The Role of Galectin-3 in Predicting Congenital Heart Disease Outcome: A Review of the Literature.

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a novel pro-fibrotic biomarker that can predict both right and left cardiac dysfunction caused by various cardiovascular conditions. Its expression seems to be progressively altered with evolving cardiac remodeling processes, even before the onset of heart failure. Hence, Gal-3 has been found to be an individual predictor of acute and chronic heart failure or to serve as part of an integrated biomarker panel that can foresee adverse cardiac outcomes.

Severe early-onset manifestations of generalized arterial calcification of infancy (mimicking severe coarctation of the aorta) with gene variant - Case report and literature review.

Introduction: Generalized arterial calcification of infancy (GACI) is a rare cause of infantile heart failure and systemic hypertension with a poor prognosis, characterized by extensive calcification and proliferation of the intimal layer of large and medium sized arteries.

Case Report: We present the first case report of successful surgical treatment of severe aortic arch obstruction by calcified plaques mimicking severe coarctation of the aorta and the outcome (of bisphosphonate therapy) in a newborn with GACI. Furthermore, we report the identification of a variant in ATP Binding Cassette Subfamily C, Member 6 (ABCC6) gene, possibly associated with severe early-onset manifestations of GACI.

TERT rs2853669 as a predictor for overall survival in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Introduction: the aim of the study was to investigate the contribution of TERT rs2736100 and rs2853669 gene polymorphisms in defining the genetic predisposition to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), their association with different prognostic markers, and their impact on survival, outcome, and the prognosis of affected patients. Also, we investigated the association of TERT SNPs in AML in the presence or absence of DNMT3A (R882), NPM1, and FLT3 mutations.

Material And Methods: A total of 509 participants were enrolled in our study, consisting of 146 AML patients and 363 healthy participants, with no history of malignancy.

Antibody Protection against Long-Term Memory Loss Induced by Monomeric C-Reactive Protein in a Mouse Model of Dementia.

Monomeric C-reactive protein (mCRP), the activated isoform of CRP, induces tissue damage in a range of inflammatory pathologies. Its detection in infarcted human brain tissue and its experimentally proven ability to promote dementia with Alzheimer's disease (AD) traits at 4 weeks after intrahippocampal injection in mice have suggested that it may contribute to the development of AD after cerebrovascular injury. Here, we showed that a single hippocampal administration of mCRP in mice induced memory loss, lasting at least 6 months, along with neurodegenerative changes detected by increased levels of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and a decrease of the neuroplasticity marker .

Cytokine , and Gene Polymorphisms and Localization of Premalignant Gastric Lesions in Immunohistochemically -negative Patients.

Cytokines and their gene variants are proven to play a role in pathogenic gastritis and carcinogenesis. The study assesses associations of the cytokine gene polymorphisms with extension of atrophic gastritis/intestinal metaplasia (AGIM) in patients without infection on immunohistochemistry study. 224 adult consecutive patients undergoing an upper digestive endoscopy were included and grouped according to localization of AGIM: 37 patients with antrum-limited AGIM, 21 corpus-limited AGIM, 15 extended-AGIM (antrum and corpus) and 151 patients had no AGIM.

Presence of copy number aberration and clinical prognostic factors in patients with acute myeloid leukemia: an analysis of effect modification.

Introduction: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by multiple acquired genetic events, chromosomal abnormalities such as copy number aberrations (CNAs), disease progression, and low survival rates.

Objectives: We assessed the utility of a multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assay in AML as well as correlations of CNAs with various biological and clinical features of patients with AML, including somatic mutations in the FLT3, NPM1, and DNMT3A genes and survival.

Patients And Methods: The study included 283 patients with AML.

Cytokine rs361525, rs1800750, rs1800629, rs1800896, rs1800872, rs1800795, rs1800470, and rs2430561 SNPs in relation with prognostic factors in acute myeloid leukemia.

Background: Cytokines were correlated with survival and disease progression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We aimed to evaluate the multivariate effect of TNF-α rs361525, rs1800750, rs1800629, IL-10 rs1800896, rs1800872, IL-6 rs1800795, TGF-β1 rs1800470, IFN-γ rs2430561 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on AML risk, the multivariate effect of SNPs on overall survival (OS) in AML and the association between the investigated SNPs and prognostic factors in AML.

Methods: All SNPs were genotyped in 226 adult AML cases and 406 healthy individuals.

The CAT-262 C>T, MnSOD Ala16Val, GPX1 Pro198Leu Polymorphisms Related to Oxidative Stress and the Presence of Gastric Lesions.

Background And Aims: The increased oxidative stress plays an important role in gastro-duodenal ulcers and gastric cancer occurrence. We investigated the association between the genetic polymorphisms of genes encoding the antioxidative enzymes CAT, GPX and SOD and the occurrence of gastric lesions, considering also the environmental risk factors such as H. pylori infection, drug exposure, smoking and alcohol consumption.

The role of TGF-β1 869 T > C and PPAR γ2 34 C > G polymorphisms, fat mass, and anthropometric characteristics in predicting childhood obesity at birth: A cross-sectional study according the parental characteristics and newborn's risk for child obesity (the newborns obesity's risk) NOR study.

This study proposed to establish a correlation between the risk score for child obesity and anthropometric, genetic, and bioimpedance characteristics in mothers and newborns, and to assess the discriminant ability for anthropometric parameters to classify over-fatness (defined by bioimpedance body fatness %) in pregnant women.We performed a cross-sectional study on 388 couples (mother and father) and their newborns admitted in a Tertiary Hospital from Romania. The measured parameters for mothers and their newborns were risk percentage for child obesity, anthropometric characteristics (mid-upper arm circumference [MUAC], tricipital skinfold thickness [TST] of mother and newborn), genetic polymorphisms (human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ [PPARγ2] 34 C > G and transforming growth factor-beta 1 [TGF-β1] 869 T > C gene polymorphisms in both mothers and newborns), and mother's bioimpedance characteristics (fat mass [FM] %).

Correlations Between Leptin Gene Polymorphisms 223 A/G, 1019 G/A, 492 G/C, 976 C/A, and Anthropometrical and Biochemical Parameters in Children With Obesity: A Prospective Case-Control Study in a Romanian Population-The Nutrichild Study.

The aim of this study was to establish the manner in which the LEPR 223, 1019, 492, and 976 gene polymorphisms influence child obesity.We performed a prospective case-control study on 264 hospitalized children from Romania (Nutrichild study) whom we divided into 2 groups: Group I -143 controls and Group II-121 obese children.The 2 groups were evaluated regarding the anthropometry (MUAC, TST, H/L, hip, and abdominal circumference), paraclinical results (protein, leptin, adiponectin, TNF alfa, IL 6, IL 8, VEGF, protein, albumin) and LEPR 223, 1019, 492, and 976 gene polymorphisms.

From Six Gene Polymorphisms of the Antioxidant System, Only GPX Pro198Leu and GSTP1 Ile105Val Modulate the Risk of Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Oxidative stress might contribute to the occurrence of cancers, including the hematological ones. Various genetic polymorphisms were shown to increase the quantity of reactive oxygen species, a phenomenon that is able to induce mutations and thus promote cancers. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between CAT C262T, GPX1 Pro198Leu, MnSOD Ala16Val, GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 Ile105Val gene polymorphisms and acute myeloid leukemia risk, in a case-control study comprising 102 patients and 303 controls.

Influence of XPC, XPD, XPF, and XPG gene polymorphisms on the risk and the outcome of acute myeloid leukemia in a Romanian population.

XPC, XPD, XPF, and XPG genes are implicated in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) system. Gene polymorphisms in NER repair system may influence the individual's capacity to recognize and repair DNA lesions, thus increasing the cancer risk. We hypothesized that these gene polymorphisms might influence the probability of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML).