Publications by authors named "Rita Lourenco"

Sialic acids at the cell surface of dendritic cells (DCs) play an important immunomodulatory role, and their manipulation enhances DC maturation, leading to heightened T cell activation. Particularly, at the molecular level, the increased stability of surface MHC-I molecules in monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) underpins an improved DC: T cell interaction. In this study, we focused on the impact of sialic acid remodelling by treatment with Clostridium perfringens sialidase on MoDCs' phenotypic and functional characteristics.

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Genetic testing for susceptibility genes through next‑generation sequencing (NGS) has become a widely used technique. Using this, a number of genetic variants have been identified, several of which are variants of unknown significance (VUS). These VUS can either be pathogenic or benign.

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) encompasses multiple entities and is generally highly aggressive and metastatic. We aimed to determine the clinical and biological relevance of Sialyl-Lewis X and A (sLe)-a fucosylated glycan involved in metastasis-in TNBC. Here, we studied tissues from 50 TNBC patients, transcripts from a TNBC dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and a primary breast cancer cell line.

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Introduction: Statin therapy is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes. Among bariatric patients, the influence of this therapy on various metabolic outcomes, such as diabetes status and its remission, is largely unknown.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 1710 patients who underwent bariatric surgery at our hospital between January/2010 and June/2017.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Obesity is a complex condition linked to various metabolic disorders, with bariatric surgery being the most effective treatment for severe obesity, but the impact of beta cell function on weight loss after surgery is still unclear.
  • - This study analyzed data from 1,561 morbidly obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery between 2010 and 2018, focusing on the relationship between beta cell function and total body weight loss over four years.
  • - Results showed that better beta cell function at baseline was negatively associated with weight loss from the second to the fourth year post-surgery, suggesting that assessing beta cell function could be a useful predictor for long-term weight loss outcomes in clinical settings.
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Introduction: Bariatric surgery (BS) is the most effective therapeutic approach to obesity. It is associated with great gastrointestinal anatomic changes, predisposing the patients to altered nutrient absorption that impacts phosphocalcium metabolism. This study aimed to clarify the prevalence of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) and its predictors in patients submitted to BS.

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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), prompted a global health crisis, with no available specific treatments. Convalescent plasma (CP) with neutralizing antibodies could be a promising therapeutic approach to reduce mortality. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of CP for COVID-19 and to assess its safety and efficacy in reducing the patients' mortality.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Conducted between 2010 and 2018, the study included 1,124 patients, revealing that a significant portion had low vitamin D levels, linked to higher body measurements and health risks like hypertension.
  • * Results suggest that low vitamin D is associated with a higher risk of liver fat accumulation, implying that improving vitamin D levels could aid in managing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in these individuals.
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Background: An association between hypothyroidism and the risk of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has been suggested. This association remains to be elucidated in patients with morbid obesity.

Aim: To evaluate the association between thyroid function and parameters of liver function and hepatic scores in patients with morbid obesity.

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Purpose: To evaluate the variation in parameters of hepatic function and in the scores Fatty Liver Index (FLI; predictor of hepatic steatosis) and BARD (BMI, AST/ALT ratio and DM, predictor of hepatic fibrosis), 1 year after bariatric surgery.

Material And Methods: This is a observational retrospective cohort study in patients with morbid obesity that underwent bariatric surgery in our centre. We used two linear regression models: (1) unadjusted and (2) adjusted for surgery type, sex, age, body mass index, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia.

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Introduction: There is a recognized increase of lifelong surgery risk in Crohn disease (CD). Outcome data concerning surgery in children, particularly in the biological era, are limited.

Aim: To characterize the clinical profile and the clinical outcome in children and adolescents with CD who underwent surgical intervention, in a single tertiary referral center.

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Unlabelled: Growth impairment in infants with unrestrictive ventricular septal defects (VSD) is common, and normalisation of growth has been reported after surgical correction. Literature is inconsistent about growth velocity after surgery in term and preterm infants. We aimed to establish the pattern of catch-up growth in term and preterm infants submitted to VSD surgical correction before 1 year of age.

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Neonatal diabetes is a monogenic form of diabetes. Herein, we report on a newborn presenting diabetic ketoacidosis at 17 days of life. A KCNJ11 mutation was identified.

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Introduction: McCune-Albright syndrome is a rare sporadic disease characterized by fibrous bone dysplasia, café-au-lait skin spots and variable hyperfunctional endocrinopathies. McCune-Albright syndrome is caused by somatic postzygotic activating mutations in the GNAS gene that produce a broad spectrum of effects.

Case Presentation: We report a case of McCune-Albright syndrome with multi-organ manifestations in the neonatal period.

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