Metformin and Its Benefits in Improving Gut Microbiota Disturbances in Diabetes Patients

The human gastrointestinal tract presents a vastly population of microorganisms, called the microbiota. The presence of these microorganisms offers many benefits to the host, through a range of physiological functions. However, there is a potential for these mechanisms to be disrupted condition, known as dysbiosis. Recent results are showing important associations between diabetes and the gut microbiota and how the intestinal flora can influence the prognosis of this illness. Microbial intestinal imbalance has been linked to alterations in insulin sensitivity and in glucose metabolism and may play an important role in the development of diabetes. Metformin is one of the most important and widely used first-line medications for the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D). It is a complex drug with multiple sites of action and multiple molecular mechanisms. In recent years, attention has been directed to other modes of action, other than the classic ones, with increasing evidence of a major key role of the intestine. By analysing the effects of metformin on the homeostasis of the microbiota of diabetes patients, our present topic becomes one of the major importance in understanding how metformin therapy can improve gut microbiota dysbiosis and thus provide a better outcome for this illness

A mobile detector for measurements of the atmospheric muon flux in underground sites

Muons comprise an important contribution of the natural radiation dose in air (approx. 30 nSv/h of a total dose rate of 65-130 nSv/h), as well as in underground sites even when the flux and relative contribution are significantly reduced. The flux of the muons observed in underground can be used as an estimator for the depth in mwe (meter water equivalent) of the underground site. The water equivalent depth is an important information to devise physics experiments feasible for a specific site. A mobile detector for performing measurements of the muon's flux was developed in IFIN-HH, Bucharest. Consisting of 2 scintillator plates (approx. 0.9 m2) which measure in coincidence, the detector is installed on a van which facilitates measurements at different locations at surface or underground. The detector was used to determine muon fluxes at different sites in Romania. In particular, data were taken and the values of meter water equivalents were assessed for several locations from the salt mine from Slanic Prahova, Romania. The measurements have been performed in 2 different galleries of the Slanic mine at different depths. In order to test the stability of the method, also measure- ments of the muon flux at surface at different elevations were performed. The results were compared with predictions of Monte-Carlo simulations using the CORSIKA and MUSIC codes

Ovarian cancer – where are we today?

Despite progress reported in terms of paraclinical tests and imagistic studies, ovarian cancer represents one of the most lethal malignancies affecting women worldwide. Therefore attention was focused on identifying new prognostic markers in order to better identify candidates for primary cytoreductive surgery versus interval debulking surgery. Moreover, the wide introduction of the concept of personalized medicine gave the opportunity to benefit from more targeted treatments according to each patient needs and particularities. This is a literature review of the current status of ovarian cancer worldwide

The significance of preoperative thrombocytosis in ovarian cancer patients

The presence of an increased number of platelets has been demonstrated to be significantly associated with the presence of different types of malignancies, especially when it comes to gynecological cancers and seems to be associated with a poorer prognosis. This fact has been widely studied in order to better understand the physiopathology of the phenomenon, the impact on the overall outcomes and to validate new therapeutic lines for such cases. The aim of the current paper is to review the most important studies conducted on this issue

The impact of thrombocytosis on the long term outcomes in relapsed ovarian cancer

The presence of thrombocytosis has been widely associated with poor prognostic in patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the time of the initial diagnostic. Once this fact has been widely accepted, attention was focused on studying whether this biological parameter could be also a diagnostic tool for identifying patients with poorer outcomes at the time of secondary cytoreduction. Therefore the most commonly encountered questions are whether patients presenting thrombocytosis at the time of primary cytoreduction are expected to have also thrombocytosis at the time of relapse and if thrombocytosis at the time relapse is corelated with lower disease free intervals, with higher rates of incomplete debulking and with poorer rates of overall survival respectively. This is a literature review of the most relevant studies conducted on this issue

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in ovarian cancer – a new prognostic marker?

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio represents a novel prognostic marker which is usually associated with the presence of proinflammatory conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome or certain benign and even malignant diseases. Moreover, in cases in which a malignant condition is present, the value of the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio also seems to be positively correlated with the biological agressivity of the tumor. The aim of the current paper is to discuss about the most relevant studies which discuss about the role of this parameter as a new biological marker in ovarian cancer patients

Understanding the relationship between circulating platelets and epithelial to mesenchymal transition – a step towards in discovering new epithelial ovarian cancer targeted therapies

In the last decades understanding the relationship between the circulating platelets and the biological aggressivity of ovarian cancer gave the opportunity to researchers to introduce new therapeutic lines in ovarian cancer patients with promising results. Therefore, this subject has become intensively studied and surprising correlation ships have been observed. One of the most recently investigated issues regards the influence of circulating platelets on epithelial ovarian cancer refers to the platelets’ ability to induce the epithelial to mesenchymal transition. The current paper aims to discuss about this subject and about the clinical implications of the process

Sarcopenia and ovarian cancer

Defined as the loss of the muscular mass, sarcopenia is a common finding in neoplastic patients, multiple mechanisms such as nutritional deficiency, proinflammatory tumoral related status or physical inactivity being cited. However, the loss of the muscular mass in such cases is associated with significant impact in regard to the type of treatment in such cases; in consequence, as expected the disease-free survival and overall survival might be influenced. The aim of the current paper is to discuss about the most important mechanisms leading to sarcopenia in ovarian cancer patients as well as the impact on the long-term outcomes

Axillary metastases from ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer remains one of the most aggressive gynecological malignancies after cervical and endometrial cancer especially due to the multiple patterns of spread cited so far. Although it has been stated that the peritoneal route is the most dangerous pattern of spread leading to the apparition of disseminated intraabdominal lesions, other pathways such as hematogenous or lymphatic route can be also important, leading to the apparition of abdominal and extra-abdominal metastases. The aim of the current paper is to discuss about the risk of developing axillary metastases from ovarian cancer primaries

Prognostic significance of mesenteric lymph node involvement in advanced stage ovarian cancer

Although multiple studies have been conducted so far on the issue of advanced stage ovarian cancer, the overall prognostic of these patients reports a wide variety even in cases in which complete debulking surgery is feasible. Therefore, attention was focused on identifying other prognostic markers which might influence the long term outcomes of these patients. In this paper special attention was focused on studying the impact of mesenteric lymph node involvement in advanced stage ovarian cancer