Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate the pathology underlying the ocular surface complications of patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) in the chronic stage.Methods and analysisUsing oligonucleotide microarrays, we performed comprehensive gene expression analysis of the conjunctival epithelium of patients with SJS in the chronic stage (n=3). The controls were patients with conjunctival chalasis (n=3). We confirmed the downregulation and upregulation of transcripts of interest by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assay. The expression of ocular surface protein with significantly upregulated transcripts was assessed immunohistochemically.ResultsCompared with the controls, in the conjunctival epithelium of patients with SJS, 50 transcripts were downregulated by less than one-tenth (analysis of variance (ANOVA) p<0.05). Transcripts MUC7, PIGR, HEPACAM2, ADH1C and SMR3A were downregulated by less than one-fiftieth. 65 transcripts were upregulated more than 10- fold; the difference between patients with SJS and the controls was significant (ANOVA p<0.05). There were 14 transcripts that were upregulated more than 50-fold; they were SERPINB4, KRT1, KRTDAP, S100A7, SBSN, KLK6, SERPINB12, PNLIPRP3, CASP14, ODZ2, CA2, CRCT1, CWH43 and FLG. Quantitative RT-PCR of conjunctival epithelium samples from 11 patients with SJS and 26 controls showed that the gene expression of PIGR, HEPACAM2 and ADH1C was significantly downregulated while the gene expression of ODZ2 (teneurin-2) was significantly upregulated in patients with SJS. We document that teneurin-2 protein can be expressed in human conjunctival epithelium.ConclusionOur results suggest that the downregulation of PIGR, HEPACAM2 and ADH1C and upregulation of teneurin-2 expression contribute to the pathology of the ocular surface in patients with SJS in the chronic stage.
Project description:PurposeOcular complications related to Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS)-Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) may persist and progress after resolution of systemic disease. This is thought to be related in part to persistent ocular innate-immune signaling. In this study, our aim was to characterize infiltrative conjunctival cellular profiles during acute (<12 months) and chronic (>12 months) disease.MethodsConsecutive patients presenting with SJS-TEN over a 12-month period were followed for 1 year. Detailed clinical examination and conjunctival impression cell recovery was analyzed by flow cytometry for the presence of intraepithelial leukocytes and compared with healthy controls (n = 21).ResultsTen patients were recruited of whom six had acute disease and five were classified as TEN (SCORTEN = 1, n = 4). Conjunctival inflammation was graded as absent/mild in a total of nine patients; but despite this, evidence of fornix shrinkage was observed in nine subjects. This inversely correlated with disease duration (P < 0.05). A reduction in percentage of CD8??(+) T cells compared with controls (80% vs. 57%; P < 0.01) was associated with a corresponding increase in the number/percentage of CD45(INT)CD11b(+)CD16(+)CD14(-) neutrophils (186 vs. 3.4, P < 0.01, 31% vs. 0.8%, P < 0.001). Neutrophils inversely correlated with disease duration (r = -0.71, P = 0.03), yet there was no absolute change in the CD8??(+) or neutrophil populations during the study period (P = 1.0).ConclusionsThese data highlight that a neutrophilic infiltrate is present in mildly inflamed or clinically quiescent conjunctival mucosa in patients with ocular SJS-TEN, where neutrophil numbers inversely correlate with disease duration. Neutrophil persistence endorses the hypothesis of an unresolved innate-inflammatory process that might account for disease progression.
Project description:The ocular surface microbiome is an essential factor that maintains ocular surface homeostasis. Since the ocular surface is continuously exposed to the external environment, its microbiome, tears, and local immunity are vital for maintaining normal conditions. Additionally, this microbiome helps prevent pathogen colonization, which commonly leads to opportunistic infection. The abnormal ocular surface microbiome has previously been reported in several conditions, including dry eyes, allergy, blepharitis, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). Several approaches were applied to identify the ocular microbiome, including conventional culture techniques and molecular sequencing techniques. By using 16s rRNA sequencing, alterations in the type, proportion, and composition of bacterial communities, described by alpha (α)-and beta (β)-diversity, were observed in SJS patients compared to the healthy group. Conventional culture techniques indicated a higher number of positive bacterial cultures in the SJS group, with a predominance of gram-positive cocci and gram-positive bacilli. Besides, there are increased variations and multiple detections of bacterial genera. Taken together, SJS causes structural changes in the ocular surface and significantly affects its microbiome. Further studies into the area of temporal relationship, metagenomics, proteomics, and metabolomics analysis of the microbiome will lead to a better understanding of this disease. Finally, the treatment using prebiotics and probiotics to re-establish the normal ocular ecosystem and bring back a healthy ocular surface await confirmation.
Project description:BackgroundAlpelisib is a recently approved treatment for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated advanced breast cancer. It has been associated with alopecia and rash, but there are no documented cases of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) associated with this drug. Here, we detail the first case of SJS associated with alpelisib.Case descriptionOur patient is a 60-year-old woman with a past medical history of metastatic hormone receptor-positive (ER+ 80% and PR+ 1%), HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who presented with acute odynophagia, fevers, and diffuse body rash after receiving her first doses of alpelisib and fulvestrant in the preceding days. She presented to the emergency department after developing a whole-body rash and severe ulceration of her buccal mucosa. She was started on methylprednisolone with remarkable improvement in symptoms.ConclusionThis case report details the only report of SJS following alpelisib treatment. Immediate cessation of drugs and initiation of steroids are the cornerstone of treatment. Patients who experience such side effects will have to be monitored closely for long-term sequelae associated with SJS, including cutaneous, ocular, and oral sequelae, all of which can profoundly affect the quality of life for cancer patients.
Project description:Purpose:To report an unusual presentation of commercial cannabidiol (CBD) oil-induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS-TEN). Methods:A 56-year-old woman presented with acute onset of a diffuse, blistering, maculopapular rash with over 30% total body surface area (BSA) involvement two days after taking CBD oil sublingually for chronic pain. Biopsy confirmed SJS-TEN. Ophthalmology was consulted and mild eye involvement was found. She was started on topical cyclosporine, prednisone, moxifloxacin, and erythromycin ointment to prevent progression, which was successful. She was otherwise treated with supportive therapy in the intensive care burn unit and ultimately passed away from septic shock. Conclusion:In this case, we described an unusual drug-induced SJS from a commercial, non-FDA-regulated cannabis product. The use of a commercial CBD product should be cautioned due to potential for series of drug reactions to the cannabis product and the risk for reaction to other unregulated other pharmacological components.
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models can predict adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and thus provide early warnings of potential hazards. Timely identification of potential safety concerns could protect patients and aid early diagnosis of ADRs among the exposed. Our objective was to determine whether global spontaneous reporting patterns might allow chemical substructures associated with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) to be identified and utilized for ADR prediction by QSAR models. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Using a reference set of 364 drugs having positive or negative reporting correlations with SJS in the VigiBase global repository of individual case safety reports (Uppsala Monitoring Center, Uppsala, Sweden), chemical descriptors were computed from drug molecular structures. Random Forest and Support Vector Machines methods were used to develop QSAR models, which were validated by external 5-fold cross validation. Models were employed for virtual screening of DrugBank to predict SJS actives and inactives, which were corroborated using knowledge bases like VigiBase, ChemoText, and MicroMedex (Truven Health Analytics Inc, Ann Arbor, Michigan). RESULTS:We developed QSAR models that could accurately predict if drugs were associated with SJS (area under the curve of 75%-81%). Our 10 most active and inactive predictions were substantiated by SJS reports (or lack thereof) in the literature. DISCUSSION:Interpretation of QSAR models in terms of significant chemical descriptors suggested novel SJS structural alerts. CONCLUSIONS:We have demonstrated that QSAR models can accurately identify SJS active and inactive drugs. Requiring chemical structures only, QSAR models provide effective computational means to flag potentially harmful drugs for subsequent targeted surveillance and pharmacoepidemiologic investigations.
Project description:Lamotrigine (LTG) is currently indicated as adjunctive therapy for focal and generalized tonic-clonic seizures and for treatment of bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain. A common concern with LTG in children is the frequency of appearance of skin rash. The intensity of this adverse effect can vary from transient mild rash to Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), which can be fatal mainly when LTG is coadministered with valproic acid (VPA). Hereby, we present the case of an 8-year-old boy who suffered from SJS and other complications two weeks after LTG was added to his VPA treatment in order to control his seizures. VPA is known to decrease LTG clearance via reduced glucuronidation. In this case, the minor elimination pathway of LTG would play a more important role, and the formation of an arene oxide metabolite would be enhanced. As this reactive metabolite is detoxified mainly by enzymatic reactions, involving microsomal epoxide hydrolase and/or GSH-S-transferases and these enzymes are polymorphically expressed in humans, arene oxide toxicity is increased when epoxide hydrolase or GSH-S-transferases is either defective or inhibited or a depletion of intracellular glutathione levels is taking place. VPA can cause inhibition of epoxide hydrolase enzymes and/or depletion of glutathione levels leading to adverse cutaneous reactions.
Project description:Epidermal necrolysis, the unifying term for Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), is a severe cutaneous drug reaction associated with high morbidity and mortality. Given the rarity of this disease, large-scale prospective research studies are limited. Significant institutional and geographical variations in treatment practices highlight the need for standardization of clinical assessment scores and prioritization of research outcome measures in epidermal necrolysis. At the present, clinical assessment is typically simplified to total body surface area (BSA) involvement, with little focus on morphology. Validated clinical scoring systems are used as mortality prognostication tools, with SCORTEN being the best-validated tool thus far, although the ABCD-10 has also been recently introduced. These tools are imperfect in that they tend to either overestimate or underestimate mortality in certain populations and are not designed to monitor disease progression. Although mortality is often used as a primary endpoint for epidermal necrolysis studies, this outcome fails to capture more nuanced changes in skin disease such as arrest of disease progression while also lacking a validated skin-directed inclusion criterion to stratify patients based on the severity of skin disease at study entry. In addition to mortality, many studies also use BSA stabilization or time to re-epithelialization as endpoints, although these are not clearly defined morphologically, and inter- and intra-rater reliability are unclear. More specific, validated cutaneous assessment scores are necessary in order advance therapeutic options for epidermal necrolysis. In this review, we summarize the strengths and weaknesses of current clinical assessment practices in epidermal necrolysis and highlight the need for standardized research tools to monitor cutaneous involvement throughout the hospitalization.