Indole-3-Butyric Acid, a Natural Auxin, Protects against Fenton Reaction-Induced Oxidative Damage in Porcine Thyroid.

We present results on the potential protective antioxidant properties of indole-3-butyric acid. Indole-3-butyric acid is an indole derivative defined as an auxin and widely known as a plant growth regulator. It naturally occurs in , which is applied as a model plant in genetic studies.

Exogenous Melatonin Protects against Oxidative Damage to Membrane Lipids Caused by Some Sodium/Iodide Symporter Inhibitors in the Thyroid.

The thyroid gland is the primary site of sodium/iodide symporter (NIS), an intrinsic plasma membrane protein responsible for the active uptake of iodine, which is indispensable for thyroid hormone synthesis. Since exposure of the thyroid to NIS inhibitors can potentially have harmful effects on the entire organism, it is important to investigate the potential protective effects of known antioxidants, such as melatonin and indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), against pro-oxidative action of classic NIS inhibitors. The study aimed to check if and to what extent melatonin and IPA interact with some confirmed NIS inhibitors regarding their effects on oxidative damage to membrane lipids in the thyroid.

Navigating preemptive and therapeutic donor lymphocyte infusions in advanced myeloid malignancies by high-sensitivity chimerism analysis.

Preemptive and therapeutic donor lymphocyte infusions (preDLI and tDLI) are widely used in relapsing and relapsed hematopoietic malignancies after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) to enhance the graft-versus-malignancy effect. However, in advanced myeloid malignancies, long-term survival after preDLI and tDLI remains low, reflecting our inability to master the double-edged sword of alloreactivity, balancing anti-neoplastic activity versus graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). We previously evaluated a quantitative PCR-based high-sensitivity chimerism (hs-chimerism) based on insertion/deletion polymorphisms instead of short tandem repeats, where increasing host chimerism in peripheral blood predicts relapse more than a month before clinical diagnosis, and declining host chimerism signals anti-host alloreactivity.

Spectroscopic Study of the Molecular Structure of the New Hybrid with a Potential Two-Way Antibacterial Effect.

Bacterial strains become resistant to almost all classes of antibiotics, which makes it necessary to look for new substitutes. The non-absorbable ciprofloxacin-biguanide bismuth complex, used locally, may be a good alternative to a conventional therapy. The purpose of this study was to study the structure of the proposed ciprofloxacin (CIP) -bismuth(III)-chlorhexidine (CHX) composite (CIP-Bi-CHX).

Characterization of Ciprofloxacin-Bismuth-Loaded Antibacterial Wound Dressing.

The research was focused on developing a potentially antibacterial wound dressing made of polyurethane foam and loaded with bismuth-ciprofloxacin (Cip-Bi). The Cip-Bi chemical structure was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis. The sought after antibacterial wound dressing was obtained by modification of the raw dressing with an iodine or bromine solution and subsequently with a Cip-Bi hydrogel.

Synthesis, antibacterial and antiproliferative potential of some new 1-pyridinecarbonyl-4-substituted thiosemicarbazide derivatives.

In this study, the antibacterial, cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities of novel thiosemicarbazide derivatives were assessed. Our results demonstrated that some of the novel compounds possess good antibacterial properties against , and and are only slightly cytotoxic; thus, they exhibit an excellent therapeutic index, which is higher than that of ethacridine lactate. Moreover, our data showed that compounds and have an antiproliferative activity against human breast adenocarcinoma and human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.

Risk of occupational exposure to the HBV infection in non-clinical healthcare personnel.

Background: Occupational risk of blood-borne infections is investigated mostly among nurses and doctors, studies concerning non-clinical health personnel (nCHP) being rare. The analysis of the occupational exposure to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and the history of vaccination against the HBV in the nCHP group has been the aim of the study.

Material And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 458 cases of the occupational exposure to biological agents was conducted: group I - doctors (N = 121, 28%), group II - nursing staff (N = 251, 55%), group III - nCHP (N = 86, 19%).

Prevalence of Demodex spp. in eyelash follicles in different populations.

Introduction: The pathologic relevance of Demodex infestation in blepharitis is still controversial. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of Demodex spp. in eyelash follicles and its relationship to eye symptoms.

Outbreak of hepatitis C among patients admitted to the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics, and Oncology.

Background: In Poland, nosocomial infections account for 32% of all patients' claims against public hospitals, with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV) being the most common causes. We present a major nosocomial outbreak of the HCV infection in the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics, and Oncology and the results of detailed sanitary and epidemiologic research.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of medicolegal opinions issued at the request of the civil court regarding the suspicion of HCV nosocomial infections was conducted.

Frequency of human endogenous retroviral sequences (HERV) K113 and K115 in the Polish population, and their effect on HIV infection.

Background: The human genome contains about 8% of endogenous retroviral sequences originated from germ cell infections by exogenous retroviruses during evolution. Most of those sequences are inactive because of accumulation of mutations but some of them are still capable to be transcribed and translated. The latter are insertionally polymorphic HERV-K113 and HERV-K115.

Protective effect of CCR5-Δ32 against HIV infection by the heterosexual mode of transmission in a Polish population.

Effects of chemokine receptor alleles (CCR5-Δ32 and CCR2-64I) on susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were studied in a Polish population. The CCR5 and CCR2 genotypes were determined for 311 healthy, HIV-negative individuals (control group), 121 exposed to HIV infection but uninfected (EU group), and 470 HIV-positive patients. The frequency of the alleles in the control group was calculated as 0.

Safety and effectiveness of blind percutaneous liver biopsy: analysis of 1412 procedures.

Background: Percutaneous liver biopsy is one of the most important and widely used methods for diagnosing chronic liver diseases; however, controversies related to the potential risk of complications and patient discomfort still exist.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and success rate of blind percutaneous liver biopsy.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 1412 blind percutaneous thick-needle liver biopsies performed during 1977-2000 at a single center on 1110 patients, using archived medical data of the center.

[Renaissance of infectious diseases].

According to the report of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, infectious diseases are one of the eight most common causes of illness since 1990. Due to breaking down barriers of interspecies, the state of immunosuppression, widespread use of antibiotics, there are still new threats, and earlier known to cause disease of a different course, resistant to previously effective therapies. The evolution of infectious diseases directs our attention primarily on the validity of the principles of rational antibiotic use to the increasing resistance of microorganisms.

The role of mechanisms of buffering anxiety in HIV carriers. A study within the terror management theory paradigm.

Introduction: The paper concerns definition of the level of posttraumatic growth (PTG), the psychological adaptation mechanism occurring after extreme experiences in life, such as being informed of having HIV infection.

Aim: The study is experimental, aiming to assess whether correlations between exposure to thoughts of stressful experiences and their psychological consequences are mediated by an efficient mechanism of buffering anxiety

Material/methods: Fifty-four men and 26 women infected with HIV who underwent manipulated exposure to mortality according to the hypotheses of the terror management theory (TMT) were included. Subjects were randomly assigned to the control group (dental anxiety) or the experimental group (fear of dying).

Tubo-ovarian abscess during therapy of chronic hepatitis C with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

Background: Serious infections are rare complications of standard treatment in chronic hepatitis C with pegylated interferon alpha (Peg IFN) and ribavirin.

Case: We report two cases of life-threatening tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) in women older than 40 year of age. No casual risk factors of TOA could be identified in them.

Inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus replication in the course of HIV infection in patients with different stages of immunodeficiency.

The replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in isolated human leukocytes has been used to measure the level of nonspecific antiviral immunity. However, during infection with some pathogens, the main effect observed is caused by interaction between the pathogen and VSV. This was also noted in advanced stages of HIV infection, when an inverse association between HIV viral load and VSV replication was found.

[Antiviral treatment of chronic B hepatitis; 2010 - therapeutic recommendations].

The drugs currently approved for treatment of HBV infections are: interferon alpha2a and alpha2b, pegylated interferon (PeglFN-al-pha2a) natural interferons and nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA): adefovir, entecavir, lamivudine, telbivudine (currently not available in Poland) and tenofovir. The following questions are described: the primary goal of antiviral treatment, criteria in therapeutic decision-making (including extrahepatic manifestations, compensated and decompensated cirrhosis of the liver), treatment failure (including: drug resistance), management of patients with HBV-positive markers, in whom chemotherapy or other immunosuppressive therapy is planned. In treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B the first line therapy should be PeglFN-alpha2a monotherapy, and the first-line should be entecavir or tenofovir (highest potential for HBV replication suppression and high genetic barrier to resistance).

Analysis of metabolic changes of brain in HIV-1 seropositive patients with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Background: Asymptomatic central nervous system involvement may occur in the early stages of the HIV infection. The aim of the study was to evaluate early brain metabolic changes by means of proton MR spectroscopy (H1MRS) in the HIV-1 seropositive patients without neurological deficits or significant abnormalities in the plain MR study.

Material/methods: The H1MRS examinations were performed with the use of a MR GE Signa 1,5T system.

Prognostic factors for virological response in antiretroviral therapy-naive patients in the MONARK Trial randomized to ritonavir-boosted lopinavir alone.

Background: MONARK is a pilot randomized trial comparing the safety and efficacy of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) monotherapy to a standard triple-drug regimen as initial therapy. The primary endpoint was virological response (VR) defined as viral load (VL)<400 copies/ml at week 24 and VL<50 copies/ml at week 48. The objective of this study was to determine prognostic factors of VR in patients receiving LPV/r monotherapy.

Review of patients with hepatosteatosis and chronic hepatitis C.

We analysed a HCV RNA positive population with varied steatosis index admitted at Infectious Diseases and Hepatology Department, Medical University of Wroclaw in terms of existing abnormalities in biochemistry parameters, anthropometric differences as well as the antiviral therapy outcomes.

[Cytokine assessment in untreated hepatitis C virus infected patients and during interferon alpha +ribavirine therapy].

Unlabelled: Many articles concerning the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection emphasize the role of cytokines Th1- and Th2-dependent. The aim of our study was to assess the changes in the concentration of cytokines (IL-2, IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-10) determined by ELISA test in serum of HCV infected patients treated with interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and ribavirine.

Results: The cytokine levels in HCV patients (n = 40) were similar to levels observed in healthy volunteers (p > 0.

[Diagnostics of Lyme disease].

Although many years have passed since Borrelia burgdorferi was first identified, advances in understanding biology and clinical course of infection made and new diagnostic procedures developed, Lyme disease is still difficult to diagnose. Therefore, it is often wrongly diagnosed and unnecessarily treated. In this paper we analyzed the latest data on Lyme disease diagnostic methods, paying much attention to their limitations and correct interpretation of results.