Comorbidities of alopecia areata: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have associated alopecia areata (AA) with a number of comorbidities. However, the timing between AA and the development of such comorbidities remains poorly understood.

AIM

To examine the temporal relationship between AA diagnosis and comorbidity development in Denmark.

METHODS

A Danish nationwide register-based cohort study was performed on all individuals diagnosed with AA between 2007 and 2016 (n = 1843), and each patient was matched for age and sex with 10 healthy controls (HCs). Time between AA and comorbidity development was assessed, and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated to assess risk of comorbidity following initial AA diagnosis.

RESULTS

Use of antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs were mostly started prior to AA diagnosis, and these drugs were used more frequently before than after diagnosis with AA. Additional frequent comorbidities included thyroid disease, hyperlipidaemia, type 2 diabetes and asthma. Most comorbidities occurred prior to AA diagnosis; however, among those that occurred after AA diagnosis, antidepressants (IRR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.01-1.56), anxiolytics (IRR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.17-2.05), atopic dermatitis (AD; IRR = 9.41, 95% CI 4.00-22.16), asthma (IRR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.46-3.21), vitiligo (IRR = 30.35, 95% CI 6.13-150.39), Crohn disease (CD; IRR = 3.04; 95% CI 1.22-7.56) and thyroid disease (IRR = 2.38; 95% CI 1.72-3.29) occurred more frequently among patients with AA compared with controls.

CONCLUSION

A diagnosis of AA was significantly associated with risk of several comorbidities, most notably vitiligo, AD and CD. Nonetheless, the majority of patients appeared to have developed these comorbidities prior to AA diagnosis, suggesting that a thorough medical history screening by dermatologists at the initial visit may be appropriate.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of laparotomy compared with laparoscopic management of interstitial pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Interstitial pregnancy is a rare but life-threatening condition accounting for 1-4% of all types of tubal ectopic pregnancies. It can be managed by open and minimally invasive surgical techniques. Our goal was to compare laparoscopic and open surgery for managing interstitial pregnancy.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane up to May 2020.

SELECTION CRITERIA

1) Women with interstitial pregnancy, 2) Intervention: laparoscopic surgery, 3) Comparator: open surgery, 4) Outcomes: Hospital stay, operation time, pain scale, blood loss. Secondary outcomes: any other reported 5) Study designs: interventional and observational.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Data was extracted from the relevant articles and was pooled as mean difference (MD) or relative risk (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).

MAIN RESULTS

We included six studies, three of which provided eligible data. The duration of hospital stay was lower in the laparoscopic surgery group (MD = -1.42, 95% CI [-1.72, -0.76], P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in operative time (MD = 5.90, 95% CI [-11.30, 23.09], P = 0.50, blood loss (MD = -9.43, 95% CI [-214.18, 195.32], P = 0.93), complications (RR = 1.54, 95% CI [0.20, 11.85], P = 0.68), or blood transfusions (RR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.50, 1.25], P = 0.30).

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic surgery is associated with shorter hospital stay, with no difference in terms of blood loss, post-, and intraoperative complications, and need for blood transfusion compared with laparotomy.

Using Clinical Trial Data to Estimate the Costs of Behavioral Interventions for Potential Adopters: A Guide for Trialists

Behavioral interventions involving electronic devices, financial incentives, gamification, and specially trained staff to encourage healthy behaviors are becoming increasingly prevalent and important in health innovation and improvement efforts. Although considerations of cost are key to their wider adoption, cost information is lacking because the resources required cannot be costed using standard administrative billing data. Pragmatic clinical trials that test behavioral interventions are potentially the best and often only source of cost information but rarely incorporate costing studies. This article provides a guide for researchers to help them collect and analyze, during the trial and with little additional effort, the information needed to inform potential adopters of the costs of adopting a behavioral intervention. A key challenge in using trial data is the separation of implementation costs, the costs an adopter would incur, from research costs. Based on experience with 3 randomized clinical trials of behavioral interventions, this article explains how to frame the costing problem, including how to think about costs associated with the control group, and describes methods for collecting data on individual costs: specifications for costing a technology platform that supports the specialized functions required, how to set up a time log to collect data on the time staff spend on implementation, and issues in getting data on device, overhead, and financial incentive costs.

0426 Time Restricted Feeding Consolidates Sleep in the BACHD Mouse Model of Huntington’s Disease

Introduction

Disturbances in the daily sleep-wake cycle are common in individuals with neurodegenerative disorders. Huntington’s disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disorder in which patients exhibit a variety of impairments that include, poor motor function, disrupted circadian rhythms, and sleep abnormalities such as difficulty initiating sleep at bedtime and more frequent nighttime arousals. In the BACHD mouse model time restricted feeding (TRF) has been successful at improving motor functions and circadian rhythms. The BACHD mouse model has a bacterial artificial chromosome that expresses the full-length human mutant huntingtin gene.

Methods

In order to determine the effects of TRF on sleep-wake architecture, EEG/EMG polysomnographic records were examined in mice between 3-4 months old bearing the BAC knock-in of a human genetic mutation of HD and WT litter mates, first during ad libitum (ad lib) feeding then during an 18 hour fasting protocol. TRF protocol consisted of 6 hours of food access limited between ZT15-ZT21 and 18 hours of fasting.

Results

A two-way ANOVA revealed that TRF significantly decreased the amount of total sleep (p=0.04) and NREM sleep (p=0.04) in the dark phase in both WT and BACHD mice. TRF did not significantly affect sleep in the light phase, however trends suggest that BACHD mice have more sleep in the light phase under TRF than ad lib.

Conclusion

This data suggests that TRF improves sleep by consolidating sleep to the light phase and wake to the dark phase. In conclusion, TRF may be a promising tool that can improve the negative effects of neurodegenerative diseases on sleep-wake processes.

Support

These experiments were supported by R01-NS078410 and UCLA start-up funds.

Determination of Crude Protein in Animal Feed, Forage, Grain, and Oilseeds by Using Block Digestion with a Copper Catalyst and Steam Distillation into Boric Acid: Collaborative Study

A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of an extension of AOAC Official Method 991.20, Nitrogen (Crude) in Milk, to animal feed, forage (plant tissue), grain, and oilseed materials. Test portions are digested in an aluminum block at 420°C in sulfuric acid with potassium sulfate and a copper catalyst. Digests are cooled and diluted, and concentrated sodium hydroxide is added to neutralize the acid and make the digest basic; the liberated ammonia is distilled by using steam distillation. The liberated ammonia is trapped in a weak boric acid solution and titrated with a stronger standardized acid, hydrochloric acid; colorimetric endpoint detection is used. Fourteen blind samples were sent to 13 collaborators in the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Recoveries of nitrogen from lysine, tryptophan, and acetanilide were 86.8, 98.8, and 100.1%, respectively. The within-laboratory relative standard deviation (RSDr, repeatability) ranged from 0.40 to 2.38% for crude protein. The among-laboratories (including within-) relative standard deviation (RSDR, reproducibility) ranged from 0.44 to 2.38%. It is recommended that the method be adopted First Action by AOAC INTERNATIONAL. A lower concentration (1% H3BO3) of trapping solution was compared with the concentration specified in the original protocol (4% H3BO3) and was found comparable for use in an automatic titration system in which titration begins automatically as soon as distillation starts. The Study Directors recommend that 1% H3BO3 as an optional alternative to 4% boric acid trapping solution be allowed for automatic titrators that titrate throughout the distillation.

Steps forward for the SCIROCCO tool and its evaluation as part of SCIROCCO Exchange

The ambition of the SCIROCCO Exchange project is to maximise the value and impact of the B3-Maturity Model and the SCIROCCO tool. To this aim, SCIROCCO Exchange will develop an enhanced tool including a Knowledge Management Hub. The first objective of this presentation will be describing the progress and plans towards this enhanced tool.

The SCIROCCO enhanced tool will support measures for scaling up integrated care, and an important part of it will involve building cross system community to facilitate transfer and scaling. Through its Knowledge Management Hub, the enhanced tool will include the capacity to integrate knowledge from highly relevant sources of information on integrated care practice and advice. To support and augment twinning and coaching activities, it will allow the searching for, combination of this knowledge and its adjustment to the maturity levels of health systems and the maturity requirements of good practices. The enhanced tool will also support the tracking of the evolution of the maturity of the health systems and the maturity requirements of good practices, which will allow the development of further functionality for improvement planning and monitoring.

The second objective of this presentation will be outlining progress and plans towards the evaluation of the enhanced SCIROCCO tool. This evaluation will focus on the assessment of the enhanced tool’s personalised knowledge transfer and capacity-building support. It will provide feedback on the processes of knowledge transfer and capacity-building support, and help conclude on the key mechanisms supporting these processes. Moreover, this evaluation will feed into the development of Improvement Plans in the 9 SCIROCCO Exchange regions. The ultimate goal of this evaluation is to optimise the potential of the enhanced SCIROCCO tool as a key facilitator and integrator of knowledge transfer and capacity-building support for integrated care.

Maturity of integrated care in Scotland - What can we learn?

Issue/Problem

Multiple chronic conditions and the complexity of needs arising from them demands a rethinking of delivery systems, innovation, and resourcing. Tools and methodologies that help understand these complex transformational processes and orchestrate discussions of all stakeholders involved are core to this process. As a result, Scotland was keen to apply SCIROCCO tool to assess their readiness for integrated care.

Results

The application of SCIROCCO self-assessment tool showed a range of strengths and weaknesses of Flanders region to adopt and implement integrated care. More than 15 stakeholders were involved in this process which proved the importance and added value to the assessment process. In addition, the outcomes of this process help to identify the potential focus of the capacity-building support.

Lessons

SCIROCCO tool is a very useful participatory tool which can help to drive the transformational change towards integrated care.

Modulation of the Wnt pathway through inhibition of CLK2 and DYRK1A by lorecivivint as a novel, potentially disease-modifying approach for knee osteoarthritis treatment

OBJECTIVES

Wnt pathway upregulation contributes to knee osteoarthritis (OA) through osteoblast differentiation, increased catabolic enzymes, and inflammation. The small-molecule Wnt pathway inhibitor, lorecivivint (SM04690), which previously demonstrated chondrogenesis and cartilage protection in an animal OA model, was evaluated to elucidate its mechanism of action.

DESIGN

Biochemical assays measured kinase activity. Western blots measured protein phosphorylation in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), chondrocytes, and synovial fibroblasts. siRNA knockdown effects in hMSCs and BEAS-2B cells on Wnt pathway, chondrogenic genes, and LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines was measured by qPCR. In vivo anti-inflammation, pain, and function were evaluated following single intra-articular (IA) lorecivivint or vehicle injection in the monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced rat OA model.

RESULTS

Lorecivivint inhibited intranuclear kinases CDC-like kinase 2 (CLK2) and dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A). Lorecivivint inhibited CLK2-mediated phosphorylation of serine/arginine-rich (SR) splicing factors and DYRK1A-mediated phosphorylation of SIRT1 and FOXO1. siRNA knockdowns identified a role for CLK2 and DYRK1A in Wnt pathway modulation without affecting β-catenin with CLK2 inhibition inducing early chondrogenesis and DYRK1A inhibition enhancing mature chondrocyte function. NF-κB and STAT3 inhibition by lorecivivint reduced inflammation. DYRK1A knockdown was sufficient for anti-inflammatory effects, while combined DYRK1A/CLK2 knockdown enhanced this effect. In the MIA model, lorecivivint inhibited production of inflammatory cytokines and cartilage degradative enzymes, resulting in increased joint cartilage, decreased pain, and improved weight-bearing function.

CONCLUSIONS

Lorecivivint inhibition of CLK2 and DYRK1A suggested a novel mechanism for Wnt pathway inhibition, enhancing chondrogenesis, chondrocyte function, and anti-inflammation. Lorecivivint shows potential to modify structure and improve symptoms of knee OA.

Successful placement of an epidural catheter through a split skin graft after degloving injury of the lower back

Degloving soft tissue injuries of the back are uncommon in women of child-bearing age. Treatment of such injuries may include split skin grafting of the affected area. We present the case of a 30-year-old primigravid woman who suffered degloving of the skin over the lumbar area that had been treated by split skin grafting three years prior to her pregnancy. She was seen in the antenatal anaesthetic clinic where she expressed a desire to have early epidural analgesia for her labour and delivery. An epidural catheter was placed successfully through the skin graft. The considerations for performing an invasive procedure through a skin graft and the available evidence are discussed.

Plant-wide model-based analysis of iron dosage strategies for chemical phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment systems

Stringent phosphorus discharge standards (i.e. 0.15-0.3 g P.m^-3) in the Baltic area will compel wastewater treatment practice to augment enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) with chemical precipitation using metal salts. This study examines control of iron chemical dosing for phosphorus removal under dynamic loading conditions to optimize operational aspects of a membrane biological reactor (MBR) pilot plant. An upgraded version of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2) with an improved physico-chemical framework (PCF) is used to develop a plant-wide model for the pilot plant. The PCF consists of an equilibrium approach describing ion speciation and pairing, kinetic minerals precipitation (such as hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) and FePO₄) as well as adsorption and co-precipitation. Model performance is assessed against data sets from the pilot plant, evaluating the capability to describe water and sludge lines across the treatment process under steady-state operation. Simulated phosphorus differed as little as 5-10% (relative) from measured phosphorus, indicating that the model was representative of reality. The study also shows that environmental factors such as pH, as well operating conditions such as Fe/P molar ratios (1, 1.5 and 2), influence the concentration of dissolved phosphate in the effluent. The time constant of simultaneous precipitation in the calibrated model, due to a step change decrease/increase in FeSO₄ dosage, was found to be roughly 5 days, indicating a slow dynamic response due to a multi-step process involving dissolution, oxidation, precipitation, aging, adsorption and co-precipitation. The persistence effect of accumulated iron-precipitates (HFO particulates) in the activated sludge seemed important for phosphorus removal, and therefore solids retention time plays a crucial role according to the model. The aerobic tank was deemed to be the most suitable dosing location for FeSO₄ addition, due to high dissolved oxygen levels and good mixing conditions. Finally, dynamic model-based analyses show the benefits of using automatic control when dosing chemicals.

Abstract P6-02-05: Downstream workup after post-treatment mammography in breast conservation therapy: Is there a significant difference between tomosynthesis and 2-dimensional mammograms?

Introduction:

Emerging data suggest that tomosynthesis mammograms (TS) are considerably superior to two-dimensional (2D) screening mammograms (2DMG) at reducing false positive biopsies for breast cancer screening. However, very little is reported about the comparative efficacy of the two modalities in the post-treatment setting. We compared the rate of downstream workup up after undergoing post-radiation screening 2DMG and TS following breast conservation therapy at our institution.

Methods:

Between the years 2011-2017, 712 breast cancer patients (range 31-91 years) were treated with lumpectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy. As per institutional standard, follow up included either screening 2DMG (n=569) or TS(n=143) and reviewed in this IRB-approved study. The primary endpoint for comparison was the rate of further imaging/workup post-treatment . Comparative analysis was conducted via multivariable binomial regression with propensity matching between the 2DMG and TS groups. Patients with clinical suspicion of recurrence otherwise were excluded.

Results:

The patient cohort in both groups included the following clinical characteristics,: 129 patients with ductal carcinoma in-situ (the remainder were invasive carcinoma; ductal or lobular). A total of 418 patients had T1 lesions, 143 T2, and 22 T3/T4. Eighty-five patients were node positive. Of those, 501 ER+/Her2-, 101 triple negative, and 96 triple positive. Adjuvant radiation included conventional fraction (457) or hypofractionation (153) with boost to the surgical cavity in523Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) was delivered in 106 patients. Post treatment scans occurred within 3 months (166), at 3-6 months (256), or 6+ months (281). The aforementioned characteristics were similarly distributed between 2DMG and TS groups, except for slightly more DCIS in the 2D group.

There was a significantly higher proportion of patients that were recommended for immediate downstream workup in the 2D group (40.7%) compared to in the tomo group (16.8%) (HR = 3.40, P &lt;0.001), leading to 12 biopsies in the 2D group (3 positive) and 4 biopsies in the TS group (0 positive). Upon multivariate analysis, the use of tomo was the lone correlate of reduced downstream workup (p &lt; 0.05), although there was a trend toward significance in patients who were first imaged at a post-treatment interval of 6+ months and in patients not undergoing a radiation boost (P &lt; 0.10).

Conclusion:

Post-breast conservation follow-up with tomo synthesis mammography resulted in significantly less downstream workup as compared to conventional 2D screening mammography. Further investigation is warranted to unveil the absolute and relative cost-effectiveness between the two modalities.

Citation Format: Colosimo BL, Weinberger K, Hasan S, Gresswell S, Anderson S, Wegner RE, Trombetta M. Downstream workup after post-treatment mammography in breast conservation therapy: Is there a significant difference between tomosynthesis and 2-dimensional mammograms? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-02-05.