Abstract Liver transplantation is the only curative treatment for terminal liver failure. Advances in immunosuppressive therapy and improvements in surgical techniques have improved patient survival in the post-transplant period. At the same time, however, the incidence of late complications is increasing, which has been contributed to by the broadening of the indication criteria in liver allocation. The most common complications include chronic kidney disease, the aetiology of which is multifactorial with a predominance of calcineurin inhibitor toxicity in the post-transplant period. The prevalence ranges from 30% to 90% depending on the definition used and the methodology used to measure renal function. Early detection of risk factors and early intervention lead to a significant improvement in the quality of life of recipients in the post-transplant period.

Abstract Hematological malignancies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases that may have overlapping clinical manifestations. Successful and optimal management depends on early and accurate diagnosis of the disease. Differential diagnosis therefore requires methods of morphology, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and also molecular and cytogenetic examinations. Molecular diagnostic techniques are becoming more accurate and sophisticated, which is why nowadays hematopathological diagnosis relies heavily on molecular and cytogenetic analyses. They are beneficial not only for diagnosis, but also for evaluating prognostic and risk markers, as well as treatment monitoring. This article presents an overview of selected hematological malignancies – mature lymphoid neoplasms, multiple myelomas, myeloproliferative neoplasms, myelodysplastic syndromes, and acute myeloid leukemias; their molecular pathology, risk and prognostic markers. Understanding of the biologic basis leds to a targeted therapy development for the treatment of these diseases.

Abstract Introduction Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading oncogenic disorders, both in terms of incidence and mortality. The etiology of the disease is certainly multifactorial. Various risk factors like alcohol consumption, smoking, CRC family history, inflammatory bowel disease, hormone therapy, aspirin/nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use, higher body mass index, consumption of red and/or processed meat, insufficient physical activity, and decreased intake of fruit and vegetables have been pointed out; however, there is not enough support evidence for a single particular causative mechanism. Recently, gut bacterial microbiota has been shown to influence significantly the pathogenesis of CRC. However, little attention is paid to the putative impact of plasmids in gut flora. Material and methods We have designed and tested the workflow for semi-selective isolation and amplification of random circular sequences. The exploitation of rolling circle amplification (RCA) with a random hexamers protocol is crucial for the outcome. Results Our results suggest that it is possible to isolate and amplify plasmid DNA from gut flora and further process, sequence, and identify them. Discussion Little is known about the interactions between bacterial plasmids and human cells. The collection of plasmid sequencing data and the comparison of CRC patients and healthy control sequences can be the first step to elucidating this phenomenon.

Abstract In this work, we describe the case of a 68-year-old female patient with an injury to the back wall of the pharynx by a foreign body and its atypical placement in the retropharyngeal space, causing a retropharyngeal abscess. The foreign body was extracted during a transorally direct pharyngolaryngoscopy under general anesthesia. The symptomatology, diagnosis, and therapy of retropharyngeal abscess are the topics of discussion. We emphasize the necessity of timely and thorough localization of the foreign body and its extraction.

Abstract Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that is clinically manifested by motor and non-motor symptoms. At the early stage of the disease, it can be misdiagnosed with some neurologic disorders due to overlapping or similar clinical features. In addition, the pathogenesis of this disease is initiated several years prior to the appearance of classical motor symptoms. This latent phase of neurodegeneration in PD characterised at cellular level by preservation of significant fraction of dopaminergic neurones is of particular interest with respect to the development of disease-modifying or neuroprotective therapies which would require intervention at the earliest stages of disease with an aim to slow down or reverse the disease progression. Therefore, huge effort was performed in order to find and validate a biomarker that would reliably differentiate PD from other neurologic diseases as well as a biomarker that would reveal preclinical/prodromal stage of PD. This short review summarises a recent progress in validation of molecular biomarkers of PD, distinct from genetic markers of PD, with some focus on new analysed tissues and new methods.

Abstract Introduction The Omicron variant rapidly outpaced Delta with documented community transmission in most countries and has led to an upsurge in cases in most regions. Since its initial detection from a specimen collected on November 8th 2021, Omicron amounted to 74.0% of the genome sequenced in South Africa and more than 99.0% in rest of the world. Objectives 1. To describe the socio-demographic and clinical profile of Omicron cases treated at our tertiary care institution. 2. To assess the factors associated with the vaccination status of such Omicron cases. Methods This observational study was conducted at a 500 bedded hospital in southern India from 15th of December 2021 to 5th of February 2022. Of the 333 COVID-19 patients who were registered with Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) positive result along with S Gene Target Failure (SGTF), 203 patients were included and were interviewed using a pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire. With prior approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) data was collected and statistically analyzed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using SPSS software trial version 28.0 and OpenEpi software. At 95% confidence level, a P value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results Of the 203 cases studied, majority 149 (73.4%) were symptomatic, of which almost 114 (76.5%) had fever, 72 (48.3%) had cough and 29 (19.5%) had myalgia. 193 (95.1%) cases were categorized as mild, 8 (3.9%) as moderate and 2 (1.0%) as severe cases of COVID-19 with SGTF. Only 10 (4.9%) patients received supplementary oxygen support. Almost 158 patients (77.8%) were vaccinated against COVID-19 of which 106 (67%) were vaccinated with Covishield vaccine followed by 50 (31.7%) of them with Covaxin. 126 (79.7%) patients were completely vaccinated with two doses of any COVID-19 vaccine and 32 (20.3%) were partially vaccinated with a single dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. Among those who required supplemental oxygen (n = 10), the proportion of those vaccinated (40.0%) was lower com pared to those who were unvaccinated (60.0%). This association was statistically significant (P = 0.003, OR = 0.169, 95% CI of OR = 0.045, 0.628). Among the completely vaccinated subjects (n = 125), there was a statistically significant difference in mean (95% CI) interval between the last dose of vaccine taken and date of RT-PCR positivity with SGTF (P < 0.001). It was 186 (162, 210) days for Covaxin and was 131 (114, 148) days for Covishield vaccine. Conclusion Omicron (SGTF) cases manifests mostly as mild cases with symptoms like fever, cough, myalgia and majority were independent of oxygen supplementation and had good prognosis. Omicron infection was delayed over six months among completely vaccinated subjects especially those who were vaccinated with Covaxin.

Abstract Introduction: A great threat of a novel virus – coronavirus otherwise known as COVID-19 pandemic rocked the entire world in the wake of the year 2020. The threat is so strenuous that the entire world was placed on lockdown in the matter of social restriction such as on international and national transport links, market or business transactions, school and organizational activities, and all related social and religious gatherings. This restriction might change people’s lifestyle. This study was aimed at assessing the lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic among Nigerians. Methodology: A web based cross sectional survey was conducted using an e-questionnaire. A paired t-test, independent t-test were used to test hypothesis while mean, frequency, and percentage were used to summarize the data. Results: Majority of the participants were male (72.1%), single (83.2%), and middle class (79.5%) of social status. There was a decrease in the habit of consuming meals routinely at regular intervals during COVID-19 (19.4% vs 25.7%). There were significant differences in eating patterns before and during COVID-19 (P<0.05). Likewise, significant differences in physical activity before and during COVID-19 were observed. Conclusion: Some of the protocol put in place in curtailing the virus has been proven to have a positive impact on the lifestyle of Nigerians Such health benefits include but not limited to an increase in moderate exercise, increase in the consumption of healthy and reduction in the consumption of unhealthy food.

Abstract Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a typical formation of inflamed nodules, abscesses, and sinus tracts usually in the axillary, inguinal, and anogenital region. We decided to investigate the possible association of hidradenitis suppurativa and total IgE elevation and to explore the patients’ characteristics which can be related to high IgE levels. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study which included 67 patients with moderate-to-severe stage of hidradenitis suppurativa followed up in our outpatient dermatology department. Total IgE, IgA, IgG, IgM, and CRP serum levels were measured. A personal and family history was taken. We asked them about allergic diseases and cigarette smoking and determined the basic parameters such as the weight and height of the patients. Results: Elevated total IgE levels were noticed in 21 patients (31.3%), of which 6 had a history of allergic disorder. Three of them had allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and the other three were suffering from atopic dermatitis. The mean total IgE level was 203.0 IU/ml with a maximum value of 1,954 IU/ml. Analysis of the factors, such as cigarette smoking, sex, elevated CRP, body mass index, and the number of affected areas, did not show an association with increased IgE levels. Conclusion: Our study showed a higher mean value of total IgE in patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa than in the general population. However, we did not confirm an association with any characteristics of the patients. Limitations of this work include a small number of patients and a lack of the control group, therefore further and more extensive studies are needed to support these results.

Abstract Tuberculosis remains one of the leading infectious cause of death in the world. The goals of screening are to detect active tuberculosis early enough and to identify individuals eligible for preventive therapy to reduce a po tential co-infection by tuberculosis. Plasma/serum screening for selected potential biomarkers could represent a suitable method of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment outcome. Furthermore, monitoring of tuberculosis treatment is crucial to clinical decision-making and besides the plasmatic concentration of administered antituberculosis drugs, the biomarkers appear to play a significant role in the estimation of the real therapeutical impact. The current standard remains focused on culture conversion, especially two-month culture status, which has a relatively low sensitivity. Identification of non-sputum-based biomarkers of the treatment respond would be beneficial for individual monitoring of tuberculosis patients. This mini-review describes several serological/plasmatic markers that can be analyzed by simple immunoassays as ELISA method, e.g. C-reactive protein, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor, soluble lymphocyte activation gene-3, granzyme B and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor one and two as reliable enough as an indicator of successful treatment of tuberculosis.

Abstract Asthma is a heterogenous disease which pathophysiology is still poorly understood. Asthma was traditionally divided into allergic (extrinsic) and non-allergic (intrinsic) types, while patients with allergic type responded better to corticosteroids. Since 2013 the definition of asthma has changed. Recently, better insight into clinical consi -derations and underlying inflammatory phenotypes has been gained. Defining these phenotypes has already led to more specific clinical trials and, therefore, to more personalized and successfully targeted therapy. For future, much more effort is put in identifying new phenotype-specific biomarkers which could be helpful in stratification of heterogeneous patients with asthma.