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Summary Background & aims COVID-19 patients present a high hospitalization rate with a high mortality risk for those requiring intensive care. When these patients have other comorbid conditions and older age, the risk for severe disease and poor outcomes after ICU admission are increased. The present work aims to describe the preliminary results of the ongoing NUTRICOVID study about the nutritional and functional status and the quality of life of adult COVID-19 survivors after ICU discharge, emphasizing the in-hospital and discharge situation of this population. Methods A multicenter, ambispective, observational cohort study was conducted in 16 public hospitals of the Community of Madrid with COVID-19 survivors who were admitted to the ICU during the first outbreak. Preliminary results of this study include data retrospectively collected. Malnutrition and sarcopenia were screened at discharge using MUST and SARC-F; the use of healthcare resources was measured as the length of hospital stay and requirement of respiratory support and tracheostomy during hospitalization; other study variables were the need for medical nutritional treatment; and patients’ functional status (Barthel index) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L). Results A total of 176 patients were included in this preliminary analysis. Most patients were male and older than 60 years, who suffered an average (SD) weight loss of 16.6% (8.3%) during the hospital stay, with a median length of stay of 53 (27–89.5) days and a median ICU stay of 24.5 (11–43.5) days. At discharge, 83.5% and 86.9% of the patients were at risk of malnutrition and sarcopenia, respectively, but only 38% were prescribed medical nutrition therapy. In addition, more than 70% of patients had significant impairment of their mobility and to conduct their usual activities at hospital discharge. Conclusions This preliminary analysis evidences the high nutritional and functional impairment of COVID-19 survivors at hospital discharge and highlights the need for guidelines and systematic protocols, together with appropriate rehabilitation programs, to optimize the nutritional management of these patients after discharge.

ObjectivesAnti-TIF-1γ autoantibody detection is important for cancer screening in patients with dermatomyositis. The gold standard for anti-TIF-1γ detection, immunoprecipitation, is only available from a few specialized laboratories worldwide, so commercial ELISA/immunoblot tests have emerged in recent years. To analyze their usefulness in diagnosing cancer-associated dermatomyositis, we compared Euroimmun Euroline profile with our previously validated in-house immunoblot assay with human recombinant TIF-1γ.MethodsWe included 308 adult patients from Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau and Vall Hebrón Hospital (Barcelona, Spain) tested for anti-TIF-1γ autoantibodies using the Euroline profile and an in-house immunoblot assay.ResultsA total of 27 anti-TIF-1γ were detected by the Euroline and 12 by the in-house assay. Fair agreement was observed between Euroline and the in-house immunoblot Cohen’s kappa 0.3163. Expected prevalence of anti-TIF-1γ autoantibodies was observed for the two methods for dermatomyositis and undifferentiated connective tissue diseases, but unexpectedly high prevalence of anti-TIF-1γ autoantibodies was detected by Euroline compared to the in-house immunoblot for other diseases (16.5% Euroline vs 0.8% in-house immunoblot, pConclusionWe recommend using a second validated method to confirm Euroline-detected anti-TIF-1γ antibodies when the dermatomyositis diagnosis is not definitive. Furthermore, in the context of definite DM diagnosis with negative anti-TIF-1γ antibodies by Euroline and no other myositis specific antibody, is also recommendable to confirm by a second validated method.

Objective To analyse the prevalence, the clinical characteristics, the overall survival and the event-free survival (EFS) of SSc patients who express anti-U11/U12 RNP (RNPC-3) antibodies. Methods A total of 447 SSc patients from Barcelona (n = 286) and Milan (n = 161) were selected. All samples were tested using a particle-based multi-analyte technology. We compared anti-RNPC-3 positive and negative patients. Epidemiological, clinical features and survival were analysed. End-stage lung disease (ESLD) was defined if the patient developed forced vital capacity Results Nineteen of 447 (4.3%) patients had anti-RNPC-3 antibodies and interstitial lung disease (ILD) was more frequent (11, 57.9% vs 144, 33.6%, P =0.030) in individuals with anti-RNPC-3 antibodies. More patients reached ESLD in the positive group (7, 36.8% vs 74, 17.3%, P = 0.006), and a higher use of non-glucocorticoid immunosuppressive drugs was observed (11, 57.9% vs 130, 30.4%, P = 0.012). Anti-RNPC-3 positive patients had lower EFS, both in the total cohort (log-rank P =0.001), as well as in patients with ILD (log-rank P = 0.002). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, diffuse cutaneous subtype, age at onset, the presence of ILD or pulmonary arterial hypertension and the expression of anti-RNPC-3 positivity or anti-topo I were independently associated with worse EFS. Conclusion The presence of anti-RNPC-3 was associated with higher frequency of ILD and either ESLD or death. These data suggest anti-RNPC-3 is an independent poor prognosis antibody in SSc, especially if ILD is also present.

Introduction: obesity and DM-2 decrease trabecular bone mass even though cortical bone increase may coexist. Another common finding is presarcopenia/sarcopenia, possibly due to insulin resistance and oxidative stress. It remains to be clarified whether these changes depend on either early (prediabetes) or late (established DM) glucidic alterations, or rather they would be linked predominantly by excess fat mass in obese patients Objectives: to evaluate and compare body composition parameters (bone, muscle and adipose-visceral tissues) in overweight/obese patients grouped by whether or not they present glucidic metabolism disorders. Analyze if there are differences between FRAX vs FRAX adjusted to trabecular bone score TBS in both groups. Methods: sixteen overweight/obese patients were included. In all of them clinical-anthropometric evaluation, bioimpedance, DXA and analysis were performed. They were grouped by glycemia as: a) normal; b) impaired fasting glycemia (IFG); and c) DM-2. Non-parametric tests were performed. Results: no statistically significant differences were found among groups regarding bone microarchitecture, muscle mass or visceral fat. The IFG group showed the highest average muscle mass and visceral fat. Then, patients were reclassified in only two groups, normal glycemia in group 1 and altered glycemia in group 2 (IFG and DM-2), and statistically significant differences were found at the expense of lower trabecular bone microarchitecture in group 2 (p = 0.031) and phosphorus lower levels in group 1 (p = 0.042). Conclusions: in our study, the bone microarchitecture is impaired in patients with altered glycemia and obesity. Studies with larger sample size are needed to establish when these changes take place in the natural evolution of diabetes.Introducción: la obesidad y la diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM-2) disminuyen el entramado trabecular óseo aun cuando puede coexistir aumento del hueso cortical. Otro hallazgo en común es la presarcopenia/sarcopenia secundaria posiblemente a la insulinorresistencia y el estrés oxidativo. Queda por aclarar si estos cambios dependen fundamentalmente de las alteraciones glucídicas precoces (pre DM-2) o tardías (DM-2 establecida), o más bien estarían vinculadas de forma predominante por el exceso de masa grasa en individuos obesos. Objetivos: evaluar y comparar parámetros de composición corporal (compartimentos óseo, muscular y adiposo-visceral) en pacientes con sobrepeso/obesidad agrupados según presenten o no alteraciones glucídicas. Analizar si existen diferencias comparando FRAX vs. FRAX ajustado a trabecular bone score (TBS) en ambos grupos. Métodos: se incluyeron 16 pacientes con sobrepeso/obesidad. A todos se les realizó evaluación clínica-antropométrica, bioimpedanciometría, absorciometría de rayos X de energía dual o densitometría ósea (DXA) y análisis, y se les agrupó según glucemia en tres grupos: a) normal; b) glucemia basal alterada en ayunas (GBA); y c) DM-2. Para el análisis estadístico empleamos pruebas no paramétricas. Resultados: no se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en los grupos respecto a microarquitectura ósea, masa muscular o grasa visceral. El grupo GBA mostró el mayor promedio de masa muscular y grasa visceral. Tras reclasificar en solo dos grupos, glucemia normal en el grupo 1 y glucemia alterada en el grupo 2 (GBA y DM-2), encontramos diferencias estadísticamente significativas con detrimento de la microarquitectura ósea trabecular en el grupo 2 (p = 0,031) y cifras de fósforo con niveles inferiores en el grupo 1 (p = 0,42). Conclusiones: en nuestro estudio, la microarquitectura ósea está deteriorada en pacientes con glucemia alterada y obesos. Hacen falta estudios con mayor tamaño muestral para establecer en qué momento se instauran estos cambios en la evolución natural de la diabetes.

Psoriasis is currently considered to be an immune-mediated disease whose patho-mechanisms involve platelet activation, which seems to correlate with the activity of the disease. Platelet activation is associated with the formation of platelet-lymphocyte complexes (PLyC), although their significance remains unknown. Moreover, biological treatments that target tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) reduce platelet activation. To clarify the significance of PLyC, we compared their levels in patients with psoriasis with those of healthy donors and determined whether platelet binding modifies the secretion of IL-17A by T helper cells. Finally, we assessed the effect of anti–TNF-α treatment on PLyC in responder and non-responder patients with psoriasis. Ours results demonstrated an increase in PLyC in patients with psoriasis. Moreover, the percentage of IL-17-secreting cells was observed to be higher in the platelet-lymphocyte complex population, and these cells tended to secrete greater amounts of IL-17A. Psoriasis patients treated with anti–TNF-α normalized platelet-lymphocyte complex values, and the basal percentage of platelet-T helper lymphocyte complexes was significantly higher in the responder group. In conclusion, PLyC are increased in psoriasis patients, and the number of complexes decreases in response to anti–TNF-α treatment, specifically in the responder group of patients. This finding suggests that PLyC are a prognostic biomarker of response to anti–TNF-α therapy, but prospective studies are necessary to verify these results in patients with psoriasis.

Depression in childhood and adolescence is often accompanied with social rejection by peers, which accentuates the course of that emotion. Despite the documented association between anger and depression, little is known about the impact of the interaction of both emotions on peer relations. The main objective of this study is to explore the interpersonal implications of depression with comorbid anger in a pediatric sample. The sample consisted of 466 participants; the mean age was 11.45 (SD = 1.55). There were 231 females (49.6 %) and 235 males (50.4 %). ANOVAs revealed significant differences between boys and girls in depression, aggression, anger experience/explosive anger and internalized responses to anger. There were no significant differences between the correlations computed with the data from boys and girls for the hypothesized associations among anger, aggression, depression, and peer acceptance/rejection. Both Anger-Out and Depression were significantly associated with perceived unpopularity. Additionally, the interaction of Anger-Out and Depression added significantly to the prediction of perceived unpopularity.

Parkinsonism is a rare side effect of treatment with sodium valproate. We report 2 elderly women who developed parkinsonian syndrome several years after starting valproate therapy, and in whom symptoms disappeared when treatment was withdrawn. These cases, along with others in the literature, may support experimental evidence for the importance of GABAergic modulation in motor control.