follow-up visit at 6 months after enrolment, each patient had at least 12 months of observation. The primary objective was to describe the clinical response rates (PASI 75) after 16/24/52 weeks from biologic treatment start. Secondary outcomes were sustained response, quality of life, and treatment satisfaction. Of the 669 eligible patients (64% males), 52% were naïve to biologics, though a mean duration of psoriasis since first diagnosis of 18.6 years (SD 13.2). The most frequently prescribed biologics were secukinumab (41%), ustekinumab (25%), TNF-inhibitors (22%) and ixekizumab (12%). PASI 75 was achieved by 86% of patients (95% CI: 82%–89%) at 16 weeks, 90% (87%–93%) at 24 weeks, and 91% (89%–94%) at 52 weeks. Patients achieving PASI 90 and PASI 100 at 52 weeks were 75% (71%–79%) and 53% (49%–57%), respectively. Sustained PASI 75 response after 1 year from treatment start was achieved by 78% (74%–82%) of patients. Mean DLQI total score was 2.3 (SD 3.9) at enrollment and decreased at the final visit to 1.8 (3.6). A high level of treatment satisfaction was expressed by patients over the study period. This large real-world study confirms in the clinical practice the good effectiveness and acceptability of biologics in psoriasis patients.

Calcium (Ca2+) elevation is an essential secondary messenger in many cellular processes, including disease progression and adaptation to external stimuli, e.g., gravitational load. Therefore, mapping and quantifying Ca2+ signaling with a high spatiotemporal resolution is a key challenge. However, particularly on microgravity platforms, experiment time is limited, allowing only a small number of replicates. Furthermore, experiment hardware is exposed to changes in gravity levels, causing experimental artifacts unless appropriately controlled. We introduce a new experimental setup based on the fluorescent Ca2+ reporter CaMPARI2, onboard LED arrays, and subsequent microscopic analysis on the ground. This setup allows for higher throughput and accuracy due to its retrograde nature. The excellent performance of CaMPARI2 was demonstrated with human chondrocytes during the 75th ESA parabolic flight campaign. CaMPARI2 revealed a strong Ca2+ response triggered by histamine but was not affected by the alternating gravitational load of a parabolic flight.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease which can also involve joints. It is often associated with burdensome comorbidities which negatively impact prognosis and quality of life (QoL). Biologic agents have been shown to be effective in controlling disease progression, but their use is associated with higher costs compared with traditional systemic treatments. The economic analysis of the CANOVA (EffeCtiveness of biologic treAtmeNts for plaque psOriasis in Italy: an obserVAtional longitudinal study of real-life clinical practice) study aims to assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of biologics in a real-world context in Italy. Methods: The annualised overall direct costs of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis management, the annualised cost of biologic drugs and the cost per responder in the Italian National Health System perspective were assessed. More specifically, the cost per response and cost per sustained response of the most prescribed biologic therapies for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis within the CANOVA study were assessed using the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) at several score levels (75, 90 and 100%). Results: The most frequently used biologic therapies for plaque psoriasis were secukinumab, ustekinumab, adalimumab originator, and ixekizumab. Cost of biologics was the driver of expenditure, accounting for about 98% of total costs. Adalimumab originator was the biologic with the lowest cost per responder ratio (range: €7848 - €31,378), followed by secukinumab (range: €9015 - €33,419). Ustekinumab (range: €11,689 – €39,280) and ixekizumab (range: €11,092 – €34,289) ranked respectively third and fourth, in terms of cost-effectiveness ratio. As concerns the cost per sustained response analysis, secukinumab showed the lowest value observed (€21,375) over the other options, because of its high response rate (86% vs. 60–80%), which was achieved early in time. Conclusion: Biologic therapy is a v

According to experimental data, a transdermal application is preferred by caregivers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients compared with oral medications. The AXEPT study compared compliance to treatment among community-dwelling patients with mild-to-moderate AD treated with transdermal application compared to oral medications and caregiver satisfaction in a real clinical setting.