👤 Holly E Phelps

Amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) are the most significant risk associated with the use of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies (MAB) for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Currently, the presence of the APOE ε4 allele is the best predictor for the development of ARIA. However, the degree of baseline memory impairment has not been fully explored as a risk factor for ARIA. Here, we examined MAB outcomes in a memory clinic population and compared patients with AD who developed ARIA to a case-matched group who did not develop ARIA. Participants who developed ARIA had greater numbers of recall intrusions and false positives, both markers for memory consolidation, at baseline than those who did not develop ARIA. We also observed greater baseline hippocampal and supplementary motor cortical atrophy with ARIA. These differences remained when controlling for the APOE ε4 allele and the presence of pretreatment microhemorrhages. Further investigation of memory impairment and associated brain atrophy is warranted to understand ARIA risk and MAB outcomes in AD. Show less

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterised by keratinocyte hyperproliferation and immune cell infiltration driven by cytokines such as IL-17A. The dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6) is a negative regulator of MAPK signalling and was previously reported to be a key mediator of arthritis severity. Here, we examine the role of DUSP6 in a mouse model of psoriasis. Psoriasis was studied in the imiquimod-induced model (IMQ). The skin of DUSP6+/+ and DUSP6-/- mice was treated with IMQ cream. Disease severity was assessed using well-established clinical and histologic systems. Skin inflammatory genes were quantified by qPCR.DUSP6-/- mice exhibited significantly reduced skin inflammation with lower PASI clinical scores (mean DUSP6-/- 1.8 and DUSP6+/+ 8.4; p < 0.0001). Histologic scores for epidermal thickening, parakeratosis and immune cell infiltration were decreased in the DUSP6-/- mice (p < 0.0005), and mRNA levels of IL1β, IL17A and STAT3 were lower in DUSP6-/- skin (p ≤ 0.05) compared with DUSP6+/+. In conclusion, DUSP6 is required for the development of psoriasis-like skin inflammation in mice. In the absence of DUSP6, mice were protected and had significantly lower levels of pathogenic genes, suggesting a new and central role for DUSP6 in skin inflammation and a potential therapeutic target in psoriasis. Show less