238 results match your criteria: "University Hospital "St. Marina" - Varna[Affiliation]"

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are clonal disorders of hematopoietic stem cells with a proliferation of one or more myeloid lineage and mature cell overproduction, while myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)/MPN simultaneously show aspects of MDS and MPN, leading to partially ineffective hematopoiesis with associated dysplastic changes. This spectrum of disorders includes chronic myeloid leukemia, polycythemia vera, primary myelofibrosis, and essential thrombocythemia. MDS/MPN are classically not associated with renal complications; however, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that multiple growth factors, cytokines, endothelial damage, and an activated complement system in these patients can induce glomerulopathy, as nearly a third of these patients present with advanced renal disease on diagnosis, which is unlikely to be age or hypertension-related.

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Introduction: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is well established for oligometastatic disease, and it is increasingly used to treat adrenal metastases.

Material And Methods: In this retrospective study we performed an analysis of 75 metastatic adrenal lesions in 64 patients with oligometastatic disease. According to the fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of adrenal metastases, patients were categorized into three groups: low, intermediate, and high SUVmax.

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Role of Cytokeratin 20 as a Predictive and Prognostic Marker in Urothelial Neoplasms.

Cureus

November 2022

General and Clinical Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Medical University of Varna, Varna, BGR.

Introduction Several clinical peculiarities mark urothelial carcinomas and their biological behavior. Key in these are its relatively indolent course before manifestation and its high recurrence rate. So far, no biomarker has been identified as a predictor for these factors.

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Gene Editing and Human iPSCs in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases.

Adv Exp Med Biol

December 2022

Epigenetics, Metabolism and Aging Unit, Center for Translational Medicine, International Clinical Research Center, St'Anne University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic.

The incidence and the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and the metabolic syndrome are greatly increasing in our societies. Together, they account for 31% of all deaths worldwide. This chapter focuses on the role of two revolutionary discoveries that are changing the future of medicine, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and CRISPR/Cas9 technology, in the study, and the cure of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

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Modified Silver Impregnation Method for Basal Membranes in Renal Biopsies.

Cureus

October 2022

General and Clinical Pathology/Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Medical University of Varna, Varna, BGR.

Silver impregnation methods are essential in biopsy interpretation in nephropathology with regard to visualizing the basal lamina and its associated changes. The most widely used methods, mainly Jones methenamine impregnation, are time-consuming in their protocols and require multiple microscopy control points. In this report, we propose an alternative, modified method for silver impregnation with methenamine solution with a significantly shorter protocol time and good staining quality, allowing for proper interpretation of basal lamina changes in the glomeruli and blood vessels.

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The gastrointestinal tract is an important reservoir of high-risk Enterobacteria clones and a driver of antimicrobial resistance in hospitals. In this study, patients from six hospitals in four major Bulgarian towns were included in this study. Overall, 205 cefotaxime-resistant isolates (35.

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Ischemic strokes are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The aim of this meta-analysis is to elaborate on the role of inherited predisposition to thrombophilia in the etiology of ischemic strokes in young adults. The keywords factor V Leiden (FVL), factor II, prothrombin (PT), protein C (PC), protein S (PS), antithrombin (AT), ischemic stroke, and young were used to search different databases.

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Meningitis Presented with Cerebral Infarction in Adult Patient - Clinical Case and Review.

Neurol India

November 2022

Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University "Prof. Paraskev Stoyanov"; Second Clinic of Neurology with ICU and Stroke Unit, University Hospital "St. Marina", Varna, Bulgaria.

Background: Bacterial meningitis (BM) is an inflammation of the meninges, associated with the invasion of bacteria. The etiologic agents vary by age group. BM because of Group B streptococcus (GBS) is common for the neonatal period but considered as rare in adult patients.

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The Feel4Diabetes project conducted a 2-year intervention aiming to encourage healthy behaviours in families in six European countries. Within this paper, the intervention effect was evaluated after the first intervention year on 24-hour physical behaviour composition in Belgian families at risk for type 2 diabetes. Parents' and children's levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) were objectively measured and sleep duration was self-reported.

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Objective: The pathogenesis of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes chronic inflammation and altered immune reactions. There are several publications, reporting that micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) may serve as a diagnostic biomarker with a potential to assess inflammation severity and treatment response1,2 in IBD patients. The objective of the study is to assess and correlate the serum expression of circulating miR-16 in IBD patients with some clinical parameters, such as extent, activity and severity of the disease.

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Article Synopsis
  • Somatrogon is a long-acting growth hormone treatment designed for children with growth hormone deficiency, administered once a week compared to a daily option (Somatropin).
  • The study compared the treatment burden felt by patients and caregivers during 12-week periods of each injection regimen, using standardized questionnaires to measure overall life interference.
  • Results showed that once-weekly somatrogon significantly reduced treatment burden (lower life interference scores) and was associated with greater convenience and satisfaction than the daily somatropin injections.
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Background: The dynein-related genes may have a role in the etiology of male infertility, particularly in cases of impaired sperm motility.

Objectives: The goal of this review is to compile a list of the most important dynein-related candidate genes that may contribute to male factor infertility.

Materials And Methods: Databases were searched using the keywords "dynein," "male," "infertility," and by applying strict inclusion criteria.

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Diffuse astrocytic gliomas and their most common and aggressive representation, glioblastoma (GBM), which as per the 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines is an isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wildtype without alteration in histone 3 and has glomeruloid vascular proliferation, tumor necrosis, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene amplification, or +7/-10 chromosome copy-number changes, are fast-growing tumors with a dismal patient prognosis. Herein, we present cases of a 63-year-old male who, despite no evidence of tumor growth, developed a 6-cm tumor, histologically verified as GBM, WHO CNS grade 4, within eight months, and a 74-year-old female in whom a 1.5-cm tumor grew to 43 mm within 28 days, once again histologically confirmed as GBM, WHO CNS grade 4.

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Light Chain Deposition Disease: A Morphological Case Report.

Cureus

June 2022

General and Clinical Pathology/Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Medical University of Varna, Varna, BGR.

Light chain deposition disease (LCDD) is a rare condition associated with the overproduction and deposition of monoclonal light chain immunoglobulins. The kidneys are universally affected in LCDD, with the development of renal failure with nephrotic syndrome, microscopic hematuria, and proteinuria. Most cases are associated with a plasma cell neoplasm (multiple myeloma or plasmacytoma) or other lymphoproliferative disorders, with a reasonable number of cases also being idiopathic.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mucormycosis is an uncommon but deadly infection, often challenging to diagnose and treat.
  • The text discusses the first confirmed case of rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis in a patient who had previously been infected with COVID-19 in Bulgaria.
  • This case highlights the potential complications that can arise post-COVID-19, particularly in relation to rare infections like mucormycosis.
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Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of Aspergillus Galactomannan antigen (GM) test for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in patient with hematological malignancies, including patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Materials And Methods: Between January 2016 and June 2019, ninety patients were tested for GM. A total of 134 blood and 19 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were analyzed using Platelia Aspergillus Ag Enzyme-Immuno Assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories).

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Infantile hemangioma is one of the most common benign tumors of infancy. The natural evolution includes rapid growth followed by gradual involution. Airway hemangiomas are not that common, but they can lead to dyspnoea, as well as to life-threatening complications.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, reductions in heart failure (HF) hospitalizations have been widely reported, and there is an urgent need to understand how HF care has been reorganized in countries with different infection levels, vaccination rates and healthcare services. The OPTIMIZE Heart Failure Care program has a global network of investigators in 42 countries, with first-hand experience of the impact of the pandemic on HF management in different care settings. The national coordinators were surveyed to assess: 1) the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for continuity of HF care, from both a hospital and patient perspective; 2) the organizational changes enacted to ensure continued HF care; and 3) lessons learned for the future of HF care.

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Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is now widely used in diagnosing rare diseases. However, it has some limitations, such as variants of uncertain significance (VUS). This can present difficulties even for nurse practitioners involved in clinical genetics.

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Introduction: In the phase 3 study involving the use of durvalumab with or without tremelimumab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy in untreated extensive-stage SCLC (CASPIAN study), first-line durvalumab plus platinum-etoposide (EP) significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus EP alone ( = 0.0047). We report exploratory subgroup analyses of treatment patterns and outcomes according to the presence of baseline brain or central nervous system metastases.

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Purpose: Early confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 is a key point in the timely management of infected patients and contact persons. Routine diagnostics of COVID-19 cases relies on RT-PCR detection of two or three unique sequences of the virus. A serious problem for the laboratories is how to interpret inconclusive samples which are positive for only one of the SARS-CoV-2 specific genes.

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Background: Adult female acne (AFA) nowadays is a very common skin condition affecting mainly women aged between 25 and 40. The treatment of AFA could be challenging.

Study Aim: We evaluate and compare the efficacy and tolerability of a cream formulation containing two retinoid molecules (hydroxypinacolone/retinyl palmitate) combined with Iris Florentina root extract and a complex of three oligopeptides (C) applied twice a day (morning and evening) alone or in combination (C + O) with a food supplement containing a mixture of prebiotic molecules (FOS&GOS) zinc, lactoferrin, and niacinamide.

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DNA damage repair (DDR) is a safeguard for genome integrity maintenance. Increasing DDR efficiency could increase the yield of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) upon reprogramming from somatic cells. The epigenetic mechanisms governing DDR during iPSC reprogramming are not completely understood.

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STAT5B restrains human B-cell differentiation to maintain humoral immune homeostasis.

J Allergy Clin Immunol

October 2022

Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Australia; St Vincent's Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address:

Background: Lymphocyte differentiation is regulated by coordinated actions of cytokines and signaling pathways. IL-21 activates STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 and is fundamental for the differentiation of human B cells into memory cells and antibody-secreting cells. While STAT1 is largely nonessential and STAT3 is critical for this process, the role of STAT5 is unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Anti-TNF-α agents are effective in managing moderate-to-severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) but increase the risk of opportunistic infections, including tuberculosis (TB).
  • A study analyzed Crohn's disease patients on anti-TNF-α therapy, finding that 21.6% were newly diagnosed with latent TB infection (LTBI) after starting treatment, despite prior negative screenings.
  • The results emphasize the need for thorough screening for LTBI and active TB before starting biological treatments, as IBD patients are at heightened risk during the first year of therapy.
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