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VERITAGEMIAMI EVENT PAGE

WRITTEN BY ROCHELLE BRODER-SINGER

On Wednesday, March 6, embark on a delightful journey for the palate with wineries from every corner of the globe and Miami’s local eateries.

The VeritageMiami Wine and Food Experience is an opportunity to mix, mingle, sip and sample. Enjoy an evening with fellow wine and food lovers, and vote for your favorite wineries and eateries.

Your ticket supports United Way Miami as we enter our 100th anniversary of serving our community.

Celebrity Chef Jeremy Ford to helm VeritageMiami Interactive Dinner

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VERITAGEMIAMI EVENT PAGE

WRITTEN BY ROCHELLE BRODER-SINGER

VeritageMiami is excited to announce our 2024 Interactive Dinner celebrity chef: Miami’s own Jeremy Ford.

The James Beard Award nominee will lead guests on an exhilarating culinary adventure at the exclusive event, guiding them as they prepare gourmet dishes to savor.

Chef Ford is a Bravo “Top Chef” winner (season 13) and helms Stubborn Seed in Miami Beach, which he has guided to a Michelin star two years in a row. He is also the chef and owner of Butcher’s Club at the PGA National Resort in West Palm Beach. This summer, he will open Stubborn Seed Las Vegas. A generous supporter of United Way Miami, Chef Ford was also our Interactive Dinner chef in Spring 2017.

In addition to cooking with Chef Jeremy Ford, the Interactive Diner will include specially selected wines and an auction of unique and exclusive experiences, wines, spirits and more.

We are thrilled to welcome Chef Ford, our guests and our sponsors to the VeritageMiami Interactive Dinner as we celebrate United Way Miami’s 100th anniversary with a glorious evening of wine, food and fun.

Scratching for an Explanation for Psoriatic Itchy Scalp

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Turning an academic research paper into a physician-accessible article for InventUM | University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

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BY ROCHELLE BRODER-SINGER

Scratching for an Explanation for Psoriatic Itchy Scalp

Psoriatic scalp itch may have a larger neural component than previously thought, with neuroimmune mediators — rather than the histamine system — controlling the severity of this type of itch, according to a study led by Miller School of Medicine researchers.

As many as 70% of people with psoriasis report itchy scalps, and treatment is challenging due to the location of scalp lesions and an incomplete understanding of exactly what causes and affects this type of itch. This study was the first of its kind to examine mediators involved in itchy psoriatic scalp and provides some novel insights into how the mechanisms of psoriatic scalp itch are different from psoriatic itch in other locations.

“This study demonstrated that histamine is not a mediator in psoriatic scalp itch, and the use of antihistamines, a common treatment, will not help patients,” said Gil Yosipovitch, M.D., professor, Stiefel Chair of Medical Dermatology, and director of the Miami Itch Center at the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery. “Inhibitors that block neural channels may better treat this type of itch, and our research indicated specific types of inhibitors to work on in order to help these patients.”

Dr. Yosipovitch was senior author of the study “Neuroimmune Mediators of Pruritus in Hispanic Scalp Psoriatic Itch,” published recently in Acta Dermato-Venereologica and funded by a research grant from LEO Pharma, a dermatological pharmaceutical company. The study’s first author, Leigh A. Nattkemper, Ph.D., is a research assistant professor in the department. Co-authors Zoe M. Lipman, M.D., and Giuseppe Ingrasci, M.D., were Miller School students who are now in their internships. Co-author Enrique Loayza, M.D., was one of Dr. Yosipovitch’s fellows and currently works in the dermatology department at Hospital Luis Vernaza in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where the patient research was conducted.

Mediating a Complex Interplay of Itch’s Causes

The researchers examined scalp biopsies from Hispanic patients with psoriasis who were not receiving treatment or who had stopped treatment prior to the biopsy. The patients were asked to rate the intensity of their scalp itch, which was found not to correlate with the visual severity of their scalp psoriasis.

The group of patients who reported severe scalp itch and the group that reported no scalp itch or mild to moderate itch showed several differences in neuropeptide, transient receptor potential and immune system expression, although they showed no difference in histamine expression.

“Our results indicate that the severity of itching in scalp psoriasis involves both neurogenic and immunogenic inflammation, but itch severity is not mediated by a histaminergic pathway,” Dr. Yosipovitch said, noting that these findings are consistent with prior data on most other types of chronic itch.

The scalp skin of patients with severe itch showed significantly greater expression of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2), substance P, the transient receptor potential ion channels TRPV3 and TRPM8 (a cold receptor), and immune-cell activating interleukin-23 (IL-23) cells. The itchier the patient said their scalp was, the higher the expression. All of these are known to make skin more prone to itch and/or to amplify itching sensations.

However, another substance known to increase itchiness — histamine — did not appear to play a role in the level of psoriatic scalp itch in these patients. There was no significant difference in histamine+ cells between the two groups of patients with psoriasis, and no correlation between histamine+ cell levels and itch severity.