Publications by authors named "Vere C"

Background/objectives: The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) are associated with patients' nutritional and immune statuses. One important factor in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is inflammation. Being present in insulin-target tissues, chronic tissue inflammation has become recognized as a crucial aspect of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

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Small bowel cancer is very rare; although the incidence of adenocarcinoma and other anatomopathological forms has increased recently, the diagnosis and treatment of this disease are still debatable because of the clinical heterogeneity and the absence of studies including a large number of patients. We performed a retrospective study over 10 years in which we analyzed the clinical, imaging, and anatomopathological data of 46 patients hospitalized in a surgery clinic and diagnosed with small bowel cancer (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum). After clinical assessment of these patients, including complications (occlusion, bleeding, and perforation), the CT scan established the diagnosis in over 90% of the cases of the complicated form of the disease.

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Article Synopsis
  • A retrospective study was conducted on 55 patients diagnosed with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) at The Clinical Emergency County Hospital Craiova, focusing on epidemiological and clinical aspects.
  • The majority of patients were older adults, with a mean age of 66.4 years, and GEP-NETs were most commonly found in the colon, specifically the ascending colon.
  • Notable findings included a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension in patients with colon neuroendocrine tumors (C-NET) and an overall increase in GEP-NET cases in recent years.
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Colorectal cancer is a major health problem that still causes many deaths worldwide. Neuropeptides, such as substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide, play the neurotransmitter and neurohormone roles that increase tumor invasiveness and metastasis potential. This study aimed to see whether these neuropeptides and their receptors-neurokinin 1 receptor and calcitonin receptor-like receptor-correlate with the diagnosis stage, tumor differentiation grade, and different patient characteristics in colorectal cancer and also to compare them.

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  • Neuroendocrine tumors (CR-NETs) are rare in the gastrointestinal tract but can arise in various epithelial organs, prompting research into the roles of serum dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and epinephrine in these tumors.
  • The study analyzed 25 CR-NET patients and 60 colorectal cancer patients, finding that CR-NET patients had higher serum dopamine levels, especially in early TNM stages, suggesting dopamine's potential as a prognostic marker.
  • Additionally, connections between serum dopamine, nutritional status (measured by the Prognostic Nutritional Index), and systemic inflammation indicate that these markers may assist in evaluating CR-NET patients' health and guiding treatment strategies.
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Colorectal cancer is one of the most widespread types of cancer that still causes many deaths worldwide. The development of new diagnostic and prognostic markers, as well as new therapeutic methods, is necessary. The calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) neuropeptide alongside its receptor calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR) could represent future biomarkers and a potential therapeutic target.

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(1) Background: The aim of our study was to assess the involvement of the sympathetic nervous system in the progression of patients with gastric carcinoma by analyzing the sympathetic neuronal fibers and beta 2 adrenoreceptors. (2) Methods: We performed a retrospective study in which we analyzed the clinical, biological, and histological data from a total of 104 patients diagnosed with stomach cancer. (3) Results: After analyzing the immunoreactivity of beta 2 adrenoreceptors, we observed increased values in patients with tumors larger than 5 cm in diameter ( = 0.

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Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal tumor that is quite aggressive and prone to recurrence and metastasis. Most SFTs are benign, but the identification of the histological features that define the dedifferentiation of SFTs can predict the aggressiveness of the tumor and the presence of a reserved prognosis. We present a rare case of conventional SFTs with features of malignancy and highlight the diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties related to this case.

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  • The COVID-19 pandemic, originating in Wuhan, China in December 2019, has severely impacted healthcare systems globally, revealing both well-known and lesser-studied aspects of the disease.
  • Initially recognized for causing severe respiratory issues, COVID-19 has also shown to involve gastrointestinal and hepatic symptoms in infected patients.
  • A study of 21 hospitalized patients in Romania, primarily presenting with digestive symptoms, found that their conditions evolved either towards peritonitis due to colonic necrosis or improved with empirical treatment, despite negative stool cultures for harmful bacteria.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most important global health problems, being in the top 3 neoplasms in terms of the number of cases worldwide. Although CRC develops predominantly from the adenoma-adenocarcinoma sequence through APC gene mutations, in recent years, studies have demonstrated the role of chronic inflammation in this neoplasia pathogenesis. Cytokines are important components of chronic inflammation, being some of the host regulators in response to inflammation.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Patients underwent 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring to assess their HRV before starting treatment, with specific focus on indices like SDNN and rMSSD.
  • * Results showed that patients with lower SDNN values had shorter median survival rates (9 months) compared to those with higher values (15 months), indicating reduced HRV as a negative prognostic factor for survival in PCa.
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Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate sympathetic neuronal remodeling in patients with pancreatic cancer, together with its correlation with clinical outcomes.

Methods: In this descriptive, retrospective study, we analyzed pancreatic cancer specimens and peritumoral pancreatic tissue from 122 patients. We also investigated tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity for the analysis of sympathetic nerve fibers and beta 2 adrenoreceptors immunoreactivity.

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Background: Patient radioprotection in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI)-SPECT is important but difficult to optimize. The aim of this study was to adjust injected activity according to patient size-weight or BMI-by using a cardiofocal collimator camera.

Methods: The correlation equation between size and observed counts in image was determined in patients who underwent stress Tc-99m-sestamibi MPI-SPECT/CT with a cardiofocal collimator-equipped conventional Anger SPECT/CT system.

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Medical databases usually contain a significant volume of images, therefore search engines based on low-level features frequently used to retrieve similar images are necessary for a fast operation. Color, texture, and shape are the most common features used to characterize an image, however extracting the proper features for image retrievals in a similar manner with the human cognition remains a constant challenge. These algorithms work by sorting the images based on a similarity index that defines how different two or more images are, and histograms are one of the most employed methods for image comparison.

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Introduction: Gastric cancer represents a real public health problem as far as incidence, aggressiveness and unfavorable prognosis are concerned. The autonomous nervous system might be one of the major factors involved in the onset, progression, and metastasis, both sympathetically and parasympathetically. The increased activation of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) triggers pro-oncogenic mechanisms, especially at a gastric level, through the activation of the Hippo signaling pathway and the increase of the nerve growth factor.

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Wireless capsule endoscopy is currently considered the gold standard in the investigation of the small bowel. It is both practical for physicians and easily accepted by patients. Prior to its development, two types of imaging investigations of the small bowel were available: radiologic and endoscopic.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main primary liver malignancy, being associated with both health and economic burden worldwide. Recently, novel molecular markers and possible therapeutic targets were identified. Different adhesion molecules, as well as possible angiogenesis-associated targets can be prime candidates when investigating novel therapies.

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Unlabelled: Although medicine is constantly evolving, hepatocellular carcinoma remains a pathology with a poor prognosis due to the frequent delayed diagnosis and the aggressiveness of the disease.

Aim: Our objective was to evaluate liver function and stage of disease of newly diagnosed HCC patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study between July 2016 and January 2021 and we included hospitalized patients within the Department of Gastroenterology of the Emergency County Hospital of Craiova.

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Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) indices have been shown to be associated with prognosis in various types of cancer. This study aims to assess the ability of these indices to predict survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after diagnosis.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 231 patients diagnosed with HCC between January 2014 and March 2018.

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Unlabelled: Despite progresses made in oncology, pancreatic adenocarcinoma has a grim prognosis and commonly presents with rapidly advancing jaundice which requires endoscopic treatment.

Aim: Our objective was to show the perspective of a high ERCP volume dedicated Center on endoscopic stenting for malignant biliary obstruction consecutive to pancreatic cancer.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study, between October 2017 and October 2020, and enrolled hospitalized patients within the Gastroenterology Department of the Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with secondary malignant biliary obstruction which underwent ERCP stenting.

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The aim of our study was to assess the sympathetic nervous system's involvement in the evolution of gastric carcinoma in patients by analyzing the mediators of this system (epinephrine and norepinephrine), as well as by analyzing the histological expression of the norepinephrine transporter (NET). We conducted an observational study including 91 patients diagnosed with gastric carcinoma and an additional 200 patients without cancer between November 2017 and October 2018. We set the primary endpoint as mortality from any cause in the first two years after enrolment in the study.

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Gastric cancer currently represents one of the most important public health problems. Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of strong correlations between the vegetative nervous system and the role it plays in the initiation of the oncogenetic process and the progression of cancer. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the involvement of the sympathetic and parasympathetic vegetative nervous system in the evolution of gastric cancer, according to the stage of tumor differentiation.

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One of the mechanisms involved in gastric carcinomas progression is represented by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a complex process during which tumor cells acquire an invasive and migratory mesenchymal phenotype. In this study, we analyzed the immunoexpression of E-cadherin, P-cadherin and fibronectin in 50 gastric carcinomas, in relation with the tumoral type, differentiation grade and lesions stage. The reactions presented variable patterns related to lesions stage.

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Introduction: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory arthritis, usually involving peripheral joints, associated with cutaneous psoriasis, in the absence of rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies.

Material And Methods: The study included 28 patients diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis according to CASPAR criteria, presenting pain or swelling of the small joints of the hands and wrists, hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology of the Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Craiova during 2016-2018.

Results: In the 28 patients, a total of 840 joints were examined clinically and by ultrasound.

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Introduction: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of chronic inflammatory disorders which includes ankylosing spondylitis (SA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), reactive arthritis (ReA), arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA). The enthesis, the area of insertion of the tendon, ligament or joint capsule onto the bone, can be characterized as a central feature in PsA.

Material And Methods: The study included a number of 28 patients, 18 females and 10 males, with PsA hospitalized during 2016-2018 in the Department of Rheumatology of the Emergency County Hospital of Craiova.

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