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Alberto Cauli, Giovanni Porru, Matteo Piga, Alessandra Vacca, Grazia Dessole, Alessandro MathieuRheumatology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, Policlinico of University of Cagliari, Monserrato, ItalyAbstract: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a frequent chronic inflammatory disease characterized by joint and skin involvement, and by typical extra-articular manifestations. Although the pathogenesis of PsA is still under investigation, the available evidence suggests the importance of the patient's genetic background, microbial or environmental triggers, and an imbalance in the adaptive and acquired immune system, resulting in the production of inflammatory mediators. New therapeutic approaches have been proposed, among them the use of modulators of intracellular signals and gene transcription such as PDE4-inhibiting compounds, which are able to modulate the activity of transcription factors such as CREB and NF-κB and therefore the synthesis of inflammatory mediators, resulting in immunoregulation. This paper summarizes the mechanism of action of apremilast, a PDE4 inhibitor, and the clinical data available on its clinical efficacy and safety profile in the treatment of PsA patients.Keywords: psoriatic arthritis, apremilast, therapy

We investigate the singular boundary value problem in , on , where . For , we find the estimate where depends on only, denotes the distance from to and is suitable constant. For , we prove that the function is concave whenever is convex. A similar result is well known for the equation , with . For , and we prove convexity sharpness results.

Abstract: This paper is concerned with maximization and minimization problems of the energy integral associated to -Laplace equations depending on functions that belong to a class of rearrangements. We prove existence and uniqueness results, and present some features of optimal solutions. The radial case is discussed in detail. We also prove a result of uniqueness for a class of -Laplace equations under non-standard assumptions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA-A) receptors play a crucial role in regulating neuronal excitability and cognitive functions. Single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) analysis of GABA-A receptors binding by 123I-labelled Iomazenil (123I-IMZ) has been applied in some neuropsychiatric disorders to investigate conditions where GABA-A receptor density can be detected in several pathophysiological conditions. In this study we investigate cerebral GABA-A receptor density in a small series of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cognitive impairment characterized by recurrent, episodic memory loss. Nine female patients with SLE and cognitive alterations underwent to a clinical neuropsychiatric evaluation including digital video-EEG, brain MRI, 99mTc-ECD brain SPECT and 123I-IMZ brain SPECT. All patients tested showed diffuse or focal GABA-A receptor density reduction. This is, to our knowledge, the first report on GABA-A receptor density abnormalities associated with cognitive defects in SLE patients. We hypothesize that in our series a decrease in GABA-A receptor density might be related to the neurological manifestations. Further studies are needed to clarify this aspect and the possible mechanisms. GABA-A receptor density impairment might be due to the SLE-related cerebral vasculopathy, or to neuronal-reacting auto-antibodies or drugs which could interfere with GABA-A receptors expression/binding. This study may support the concept that cognitive impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus could be the outcome of fine-tuned neurotransmission alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns optimization problems related to bi-harmonic equations subject to either Navier or Dirichlet homogeneous boundary conditions. Physically, in dimension two, our equation models the deformation of an elastic plate which is either hinged or clamped along the boundary, under load. We discuss existence, uniqueness, and properties of the optimizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We investigate the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary value problem for a class of second-order nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations with a gradient term and singular data. Under general conditions on the data, we study the behaviour of the solution near the boundary of the domain. Under suitable additional conditions we also investigate the second-order term in the asymptotic expansion of the solution in terms of the distance from the boundary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]