IBD-PODCAST Spain: A Close Look at Current Daily Clinical Practice in IBD Management

BACKGROUND

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that contributes in part to irreversible bowel damage and long-term complications, reduced quality of life, invalidity, and economic burden. Suboptimal control of IBD is associated with higher healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), impaired quality of life (QoL), and reduced work productivity.

AIMS

The IBD-PODCAST study aimed to assess the proportion of IBD patients with suboptimal control and its associated impact.

METHODS

IBD-PODCAST is a cross-sectional, multicenter study that aimed to characterize the CD and UC population with optimal or suboptimal control according to the STRIDE-II criteria and patient- and physician-reported measures. Here we present the results of the Spanish cohort (n = 396).

RESULTS

A total of 104/196 (53.1%) CD and 83/200 (41.5%) UC patients were found to have suboptimal disease control. Long-term treatment targets according to STRIDE-II were applied in 172 (87.8%) CD and 181 (90.5%) UC patients. 125 of 172 (72.7%) CD and 74 of 181 (40.9%) UC patients were currently treated with targeted immunomodulators. Patients with CD and UC and suboptimal disease control showed impaired QoL, higher HCRU and direct costs, and also loss of work productivity compared to those with optimal control.

CONCLUSION

Despite a high rate of targeted immunomodulator therapy, a substantial proportion of IBD patients show suboptimal disease control according to the STRIDE II criteria. Those patients with suboptimal disease control exhibit impaired QoL, less work productivity, and higher HCRU, suggesting that there is considerable need for better treatment approaches in IBD.

Search for Gamma-Ray Spectral Lines from Dark Matter Annihilation up to 100 TeV toward the Galactic Center with MAGIC

Linelike features in TeV γ rays constitute a "smoking gun" for TeV-scale particle dark matter and new physics. Probing the Galactic Center region with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes enables the search for TeV spectral features in immediate association with a dense dark matter reservoir at a sensitivity out of reach for satellite γ-ray detectors, and direct detection and collider experiments. We report on 223 hours of observations of the Galactic Center region with the MAGIC stereoscopic telescope system reaching γ-ray energies up to 100 TeV. We improved the sensitivity to spectral lines at high energies using large-zenith-angle observations and a novel background modeling method within a maximum-likelihood analysis in the energy domain. No linelike spectral feature is found in our analysis. Therefore, we constrain the cross section for dark matter annihilation into two photons to ⟨σv⟩≲5×10^{-28}  cm^{3} s^{-1} at 1 TeV and ⟨σv⟩≲1×10^{-25}  cm^{3} s^{-1} at 100 TeV, achieving the best limits to date for a dark matter mass above 20 TeV and a cuspy dark matter profile at the Galactic Center. Finally, we use the derived limits for both cuspy and cored dark matter profiles to constrain supersymmetric wino models.

Bounds on Lorentz Invariance Violation from MAGIC Observation of GRB 190114C

On January 14, 2019, the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescopes detected GRB 190114C above 0.2 TeV, recording the most energetic photons ever observed from a gamma-ray burst. We use this unique observation to probe an energy dependence of the speed of light in vacuo for photons as predicted by several quantum gravity models. Based on a set of assumptions on the possible intrinsic spectral and temporal evolution, we obtain competitive lower limits on the quadratic leading order of speed of light modification.

Systematic review: the use of ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis, assessment of activity and abdominal complications of Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND

Cross-sectional imaging techniques, including ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are increasingly used for evaluation of Crohn's disease (CD). Aim  To perform an assessment of the diagnostic accuracy of cross-sectional imaging techniques for diagnosis of CD, evaluation of disease extension and activity and diagnosis of complications, and to provide recommendations for their optimal use.

METHODS

Relevant publications were identified by literature search and selected based on predefined quality parameters, including a prospective design, sample size and reference standard. A total of 68 publications were chosen.

RESULTS

Ultrasonography is an accurate technique for diagnosis of suspected CD and for evaluation of disease activity (sensitivity 0.84, specificity 0.92), is widely available and non-invasive, but its accuracy is lower for disease proximal to the terminal ileum. MRI has a high diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of suspected CD and for evaluation of disease extension and activity (sensitivity 0.93, specificity 0.90), and is less dependent on the examiner and disease location compared with US. CT has a similar accuracy to MRI for assessment of disease extension and activity. The three techniques have a high accuracy for identification of fistulas, abscesses and stenosis (sensitivities and specificities >0.80), although US has false positive results for abscesses. As a result of the lack of radiation, US or MRI should be preferred over CT, particularly in young patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Cross-sectional imaging techniques have a high accuracy for evaluation of suspected and established CD, reliably measure disease severity and complications; they may offer the possibility to monitor disease progression.

Variable Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the Microquasar LS I +61 303

Microquasars are binary star systems with relativistic radio-emitting jets. They are potential sources of cosmic rays and can be used to elucidate the physics of relativistic jets. We report the detection of variable gamma-ray emission above 100 gigaelectron volts from the microquasar LS I 61 + 303. Six orbital cycles were recorded. Several detections occur at a similar orbital phase, which suggests that the emission is periodic. The strongest gamma-ray emission is not observed when the two stars are closest to one another, implying a strong orbital modulation of the emission or absorption processes.

[Joint disease in inflammatory bowel disease]

The joint disorders taxonomically included in the group of seronegative spondyloarthropathies under the generic name of enteropathic arthropathy represent the most frequent extra-intestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), affecting 33% of patients. Their frequency is similar to that of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Enteropathic arthropathy consists of two main joint alterations, peripheral and axial arthritis, as well as a variable group of other peri-articular disorders. Type 1, or pauciarticular, peripheral arthritis generally coincides with IBD exacerbations, while type 2, or polyarticular, peripheral arthritis follows an independent course from IBD. Axial involvement precedes and follows an independent course from IBD and can behave as ankylosing spondylitis or asymptomatic sacroiliitis. The treatment of these rheumatologic disorders is based on the application of general measures and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents; intraarticular corticosteroid administration may eventually become necessary. Sulphasalazine and/or infliximab, which are indicated when the previously mentioned measures fail, can be used to treat both the articular and intestinal diseases simultaneously.

Discovery of a high-energy gamma-ray-emitting persistent microquasar

Microquasars are stellar x-ray binaries that behave as a scaled-down version of extragalactic quasars. The star LS 5039 is a new microquasar system with apparent persistent ejection of relativistic plasma at a 3-kiloparsec distance from the sun. It may also be associated with a gamma-ray source discovered by the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on board the COMPTON-Gamma Ray Observatory satellite. Before the discovery of LS 5039, merely a handful of microquasars had been identified in the Galaxy, and none of them was detected in high-energy gamma-rays.

Human neutrophils transform prostaglandins by a myeloperoxidase-dependent mechanism

Intact human neutrophils, incubated with the soluble stimulant phorbol myristate acetate, discharge lysosomal components, generate oxygen metabolites, and transform exogenous 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, prostaglandin E2, and prostaglandin F2 alpha as assessed by thin layer radiochromatography. Neutrophils alone were incapable of transforming the prostaglandins. The addition of catalase or the myeloperoxidase inhibitor, azide, protected all three prostaglandins from the phorbol-stimulated neutrophils. Neither superoxide dismutase, heat-inactivated catalase, nor albumin had any inhibitory effect in this system. A model system consisting of glucose-glucose oxidase, as a source of H2O2, purified myeloperoxidase, and chloride was also able to transform the prostaglandins in an identical fashion. Neither glucose-glucose oxidase alone nor glucose-glucose oxidase and myeloperoxidase under chloride-free conditions were able to mediate this transformation. Thus, it appears that intact human neutrophils can transform prostaglandins by a mechanism dependent on H2O2, the lysosomal enzyme myeloperoxidase, and chloride. Given the importance of prostaglandins in regulating immune function, neutrophil-dependent prostaglandin transformation could play a novel role in modulating the inflammatory response.

Multiple myeloma: current concepts in diagnosis and management

The basic pathologic process in multiple myeloma is the neoplastic proliferation of a single clone of plasma cells. Although the events which trigger autonomous cell growth are not well understood, the secretion of an M component, a serum or urinary immunoglobulin molecule or a light chain fragment by the vast majority of myeloma cells has provided a biologic marker which has greatly facilitated the study of this disease Some of the more recent clinical concepts which have evolved from studies on the plasma cell and the immunoglobulin molecule are discussed.