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Interleukin-17A blockade with secukinumab results in decreased neutrophil infiltration in psoriasis: minimally-invasive measurement by tape stripping
Get PDFPsoriasis is a well characterized interleukin (IL)-17A-driven skin disease with neutrophil infiltration and epidermal hyperkeratosis. Several biomarkers, most prominently β-defensin-2 (BD-2), have been identified using local and systemic invasive measurements as responsive markers of IL-17A-driven skin pathology. We sought to determine whether measurements of epidermal proteins by tape stripping could offer a minimally-invasive method to assess treatment responses. We compared the expression of 170 proteins in the epidermis (tape stripping) and dermis (open flow microperfusion) of 8 psoriatic subjects before and after administration of a single dose of subcutaneous (s.c.) antiIL-17A mAb secukinumab. Proteomic analyses of tape strips revealed a >3-fold decrease in 32 epidermal and inflammatory cell proteins in response to secukinumab. The epidermal proteins with the largest (>10-fold) decreases were: matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8, 15.68-fold, p<0.05); myeloperoxidase (MPO, 14.72-fold, p<0.005); IL-8 (11.93-fold, p<0.05); MMP-9 (10.81-fold, p<0.005); and IL-1β (10.35-fold, p<0.05). For these proteins, greater-fold protein changes were detected in the epidermis compared to dermis. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that neutrophils are the predominant cell type in psoriatic skin lesions that express MPO, MMP-8 and MMP-9, and that secukinumab treatment dramatically decreases neutrophil accumulation. Thus, tape stripping may be used to assess epidermal neutrophils, and protein biomarker responses to anti-IL-17A therapy in psoriasis
Collaboration for success: the value of strategic col-laborations for precision medicine and biomarker discovery
Get PDFPrecision medicine aims to provide the precise treatment for the patient with the right dose at the right point of time. Biomarkers (BM) are vital for the identification of patients who would benefit the most from individualized treatment. In addition, they help to enable the prediction of prognosis, the detection of early therapeutic and adverse effects, and may serve as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials. BM are becoming essential tools to increase productivity in drug discovery and impressively enhance the way medicine is practiced. However, the identification, sufficient validation and implementation of such BM are challenging. This process requires expertise from different areas and high resource investments. Collaborations of different partners may be helpful to overcome these challenges. In the past decade, collaborations between diagnostics and pharmaceutical companies as well as industrial–academic collaborations have been increasingly pursued. Moreover, public funding may offer support and open new opportunities to form such consortia. Herein we give an overview of the different types of collaborations, their opportunities and challenges, and describe experiences in forming strategic partnerships with other companies
Environment and social psychology: A good nexus
Get PDFOn the cusp of growth and development, humanity confronts a crisis of confidence. Dualities of success and catastrophes abound. A deadly drought in Texas, followed by devastating floods in Austin and Dallas, Texas is not a freaky natural calamity. Human complicity is both hidden and underrated. Paradox of boom and gloom characterize the crisis of biodiversity compounded by environmental injustice
Psychological and economic self-sufficiency among low-income jobseekers with physical disability barriers
Get PDFThe purpose of this research is to investigate the process of psychological empowerment by way of examining the effects of perceived employment barrier on employment hope, and employment hope on economic self-sufficiency. A structural equation modeling analysis was used with a sample of 517 participants in a job readiness program of a community-based social service organization in Chicago. Results indicate that employment hope mediates the path between perceived barriers and economic self-sufficiency. Findings provide preliminary evidence to support an empowerment-based approach to rehabilitation, promoting self-sufficiency among people with physical disabilities using interventions that address employment barriers and employment hope
The welfare culture and the redesign of social elder-care in Finland
Get PDFThe welfare culture consists of doctrines and ideologies, beliefs, ideas, values and ideal norms that various groups and actors in the society have concerning the welfare state. The new ways of thinking, which are derived from the cultural turn and paradigm shift in social sciences, is in actual environments influenced and strengthened by economic and social changes, and also by the increasing number of old people. The Nordic welfare model (Denmark, Fin-land, Norway and Sweden), which is distinct from the other welfare models, is because of its basic ideological foundation, which also pertains to Finland, the general frame for the welfare culture. The characteristics of the environments in which people live, such as risks and uncertainties, impact thoughts and ideas they have about actual and preferred conditions, and influence the interest in renewal of welfare arrangements, schemes and services. Following this lead, we examine the changes in the legislation concerning social eldercare services and changes in provision and use of elder-care services in Finland. We also examine the division of responsibility for social eldercare between the public and private sector. Because the welfare arrangements are embedded in a complex cultural context, the research helps us to understand the shaping of the social eldercare. Great changes in the Finnish eldercare in favour of care at home or in a home-like environment have taken place. The goal “more home care, less institutional care” will serve even in the future as guidance in social eldercare
European initiatives for better training in medicines development
Get PDFIn the last decade, the environment for medicines development has undergone unprecedented change, including: a shift from predominantly big Pharma to one of extensive industry–academia and SME partnerships and collaborations, greater emphasis on understanding the molecular basis of disease for stratified and personalised medicine, and a focus on societal/patients’ needs and priorities.A variety of European initiatives have been established to support the training of scientists/professionals involved in medicines development in order to respond to this constantly changing, demanding, and chaotic landscape. Some of these initiatives are directed specifically at medicines development, some address scientific research including training relevant to medicines development, and some support general training needs which can include medicines development.There are a number of European initiatives supporting better training in medicines development. They differ in their approach, ranging from IMI (specific to medicines development) to Erasmus+ (boosting skills and employability in all areas). The scope, budgets, and requirements differ considerably and they each have to be reviewed in detail to decide which might be the most appropriate for a particular target group. The common theme is to support the aims of the European Research Area (ERA), i.e., a significant improvement in Europe’s research performance to promote growth and job creation
Personalized medicine: consequences for drug research and therapy
Get PDFIn drug research, a serious transformation has taken place. With increasing knowledge gained from molecular medicine, it became possible to refine and develop new therapies based on the molecular mechanisms of diseases. Medicine and drug development have seen a paradigm shift which can be characterized with the catchword “personalized medicine”, also called “stratified medicine” or “precision medicine”. Personalized medicine is based on defined tandems of therapeutic agents and diagnostic tests. With this addition to the regular medical examination of the patient, specific patient characteristics are determined. The results of such diagnostic tests are then decisive for the choice of therapy or control of the effectiveness of the chosen treatment. The benefit of personalized medicine for the patient is the higher probability of treatment success as well as improved effectiveness and reduced / avoided side effects. Health insurance systems and the public may have the advantage that the health funds can be used more efficiently on this basis. This new paradigm requires also a new debate on the remuneration in health care. In order to bring personalized therapies to patients as quickly as possible, all players in health care should work together to address the challenges associated with personalized medicine
Crisis and no end? Re-embedding economy into life and nature
Get PDFThere is no end of the crisis in sight. Even more, the long nightmare of forcing Greece onto its knees during the first half of 2015, using banks instead of tanks, shows the contempt for mankind by established superior powers when it comes to defending their interest in a Hobbesian war, irrespective of subsequent human tragedies. A more detailed and radical analysis is needed, allowing a change of the structures underlying the current situation. One point in question is that the European tragedy was and is part of a global drama. The discussion of main paradigms as growth, nationality, statehood and the like have to be at the heart of any debates, questioning their validity. A radical shift is needed, aiming at a proactive and provocative re-interpretation of the future
Nodes of resistance to green grabbing: a political ecology
Get PDFGreen grabbing is the privatization or appropriation of land for purposes of advancing a “green” economy while excluding local, indigenous people from natural resources. This is a problem of global scale that has arisen mainly during a historical period when free market, neo-liberal policies have dominated the world economy. The academic li-terature on the subject rarely mentions resistance to green grabbing, nor are there many efforts to critically and syste-matically examine the social dynamics of this process. We consider both what works and what fails during the process of opposition, as well as the social psychology of risk taking among both green grabbers and opponents. The paper con-cludes with a way forward proffering the resistance