Treatment of primary sjögren's syndrome-related interstitial lung disease: a retrospective cohort study

Background:

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common complication of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). Because there is a paucity of literature on the management of pSS-associated ILD (pSS-ILD), this retrospective cohort study assessed the efficacy of azathioprine and mycophenolate therapy in adult patients with pSS-ILD.

Methods:

A retrospective cohort study was performed using electronic health records to identify adults meeting the 2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for pSS. The presence of pSS-ILD was confirmed by characteristic high-resolution computed tomography and/or histopathology findings. Sociodemographic, clinical, and pulmonary function test (PFT) data were abstracted for patients meeting the criteria and followed longitudinally from the date of their ILD diagnosis. PFT values were anchored on time of treatment start, and linear mixed-effects modeling was used to analyze changes in diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and forced vital capacity (FVC) before and after treatment initiation.

Results:

We identified 19 subjects who had pSS-ILD, of whom seven were treated with azathioprine and seven were treated with mycophenolate. Within the azathioprine treated group, FVC% slope change trended toward improvement from a rate of -9.8% per month pre-treatment to 2.1% per month post-treatment (p = 0.13). Within the mycophenolate treated group, FVC% slope change improved from a rate of 1.5% per month pre-treatment to 4.3% per month post-treatment (p = 0.02) and DLCO% slope changed from a rate of -3.8% to –1.3% per month (p = 0.01) after therapy start.

Conclusions:

Mycophenolate treatment was associated with significant improvement in PFTs of pSS-ILD patients over time, and azathioprine treatment followed a similar non-significanttrend. Additional prospective studies are needed to further evaluate these findings. (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2020; 37 (2): 136-147)

Prevalence of Sigmoid Sinus Dehiscence and Diverticulum among Adults with Skull Base Cephaloceles

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Cephaloceles are relatively rare conditions caused by a congenital and/or acquired skull defect. The incidence of associated venous brain anomalies with regard to cephaloceles remains to be fully elucidated. Accordingly, we sought to assess the prevalence of sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula in patients with spontaneous skull base cephaloceles.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our institutional data base was retrospectively queried from 2005 to 2018. Patients in whom spontaneous skull base cephaloceles were identified were ultimately included in the study cohort. These patients subsequently had their sigmoid sinuses re-evaluated with focused attention on the possible presence of dehiscence and/or diverticula.

RESULTS

We identified 56 patients: 12 men and 44 women. After re-evaluation of the sigmoid sinuses, evidence of dehiscence and/or diverticula was noted in 21 patients. The right sigmoid sinus was involved in 11 patients, and the left sigmoid sinus was involved in 7 patients, including 3 cases of diverticulum. In 3 patients, evidence of bilateral sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula was noted. Female sex was associated with sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula by univariate analysis (P = .019). By linear regression, cephalocele volume was negatively associated with sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula (coefficient, -2266, P value < .007, adjusted R ² = 0.1077). By univariate logistic regression using average cephalocele volume as a cutoff, we demonstrate a statistically significant finding of lower volumes being associated with sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula with an odds ratio of 3.58 (P = .05).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula in patients with cephalocele is high. Female sex is associated with sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula. The cephalocele volume appears to be inversely proportional to sigmoid sinus dehiscence and diverticula.

MPL W515 L/K mutations in myeloproliferative neoplasms

Background

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) describe a group of diseases involving the bone marrow (BM). Classical MPNs are classified into chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). This classification is based on the presence of Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome (BCR/ABL1). CML is BCR/ABL1-positive while PV, ET, and PMF are negative. JAK2 p. Val617Phe pathological variant is the most associated mutation in BCR/ABL1-negative MPNs. The frequency of JAK2 p. Val617Phe is 90–95% in PV patients, 50–60% in ET, and 40–50% in patients with PMF. Studies on MPL gene led to the revelation of a gain of function pathological variants in JAK2 p. Val617Phe-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). MPL p. W515 L/K pathological variants are the most common across all mutations in MPL gene. The prevalence of these pathological variants over the Egyptian population is not clear enough. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of MPL p. W515 L/K pathological variants in the Philadelphia (Ph)-negative MPNs over the Egyptian population.

Results

We have tested 60 patients with Ph-negative MPNs for MPL p. W515 L/K pathological variants. Median age was 51 (22–73) years. No MPL p. W515 L/K pathological variants were detected among our patients. JAK2 p. Val617Phe in PV and PMF patients showed significantly lower frequency than other studies. Splenomegaly was significantly higher in ET patients compared to other studies.

Conclusion

MPL p. W515 L/K pathological variants are rare across the Egyptian Ph-negative MPNs, and further studies on a large number are recommended. MPN patients in Egypt are younger compared to different ethnic groups.

Comparative isoenzyme electrophoreses between the brown-spotted locust, Cyrtacanthacris tatarica, and the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria

The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), and the brown-spotted locust, Cyrtacanthacris tatarica (Linné) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), were collected from Saudi Arabia to investigate their relationships. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoreses of five arbitrarily chosen metabolic enzymes extracted from the leg muscles of the two locust taxa were conducted. These enzymes were acid phosphatase (Acph), alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh), βester-ase (β est), malic enzyme (Mal) and malate dehydrogenase (Mdh). Twenty presumptive gene loci and 26 polymorphic alleles were recorded. Acph did not discriminate between the two locust species, while the other four isoenzymes discriminated between them. Most of the alleles were monomeric, but Mal and Mdh exhibited dimeric alleles in the samples of C. tatarica. β est fractions were more expressed in C. tatarica, and the three enzymes β est, Mal, and Mdh discriminated clearly between the two species. The similarity coefficient that was calculated according to the number of sharing alleles between the two locusts was found to be 0.69. The isoenzyme variation presented herein seemed to reflect either their physiological adaptation or the taxonomic consequences between the two taxa. Collecting more isoenzymes for more samples could have taxonomic value.

Preliminary molecular identification of a predatory bug, Orius albidipennis, collected from ornamental plants

Orius albidipennis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is a generalist predator used for biological control of insects attacking ornamental plants. Molecular identification of this species using internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of ribosomal DNA was conducted for the first time. The complete sequence of ITS1 and fragments of its flanking 18S and 5.8S rDNA genes are reported herein. The estimated length of ITS1 of O. albidipennis was 305 bp. This spacer was nearly identical to its counterpart of Orius sp-Taif strain in spite of the difference in their length. The phylogentic relationships were determined using the maximum-likelihood method supported with strong bootstrap probabilities clustering of both taxa together. Further molecular markers could be useful to identify the Taif strain and support its sister relationship to the Egyptian O. albidipennis.