Rowell-Syndrom bei subakut-kutanem Lupus erythematodes

Wir berichten über einen 77-jährigen Patienten mit akut aufgetretenen, kokardenartig anmutenden Hautveränderungen bei vorbekanntem subakut-kutanem Lupus erythematodes.

Aufgrund der Befundkonstellation mit fein-gesprenkelten antinukleären Antikörpern, Antikörpern gegen Ro/SSA und La/SSB und einem positiven Rheumafaktor wurde in Zusammenschau mit der Histologie die Diagnose eines Rowell-Syndroms gestellt. Das Rowell-Syndrom beschreibt das Auftreten Erythema-exsudativum-multiforme-artiger Hautveränderungen bei Patienten mit vorbekanntem Lupus erythematodes.

Die diagnostischen Herausforderungen bei der Diagnosestellung des Rowell-Syndroms in Abgrenzung zur Koinzidenz von Lupus erythematodes mit einem Erythema exsudativum multiforme werden anhand einer weiteren Fallbeschreibung einer 44-jährigen Patientin mit vorbekanntem subakut-kutanem Lupus erythematodes veranschaulicht.

In peripartum cardiomyopathy plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is a potential new biomarker with controversial roles

Aims

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a life-threatening heart disease occurring in previously heart-healthy women. A common pathomechanism in PPCM involves the angiostatic 16 kDa-prolactin (16 kDa-PRL) fragment, which via NF-κB-mediated up-regulation of microRNA-(miR)-146a induces vascular damage and heart failure. We analyse whether the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is involved in the pathophysiology of PPCM.

Methods and results

In healthy age-matched postpartum women (PP-Ctrl, n = 53, left ventricular ejection fraction, LVEF > 55%), PAI-1 plasma levels were within the normal range (21 ± 10 ng/mL), but significantly elevated (64 ± 38 ng/mL, P < 0.01) in postpartum PPCM patients at baseline (BL, n = 64, mean LVEF: 23 ± 8%). At 6-month follow-up (n = 23), PAI-1 levels decreased (36 ± 14 ng/mL, P < 0.01 vs. BL) and LVEF (49 ± 11%) improved. Increased N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and Troponin T did not correlate with PAI-1. C-reactive protein, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β did not differ between PPCM patients and PP-Ctrl. MiR-146a was 3.6-fold (P < 0.001) higher in BL-PPCM plasma compared with PP-Ctrl and correlated positively with PAI-1. In BL-PPCM serum, 16 kDa-PRL coprecipitated with PAI-1, which was associated with higher (P < 0.05) uPAR-mediated NF-κB activation in endothelial cells compared with PP-Ctrl serum. Cardiac biopsies and dermal fibroblasts from PPCM patients displayed higher PAI-1 mRNA levels (P < 0.05) than healthy controls. In PPCM mice (due to a cardiomyocyte-specific-knockout for STAT3, CKO), cardiac PAI-1 expression was higher than in postpartum wild-type controls, whereas a systemic PAI-1-knockout in CKO mice accelerated peripartum cardiac fibrosis, inflammation, heart failure, and mortality.

Conclusion

In PPCM patients, circulating and cardiac PAI-1 expression are up-regulated. While circulating PAI-1 may add 16 kDa-PRL to induce vascular impairment via the uPAR/NF-κB/miR-146a pathway, experimental data suggest that cardiac PAI-1 expression seems to protect the PPCM heart from fibrosis. Thus, measuring circulating PAI-1 and miR-146a, together with an uPAR/NF-κB-activity assay could be developed into a specific diagnostic marker assay for PPCM, but unrestricted reduction of PAI-1 for therapy may not be advised.

Serelaxin treatment promotes adaptive hypertrophy but does not prevent heart failure in experimental peripartum cardiomyopathy

AIMS

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a systolic left ventricular dysfunction developing in the peripartum phase in previously healthy women. Relaxin-2 is a pregnancy hormone with potential beneficial effects in heart failure patients. We evaluated Relaxin-2 as a potential diagnostic marker and/or a therapeutic agent in PPCM.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In healthy peripartum women, serum Relaxin-2 levels (measured by ELISA in the second half of pregnancy) were elevated showing a decreasing trend in the first postpartum week and returned to non-pregnant levels thereafter. In PPCM patients diagnosed in the first postpartum week, serum Relaxin-2 levels were lower compared to healthy postpartum stage-matched controls. In PPCM patients diagnosed later (0.5-10 months postpartum) Relaxin-2 levels were in the range of non-pregnant controls and not different from healthy postpartum stage-matched controls. In mice, serum Relaxin-1 (functional equivalent of human Relaxin-2) was increased late in pregnancy and rapidly cleared in the first postpartum week. In mice with PPCM due to a cardiomyocyte-specific knockout of STAT3 (CKO) neither low nor high dose of recombinant Relaxin-2 (serelaxin, sRlx-LD: 30 µg/kg/day; sRlx-HD: 300 µg/kg/day) affected cardiac fibrosis, inflammation and heart failure but sRlx-HD increased capillary/cardiomyocyte ratio. sRlx-HD significantly increased heart/body weight ratio and cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area in postpartum CKO and wild-type mice without changing the foetal gene expression program (ANP or β-MHC). sRlx-HD augmented plasma Prolactin levels in both genotypes, which induced cardiac activation of STAT5. In vitro analyses showed that Prolactin induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via activation of STAT5.

CONCLUSION

Although Relaxin-2 levels seemed lower in PPCM patients diagnosed early postpartum, we observed a high pregnancy-related variance of serum Relaxin-2 levels peripartum making it unsuitable as a biomarker for this condition. Supplementation with sRlx may contribute to angiogenesis and compensatory hypertrophy in the diseased heart, but the effects are not sufficient to prevent heart failure in an experimental PPCM model.

Establishment of a new pull-out strength testing method to quantify early osseointegration-An experimental pilot study

OBJECTIVES

The animal study aims to evaluate a new experimental model for measuring sole the influence of the surface characteristics independent from implant macro-design on the level of osseointegration by registering the pull-out strength needed for removal of experimental devices with different surfaces from artificial defects.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Seventy-two test bodies (36 with the FRIADENT(®) plus surface, 36 with the P15/HAp biofunctionalized surface) were inserted in six adult domestic pigs with artificial calvarial defects. The experimental devices were designed to fit in the defects leaving a gap between the test body and the local bone. After 21 days of healing, the animals were sacrificed and the test bodies were pulled out with a standardised reproducible pull-out device measuring the pull-out strength. The pull-out strength for both groups was compared.

RESULTS

Twenty-one days after insertion a mean force of 412 ± 142 N for the P15/HAp group and 183 ± 105 N for the FRIADENT(®) plus group was measured for the removal of the specimens from the calvarial bone. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The experimental set-up seems to be a suitable method when measuring the impact of implant surfaces on the early stage of osseointegration.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy: current management and future perspectives

Pregnancy is associated with marked physiological changes challenging the cardiovascular system. Among the more severe pregnancy associated cardiovascular complications, peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a potentially life-threatening heart disease emerging towards the end of pregnancy or in the first postpartal months in previously healthy women. A major challenge is to distinguish the peripartum discomforts in healthy women (fatigue, shortness of breath, and oedema) from the pathological symptoms of PPCM. Moreover, pregnancy-related pathologies such as preeclampsia, myocarditis, or underlying genetic disease show overlapping symptoms with PPCM. Difficulties in diagnosis and the discrimination from other pathological conditions in pregnancy may explain why PPCM is still underestimated. Additionally, underlying pathophysiologies are poorly understood, biomarkers are scarce and treatment options in general limited. Experience in long-term prognosis and management including subsequent pregnancies is just beginning to emerge. This review focuses on novel aspects of physiological and pathophysiological changes of the maternal cardiovascular system by comparing normal conditions, hypertensive complications, genetic aspects, and infectious disease in PPCM-pregnancies. It also presents clinical and basic science data on the current state of knowledge on PPCM and brings them in context thereby highlighting promising new insights in diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches and management.

Biofunctionalization of the implant surface with different concentrations of a synthetic peptide (P-15)

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed at identifying the ideal concentration of a biofunctional surface coating of dental implants with a synthetic peptide (P-15). In a previous study, P-15 was shown to enhance osseointegration parameters.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Implants (modified ANKYLOS(®) A8; FRIADENT Plus(®) surface) with five different concentrations (0-400 μg/ml) of a P-15 coating as well as uncoated controls were inserted in the frontal bone of 45 adult domestic pigs. The histomorphometric and microradiographic findings for the coated implants were compared to those for the uncoated ones after 7, 14, and 30 days.

RESULTS

No significant differences were observed comparing the peri-implant bone density between the coated and uncoated implants The bone-to-implant contact, as the primary histological parameter for osseointegration, showed high rates for all surfaces investigated (between 73.3 ± 17.9% for the control and 81.9 ± 15.2% for P15 20 μg/ml after 30 days).

CONCLUSIONS

No significant benefit on osseointegration of a biofunctional P-15 coating of dental implants could be displayed in the present study.

Biofunctionalization of titanium implants with a biomimetic active peptide (P-15) promotes early osseointegration

OBJECTIVES

The early stages of peri-implant bone formation play an essential role in the osseointegration and long-term success of dental implants. By incorporating bioactive coatings, this biofunctionalization of implant surfaces may enhance the attachment of the implant to the surrounding bone and stimulate bone regeneration.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

To demonstrate faster osseointegration, the surfaces of dental implants were grit-blasted and acid-etched. They were then coated with hydroxyapatite (HA) and experimental implants were further coated with a biomimetic active peptide (P-15) in one of two concentrations. These biofunctionalized samples and controls with no peptide were placed in the forehead region of 12 adult pigs. Six animals were evaluated for a period of 14 or 30 days.

RESULTS

Histomorphometric analysis demonstrated that the implants with the high concentration of P-15 had significantly higher percentage of bone-to-implant contact (BIC) at 14 (P=0.018) and 30 (P=0.015) days compared with the other groups. Both concentrations of P-15 showed increased peri-implant bone density compared to the control group at 30 days.

CONCLUSION

Biofunctionalization of the implant surface with a biomimetic active peptide leads to significantly increased BIC rates at 14 and 30 days and higher peri-implant bone density at 30 days.

Effects of fluvastatin on biliary lipids in subjects with an elevated cholesterol saturation index

OBJECTIVE

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors have been suggested as agents to reduce the biliary cholesterol saturation index (CSI) in duodenal bile and therefore might be supportive in primary or secondary prevention of gallstones. However, the efficiency of the therapy seems to depend on both the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor used and the study population selected.

METHODS

We therefore investigated the effect of a high-dose application of fluvastatin on biliary lipid composition in 21 subjects exhibiting mild hypercholesterolaemia and a history of current gallstones or cholecystectomy due to gallstone disease. Subjects were treated either with 40 mg fluvastatin twice per day over a 3-month period (n = 14) or with placebo (n = 7). Bile samples were aspirated during endoscopy after intravenous ceruletid stimulation before and after therapy.

RESULTS

Both groups were comparable in CSI (mean +/- SD) at baseline (1.78 +/- 0.2 placebo vs. 1.97 +/- 0.4 verum). CSI significantly decreased in the verum group to 1.45 +/- 0.4 (P = 0.003) mainly due to increased phospholipid levels, whereas no difference was observed in the placebo group (1.85 +/- 0.7, n.s.). In addition, the verum group exhibited a significant reduction of hydrophobic deoxycholic acid, which has been reported to induce cholesterol crystal precipitation, and an increase of hydrophilic cholic acid.

CONCLUSION

Fluvastatin might decrease the risk of cholesterol gallstone formation in patients with elevated biliary CSI during long-term treatment by reduction of biliary cholesterol saturation and percentage change in deoxycholic acid content.