Macrolides for the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis: an effective application of their unique pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile (Review).

Chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) is a persistent infection of the prostate characterized by poor quality of life mainly due to frequent relapse episodes caused by incomplete eradication of causative pathogens. Aggressive antibacterial therapy is required to attenuate the severe symptoms of CBP and to achieve a permanent cure. Although fluoroquinolones are currently recommended as first-choice agents, macrolide antibiotics are emerging as a noteworthy option for the treatment of CBP. Macrolide antibiotics are characterized by an impressive array of distinct pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties. These properties include high intracellular accumulation in phagocytes and at sites of infection, including the prostate; broad antibiotic but also biofilm-inhibiting properties; immunomodulating and inflammation-resolving activities. These features offer particular advantages for the treatment of chronic infections of the prostate gland, which are not easily amenable to drug therapy. Macrolides may be exploited to counteract the unsatisfactory rates of clinical symptom improvement and pathogen eradication. The results of a number of clinical trials support this proposal

Effects of Environmental Factors on Severity and Mortality of COVID-19

Background: Most respiratory viruses show pronounced seasonality, but for SARS-CoV-2, this still needs to be documented. Methods: We examined the disease progression of COVID-19 in 6,914 patients admitted to hospitals in Europe and China. In addition, we evaluated progress of disease symptoms in 37,187 individuals reporting symptoms into the COVID Symptom Study application. Findings: Meta-analysis of the mortality risk in seven European hospitals estimated odds ratios per 1-day increase in the admission date to be 0.981 (0.973-0.988, p <0.001) and per increase in ambient temperature of 1 degrees C to be 0.854 (0.773-0.944, p = 0.007). Statistically significant decreases of comparable magnitude in median hospital stay, probability of transfer to the intensive care unit, and need for mechanical ventilation were also observed in most, but not all hospitals. The analysis of individually reported symptoms of 37,187 individuals in the UK also showed the decrease in symptom duration and disease severity with time. Interpretation: Severity of COVID-19 in Europe decreased significantly between March and May and the seasonality of COVID-19 is the most likely explanation.Peer reviewe

Correlation between synovial fluid and serum IL-1β levels after ACL surgery–preliminary report

The possibility of controlling the harmful intra-articular influence of elevated interleukin (IL)-1β synovial fluid concentration after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery could be useful. We investigated the correlation between serum and synovial fluid IL-1β levels following ACL reconstruction. We measured IL-1β concentration periodically in three synovial fluid and four serum samples in each of 20 patients receiving either autologous conditioned serum (ACS) containing endogenous anti-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1Ra and several growth factors (group A) or placebo (group B). A decrease in IL-1β synovial fluid concentration appeared to be more pronounced in absolute terms in group A. In eight patients serum IL-1β was detected on the 6th postoperative day. In four of them whose synovial fluid levels were over 10 pg/ml on the 6th postoperative day, serum IL-1β was detected on the 10th postoperative day. The results were different in group B. Correlation between serum and synovial fluid IL-1β appearance persists in patients after ACL surgery and ACS application. This study is an example of ACS influence on the ACL healing process controlling the IL-1β levels on the basis of the serum IL-1β detection