Provided are methods and systems for determining functional relationships between ex vivo skin models and an inflammatory skin condition. Also provided are methods and systems for identifying modulators of inflammation of skin, as well as the use of modulators identified by such methods or systems for the preparation of cosmetic compositions, personal care products, or both.

The invention relates to panels of biomarkers for diagnosing and/or monitoring the progression of an active mycobacterial infection or for diagnosing the absence of a mycobacterial infection, particularly tuberculosis. Such diagnosis and/or monitoring may be differential diagnosis between active tuberculosis patients and patients with latent, non-progressing tuberculosis or healthy or sick patients, irrespective of whether the patients have been characterised as being sputum smear positive or sputum smear negative, and/or irrespective of whether they have been characterised as being HIV positive or HIV negative. The above pertain in all aspects both to pulmonary and extra pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections, with Mycobacterium tuberculosis being the causative organism in tuberculosis.

Methods of treating IBD in a subject using an anti-SMAD7 therapy, such as a SMAD7 antisense oligonucleotide, to reduce CCL20, IL8, or TNFα levels are disclosed. Methods of treating and managing IBD in a subject using an anti-SMAD7 therapy, such as a SMAD7 antisense oligonucleotide, based on CCL20, IL8, or TNFα levels are also disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of determining whether a subject with IBD is responsive or likely to be responsive to treatment an anti-SMAD7 therapy. Reduction of CCL20, IL8, or TNFα levels may correlated with IBD remission or decreases in CDAI score.

Antibiotics (Abx) are the world's most misused drugs. Antibiotics misuse occurs when the drug is administered in case of a non-bacterial infection (such as a viral infection) for which it is ineffective. Overall, it is estimated that 40-70% of the worldwide Abx courses are mis-prescribed. The financial and health consequences of Abx over-prescription include the direct cost of the drugs, as well as the indirect costs of their side effects, which are estimated at >$15 billion annually. Furthermore, over-prescription directly causes the emergence of Abx-resistant strains of bacteria, which are recognized as one of the major threats to public health today. This generates an immediate need for reliable diagnostics to assist physicians in correct Abx prescription, especially at the point-of-care (POC) where most Abx are prescribed. Accordingly, some aspects of the present invention provide methods using biomarkers for rapidly detecting the source of infection and administrating the appropriate treatment.

The present invention concerns markers of multiple sclerosis, their use, and treatment with IL-17 antagonists, including IL-17 antibodies, of subjects with increased levels of such markers.

Described is an assay for diagnosing an infection such as peritonitis in a subject. The assay includes a binding molecule, such as an antibody that specifically binds to an inflammatory marker in a sample from the subject, and a second binding molecule that binds to a marker indicative of a pathogen in the sample. For diagnosing peritonitis in a subject, the pathogen will be at least one bacterium and/or fungus. Typically, the assay will be incorporated into a lateral flow device and may include a binding molecule that specifically binds to an antigen indicative of the presence of a specific pathogen species. The described assay(s) may further include filter(s), enriching antigen(s), and buffer(s). Also described are methods of diagnosing and treating peritonitis in a subject who is a peritoneal dialysis patient that include utilizing the herein described assay(s) or assay kit(s) to analyze the subject's peritoneal dialysis effluent.

The present invention is related to an L-nucleic acid molecule capable of binding to human CXCL8, wherein the L-nucleic acid molecule comprises a central stretch of nucleotides, wherein the central stretch of nucleotides comprises a nucleotide sequence of 5′-GG A AGU ACGUGGA AAGCCRA(Xu)RAGUGUGUCCCG-3′ [SEQ. ID. NO: 27], wherein Xu is U or absent.

The present invention concerns the use of interleukin-8 (IL-8) as a biomarker for predicting the outcome of the treatment with aflibercept, or ziv-aflibercept of a patient suspected to suffer from a cancer.

A method for assessing the ability of a chemical substance or of a chemical composition to prevent or to slow the appearance of signs of aging of the human skin or of the lips or even to eliminate the signs; the method including: —a step a) of bringing the chemical substance or the chemical composition into contact with fibroblast cells of the “young” human dermis taken from a culture medium at the passage R6; —a step b) of bringing senescent cells of fibroblasts of the human dermis into contact with the cells of “young” fibroblasts from step a); and—a step c) of measuring the senescence input of the cells of “young” fibroblasts and of comparing it with a reference value.

The present invention relates to kits and methods based on lateral flow assay devices for detecting the presence or quantity of one or more test analytes within a test sample taken from the skin of a mammal.