La Revue de médecine interne
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Comparative Study
[One or more functional somatic syndromes? Comparison of the health status of fibromyalgia and electro-hypersensitive people].
Functional somatic syndromes, grouping somatic symptoms without an organic explanation, are defined either by their predominant symptoms or by an attribution to an, often hypothetical, cause. Due to many similarities, some authors consider that there is only one FSS due to a general phenomenon of "somatization". The objective of this work was to compare two functional somatic syndromes, one defined by its symptoms, fibromyalgia, and the other by a specific contested attribution, electro-hypersensitivity. ⋯ The health status of fibromyalgia persons is overall worse than the health status of electro-hypersensitive individuals in this small sample. Despite the overlap in symptoms and a similar impact on daily functioning, this exploratory study suggests that heterogeneous mechanisms of "somatization" may be at stake in functional somatic syndromes.
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Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have an increased risk of malignancy. In this study, we aimed to analyze the prevalence of cancer, the risk factors and the impact on overall survival. ⋯ The history of renal scleroderma crisis and the positivity of anti-topoisomerase I antibodies were associated with an increased risk of cancer in SSc patients in this monocentric study.
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Systemic sclerosis is a rare connective tissue disease characterized by skin and several internal organ fibrosis, systemic vasculopathy and immune abnormalities. Even if fibroblasts and endothelial cells dysfunction, as well as lymphocytes and other immune cells implication are now well described, the exact origin and chronology of the disease pathogenesis remain unclear. Oxidative stress, influenced by genetic and environmental factors, seems to play a key role. ⋯ Nevertheless, this treatment can expose to important, life-threatening toxicity. In the last decade, new mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis have been unraveled, bringing new therapeutic opportunities. In this review, we offer to focus on recent insights in the knowledge of systemic sclerosis pathogenesis and its implication in current and future medical care.
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Clonal hematopoiesis of undetermined significance or CHIP describes the identification, in individuals without hematologic disease, of one or more somatic mutations in hematopoietic cells. These mutations, detected by high-throughput genes sequencing (Next-Generation Sequencing or NGS), affect genes first identified in acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome, such as DNMT3A, TET2 and ASXL1. ⋯ CHIP is also associated with an increased risk of overall mortality and cardiovascular diseases. CHIP detection using NGS is currently limited to basic science field, but recent studies suggest that it may be of clinical interest.