Association of maternal folate and B vitamin status with gestational diabetes mellitus: Still an open issue.

Objectives: There is conflicting evidence about the role of folate and Bin gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) onset. The association of vitamin status with GDM was therefore revalued, also measuring the Bactive form holotranscobalamin.

Methods: 677 women were evaluated at 24-28 weeks of gestation when OGTT was carried out.

Definition and application of performance specifications for measurement uncertainty of 23 common laboratory tests: linking theory to daily practice.

Laboratories should estimate and validate [using analytical performance specifications (APS)] the measurement uncertainty (MU) of performed tests. It is therefore essential to appropriately define APS for MU, but also to provide a perspective on suitability of the practical application of these APS. In this study, 23 commonly ordered measurands were allocated to the models defined during the 2014 EFLM Strategic Conference to derive APS for MU.

Harmonization Status of Serum Ferritin Measurements and Implications for Use as Marker of Iron-Related Disorders.

Background: Serum ferritin is considered a suitable biomarker of iron-related disorders. However, data about the comparability of results among commercial measuring systems (MSs) are contradictory. We performed an intercomparison study aimed at verifying the current interassay variability and its impact on clinical application of the test.

Prospective validation of an automatic reflex test for identifying spurious elevations of mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration due to the presence of cold agglutinins.

Cold agglutinins (CA) in blood may cause false reduction in red blood cell (RBC) count and false increases of RBC indices, such as mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Preheating at 37 °C for 2 h is used to overcome this problem. We previously proposed the integration in a total laboratory automation (TLA) setting of a customized reflex test in the presence of MCHC >385 g/L for identifying spurious elevations due to CA.

Searching for a role of procalcitonin determination in COVID-19: a study on a selected cohort of hospitalized patients.

Objectives: Procalcitonin (PCT) has been proposed for differentiating viral vs. bacterial infections. In COVID-19, some preliminary results have shown that PCT testing could act as a predictor of bacterial co-infection and be a useful marker for assessment of disease severity.

A Comprehensive Appraisal of Laboratory Biochemistry Tests as Major Predictors of COVID-19 Severity.

Context.—: A relevant portion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients develop severe disease with negative outcomes. Several biomarkers have been proposed to predict COVID-19 severity, but no definite interpretative criteria have been established to date for stratifying risk.

Endothelin-1, nitric oxide, serotonin and high blood pressure in male adolescents.

Background: Essential arterial hypertension (EAH) in adolescents represents a social burden. The endothelium is involved in the pathogenesis of EAH. Imbalance of key vasoactive factors - namely nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) - is observed, and serotonin (5-HT) release is also impaired.

Updates in Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management of Takayasu Arteritis.

Background: Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare, systemic, inflammatory vasculitis of granulomatous nature, and still of unknown etiology. It mainly involves the aorta and its major branches and is more commonly seen in women of childbearing age and Asians. TA leads to stenosis, occlusion, or aneurysmal degeneration of large arteries, and its pathogenesis seems to be mainly due to an abnormal cell-mediated immunity, although other molecular and genetic abnormalities may contribute.

The role of adult tissue-derived stem cells in chronic leg ulcers: a systematic review focused on tissue regeneration medicine.

Wound healing is an articulated process that can be impaired in different steps in chronic wounds. Chronic leg ulcers are a special type of non-healing wounds that represent an important cause of morbidity and public cost in western countries. Because of their common recurrence after conventional managements and increasing prevalence due to an ageing population, newer approaches are needed.