Thyroid Disorders in Systemic Sclerosis: A Comprehensive Review.

Systemic sclerosis, also referred to as scleroderma, is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects both internal organs and the skin. Systemic sclerosis predominantly affects female patients and can coexist with other disorders, including those affecting the thyroid gland. Common symptoms such as fatigue and weight changes can be attributed to either systemic sclerosis or thyroid disease.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among medical students in Romania.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is a highly debated subject that brings confusion due to contradictory information coming from the scientific community and the media. Our aim was to focus on a homogeneous group of students in the healthcare field to assess their intention to vaccinate and the drivers behind this decision. A cross-sectional study was performed in the spring of 2021 in a Medical University in Romania.

OncomiR-10b hijacks the small molecule inhibitor linifanib in human cancers.

The pervasive role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer pathobiology drives the introduction of new drug development approaches such as miRNA inhibition. In order to advance miRNA-therapeutics, meticulous screening strategies addressing specific tumor targets are needed. Small molecule inhibitors represent an attractive goal for these strategies.

Blood Genome-Wide Transcriptional Profiles of HER2 Negative Breast Cancers Patients.

Tumors act systemically to sustain cancer progression, affecting the physiological processes in the host and triggering responses in the blood circulating cells. In this study, we explored blood transcriptional patterns of patients with two subtypes of HER2 negative breast cancers, with different prognosis and therapeutic outcome. Peripheral blood samples from seven healthy female donors and 29 women with breast cancer including 14 triple-negative breast cancers and 15 hormone-dependent breast cancers were evaluated by microarray.

Junk DNA and the long non-coding RNA twist in cancer genetics.

The central dogma of molecular biology states that the flow of genetic information moves from DNA to RNA to protein. However, in the last decade this dogma has been challenged by new findings on non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as microRNAs (miRNAs). More recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have attracted much attention due to their large number and biological significance.

Intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy in severe alopecia areata.

Background: Severe, extensive, therapy resistant alopecia areata represents a clinical challenge. Systemic corticosteroids are a therapeutic tool that still needs to be evaluated.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone pulse therapy in alopecia areata and to find prognostic factors for a favourable outcome.

Urinary exosomes: a novel means to non-invasively assess changes in renal gene and protein expression.

Background: In clinical practice, there is a lack of markers for the non-invasive diagnosis and follow-up of kidney disease. Exosomes are membrane vesicles, which are secreted from their cells of origin into surrounding body fluids and contain proteins and mRNA which are protected from digestive enzymes by a cell membrane.

Methods: Toxic podocyte damage was induced by puromycin aminonucleoside in rats (PAN).

Diffuse angiomatosis of the breast--sonographic appearance.

Angiomatosis or diffuse hemangioma is a very rare benign vascular tumor, consisting of blood and lymphatic channels growing diffusely in the breast parenchyma. We report a case of diffuse breast angiomatosis in a 34-year-old woman with pubertal anisomastia. Ultrasound raised the suspicion of vascular tumor, by showing large cystic spaces separated by septae with moderate blood flow, similar to those found in cystic lymphangioma.

Active and inactive forms of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 in cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Cutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, with high implications on the morbidity and mortality of patients. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 have been involved in melanoma progression because they degrade important components of the basement membrane. We studied the relationship between the levels of active and inactive MMP 2, MMP 9, and clinicopathological parameters.

Non-coding RNAs as theranostics in human cancers.

Theranostics was coined originally as a term used to describe a system that combines diagnosis and therapy, aiming to provide the tools for personalized medicine. This review reasserts the grounds for regarding non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) as theranostics in human cancers. The microRNAs (miRNAs) are the most well studied ncRNAs in recent years; their pivotal role in orchestrating tumor initiation and progression has been confirmed in all types of cancers.

Craniofacial resection for malignant tumors of the paranasal sinuses.

Objective: To review the experience with craniofacial resection for malignant tumors of the anterior skull base and analyze prognostic factors for survival.

Material And Methods: Between 1996 and 2008, 64 consecutive patients with malignant tumors of the anterior skull base underwent craniofacial resection. Different parameters were analyzed to study their relationship with survival: age, sex, pathology, orbital involvement, dural involvement, status of the surgical margins, adjuvant radiotherapy, and whether the treatment was done before or after surgery.

Apoptosis in cancer: key molecular signaling pathways and therapy targets.

Apoptosis is a physiological process vital for embryologic development and the maintenance of homeostasis in multicellular organisms, but it is also involved in a wide range of pathological processes, including cancer. In mammalian cells, apoptosis has been divided into two major pathways: the extrinsic pathway, activated by proapoptotic receptor signals at the cellular surface, and the intrinsic pathway, which involves the disruption of mitochondrial membrane integrity. Although many of the proteins vital for apoptosis have been identified, the molecular pathways of cellular death still remain to be elucidated.

Maternal death and orphans in Cluj County.

Unlabelled: The communist government that led Romania before the 1989 Revolution practiced a demographic policy which claimed to protect the family and encouraged women to have minimum five children.

Material And Methods: The complex implications of maternal death rate, as a negative demographic phenomenon, were investigated through a descriptive, observational retrospective study made in the Cluj County, Romania, between 1970 and 2004. The study covers all deceased mothers (n = 263 cases) recorded in Cluj County from 1970 to 2004.

First-line chemotherapy with topotecan and etoposide in advanced small cell lung cancer. A phase II study.

Purpose: Topotecan has recently shown activity in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. The aim of the present phase II study was to assess the antitumor activity and toxicity of the combination of topotecan plus etoposide in chemotherapynaive patients with advanced SCLC on an outpatient basis.

Patients And Methods: From December 1998 to February 2001 24 previously untreated patients with histologically proven advanced (stage IIIB and IV) SCLC received topotecan 1.

The influence of maternal epidural analgesia upon intrapartum fetal oxygenation.

Objective: The use of maternal epidural analgesia in labor may be associated with non-reassuring fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns. We aimed to assess changes in fetal oxygen saturation (FSpO(2)) during epidural analgesia in labor.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study.

Virus isolation data from water of some European rivers: an overview.

The present overview is the result of our scrutiny of data concerning the presence of viruses in the water of diverse European rivers. These data were assembled from the published literature--articles, doctoral theses and reports from investigations conducted by environmental virologists beginning during the final years of the sixth decenium of the twentieth century, first in France, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Ukraine, U.S.