Publications by authors named "Carmen Cristescu"

Utilization of biomass and reuse of industrial by-products and their sustainable and resource-efficient development into products that are inherently non-toxic is important to reduce the use of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of biomaterials. The hypothesis in this study is that spent mushroom substrate (SMS), a by-product from mushroom production, has already undergone a biological pretreatment and thus, can be used directly as a starting material for fibrillation into value-added and functional biomaterial, without the use of toxic substances. The study show that SMS can be effectively fibrillated at a very high concentration of 6.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Tunisia, self-medication is a common practice, and there is a continual rise in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. Given the lack of data on the self-medication practices (SMPs) among cardiovascular patients in this area, the present study aimed to identify the prevalence and determinants of SMPs among cardiovascular patients in the city of Béja. A community-pharmacy-based survey was conducted among selected cardiovascular patients in Béja, Tunisia, from May 2021 to June 2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Deaths from cardiovascular disease are rising annually despite treatments and lifestyle change efforts.
  • Atherosclerosis, a key factor in cardiovascular disease, is linked to cytomegalovirus (CMV), which may worsen conditions like coronary heart disease and stroke.
  • The review examines scientific findings on how CMV infection can contribute to both acute atherosis during pregnancy and the overall progression of atherosclerosis over a person’s life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 2,790 electronic prescriptions from general physicians in urban and rural areas of Romania were analyzed, revealing significant overuse and misuse of medications such as NSAIDs, PPIs, and inappropriate combinations of drugs.
  • * The study found that 32.40% of prescriptions included potentially inappropriate medications, with rural areas showing a higher risk; the findings highlight the need to improve prescribing practices for elderly patients in Romania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Romania has a high prevalence of hypertension (45.1% in 2016). Whether this is attributable to a low rate of treatment adherence-which can aggravate the pathology and reduce patients' quality of life (QoL)-is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study emphasizes the significance of rational medication use and prescription monitoring in elderly patients to reduce hospitalizations, medical costs, and mortality rates.
  • - It identified potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescription omissions (PPOs) using established criteria, revealing a PIM prevalence of 25.80% and a PPO prevalence of 41.72% among patients over 65 in rural Romania.
  • - The findings indicated that PPOs were more common than PIMs, suggesting that healthcare providers should prioritize careful medication management to enhance the health outcomes of the elderly in these areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a matricellular functional protein of the extracellular matrix. As it is not constitutively present extracellularly, its secretion is enhanced in several situations, namely injury, chronic pathology, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis, and aging. Over the last decade, TSP-1 has been reported to be involved in complex and opposing biological effects on vasculature in the context of NO signaling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a potent endogenous inhibitor of both physiological and pathological angiogenesis, widely studied as a target in drug development for treating cancer. Several studies performed in the cardiovascular field on TSP-1 are contradictory, the role of TSP-1 in the physiopathology of cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) being, for the moment, incompletely understood and may be due to the presence of several domains in its structure which can stimulate many cellular receptors. It has been reported to inhibit NO-mediated signaling and to act on the angiogenesis, tissue perfusion, endothelial cell proliferation, and homeostasis, so we aimed to quantify the effect Perindopril has on TSP-1 plasma levels in hypertensive patients with endothelial dysfunction in comparison with other antihypertensive drugs, such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics, in a chronic treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates the thermal stability and decomposition kinetics of perindopril erbumine, both as a pure substance and in a tablet formulation, focusing on its compatibility with various excipients.
  • - Advanced analytical techniques, including ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis, were utilized to evaluate its thermal behavior and kinetic properties, revealing that the main degradation step has an activation energy ranging from 59 to 69 kJ/mol for the API and about 170 kJ/mol for the tablet.
  • - The selected excipients (e.g., anhydrous colloidal silica and microcrystalline cellulose) are found to enhance the thermal stability of perindopril erbumine, suggesting their potential in new generic pharmaceutical formulations
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Extensive burns are devastating traumatic events, with significant potential for development of complex psychosocial problems. The aim of the study was to identify and quantify these difficulties among extensive burns patients. This study was conducted at Clinical Emergency Hospital for Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery and "Bagdasar-Arseni" Emergency Hospital, in Bucharest, on 43 extensive burn patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: The main changes of the plasma lipid profile in patients with endothelial dysfunction are the increased triglyceride content of the lipoprotein remnant particles, the presence of the small and dense LDL particles and the decreasing of the HDL-cholesterol level.

Material And Method: Considering these observations, we performed "in vitro" experiments using human mammary artery rings, in order to examine the effect of the lipoprotein "remnants" on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation induced by cumulative doses (10(-9) M - 10(-4) M) of adenosine (ADP) and to study the effect on endothelial--independent vasodilatation induced by cumulative doses (10(-9) M-10(-4) M) of sodium-nitropruside (NSP), respectively.

Results: Our results showed that 1 hour pre-incubation with triglyceride--rich lipoprotein remnants diminished the endothelial-dependent vasodilator response to ADP, but it has not modified the endothelial-independent vasodilator response to NSP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Oxidation of LDL plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Increased wall thickness precedes plaque formation and noninvasive B-mode ultrasonographic measurement of IMT is considered a useful marker of the development of the carotid atherosclerosis.

Material And Method: The present study was designed to assess the association of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in hypertensive patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF