Publications by authors named "L Laurans"
The wave of wartime migration from Ukraine has raised a number of concerns about infectious diseases, the prevalence of which is higher in Ukraine than in host countries, with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection being one of them. Our analysis aimed to assess the percentage of HCV-infected Ukrainian refugees under care in Polish centers providing antiviral diagnosis and therapy, to evaluate their characteristics and the effectiveness of treatment with direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs). The analysis included patients of Polish and Ukrainian nationality treated for HCV infection between 2022 and 2024 in Polish hepatology centers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Eliminating hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections is a goal set by the World Health Organization. This has become possible with the introduction of highly effective and safe direct-acting antivirals (DAA) but limitations remain due to undiagnosed HCV infections and loss of patients from the cascade of care at various stages, including those lost to follow-up (LTFU) before the assessment of the effectiveness of the therapy. The aim of our study was to determine the extent of this loss and to establish the characteristics of patients experiencing it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Chronic high cholesterol levels lead to systemic immune responses that accelerate atherosclerosis, but the impact of alternating high-fat diets (HFD) had not been well studied.
- Researchers used a mouse model to compare the effects of an alternating HFD versus a continuous HFD on atherosclerosis progression, finding that the alternating diet significantly worsened the condition.
- The study revealed that this worsening was linked to IL-1β production, which triggered inflammatory responses and increased neutrophil levels that contributed to plaque formation and exacerbated atherosclerosis, suggesting that targeting these pathways could reverse the effects.
Article Synopsis
- * Early intermittent feeding of mice on a high-cholesterol diet speeds up atherosclerosis by altering arterial macrophage behavior and gene expression associated with ASCVD.
- * The Young Finns Study links early cholesterol exposure to increased carotid atherosclerotic plaque in adulthood, emphasizing the need for better hyperlipidaemia management early in life to prevent ASCVD.