Analysis of Internal Dermatology Matches Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Dermatology has long been recognized as a highly competitive field within medicine, with extremely limited spots available for aspiring dermatologists to secure residencies across the United States. We sought to evaluate the trends and factors influencing the match process in dermatology residencies, particularly given the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from publicly available match lists and regional categorizations, we studied the rates of internal and regional matches for dermatology applicants in the postpandemic era (2022-2023) compared with prepandemic statistics. Overall, the research sheds light on the evolving dynamics of dermatology residency matching in response to pandemic-induced changes and applicant preferences.

Cutaneous Manifestations of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Diagnosis and Treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammatory arthritis and periarticular structural damage. Available evidence suggests that RA results from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility (e.g., HLA-DRB1), environmental factors (e.g., smoking), and immune dysregulation. Alongside joint-related symptoms, individuals with RA may also experience a wide array of skin issues, including the development of nodules, neutrophilic dermatoses, vasculitis, and vasculopathy. Treatment strategies for these manifestations vary but routinely involve corticosteroids, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, and biologics, with individualized approaches guided by disease severity. In this review, we provide comprehensive insights into the skin-related issues associated with RA, outlining their clinical characteristics and histopathological findings. Our aim is to facilitate early diagnosis and personalized treatment to improve the quality of life of affected individuals.

Induction of antigen-specific tolerance by hepatic AAV immunotherapy regardless of T cell epitope usage or mouse strain background.

In vivo induction of antigen (Ag)-specific regulatory T cells (Treg) is considered the holy grail of therapeutic strategies for restoring tolerance in autoimmunity. Unfortunately, in the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, an effective and durable therapy targeting the diverse repertoire of emerging Ags without compromising the patient's natural immunity has remained elusive. To address this deficiency, we have developed an Ag-specific adeno-associated virus (AAV) immunotherapy that will restore tolerance in a Treg-dependent manner. Using multiple strains of mice with different genetic and immunological backgrounds, we demonstrate that a liver directed AAV vector expressing a single transgene can prevent experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis from developing and effectively mitigate pre-existing or established disease that was induced by one or more auto-reactive myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-derived peptides. Overall, the results suggests that AAV can efficiently restore Ag-specific immune tolerance to an immunogenic protein that is neither restricted by the major histocompatibility complex haplotype, nor by the specific antigenic epitope(s) presented. These findings may pave the way for developing a comprehensive Ag-specific immunotherapy that does not require prior knowledge of the specific immunogenic epitopes and that may prove to be universally applicable to all MS patients, and adaptable for other autoimmune diseases.