Intestinal Insights: The Gut Microbiome's Role in Atherosclerotic Disease: A Narrative Review.

Recent advances have highlighted the gut microbiota as a significant contributor to the development and progression of atherosclerosis, which is an inflammatory cardiovascular disease (CVD) characterized by plaque buildup within arterial walls. The gut microbiota, consisting of a diverse collection of microorganisms, impacts the host's metabolism, immune responses, and lipid processing, all of which contribute to atherosclerosis. This review explores the complex mechanisms through which gut dysbiosis promotes atherogenesis.

Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Near-Infrared Indocyanine Green (NIR/ICG) in Lymphatic Mapping for Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review.

As laparoscopy gained global popularity in oncologic surgery, the challenge of detecting lymph nodes spurred researchers to explore innovative techniques and approach the situation from a fresh perspective. While many proposed methods have faded into obscurity, the utilization of indocyanine green (ICG) in the surgical treatment of oncologic patients has continued to advance. The immense potential of this dye is widely acknowledged, yet its full extent and limitations in lymphatic mapping for colorectal cancer remain to be precisely determined.

The Effects of Cardioprotective Antidiabetic Therapy on Microbiota in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus-A Systematic Review.

As the pathophysiologic mechanisms of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are discovered, there is a switch from glucocentric to a more comprehensive, patient-centered management. The holistic approach considers the interlink between T2DM and its complications, finding the best therapies for minimizing the cardiovascular (CV) or renal risk and benefitting from the treatment's pleiotropic effects. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) fit best in the holistic approach because of their effects in reducing the risk of CV events and obtaining better metabolic control.

Role of glutathione-S-transferase gene P1 in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in patients with 'grey level' prostate-specific antigen values.

Prostate cancer (PC) represents the second most frequent cancer diagnosis in men and, at the same time, is one of the top six causes of death worldwide. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of glutathione-S-transferase gene P1 (GST-P1) in patients that fall within the 'grey area' of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values. A retrospective observational study on 80 patients with prostate abnormal volumes and PSA values in the range 4-10 ng/ml was performed.

Acute Mesenteric Ischemia in COVID-19 Patients.

Acute mesenteric ischemia is a rare but extremely severe complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The present review aims to document the clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings, management, and outcomes of acute intestinal ischemia in COVID-19 patients. A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed and Web of Science with the terms "COVID-19" and "bowel ischemia" OR "intestinal ischemia" OR "mesenteric ischemia" OR "mesenteric thrombosis".

Benefits of crenotherapy in digestive tract pathology (Review).

Balneotherapy, a branch of physical and rehabilitation medicine using the natural factors of balneal resorts for therapeutical purposes to modulate the symptoms of numerous diseases, represents a non-pharmaceutical therapeutic alternative, easily accepted by patients and used both preventively and curatively. Crenotherapy, a branch of balneotherapy, is the method in which mineral waters are used as a therapeutic internal cure by ingestion. This procedure is performed in spa resorts (where these natural resources exist), and the ingestion of mineral water takes place at the source (spring), in the quantities recommended by the medical rehabilitation physician, according to specific regimens for the condition to be treated.

The Role of Endothelium in COVID-19.

The 2019 novel coronavirus, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is causing a global pandemic. The virus primarily affects the upper and lower respiratory tracts and raises the risk of a variety of non-pulmonary consequences, the most severe and possibly fatal of which are cardiovascular problems. Data show that almost one-third of the patients with a moderate or severe form of COVID-19 had preexisting cardiovascular comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, heart failure, or coronary artery disease.

How specific molecular-targeted agents can make obsolete a 'one size fits all' approach in -mutated NSCLC treatment (Review).

Despite many advances in the latest period, lung cancer remains the cancer with the highest mortality. The latest developments concerning lung cancer treatment have changed the clinical practice by prolonging patient survival; however, unfortunately, there remains a high mortality rate firstly due to disease aggressivity and secondly through lack of early diagnosis and screening programs. Currently, researchers and clinicians are talking about personalized cancer treatment, and a complete diagnostic evaluation should consider, in addition to staging and histology, molecular aberrations, and genetics of the tumor tissue.

Tumor microenvironment is not an 'innocent bystander' in the resistance to treatment of head and neck cancers (Review).

Head and neck cancers are still one of the most common types of cancer in the world. They rank in the leading sixth place in terms of incidence globally, and the incidence continues to rise. The mortality rates remain at high levels.

Predictors of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in Romanian adults with liver cirrhosis: Focus on the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a severe complication of liver cirrhosis whose diagnosis is based on a polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) value >250 mm, yet this PMN value cannot identify all existing types. The aim of our study was to determine the clinical and biological factors that were associated with SBP and predict its occurrence, focusing on the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as one of them. Our retrospective study included 216 patients with liver cirrhosis who were hospitalized between December 2019 and January 2010 at the Emergency County Clinical Hospital of 'St.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis mortality trends of cirrhotic patients in the last decade in Constanta County.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a complication of liver cirrhosis with an increased in-hospital mortality rate. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to examine the main predictors of mortality in order to be able to identify high-risk patients in time and to guide the optimal treatment for prognosis improvement. We retrospectively collected demographic, clinical, laboratory and treatment data as well as data regarding length of stay and cost of hospitalization from 72 patients diagnosed with SBP between January 2010 and December 2019 in the Emergency Clinical Hospital St.

Cardiovascular risk estimation in young patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A new model based on a prospective study in Constanta County, Romania.

Cardiovascular (CV) risk assessment charts are useful in establishing a patient therapeutic plan, but the most commonly used charts have essential limitations when applied to special populations. Our aim was to determine whether the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) chart underestimates the CV risk in young patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to promote the necessity of new risk assessment models. We conducted a prospective study in Constanta County, Romania including 70 consecutive patients ≤50 years of age, previously diagnosed with AS, without a history of established CV disease, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease.

Overexpression of Survivin-1, TAG-72 and HERC5 in patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma in the Black Sea coast geographical area.

Epidemiological data regarding hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) report unsatisfactory morbimortality rates despite the global efforts to decrease the incidence and prolong patient survival. Current guidelines lack diagnostic biomarkers to better characterize patients with HCC. We aimed to validate the overexpression of Survivin-1, tumor-associated glyocoprotein 72 (Tag-72), and HECT and RLD domain containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 5 (HERC5) as tissue biomarkers for HCC characterization in patients from our geographical area and to standardize a local biomarker panel to be introduced in the current management guideline.

Thrombosis and Haemostasis challenges in COVID-19 - Therapeutic perspectives of heparin and tissue-type plasminogen activator and potential toxicological reactions-a mini review.

The coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic is a major challenge for the health systems worldwide. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), is one of the most common complications of the COVID-19 infection. The activation of the coagulation system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ARDS.

Correlation between plasma homocysteine and first myocardial infarction in young patients: Case-control study in Constanta County, Romania.

An elevated level of total plasma homocysteine has been associated with a higher risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. The aim of our research was to study the relation between homocysteine and myocardial infarction (MI) in young patients. We conducted a case-control study in Constanţa County, Romania including 61 patients, divided in two groups.

Possible Influence of Weight Gain and Creatinine Levels in Predicting Response to Nivolumab: A Multicenter Analysis.

Literature suggests that high body mass index can be correlated with better response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. On the other hand, sarcopenia seems to be a negative predictive marker. The present analysis is a retrospective, multicenter trial that included patients with metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and renal cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab between 2018 and 2020.

Death by SARS-CoV 2: a Romanian COVID-19 multi-centre comorbidity study.

Evidence regarding the relation between SARS-CoV-2 mortality and the underlying medical condition is scarce. We conducted an observational, retrospective study based on Romanian official data about location, age, gender and comorbidities for COVID-19 fatalities. Our findings indicate that males, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and chronic kidney disease were most frequent in the COVID-19 fatalities, that the burden of disease was low, and that the prognosis for 1-year survival probability was high in the sample.

Metabolic Syndrome and Abnormal Peri-Organ or Intra-Organ Fat (APIFat) Deposition in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Overview.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disorder with an increasing prevalence, characterised by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. Systemic inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of COPD and can also predispose to metabolic disorders (e.g.

NLRP3 Inflammasome Biomarker-Could Be the New Tool for Improved Cardiometabolic Syndrome Outcome.

Metabolomics, the research area studying chemical processes involving metabolites, finds its utility in inflammasome biomarker discovery, thus representing a novel approach for cardiometabolic syndrome pathogeny acknowledgements. Metabolite biomarkers discovery is expected to improve the disease evolution and outcome. The activation of abundantly expressed NLRP3 inflammasome represents the background process of the diabetes mellitus disturbances like hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, as well as for myocardial cell death and fibrosis, all of them being features characteristic for cardiometabolic syndrome.

Reducing upper digestive bleeding risk in patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants and concomitant infection with .

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) such as apixaban or dabigatran are excellent options in preventing embolic cardiovascular events. Observational studies have shown that gastrointestinal bleeding risks produced by DOACs could be lowered when correcting some host co-factors i.e.

Acid suppression therapy, gastrointestinal bleeding and infection in acute pancreatitis - An international cohort study.

Background: Acid suppressing drugs (ASD) are generally used in acute pancreatitis (AP); however, large cohorts are not available to understand their efficiency and safety. Therefore, our aims were to evaluate the association between the administration of ASDs, the outcome of AP, the frequency of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and GI infection in patients with AP.

Methods: We initiated an international survey and performed retrospective data analysis on AP patients hospitalized between January 2013 and December 2018.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A major challenge in type 2 diabetes mellitus (Review).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a high prevalence in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, being one of the disorders with a relevant global burden. Cross-sectional studies have shown that patients with T2DM and NAFLD have a higher prevalence of liver fibrosis, compared with the general population. Patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and T2DM have an increased mortality and morbidity, therefore they generate substantial health care costs.

HYPOCALCEMIC CARDIOMYOPATHY - A RARE HEART FAILURE ETIOLOGY IN ADULT.

Introduction: Heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in adults are rarely caused by hypoparathyroidism induced hypocalcemia.

Case Report: Female patient, 40 years old, diabetic, with previous history of thyroidectomy for Graves' disease, was hospitalized for syncope and symptoms of heart failure. ECG revealed sinus tachycardia, long QT, negative T from V1 up to V4.

Hepatitis Delta Virus Infection in Romania: Prevalence and Risk Factors.

Background: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection is associated with accelerated progression of fibrosis, early occurrence of hepatic decompensation and an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. Epidemiological data on hepatitis delta virus (HDV) in Romania are still lacking.

Aim: To assess the prevalence, virological, clinical and epidemiological features of HDV infection in Romanian patients.