Serum vitamin D levels and inflammatory status in COVID-19 patients.

Objectives: The coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is characterized by a heterogeneous clinical presentation, a complex pathophysiology and a wide range of laboratory findings, depending on disease severity.

Background: We studied some laboratory parameters in correlation with vitamin D status representing the inflammatory state in hospitalized COVID-19 patients on admission.

Methods: The study included 100 COVID-19 patients with moderate (n=55) and severe (n=45) form of the disease.

A single-center study of bone mineral density in adult patients with severe hemophilia A in correlation with markers of bone metabolism.

Introduction: Osteopenia and osteoporosis are well-known hemophilia A comorbidities. The pathogenesis of bone turnover alteration resulting in reduced bone mass includes impaired osteoblastic differentiation and disinhibition of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis as a result of a low FVIII level.

Aim: To evaluate the bone mineral density (BMD) in adult patients with severe hemophilia A and assess a possible correlation with the bone remodeling biomarkers OPG/RANKL, CTX-1, osteocalcin, and Vit D.

Markers of activation of coagulation in cancer patients.

Background: Prothrombotic tendency is characteristic of tumors. The aim of the study is to investigate the changes in the laboratory parameters for coagulation and fibrinolysis, namely in fibrinogen, thrombin-antithrombin complex (ТАТ), tissue factor (ТF), prothrombin fragment (F1+2), antithrombin III (AT III), D-dimer and screening coagulation tests in cancer patients before initiation of chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: Levels of F1+2, fibrinogen, ТАТ, AT III, TF, D-dimer, PT, aPTT and TT were measured baseline in 80 patients with breast and lung cancer before systemic treatment.

Salivary mental stress biomarkers in COVID-19 patients.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health disorders and level of stress show a major increase compared to before the pandemic. Coronavirus-related stress is recently the leading cause of negative impacts on global mental health. Thus, maintaining positive mental health is as important as maintaining physical health during COVID-19.

Assessment of clinical utility and predictive potential of pre-chemotherapy soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor: Observational single center study.

Alteration of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) in neoplasms is a prerequisite for invasiveness and metastatic ability. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship of pre-chemotherapy soluble uPAR (suPAR) with the odds for metastasis, lack of disease control, and its predictive ability for progression-free survival (PFS). Baseline plasma suPAR levels were measured by ELISA in 89 patients with various cancers prior to initiation of systemic treatment.

Longitudinal Dynamics of Coagulation and Angiogenesis Markers in Cancer Patients During and After Chemotherapy.

Hemostatic parameters have been investigated as molecular determinants of tumor progression. To analyze the dynamics of microparticle-associated tissue factor activity (MPTF), tissue factor antigen (TF-Ag), and angiopоietin-2 (ANG-2) in cancer patients before, during, and after active treatment and to explore their potential as biomarkers for metastatic occurrence and death. Blood for the analysis of MPTF, TF-Ag, ANG-2, and conventional hemostatic tests was sampled in 111 patients with various cancers at 4 consecutive visits: before first chemotherapy cycle, after 3 courses, at the sixth course, and 3 months after chemotherapy cessation.

Use of saliva stress biomarkers to estimate novice male endoscopist's stress during training in a high-end simulator.

Objective: Simulated endoscopic training can be challenging and stressful for the novice trainee. The absence of a reliable stress detection method during simulated endoscopic training makes estimating trainees' mental stress difficult to quantify. This study concomitantly measures the responses of four saliva stress biomarkers and compares them to the video score (VS) achieved by novice endoscopists in a reproducibly stressful simulation environment.

Evaluation of Anxiety, Depression, and Biological Markers in Health Professionals with Burnout.

Introduction: Medical profession is a stress factor for the development of burnout, symptoms of anxiety and depression as a result of 24-hour work, delayed work-life balance gratification and challenges associated with patient care.

Aim: This study aimed to verify the rates of burnout, anxiety, and depression presented by health professionals working 24-hour shifts under emergency conditions. Saliva cortisol and glycated hemoglobin were also studied as stress-related biomarkers.

The role of fibrinogen in acute ischaemic stroke.

Aim: This study aimed to explore associations between fibrinogen and acute ischaemic stroke, neurological impairment, cerebral ischaemia, and clinical evaluation of stroke patients.

Materials And Methods: The study involved 153 patients categorised into two groups: patients with acute ischaemic stroke, and patients with risk factors but who had not had a stroke. Blood samples were collected to analyse the serum level of fibrinogen.

Associations of serum sclerostin with bone mineral density, markers of bone metabolism and thalassaemia characteristics in adult patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia.

To assess serum sclerostin in transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia patients versus healthy controls and to examine its associations with bone mineral density, bone metabolism markers and beta thalassaemia alterations. Sixty-two transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia (TDßT) patients and 30 healthy controls were evaluated for serum sclerostin, osteocalcin, beta-cross laps, osteoprotegerin and serum level of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (sRANKL). Bone mineral density was measured at the lumbar spine and femoral neck.

Burnout Syndrome in Physicians-Psychological Assessment and Biomarker Research.

: Burnout is a syndrome typically occurring in work environments with continuous and chronic stress. Physicians are at increased risk for burnout, as a result of 24-hour work, delayed work-life balance gratification, and the challenges associated with patient care. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychological parameters of burnout symptoms in relation to biomarkers of stress among physicians with different medical specialties.

Biological Screening of Novel Structural Analog of Celecoxib as Potential Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Agent.

The clinical use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is limited due to high incidence of adverse drug reactions. The pyrrole heterocycle is included in the chemical structure of a number of drugs with various activities and shows relatively good tolerability and safety. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity, as well as possible organ toxicity, of 2-[3-acetyl-5-(4-chloro-phenyl)-2-methyl-pyrrol-1-yl]-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)-propionic acid (compound 3g), a novel N-pyrrolylcarboxylic acid structurally similar to celecoxib.

Multiple Myeloma with Advanced Bone Disease and Low Tumor Burden - Different Clinical Presentation but Similar Outcome after Bortezomib-Based Therapy and Radiotherapy.

There is a small but well recognized group of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), characterized by multiple bone lesions and low tumor burden, the so-called macrofocal form of MM (MF-MM). The aim of the study was to analyze the incidence, clinical manifestation, therapeutic outcome and prognosis of patients with MF-MM treated with bortezomib-based therapy and radiotherapy, in comparison to classic MM. There were 148 MM patients treated with bortezomibbased regimens, with 15 (10.

Arterial stiffness, plasma atherogenic index and soluble cell adhesion molecules in healthy young adults with reduced physical activity.

Objective: To examine some anthropometric parameters, arterial stiffness, lipid profile, and soluble adhesion molecules in young adults with reduced physical activity.

Material And Methods: The study is carried on 54 healthy young adults aged 20.97 ± 2.

Pathophysiological Role of Adiponectin, Leptin and Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in the Process of Atherosclerosis.

Adipose tissue is recognized as a rich source of proinflammatory mediators that may directly contribute to vascular injury, insulin resistance, and atherogenesis. Many studies have shown that adiponectin has antiatherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Adiponectin acts not only as a factor increasing insulin sensitivity, and the protective effect may result from its ability to suppress production of proinflammatory cytokines.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its serum levels in schizophrenic patients.

Introduction: Neurotrophins have an important role in regulating the development and maintenance of the peripheral and central nervous systems' function. Thus, the neurotrophin hypothesis of schizophrenia has postulated that the changes in the brain of schizophrenic patients are the result of disturbances of developing processes involving these molecules.

Aim: We analyse in the present study the changes in the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in schizophrenic patients as possible epiphenomena of underlying alterations of the neurotrophic factor in central nervous system, reflecting its role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

[Dynamics in levels of procalcitonin in healthy term newborns during the first 24 hours of life].

Unlabelled: Procalcitonin /PCT/ is a reliable marker for the diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis but its sensitivity and specificity in literature vary widely mostly due to existing unclarity on its normal values and kinetics in the postnatal period. Aim of our research is to study the normal values of PCT and its dynamics during the first 24 hours of life for the Bulgarian population.

Materials & Methods: 70 healthy neonates were prospectively enrolled and separated in the following 3 groups (Group 1- immediately afterbirth; Group 2- 0-12 h afterbirth; Group 3- 12-24 h afterbirth) regarding the age at the time of PCT testing.

[Serum levels of anti-muller hormone in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and healthy women of reproductive age].

Unlabelled: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, whose final pathogenesis remains unclear. PCOS is a distinctive disorder of follicular growth leading to obstruction of the selection of the dominant follicle, and as a result--arrest at small antral follicles. Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is a glycoprotein produced in the granulosa cells of the ovary and having regard to the regulation of growth and development of follicles.

Electrophoretic finding of bisalbuminemia.

Background: Bisalbuminemia or alloalbuminemia is a rare inherited or acquired condition characterized by the presence of two albumin fractions during electrophoretical separation of serum proteins.

Methods: Bisalbuminemia was incidentally detected by agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) during standard laboratory investigation of a 36-year old female patient, referred to our laboratory with the diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenia.

Results: The electrophoregram showed dysproteinemia with the presence of two distinct albumin bands.

Relationship between sonographic parameters and YKL-40 levels in rheumatoid arthritis.

YKL-40, also known as human cartilage glycoprotein 39, is a member of the "mammalian chitinase-like proteins" family without chitinase activity. Increased serum concentrations are associated with inflammatory processes and several types of cancer. In this study, we evaluated YKL-40 levels in serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in comparison with the ultrasonographic findings.

Effect of moderate and high dose simvastatin on adhesion molecules in severe hypercholesterolemia after targeting the LDL-cholesterol--a randomised, placebo-controlled study.

Introduction: The effect of statins on the levels of cell adhesion molecules (CAM) is discussed in the literature as one of the pleiotropic effects of the drugs. This effect is one of the ways that could be used to control the initial stage of atherogenesis. The research in this field is inadequate and controversial.

Simvastatin and asymmetric dimethylarginine-homocysteine metabolic pathways in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

Background: The idea that statin therapy decreases asymmetric dimethylarginine through lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels seems logic. However, controversy exists in the literature concerning this issue. This study compares the effect of moderate (40 mg) to high (80 mg) simvastatin doses on asymmetric dimethylarginine levels in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia (after targeted LDL levels of < or = 2.

Predictors of the intima-media thickness of carotid artery in asymptomatic newly detected severe hypercholesterolemic patients.

Background: Data about predictors of intima-media thickness (IMT) of common carotid artery (CCA) in asymptomatic subjects with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia is scarce.

Aim: This research is aimed at studying the predictors of the IMT of CCA among basic atherogenic risk biomarkers - lipid [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, Apolipoprotein-B, Apolipoprotein-Ai, Apolipoprotein-B/A(1) index] and non-lipid, [asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), total homocysteine, cell adhesion molecules] in asymptomatic subjects with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty asymptomatic patients with severe, newly hypercholesterolemia and 200 controls were evaluated.

Effect of moderate and high-dose simvastatin on asymmetric dimethylarginine-homocysteine metabolic pathways in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

The assumption that statin therapy can decrease asymmetric dimethylarginine through lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels seems logical and yet arises some controversy. The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of moderate (40 mg) to high (80 mg) simvastatin doses on asymmetric dimethylarginine and total homocysteine levels in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia (after target LDL-C levels, ≤2.6 mmol/L, are reached).

Role of some biomarkers of atherogenic risk in the screening for molecular defects in the low density lipoprotein receptor in severe hypercholesterolemia.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia is difficult to diagnose because of different expressions of the defective gene in low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor mutation carriers and the presence of elevated LDL levels in noncarriers.

Aim: To study specific biomarkers of atherogenic risk in carriers and noncarriers of low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) defective gene and utilize them to screen in molecular biological analysis for defects in the LDL receptor (spot mutation and polymorphism) in severe hypercholesterolemia.

Patients And Methods: We investigated 120 patients after screening using the Simon-Broome criteria.