Publications by authors named "Minodora Dobreanu"

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  • A study on COVID-19 patients revealed that changes in lymphocyte subsets correlate with disease severity and outcomes, indicating that immune response variations could impact recovery.
  • Analyzed data from 53 patients categorized as mild, moderate, or severe showed significant decreases in certain T-lymphocyte populations (CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+) in severe cases.
  • The findings suggest that measuring CD3+ lymphocyte levels can help predict fatal outcomes in COVID-19 patients, with higher accuracy when considering additional factors like age and inflammation markers.
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  • The study evaluates the Friedewald equation for estimating LDL cholesterol and compares it with the Martin-Hopkins and Sampson methods, highlighting their advantages and limitations.
  • A cohort of 222 individuals had their LDL-C measured directly and estimated using all three equations, revealing that Martin-Hopkins and Sampson provided more accurate estimates than Friedewald.
  • The findings suggest that while the Martin-Hopkins equation is better for precise LDL-C estimation, clinicians should be cautious of situations that might lead to underestimation, and an algorithm for personalized assessments is proposed.
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  • Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a major genetic risk factor for coronary heart disease, with this study focusing on the less understood polygenic form instead of the more commonly addressed monogenic type.
  • The research involved analyzing an 8-SNP LDLC polygenic score in a Romanian cohort of 125 patients with premature coronary heart disease (PCHD) and 97 healthy controls, finding significant correlations between the polygenic score and various health metrics like low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (LDLC) and body mass index (BMI).
  • Results showed that individuals with higher polygenic scores were more likely to experience elevated LDLC levels and PCHD, suggesting the potential for better risk prediction and patient stratification
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Biomarkers are crucial in cancer diagnostics, prognosis, and surveillance. Extensive research has been dedicated to identifying biomarkers that are broadly applicable across multiple cancer types and can be easily obtained from routine investigations such as blood cell counts. One such biomarker, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), has been established as a prognostic marker in cancer.

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Monomeric C-reactive protein (mCRP) has recently been implicated in the abnormal vascular activation associated with development of atherosclerosis, but it may act more specifically through mechanisms perpetuating damaged vessel inflammation and subsequent aggregation and internalization of resident macrophages. Whilst the direct effects of mCRP on endothelial cells have been characterized, the interaction with blood monocytes has, to our knowledge, not been fully defined. Here we showed that mCRP caused a strong aggregation of both U937 cell line and primary peripheral blood monocytes (PBMs) obtained from healthy donors.

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Background/aim: Fisetin is a yellow-coloring flavonoid that can be found in a wide variety of plants, vegetables, and fruits, such as strawberries, apples, and grapes. It has been shown to have biological activity by targeting different pathways regulating survival and death and to bear antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Fisetin was shown to be cytotoxic on different cancer cell lines and has the ability to kill therapy-induced senescent cancer cells.

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Background: In addition to newborn screening, dried blood spots (DBSs) are used for a wide variety of analytes for clinical, epidemiological, and research purposes. Guidelines on DBS collection, storage, and transport are available, but it is suggested that each laboratory should establish its own acceptance criteria.

Methods: An optical scanning device was developed to assess the quality of DBSs received in the newborn screening laboratory from 11 maternity wards between 2013 and 2018.

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In this study, we aimed to investigate whether specific HLA alleles found in patients from Romania and the Republic of Moldova were associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection and its associated mortality. We analyzed the HLA alleles at the -A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 loci in a cohort of 130 individuals with severe and extremely severe forms of COVID-19, including 44 individuals who died. We compared these findings to a control group consisting of individuals who had either not been diagnosed with COVID-19 or had experienced mild forms of the disease.

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Due to technological advancements, haematology analysers are becoming increasingly more complex. Before introducing new analyzers, laboratories must compare the agreement between the new and the old instruments. This study aimed to quantify the method agreement between Sysmex XT-4000i and Alinity hq analysers in order to establish whether they can be used interchangeably.

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Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. The progression of coronary atherosclerosis leads to coronary artery disease, with impaired blood flow to the myocardium and subsequent development of myocardial ischemia. Acute coronary syndromes and post-myocardial infarction heart failure are two of the most common complications of coronary artery disease and are associated with worse outcomes.

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the dynamic changes of the total Natural Killer (NK) cells and different NK subpopulations according to their differentiated expression of CD16/CD56 in COVID-19 patients. Blood samples with EDTA were analyzed on day 1 (admission moment), day 5, and day 10 for the NK subtypes. At least 30,000 singlets were collected for each sample and white blood cells were gated in CD45/SSC and CD16/CD56 dot plots of fresh human blood.

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The COVID-19 pandemic poses global healthcare challenges due to its unpredictable clinical course. The aim of this study is to identify inflammatory biomarkers and other routine laboratory parameters associated with in-hospital mortality in critical COVID-19 patients. We performed a retrospective observational study on 117 critical COVID-19 patients.

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is a notorious human pathogen involved in healthcare-associated infections. The worldwide expansion of infections induced by colistin-resistant and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) isolates has been increasingly reported. This study aims to analyze the phenotypic and molecular profiles of 10 colistin-resistant (CR) isolates and 2 pairs of colistin-heteroresistant (ChR) (parental and the corresponding resistant mutants) isolates of CPE sourced from two hospitals.

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Autologous cell therapy uses patients' own cells to deliver precise and ideal treatment through a personalized medicine approach. Isolation of patients' cells from residual tissue extracted during surgery involves specific planning and lab steps. In the present manuscript, a path from isolation to in vitro research with human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from residual bone tissues is described as performed by a medical unit in collaboration with a research center.

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the vitamin D status in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the correlation with C reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, fibrinogen, and peripheral blood leukocytes, as well as inflammatory derived indices. A prospective study was performed on 203 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, classified by disease severity. Blood was collected after admission, and inflammatory biomarkers and vitamin D status were assessed using routine laboratory procedures.

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The global escalation of severe infections due to carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) isolates has prompted increased usage of parenteral colistin. Considering the reported difficulties in assessing their susceptibility to colistin, the purpose of the study was to perform a comparative evaluation of six phenotypic assays-the colistin broth disc elution (CBDE), Vitek 2 Compact (bioMérieux SA, Marcy l'Etoile, France), the Micronaut MIC-Strip Colistin (Merlin Diagnostika GMBH, Bornheim-Hensel, Germany), the gradient diffusion strip Etest (bioMérieux SA, Marcy l'Etoile, France), ChromID Colistin R Agar (COLR) (bioMérieux SA, Marcy l'Etoile, France), and the Rapid Polymyxin NP Test (ELITechGroup, Signes, France)-versus the reference method of broth microdilution (BMD). All false resistance results were further assessed using population analysis profiling (PAP).

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Background: The obligation of implementing the terms "risk management" and "quality indicators" led us to understand and apply them in the best possible way. The purpose of our study was to establish a guide of selection and usage of quality indicators (QIs)/key performance indicators (KPIs) in a Romanian medical laboratory.

Methods: The study group consisted of all analysis requests received by the Biochemistry Department of the laboratory between January 1st, 2015, and December 31st, 2018.

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an incurable autoimmune disease mediated by a heterogeneous T cell population (CD3+CD161+CXCR3-CCR6+IFNγ-IL17+, CD3+CXCR3+CCR6+IFNγ+IL17+, and CD3+CXCR3+IFNγ+IL17- phenotypes) that infiltrates the central nervous system, eliciting local inflammation, demyelination and neurodegeneration. Cladribine is a lymphocyte-depleting deoxyadenosine analogue recently introduced for MS therapy as a Disease Modifying Drug (DMD). Our aim was to establish a method for the early identification and prediction of cladribine responsiveness among MS patients.

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Objective: Despite advances made in the treatment of ischemic stroke, it still remains one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. The main objective of this study was to identify from a panel of 10 inflammatory markers and chemokines those biomarkers that have a potential predictive role in the evolution of disability and functional dependence in daily activities after an ischemic stroke.

Methods: The study included 116 patients with ischemic stroke and 40 healthy volunteers matched for gender and age.

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Background: The goal of the study was to evaluate a potential role for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) genetic variability as biomarker in sepsis. In particular, we aimed to determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TNF-α gene are associated with sepsis in terms of risk, severity and outcome.

Methods: We performed a prospective study on 163 adult critically ill septic patients (septic shock 65, sepsis 98, further divided in 40 survivors and 123 deceased) and 232 healthy controls.

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Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is considered the genetic cause of coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke. FH is mainly an autosomal codominant pattern-based disorder and is primarily determined by point mutations within the low-density lipoprotein receptor, apolipoprotein B, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 genes, causing increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the serum of untreated individuals. The accumulation will eventually lead to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

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Introduction: Our aim was to evaluate the extended lipid profile in ischemic stroke patients and the relationship with stroke type, severity and outcome.

Material And Methods: We prospectively enrolled 124 ischemic stroke patients and 40 healthy controls; baseline plasma and erythrocyte membrane fatty acids concentrations and common lipid profile were analysed. Stroke severity was evaluated by NIHSS on admission, while the functional outcome was defined by mRS at discharge and after 3 months.

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