Nutritional aspects and cardiovascular risk in systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVE: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus present with a higher number of classic risk factors for coronary diseases and a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome resulting from the disease itself. To evaluate the nutritional indicators of the cardiovascular risk of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus by analyzing eating habits, anthropometry, laboratory data, and disease activity and to describe the prevalence of patients fulfilling the criteria for metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Anthropometric measurements including waist circumference, food recall, and laboratory tests. RESULTS: The population presented an insufficient daily intake of micronutrients. Anthropometry revealed that 37.5% of the patients were classified with degree II obesity by body mass index and 76.8% by abdominal obesity. Regarding metabolic syndrome, 18 patients (16%) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus presented with increased risk factors, as determined using anthropometric measurements and laboratory tests, for cardiovascular disease, indicating the need for nutritional guidance in this population to reduce cardiovascular risk, increase the quality of life, and increase survival of these patients

Natinuel – a new option for acne vulgaris treatment

Acne vulgaris is a chronic dermatoses with genetic predisposition. Natinuel products reperesent a new effective and well tolerated remedies for acne vulgaris treatment.Acneea vulgară este o dermatoză cronică autolimitată, ce apare pe un teren predispus genetic. La nivel global, în anul 2015, aceasta afecta 9,4% din populaţie, acneea fiind astfel a VIII-a boală ca frecvenţă din lume. Ghidurile terapeutice actuale includ: tratamente topice (retinoizi, antibiotice, peeling cu acid glicolic sau acid salicilic, injecţii intralezionale cu steroizi, fototerapie sau laseroterapie) și tratamente sistemice (hormonoterapie, antibioticoterapie, retinoizi). Varietatea opţiunilor terapeutice demonstrează faptul că nu există încă o terapie ideală, căutarea soluţiei optime pentru fiecare pacient reprezentând o continuă provocare pentru dermatolog. Prezentăm, în lucrarea de faţă, rezultatele obţinute prin utilizarea unor produse noi pe piaţa din România, din gama Natinuel. Aceste produse reprezintă un altfel de tratament topic și o soluţie pentru cazurile grave de acnee. Rezultatele obţinute de noi recomandă utilizarea gamei Natinuel pentru toate formele de acnee, indiferent de gravitatea acesteia sau de localizare

Fears and beliefs of people living with rheumatoid arthritis : a systematic literature review

Objective: To assess the main fears and beliefs of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their effect on treatment outcomes; Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted in Pubmed/Medline; original articles published up to May 2017, reporting fears and/or beliefs of adult patients with RA were analyzed. Fears and beliefs were collected by two independent researchers and grouped into categories. Results: Among 474 references identified, 84 were analyzed, corresponding to 24,336 RA patients. Fears were reported in 38.4% of the articles (N = 32/84): most studies described fears related to pharmacological therapy (50.0%, N = 16/32) and fear of disability (28.1%, N = 9/32). Beliefs were reported in 88.0% of articles (N = 74/84) and were found to moderate the patient-perceived impact of RA in 44.6% (N = 33/74), mainly the emotional impact (18.9%, N = 14/74); measures of function, quality of life, fatigue and pain were also found to be affected by patients’ beliefs in 8.1% (N = 6/74), 6.8% (N = 5/74), 2.7% (N = 2/74) and 2.7% (N = 2/74) of the articles, respectively. Beliefs about therapy were linked to adherence in 17.6% of articles (N = 13/74) and beliefs about cause of RA predicted coping patterns in 12.2% of publications (N = 9/74). Only 9.5% (N = 8/84) of articles reported fears and/or beliefs of patients living outside Europe and North America: there was only one work which recruited patients in Latin America and no article included patients from Africa. Conclusion: In RA, patients’ beliefs are linked to impact of disease and non-adherence. Further research is needed on fears/ beliefs of patients living outside Europe and North America

A new diagnostic approach in skin malignancies

The prevalence of skin malignancies is grownig rapidly. Determination of the gene mutations, which predispose to the skin cancer, lights up some new pathogenic aspects. Neoplazia cutanată reprezintă un subiect de actualitate prin creşterea numărului de cazuri de la an la an. 1 din 3 neoplazii este un cancer cutanat şi 2-3 milioane non-melanoma skin cancer apar anual la nivel global. Dintre acestea, melanomul este responsabil de 80% din decesele cauzate de o afecţiune cutanată. Întrucât probele arhivate sub formă de bloc inclus la parafină reprezintă cea mai mare bază de posibil material pentru un studiu, prezentăm în cele ce urmează 3 metode diferite de extragere a ADN-ului în vederea evidenţierii unor posibile mutaţii genice.Neoplazia cutanată reprezintă un subiect de actualitate prin creşterea numărului de cazuri de la an la an. 1 din 3 neoplazii este un cancer cutanat şi 2-3 milioane non-melanoma skin cancer apar anual la nivel global. Dintre acestea, melanomul este responsabil de 80% din decesele cauzate de o afecţiune cutanată. Întrucât probele arhivate sub formă de bloc inclus la parafină reprezintă cea mai mare bază de posibil material pentru un studiu, prezentăm în cele ce urmează 3 metode diferite de extragere a ADN-ului în vederea evidenţierii unor posibile mutaţii genice

Skin photoprotection – a necessary modern tool

Photoprotection is a natural or artificial tool for skin protection against sunlight. Natuel products reperesent a combined highly effictive solution for protection of the skin againts UVB, as well as UVA light. Fotoprotecţia reprezintă acele mijloace naturale sau artificiale, care au ca scop protejarea pielii împotriva efectelor nocive ale radiaţiilor solare. UVB sunt eritematogenice, carcinogenice, induc fotoîmbătrânirea şi pot avea efect mutagenic asupra acizilor nucleici – ARN şi ADN. UVA sunt mai puţin eritematogenice, dar promovează acumularea de ROS. ROS induc, de asemenea, afectare celulară directă, carcinogeneză şi contribuie la procesul de fotoîmbătrânire. Radiaţiile UV sunt absorbite la nivelul pielii de către melanină, ADN, ARN, apă, proteine, lipide, aminoacizi aromatici. Prezentăm, în lucrarea de faţă, o nouă opţiune de fotoprotecţie, o cremă cu SPF 50+ din gama Natinuel, care reuşeşte să combine ingrediente active de o mare valoare pentru sănătatea pielii, cu filtre solare ce absorb şi reflectă radiaţiile, atât cele de tip UVB, cât şi cele de tip UVA.Fotoprotecţia reprezintă acele mijloace naturale sau artificiale, care au ca scop protejarea pielii împotriva efectelor nocive ale radiaţiilor solare. UVB sunt eritematogenice, carcinogenice, induc fotoîmbătrânirea şi pot avea efect mutagenic asupra acizilor nucleici – ARN şi ADN. UVA sunt mai puţin eritematogenice, dar promovează acumularea de ROS. ROS induc, de asemenea, afectare celulară directă, carcinogeneză şi contribuie la procesul de fotoîmbătrânire. Radiaţiile UV sunt absorbite la nivelul pielii de către melanină, ADN, ARN, apă, proteine, lipide, aminoacizi aromatici. Prezentăm, în lucrarea de faţă, o nouă opţiune de fotoprotecţie, o cremă cu SPF 50+ din gama Natinuel, care reuşeşte să combine ingrediente active de o mare valoare pentru sănătatea pielii, cu filtre solare ce absorb şi reflectă radiaţiile, atât cele de tip UVB, cât şi cele de tip UVA

Urinary soluble VCAM-1 is a useful biomarker of disease activity and treatment response in lupus nephritis

Introduction: Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is involved in the progression of glomerular and tubulointerstitial injury in lupus nephritis (LN) and can be easily assessed in urine. The aim of this study was to assess urinary soluble VCAM-1 (uVCAM-1) as a biomarker of disease activity and treatment response in LN. Methods: This prospective study enrolled 62 patients with class III, IV or V LN diagnosed within the last 3 years and divided them in two groups: with and without active nephritis at the inclusion, each group with 31 patients. At each visit, a urine sample was collected for uVCAM-1 evaluation and the nephritis status was assessed. Results: Median uVCAM-1 level was elevated in patients with active compared to inactive LN (P < 0.001). The ROC curve of uVCAM-1 demonstrated an AUC of 0.84 and a cutoff of 47.2 ng/mgCr yielded a good sensitivity (74.2%) and specificity (74.2%) for the diagnosis of active LN. A significant correlation was found between uVCAM-1 level and renal activity scores and traditional biomarkers of LN. The level of uVCAM-1 dropped in patients with active LN who went into remission (P < 0.001), increased in patients who went into activity (P = 0.002) and did not change in patients who remained inactive (P = 0.797). The level of uVCAM-1 peaked during the flare of LN (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The uVCAM-1 is a reliable biomarker that reflects renal disease activity and is useful for monitoring individual patients with lupus nephritis over time