Proceedings of the 2019 GRAPPA Collaborative Research Network Meeting

At the 2019 Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis-Collaborative Research Network annual meeting, the group presented its progress in selecting a database platform; items to include in an electronic case report form (eCRF); and standardized operating procedures (SOP) for the collection, processing, storage, and transport of biomaterial. A pilot investigator-initiated study was also proposed that, in addition to addressing an area of unmet need, would allow for the testing of both the eCRF and SOP.

GRAPPA 2019 Project Report

At the 2019 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), members received updates on several ongoing efforts. Among them were updates on research, including the trainee symposium, pilot research grants, and the Collaborative Research Network; GRAPPA's patient research partners; education, including the slide collection; treatment recommendations; and additional work related to advancing the understanding of disease aspects, including the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT)-GRAPPA outcome measure, axial involvement, and ultrasound enthesitis projects; as well as the early psoriatic disease systematic literature review and magnetic resonance imaging.

GRAPPA 2018 Project Report

At the 2018 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), members received updates on several ongoing efforts. Among them were updates on GRAPPA's patient research partners; educational initiatives; research efforts, including the trainee symposium, pilot research grants, and Collaborative Research Network; treatment recommendations; and additional efforts related to advancing the understanding of disease aspects.

The Genetics of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory arthritis that manifests in 20-30% of patients diagnosed with psoriasis. Epidemiologic studies suggest a substantial genetic contribution to PsA. There is a strong need for genome-wide association studies on patients with PsA, including PsA-weighted or specific variants, and a need for a better understanding of the relevance of HLA alleles in disease expression. Interferon signaling and the nuclear factor-κB cascade are involved in PsA, and there are genetic differences between purely cutaneous psoriasis (PsC) and PsA. Psoriasis susceptibility genes for which putative functional coding variants in TYK2 and TRAF3IP2 are strongly associated with PsC and PsA, and neutrophil extracellular traps promote Th17 induction in an Act1 D10N-dependent fashion. Genomics and serological factors may also predict treatment response in tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in PsA, and genetics may play a role in treatment response to TNFi. Collaborations through the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) are essential to increase study population size, which will enhance the ability to detect the genetic variants that create a predisposition to psoriatic disease and to predict response to biological therapy.

Proceedings of the 2018 GRAPPA Collaborative Research Network Meeting

The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA)-Collaborative Research Network (CRN) intends to launch and secure funding for 3 pilot projects related to psoriatic disease, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and cutaneous psoriasis (PsC). The first pilot project, a PsA Biomarkers for Joint Damage (BioDAM) pilot, will seek to determine the independent predictive ability of serum biomarkers for joint damage in PsA. The second pilot project will aim to identify predictors of the development of PsA among patients with PsC. The third pilot project will aim to identify biomarkers that predict treatment response in PsA and PsC. These pilot projects will prompt the development of clinical protocols to operate across participating centers, lead to the development of standard operating procedures for the collection and transport of biosamples across international borders, and begin to establish administrative and managerial structures for the CRN. The CRN hopes that the successful completion and research outputs of these 3 pilot projects will demonstrate the CRN's value to prospective collaborators and sponsors and thereby secure sustainable longterm funding.

GRAPPA 2017 Project Report

At the 2017 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), members received updates on several ongoing educational and research efforts. Among them were updates on GRAPPA's continued education efforts; GRAPPA's continued research efforts, including the Biomarker Project, a collaborative research effort to identify and study biomarkers of joint damage; treatment recommendations, including recommendations and core principles related to biosimilars; efforts to update GRAPPA's Website and to create a GRAPPA smart-phone application (app); and the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinics Multicenter Advancement Network.

GRAPPA 2016 Project Report

At the 2016 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), members received updates on several ongoing research and educational efforts. Among them were updates on the FLARE instrument, the Biomarker Project, GRAPPA's logo and Website, continuing progress on the video training project, and numerous educational project efforts in 2016.

Presidential Round Table: A Report from the GRAPPA Annual Meeting

In preparation for strategic planning of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), a special session titled the Presidential Round Table took place during the GRAPPA annual meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, in July 2015. During this session, past, current, and incoming presidents of GRAPPA reflected on GRAPPA's history and provided insights about GRAPPA's future, followed by general discussion by the membership.

Long-term outcome of the unrestricted use of everolimus-eluting stents compared to sirolimus-eluting stents and paclitaxel-eluting stents in diabetic patients: the Bern-Rotterdam diabetes cohort study

BACKGROUND

Newer generation everolimus-eluting stents (EES) improve clinical outcome compared to early generation sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES). We investigated whether the advantage in safety and efficacy also holds among the high-risk population of diabetic patients during long-term follow-up.

METHODS

Between 2002 and 2009, a total of 1963 consecutive diabetic patients treated with the unrestricted use of EES (n=804), SES (n=612) and PES (n=547) were followed throughout three years for the occurrence of cardiac events at two academic institutions. The primary end point was the occurrence of definite stent thrombosis.

RESULTS

The primary outcome occurred in 1.0% of EES, 3.7% of SES and 3.8% of PES treated patients ([EES vs. SES] adjusted HR=0.58, 95% CI 0.39-0.88; [EES vs. PES] adjusted HR=0.29, 95% CI 0.13-0.67). Similarly, patients treated with EES had a lower risk of target-lesion revascularization (TLR) compared to patients treated with SES and PES ([EES vs. SES], 5.6% vs. 11.5%, adjusted HR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.55-0.83; [EES vs. PES], 5.6% vs. 11.3%, adjusted HR=0.51, 95% CI: 0.33-0.77). There were no differences in other safety end points, such as all-cause mortality, cardiac mortality, myocardial infarction (MI) and MACE.

CONCLUSION

In diabetic patients, the unrestricted use of EES appears to be associated with improved outcomes, specifically a significant decrease in the need for TLR and ST compared to early generation SES and PES throughout 3-year follow-up.

Basic research in Europe; different countries favor different systems for the support and organization of scientific work

Europe, traditionally the breeding ground for basic scientific research until the 1930's, is only now approaching full recovery from the devastating effects of the war. Great Britain has a more stimulating climate for research, a more progressive graduate-school program, and a more flexible professorship structure than any other country of Europe. Germany still has several years to go before the effects of the war will be obliterated. In most northern European countries, the organization and support of academic research ranges from good to excellent, and a stimulating intellectual atmosphere exists. Germany is rapidly contending for the lead in basic research along with England and Sweden, which are now in the forefront. The Netherlands is typified by superb organization, and most of the Scandinavian countries are high in quality if not always in quantity of research. France is characterized by brilliant individual contributions but over-all falls far short of her potential for scientific research. Switzerland, a highly industrialized country, is geared primarily for engineering and does not compete as highly on basic research as might otherwise be expected. Italian research is good in certain areas but is plagued by a number of difficulties that retard progress. Nevertheless, there are encouraging efforts being made in Italy to develop some good scientific programs. In the south of Europe the situation is generally discouraging and will continue to be so, except where a few dedicated, brilliant individuals are making good contributions with the meager resources available. Europe will continue to be a tremendous scientific manpower reserve for the United States, and, despite accusations of proselyting, the fact remains that in many European countries the employment possibilities are not commensurate with the production rate of scientists and engineers. If the universities of Europe would realign the professional structure of their departmental staffs and extend their graduate curricula they would give far more opportunity to young research scientists and make better use of their facilities. America can indeed be grateful to Europe for a great cultural and academic heritage, and one can sincerely hope that close cooperation in science will take place for many years to come.

RADIOFREQUENCY STIMULATION: A RESEARCH AND CLINICAL TOOL

The radio frequency induction technique is now an important tool in physiological experiments and in the treatment of certain diseases. It has come to play an important role in the treatment of heart block in human patients, where medication has been ineffective. In the case of bladder stimulation, work with animals has shown that the voiding of urine can be induced by electrical stimulation. The successful use of this technique on human patients has yet to be consistently achieved, but there is reason to be optimistic.

PUBLICATION TRENDS IN HUMAN LEARNING: 1940-1964

Numbers of publications on human learning over the past 25 years were found to be increasing relatively as well as absolutely in seven major U. S. journals.