Evaluation of Serum Adipokines in Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease

Aim. Out study aimed to assess the serum levels of adipokines in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) caused by atherosclerosis. Methods. Serum samples were obtained from 221 patients. One hundred and forty patients, (26 females and 114 males) met the inclusion criteria and were assigned into the case group. Eighty one patients (17 females and 64 males), were included in the control group. Circulating plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin, resistin, and TNF-α were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results. Significant lower levels of adiponectin were present (P = 0.0061) in PAOD patients (2380.23 ± 1634.42 pg/mL) compared to the control group (3065.06 ± 1901.2 pg/mL). The mean value of leptin (2844.42 ± 3301.08 pg/mL) and resistin (2047.81±3301.08 pg/mL) patients included in the PAOD group was higher, as compared to the control group. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups for leptin (P = 0.0332) and for resistin (P = 0.0352). No statistically significant difference for TNF-α was found between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion. The markers of inflammation secreted by the adipose tissue (adiponectin, leptin, resistin) showed significant differences in patients from the case group (with PAOD) compared to the control group

Clinical Study Evaluation of Serum Adipokines in Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease

Aim. Out study aimed to assess the serum levels of adipokines in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) caused by atherosclerosis. Methods. Serum samples were obtained from 221 patients. One hundred and forty patients, (26 females and 114 males) met the inclusion criteria and were assigned into the case group. Eighty one patients (17 females and 64 males), were included in the control group. Circulating plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin, resistin, and TNF-α were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results. Significant lower levels of adiponectin were present (P = 0.0061) in PAOD patients (2380.23 ± 1634.42 pg/mL) compared to the control group (3065.06 ± 1901.2 pg/mL). The mean value of leptin (2844.42 ± 3301.08 pg/mL) and resistin (2047.81±3301.08 pg/mL) patients included in the PAOD group was higher, as compared to the control group. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups for leptin (P = 0.0332) and for resistin (P = 0.0352). No statistically significant difference for TNF-α was found between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion. The markers of inflammation secreted by the adipose tissue (adiponectin, leptin, resistin) showed significant differences in patients from the case group (with PAOD) compared to the control group

Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity

The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. © 2021, The Author(s)

Fifth European Dirofilaria and Angiostrongylus Days (FiEDAD) 2016

Peer reviewe

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the forearm with radius involvement. Case report

Abstract Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare, well-differentiated endothelial tumor with intermediate malignancy which develops more frequently from the peripheral veins, generally in the lower limb. Bone EHE comprises less than 1% of the bone neoplasms. We present the case of a young man, 24-year-old, with EHE of the forearm with secondary involvement of the distal radius. The location and the extension of the tumor allowed a wide excision, without the reconstruction of radius, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy, with a subsequent favorable evolution. Based on the clinical, radiographic, and pathological features of the EHE review, we concluded that it is difficult to adopt a standardized therapeutic approach due to the extremely low incidence of the bone involvement in EHE and the variable tendencies towards malignancy of this tumor. To our knowledge this is the third case of EHE with the involvement of the radius.</p

Association of Atherosclerotic Peripheral Arterial Disease with Adiponectin Genes SNP+45 and SNP+276: A Case-Control Study

Objectives. We hypothesized that adiponectin gene SNP+45 (rs2241766) and SNP+276 (rs1501299) would be associated with atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Furthermore, the association between circulating adiponectin levels, fetuin-A, and tumoral necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in patients with atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease was investigated. Method. Several blood parameters (such as adiponectin, fetuin-A, and TNF-α) were measured in 346 patients, 226 with atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and 120 without symptomatic PAD (non-PAD). Two common SNPs of the ADIPOQ gene represented by +45T/G 2 and +276G/T were also investigated. Results. Adiponectin concentrations showed lower circulating levels in the PAD patients compared to non-PAD patients (P<0.001). Decreasing adiponectin concentration was associated with increasing serum levels of fetuin-A in the PAD patients. None of the investigated adiponectin SNPs proved to be associated with the subjects’ susceptibility to PAD (P>0.05). Conclusion. The results of our study demonstrated that neither adiponectin SNP+45 nor SNP+276 is associated with the risk of PAD

Evaluation of Patients with Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease by Walking Tests: A Pilot Study

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) directly affects the quality of life, patients experimenting limited walking ability and disability. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the walking and climbing patterns of patients with lower extremity PAD in relation with several risk factors, applied on Romanian population. A cohort non-randomized design was conducted and all eligible subjects who self-referred for medical care since March 2016 until February 2017 at the Second Surgery Department, County Clinical Emergency Hospital of Cluj-Napoca were included. The eligible patients were older than 18 years, with leg pain and Rutherford grade from I to IV. The following tests were applied to each subject included in the study to investigate the capacity to walk as far as possible in six minute (6 minute walking test), the capacity to climb stairs (climbing stairs test) and the capacity to walk on a treadmill (treadmill test) until the pain occurred. Twenty-four patients with mean age of 65.08±8.53 years were investigated. Almost 81% of patients were with chronic pain, 46% were overweight, and 79% were smokers. The results on applied walking tests were as follows: 279.17±70.58 meters to 6-minutes walking test, 77.50±21.80 stairs and 182.50±73.34 meters on treadmill test. The results of the walking tests significantly correlate with each other (ρ>0.93, p|0.52|, p0.62, p<0.002). It can be concluded that any of the applied walking test proved reliable instrument, able to identify the patients with most severe PAD

Treatment with Sildenafil and Donepezil Improves Angiogenesis in Experimentally Induced Critical Limb Ischemia

Objectives. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the role of sildenafil (an antagonist of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5)) and donepezil (a specific and reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (Ach)) in increasing ischemia-induced angiogenesis. Method. Critical limb ischemia was induced by ligation of the common femoral artery followed by ligation of the common iliac artery. The operated animals were divided into 3 groups: receiving sildenafil, receiving donepezil, and surgery alone; the contralateral lower limb was used as a negative control. The results were controlled based on clinical score and Doppler ultrasound. Gastrocnemius muscle samples were taken from all animals, both from the ischemic and nonischemic limb and were used for histopathological and immunohistochemical examination for the evaluation of the number of nuclei/field, endothelial cells (CD31), dividing cells (Ki-67), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFR-3). Results. An increasing tendency of the number of nuclei/field with time was observed both in the case of sildenafil and donepezil treatment. The formation of new capillaries (the angiogenesis process) was more strongly influenced by donepezil treatment compared to sildenafil or no treatment. This treatment significantly influenced the capillary/fiber ratio, which was increased compared to untreated ligated animals. Sildenafil treatment led to a gradual increase in the number of dividing cells, which was significantly compared to the negative control group and compared to the ligation control group. The same effect (increase in the number of Ki-67 positive cells) was more obvious in the case of donepezil treatment. Conclusion. Donepezil treatment has a better effect in ligation-induced ischemia compared to sildenafil, promoting angiogenesis in the first place, and also arteriogenesis