Depression development in patients with OA, and its impact on treatment outcome - a literature review

Introduction and aim of the study: Osteoarthritis (OA) and depression are leading causes of disease burden worldwide and important public health problems. A number of recent studies reported depression as a comorbidity of OA and its impact on reduced quality of life and worse treatment outcome of OA patients. The clinical management strategies of those patients still haven’t been developed, which is a challenge of future research on this topic. The aim of this review is to shed a light on important aspects of depression relationship with OA including its prevalence among OA patients and its influence on course and treatment of OA with a purpose of increasing awareness of this problem among physicians which may subsequently lead to a better overall medical care of patients with OA and depression. Methods and materials: This literature review is based on articles published in the PubMed database, GoogleScholar, ScienceDirect, and available medical textbooks. Conclusions: Recent literature reports a higher prevalence of depression among OA patients when compared to general population and its impact on osteoarthritis course, both on psychological and biomolecular level. Future research may lead to a better understanding of molecular background of depression and OA interrelation and to more complex and individualized management strategies which may result in a better outcome of treatment and improved life quality of osteoarthritis patients. Therefore, in order to optimize management of OA patients, physicians should pay more attention to depression and use multidisciplinary approach including assessment of mental health status to develop a more effective strategies of medical care in osteoarthritis

Anticoagulants - The Past, The Present, The Future - A Systematic Review

Introduction: Anticoagulants have been discovered and developed over past 100 years. At the beginning unfractionated heparin found its applications, just later to fade into the background of newer and more effective drugs. Patients have been treated with  more progressive medications – Low-Molecule-Weight Heparin (LMWH), Vitamin K Antagonists (VKA) and Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOAC). As for today, deemed a turning point in anticoagulant therapy are inhibitors of factor XI. It is a ground-breaking innovation as it ensures high prevention of thrombotic episodes and guarantees intact physiological hemostasis.Current State of Knowledge: The coagulation cascade and molecules part taking in that have been discovered and described extensively and in detail. Unfractionated heparin is the oldest out of all and despite its simple action mechanism and adverse effects, is still a requested drug. Its lighter form, low-molecule-weight-heparin (LMWH) is an enhancement to the previous treatment due to its higher bioavailability and fewer side effects. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are widely spread in medical environment thanks to their expanded mechanism of action, oral administration and reversibility of their overdose, as well as their well-developed anti-side effect therapy. Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) have been introduced to the market about 10 years ago. In spite of NOACs short period of clinical use, they were a huge change to the previous treating methods. Currently, the newest innovation in anticoagulant therapy are inhibitors of factor XI and its clinical trials outcome is promising for the future.Summary:  The present article discusses history of anticoagulant drugs, their mechanism of action and usage but also focuses on the recent perspectives and developments as new anticoagulant drugs are being put to the test in therapeutic trials. The review underlines the importance of improvements in old therapeutic methods and exploring the new, more suitable ones

Will Tirzepatide become a game-changer in the pharmacological treatment of obesity? - literature review

Introduction and objective: Obesity has become an important public health issue in Poland. Furthermore, it is one of the most common preventable causes of diseases and mortality. Pharmacological methods of treating obesity have been developing significantly in recent years.Tirzepatide is a new dual incretin receptor agonist that activates both GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptors. The aim of this review is to assess the effectiveness of this medication in reducing body weight. Current state of knowledge: According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) in Poland, 65% of men and 49% of women are struggling with the issue of excessive body weight [1]. Obesity in Polish society is steadily increasing in every age group. However, it affects most significantly children aged 7-13 years and adolescents. In 2022, the novel dual GLP and GIP-1 agonist has been registered for the treatment of type 2 diabetes which is not satisfactorily controlled. It can be also used together with diet and physical activity in patients diagnosed with obesity (BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more) or who are overweight (BMI 27-30 kg/m2) and have weight-related health problems such as hypertension, metabolic syndrome, dislipidaemia and diabetes mellitus [2]. Summary: The increasing prevalence of obesity leads to a dynamic search for the most effective pharmacological methods of treating obesity. The combined activation of GLP-1 and GIP receptors by Tirzepatide has been shown to have additional benefits beyond satisfying glucose control. The biological mechanism of action of this medication additionally causes decreased food intake, slowed gastric emptying and enhanced insulin secretion, all of which can contribute to weight reduction

Anticoagulants - The Past, The Present, The Future - A Systematic Review

Introduction: Anticoagulants have been discovered and developed over past 100 years. At the beginning unfractionated heparin found its applications, just later to fade into the background of newer and more effective drugs. Patients have been treated with  more progressive medications – Low-Molecule-Weight Heparin (LMWH), Vitamin K Antagonists (VKA) and Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOAC). As for today, deemed a turning point in anticoagulant therapy are inhibitors of factor XI. It is a ground-breaking innovation as it ensures high prevention of thrombotic episodes and guarantees intact physiological hemostasis.Current State of Knowledge: The coagulation cascade and molecules part taking in that have been discovered and described extensively and in detail. Unfractionated heparin is the oldest out of all and despite its simple action mechanism and adverse effects, is still a requested drug. Its lighter form, low-molecule-weight-heparin (LMWH) is an enhancement to the previous treatment due to its higher bioavailability and fewer side effects. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are widely spread in medical environment thanks to their expanded mechanism of action, oral administration and reversibility of their overdose, as well as their well-developed anti-side effect therapy. Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) have been introduced to the market about 10 years ago. In spite of NOACs short period of clinical use, they were a huge change to the previous treating methods. Currently, the newest innovation in anticoagulant therapy are inhibitors of factor XI and its clinical trials outcome is promising for the future.Summary:  The present article discusses history of anticoagulant drugs, their mechanism of action and usage but also focuses on the recent perspectives and developments as new anticoagulant drugs are being put to the test in therapeutic trials. The review underlines the importance of improvements in old therapeutic methods and exploring the new, more suitable ones

Zagrożenia zdrowotne wśród dzieci i młodzieży. T. 1

Praca recenzowana / Peer-reviewed pape

Problems and Implementation of Liquid Flows in Automated Microdispensing Stations

Celem opisanego w artykule projektu było opracowanie założeń do automatycznego prowadzenia w inżynierii biomedycznej procesów mikrodozowania cieczy o objętości porcji rzędu 0,5 μl. Przedstawiono budowę wybranych do badań typowych, katalogowych dozowników, niegwarantujących jednak osiągnięcia objętości wymienionej porcji cieczy. Podano zestaw najważniejszych zależności, zjawisk i współczynników charakteryzujących mikroprzepływy cieczy oraz ich zapis, wykorzystany w kalkulatorze procesorowego sterownika zautomatyzowanym procesem mikrodozowania. Opisano budowę stanowiska pomiarowego procesu mikrodozowania, pozwalającego na eksperymentalną weryfikację jakości mikrodozowania cieczy z wykorzystaniem typowych dozowników, opracowanych zależności oraz procesorowego sterownika tego procesu. W podsumowaniu podano rozbieżności między znanymi w elektrohydraulice i hydrotronice formułami teoretycznymi i ich modelami a obserwowanymi w praktyce zjawiskami mikroprzepływu tych cieczy przez przebadane głowice dozowników oraz wyniki zautomatyzowanego mikroporcjowania, spełniające wszystkie podane założenia tego procesu.The aim of the project described in the article was to develop assumptions for the automatic management of liquid microdosing processes with a volume of 0.5 μl in biomedical engineering. The structure of typical, catalog dispensers selected for testing, which does not guarantee the achievement of the volume of the mentioned portion of liquid, is presented. A set of the most important dependencies, phenomena and coefficients characterizing liquid microflows and their record, used in the calculator of the processor controller for the automated microdosing process, was given. The construction of a micro-dosing process measuring station, allowing for experimental verification of the quality of micro-dosing of liquids with the use of typical dispensers, developed dependencies and a processor controller of this process, was described by tested dispenser heads and the results of automated microportioning, meeting all the given assumptions of this process

Innowacyjny koncept budowy robota bionicznego dla zastosowań społecznych w felinoterapii

The paper describes an innovative design of a bionic robot for applications in felinotherapy supporting hospital and home psychotherapeutic treatment of bedridden children and adults. The project was engineered by biomimicrating a biological cat, reaching its robotic model. Particular attention in this process was devoted to capturing the essence of feline motorics behavior and the possibility of mapping them in a mechatronic model. The geometry, kinematics and kinetics of this model were analyzed, creating assumptions for its practical implementation in the real mechanism of cat skeleton movement. The used software used the topology of elements in Autodesk Fusion 360 Simulation workspace by performing the critical elements of the mechatronic model in print using SLS technology. The work was also supported by a graphical simulation in the PyBullet environment.W pracy opisano innowacyjny projekt bionicznego robokota dla zastosowań w felinoterapii, wspomagającej szpitalne i domowe leczenie psychoterapeutyczne obłożnie chorych dzieci i dorosłych. Projekt zrealizowano inżyniersko przez biomimikrowanie biologicznego kota, dochodząc do jego robotycznego modelu. Szczególną uwagę w tym procesie poświęcono uchwyceniu istoty kocich zachowań ruchowych i możliwości ich odwzorowania w mechatronicznym modelu. Przeprowadzono analizę geometrii, kinematyki i kinetyki tego modelu, tworząc założenia jego praktycznej realizacji w rzeczywistym mechanizmie kociego ruchu. W wykorzystanym oprogramowaniu korzystano z topologii elementów w obszarze roboczym Autodesk Fusion 360 Simulation, wykonując krytyczne elementy mechatronicznego modelu drukiem, w technologii SLS. Prace wspomagano także symulacją graficzną w środowisku PyBullet

Characterization of mixed langmuir monolayers of cyclosporine a with the phospholipid dppc at the chitosan subphase

The properties of one-component and mixed monolayers of phospholipid 1,2–dipalmitoyl–sn–glycero–3–phosphocholine (DPPC) and polypeptide cyclosporine A (CsA) on the chitosan subphase were studied. DPPC is the main component that builds biological membranes, and CsA is an immunosuppressive drug typically used in medicine to prevent transplant rejections. The stability and reversibility of compression of these insoluble monolayers in the presence of chitosan (Ch) were examined by the Langmuir technique. The stability of the monolayers depended on the monolayer composition as well as the initial pressure (π0) of the relaxation process. The smallest changes in the relative pressure as a function of time were obtained at π0 = 10 mN/m. During compression–decompression cycles, the effect of chitosan was noticeable and caused isotherm shifts