Clinical and laboratory parameters by age for patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis between 2000 and 2015.

Aim Of The Study: To compare the demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) analysed based on the age at which they were diagnosed.

Clinical Rationale For The Study: Most cases of MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 years, but the clinical characteristics of patients with MS over this age range have rarely been studied.

Material And Methods: 182 patients diagnosed with MS between 2000 and 2015 were divided into four groups by age at diagnosis: < 30 years (n = 62), 30-39 years (n = 54), 40-49 years (n = 27), and ≥ 50 years (n = 39).

Sigma receptors and neurological disorders.

Sigma receptors were identified relatively recently, and their presence has been confirmed in the central nervous system and peripheral organs. Changes in sigma receptor function or expression may be involved in neurological diseases, and thus sigma receptors represent a potential target for treating central nervous system disorders. Many substances that are ligands for sigma receptors are widely used in therapies for neurological disorders.

Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Introduction: The presence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) might be linked with elevated cardiovascular risk. There is a lack of data showing the prevalence of LUTS in the population of patients with cardiovascular diseases. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of LUTS in patients hospitalized due to a cardiovascular disease.

AHR-dependent genes and response to MTX therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Methotrexate (MTX) is the first-line therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Nevertheless, MTX resistance is quite a common issue in clinical practice. There are some premises that aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) gene battery may take part in MTX metabolism.

Reclassification, Thromboembolic, and Major Bleeding Outcomes Using Different Estimates of Renal Function in Anticoagulated Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Insights From the PREFER-in-AF and PREFER-in-AF Prolongation Registries.

Background: The Cockcroft-Gault formula is recommended to determine a renal indication for dose reduction of dabigatran, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban. Nephrology guidelines now recommend the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formulae as more accurate estimates of glomerular filtration rate.

Methods: We analyzed anticoagulated patients with atrial fibrillation who were enrolled in the Prevention of Thromboembolic Events - European Registry in Atrial Fibrillation (PREFER in AF).

MiR-126 Is an Independent Predictor of Long-Term All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

MicroRNAs are endogenous non-coding RNAs that are involved in numerous biological processes through regulation of gene expression. The aim of our study was to determine the ability of several miRNAs to predict mortality and response to antiplatelet treatment among T2DM patients. Two hundred fifty-two patients with diabetes were enrolled in the study.

Increasing the Effectiveness of Pharmacotherapy in Psychiatry by Using a Pharmacological Interaction Database.

Recent studies have shown that the knowledge of pharmacological interaction databases in global psychiatry is negligible. The frequency of hospitalizations in the case of patients taking new psychoactive substances along with other drugs continues to increase, very often resulting in the need for polypharmacotherapy. The aim of our research was to make members of the worldwide psychiatric community aware of the need to use a pharmacological interaction database in their daily work.

Silver Nanoparticles Conjugated with Contact Lens Solutions May Reduce the Risk of Keratitis.

keratitis (AK), a severe sight-threatening corneal infection, has become a significant medical problem, especially among contact lens wearers. The disease manifests as eye pain, congestion, blurred vision, lachrymation, and ring-shaped infiltrates of the cornea, and can lead to permanent blindness. Inappropriate habits of contact lens users may result in an increased risk of AK infection.

Keratin Scaffolds Containing Casomorphin Stimulate Macrophage Infiltration and Accelerate Full-Thickness Cutaneous Wound Healing in Diabetic Mice.

Impaired wound healing is a major medical challenge, especially in diabetics. Over the centuries, the main goal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has been to invent biomaterials that accelerate the wound healing process. In this context, keratin-derived biomaterial is a promising candidate due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability.

Kinetics of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration levels in epileptic patients after generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

Objective: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by the periodic and unpredictable occurrence of seizures. The serum level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been suggested to be a potential biomarker that could detect differences in epilepsy patients. Although there is considerable neurobiological evidence linking BDNF to epilepsy, only a small number of studies investigated the relationship between BDNF serum levels and epilepsy, and these studies obtained inconsistent results.

Optimal duration and combination of antiplatelet therapies following percutaneous coronary intervention: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: The ideal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is still unknown. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to compare very short-term (1-3 months), short-term (6 months), standard-term (12 months) and long-term (>12 months) DAPT durations for efficacy and safety.

Methods: Overall DAPT comparisons were classified as "any shorter-term"/"any longer-term" DAPT.

Comparison of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein vs. C-reactive protein for diagnostic accuracy and prediction of mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: The role of chronic inflammation in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has been unequivocally proven. However, the prognostic impact of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammatory response in patients with acute myocardial infarction has not been fully clarified. Furthermore, there is no direct comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of C-reactive protein and high sensitivity C-reactive protein in the acute myocardial infarction population.

Deformation Parameters of the Heart in Endurance Athletes and in Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy-A Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Study.

A better understanding of the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) functioning would help with the differentiation between athlete's heart and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We aimed to analyse deformation parameters in endurance athletes relative to patients with DCM using cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT). The study included males of a similar age: 22 ultramarathon runners, 22 patients with DCM and 21 sedentary healthy controls (41 ± 9 years).

Early exposure to paracetamol reduces level of testicular testosterone and changes gonadal expression of genes relevant for steroidogenesis in rats offspring.

In this study, we investigated the effects of early paracetamol treatment on the testicular level of testosterone and expression of genes important for steroid biosynthesis and reproduction in male rats offspring. Rats were continuously exposed to paracetamol at doses of 5 or 15 mg/kg b.w.

MicroRNAs and long non-coding RNAs in the pathophysiological processes of diabetic cardiomyopathy: emerging biomarkers and potential therapeutics.

The epidemic of diabetes mellitus (DM) necessitates the development of novel therapeutic and preventative strategies to attenuate complications of this debilitating disease. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a frequent disorder affecting individuals diagnosed with DM characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic and systolic dysfunction and myocardial fibrosis in the absence of other heart diseases. Progression of DCM is associated with impaired cardiac insulin metabolic signaling, increased oxidative stress, impaired mitochondrial and cardiomyocyte calcium metabolism, and inflammation.

Extract and Grindelic Acid Modulate Pro-inflammatory Functions of Respiratory Epithelium and Human Macrophages.

Both nasal and bronchial epithelial cells have evolved sophisticated mechanisms involved in cellular response to bacterial infection. Recognition of pathogens by TLR receptors activate the NF-κB transcription factor, and lead to production of wide spectrum of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8). Released by epithelium proinflammatory cytokines intensify migration of macrophages to damaged tissues and modulate their pro-inflammatory functions.

Aspalathus linearis infusion affects hole-board test behaviour and amino acid concentration in the brain.

Rooibos tea, brewed using Aspalathus linearis leaves, is a popular South African herbal infusion, but its everyday intake is not fully described in terms of the neuropsychopharmacological outcomes. The cell-protective activity of A. linearis is connected with the ability of reducing glycaemia, inflammation as well as oxidative stress.

Estrogen- and Progesterone (P4)-Mediated Epigenetic Modifications of Endometrial Stromal Cells (EnSCs) and/or Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs) in the Etiopathogenesis of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammatory condition in which endometrial tissue appears outside the uterine cavity. Because ectopic endometriosis cells express both estrogen and progesterone (P4) receptors, they grow and undergo cyclic proliferation and breakdown similar to the endometrium. This debilitating gynecological disease affects up to 15% of reproductive aged women.

Perinatal Derivatives: Where Do We Stand? A Roadmap of the Human Placenta and Consensus for Tissue and Cell Nomenclature.

Progress in the understanding of the biology of perinatal tissues has contributed to the breakthrough revelation of the therapeutic effects of perinatal derivatives (PnD), namely birth-associated tissues, cells, and secreted factors. The significant knowledge acquired in the past two decades, along with the increasing interest in perinatal derivatives, fuels an urgent need for the precise identification of PnD and the establishment of updated consensus criteria policies for their characterization. The aim of this review is not to go into detail on preclinical or clinical trials, but rather we address specific issues that are relevant for the definition/characterization of perinatal cells, starting from an understanding of the development of the human placenta, its structure, and the different cell populations that can be isolated from the different perinatal tissues.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, but not brain- and extracellular matrix-derived proteins, are increased in the plasma following electrically induced kindling of seizures.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the brain-derived proteins, extracellular matrix-derived protein and cytokines as potential peripheral biomarkers of different susceptibility to seizure development in an animal model of epilepsy evoked by chronic focal electrical stimulation of the brain.

Methods: The plasma levels of IL-1β (interleukin 1β), IL-6 (interleukin 6), UCH-L1 (ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 1), MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase 9), and GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) were assessed. The peripheral concentrations of the selected proteins were analyzed according to the status of kindling and seizure severity parameters.

Right ventricular function and outcome in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Aims: Right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) on echocardiography has been shown to predict outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, a comparison with the gold standard, RV ejection fraction (EF) on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), has never been performed.

Methods And Results: Consecutive patients scheduled for TAVR underwent echocardiography and CMR.