Situation of oncological patients during COVID-19 pandemic with particular emphasis on lung cancer patients

Introduction and purpose: The purpose of this study is to review literature about alterations to treatment regimens to lung cancer during COVID-19 pandemic accessible on PubMed platform. In pulmonary neoplasms, early diagnosis and treatment is a key to ensure patient safety. Burdening of healthcare systems during pandemic has resulted in many obstacles in oncologic treatment. A brief description of the state of knowledge:  The lung cancer is the most frequent and the most deadly cancer in men and women. COVID-19 is a pulmonary infectious disease whose spread around the world has resulted in a pandemic. At the onset of the worldwide pandemic, many institutions, including healthcare facilities were closed, making it more difficult to provide oncological patients the treatment compliant with the standards. The anxiety of patients caused by the pandemic has caused delays in treatment that can cause progression of the disease. In patients with lung cancer mortality of COVID-19 was around 50%, which made their visits at hospital hazardous. Before the accessibility of anti-COVID-19 vaccines telemedical healthcare was one of the ways to provide healthcare to oncological patients. Conclusions: Patients with lung cancer are one of the risk groups of COVID-19. Delays in their treatment caused by the pandemic are potentially dangerous and negatively affect the therapy. Telemedicine is a useful too provide medical care, but has its own limitations

Circadian rhythm and heart disease - what is the link? A review

Introduction and purpose: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is still the leading cause of death worldwide and causes 49% of mortality in Europe. This makes CVD is the most important reason for premature mortality and Disability Adjusted Life Years (“DALYS”) in that continent. It is associated with variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, circulating catecholamines, markers of blood coagulation and vascular endothelial function which are dependent on different times of the day. The epidemiological data indicate that the biggest number of CVD incidents occur during the early morning hours. In this work we try to discuss the circadian rhythm and its impact on variables which, according to data, are most crucial on CV incident rate. Brief description of the state of knowledge: The cardiovascular disease and mortality risk is associated with variables such as morning blood pressure, fluctuations in metabolism rate or even in immunological response. These variables are dependent on the circadian rhythm. This article covers the most crucial components affected by the daily fluctuations considering the heart according to the literature from the last five years.  Conclusions: This review highlighted the link between circadian rhythm and cardiovascular disease with the purpose of focusing on the most important clinically aspects of that machinery from blood pressure to inflammation. Despite all of these exciting findings which could possibly have future implications in the field of cardiology, there is still a significant need to explore this complicated relationship between the biological clock and the heart.&nbsp

Sexual dysfunction in patients with MDD treated with SSRIs - causes, measurement and prevention

Major Depressive Disorder(MDD) is serious psychiatric condition and they affect one in five people during their lifetime, the annual prevalence rates for the US population are 7.1% among adults, slightly more common among women (8.7%) than men (5.3%). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are among the pharmacological agents most commonly used in the treatment of MDD. The mechanism of action of antidepressants is not yet fully understood. Currently, it is believed that the mechanism of the so-called down-regulation, i.e. reducing the density of receptors in the postsynaptic membrane, in this case mainly 5HT2 receptors. All of the antidepressants in use today have some common side effects. The side effect that will be discussed in the broadest possible way in this paper are sexual dysfunctions appearing during the therapy. Measuring the degree to which a given substance affects the sexual function of a patient diagnosed with MDD encounters many difficulties on its way. There are currently several questionnaires enabling such an assessment, the most common are CSFQ, ASEX and SexFX. Also the major problem is Post SSRI Sexual Disfunction. A number of animal studies have proven that prolonged exposure to SSRIs leave permanent changes in the CNS, but unfortunately, similar studies have not yet been conducted in humans. The aim of this study is to present the problem of sexual dysfunction as a side effect of SSRI therapy, to present the causes and to propose a strategy to combat SSRI-induced sexual dysfunctions

Epidemiology of fractures during COVID-19 pandemic: a short review

Summary Introduction and purpose: The purpose od this study is to describe changes in epidemiological trends of fractures, especially osteoporotic fractures, during COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, fractures in the young population were more frequent than in elderly population, because of more active lifestyle. A brief description of the state of knowledge: COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has effectively reduced people’s mobility and ability to travel. This has resulted in lowered rate of traumatogenic incidents that cause fractures, including traffic accidents and accidents during performing sport. When people spend more time at their homes, incidence of household fractures is growing, especially in elderly population. Osteoporosis makes bones of elderly people more suspectible to fracture. Majority of drugs used in treatmen for osteoporosis are said not to interact with risk or severity of COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, geriatric fractures have become one of the severe problems for healthcare systems. Isolation at people’s homes has resulted in increased rate of fractures occuring at home, especially in elderly population. Difficulties caused by pandemic made rates of properly performed osteoporotic treatment lower, increasing risk of fractures even more. Mortality after fractures has risen even in patients with negative result of testing for COVID-19

Mechanisms of drug resistance in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer affecting women and the most lethal cancer among the gynecological cancers. Because of the lack of specific symptoms and no special screening tools, it is recognised in an advanced stage. In addition, drug resistance in ovarian cancer is so frequent, that genes and cross-talks between some important pathways are still analysed. In this review, the major and recently identified molecular mechanisms of drug resistance, including platinum, taxane, bevacizumab and PARPi resistance mechanisms in ovarian cancer from relevant literature have been investigated

Risk factors of the gastric cancer – the short review

Introduction and purpose: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most frequent malignancies around the world. There were nearly 1 million new cases in 2018. Gastric malignancies have heterogeneous etiopathogenesis. Lifestyle, socioeconomic status, blood group A, medical condition, Helicobacter Pylori infection, family history, genetic polymorphism, diet, demographic characteristics, occupational exposure, ionizing radiation are considered as predisposing factors.Objective: The purpose of our study is to review a currently available data on PubMed about risk factors of gastric cancer to consider better understanding of gastric cancer etiology.A brief description of the state of knowledge: Current studies suggest that red meat, pickled vegetable or alcohol consumption, low socioeconomic status, cigarette smoking, blood group A and Helicobacter Pylori infection increase risk of GC. Decreased risk of gastric cancer is observed in case of white meat consumption, statin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intake. It seems that family history and other genetic predispositions may have a crucial role in gastric cancer development.Conclusions: Variety of environmental, genetic and medical factors are considered with an increased risk of gastric cancer. The awareness of its existence facilitates pathogenesis of gastric malignancies and enables the implementation of proper diagnostic procedures, screening programs and prophylaxis

Impact of physical activity on incidence of osteoporotic fractures - a review

Introduction and purpose: The purpose od this study is to describe influence of participating in sporting activities on health of the bones. Osteoporosis is a disease of elderly people in which bone mineral density lowers. Physical activity was reported to increase bone mineral density.A brief description of the state of knowledge: Better physical performance is a positive factor that lowers the possibility of fracturing the bones of the elderly. Another factor that plays protective role is lean body mass and development of muscles. Training in young age can help to increase the bone mineral density, but the effect ceases with the passing of time, being much lower after decades. Multiple genes have impact on bone mineral density of the individual. Professional athletes have usually higher bone mineral density, but accumulation of microdamage in their bones can result in stress fractures. Training in elderly age is proven to increase bone mineral density of an individual, especially performing weight-bearing sports.Conclusions: Physical activity has been proven to positively affect health in many ways. One of them is strengthening the bones by increasing bone mineral density. As it increases, the possibility to break the bone lowers, which makes it an effective way to support the fight against the osteoporosis. It is especially important for women, who are more susceptible to osteoporotic fractures in post-menopausal age

Vegan and vegetarian diet influence on bone health - a short review

Introduction and purpose: Vegan and vegetarian diets rise in popularity. Their succes can be attributed to growing ecological awarness and trends in culture. Opponents criticise these diets as incompletely nutritional. In this review, we would like to summarise the state of knowledge over effects of vegan and vegetarian diets on skeletal system.  Bone Mineral Density is a widely used indicator of likelyhood of fracture and develompent of osteoporosis. Comparing that parameter between vegans and vegetarians and non-vegans can lead to conclusions about bones’ health. A brief description of the state of knowledge: Lower intake of calcium and vitamins (D3, B12) in vegans and vegetarians can lead to lower bone mineral density and higher risk of fracture. Although, with supplementation of those nutrients negative effects are greatly reduced. Higher bone mineral density in non-vegetarian subjects can be result of higher body mass, gender and other factors. Plant-based diets are less acid-forming than their counterpart, resulting in lower bone resorption and reduced loss of calcium.   Conclusions: Vegan and vegetarian diet can result in lower boner mineral density. However, if applied correctly, with supplementation of lacking nutrients, or enriching the diet with dairy products it may not lead to any negative effects on bones. Substances contained in plants, more frequently eaten by vegans and vegetarians may have positive effects on bone mineral density

Prion diseases: fatal familial insomnia

Introduction. Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is one of the transmissible spongiform encephathalopathies characterized by neuronal loss, sleep impairment, subsequent non-specific disturbances of autonomic nervous system (e.g. tachycardia) and endocrine dysfunctions. It is fatal autosomal dominant prion disease, which is extremaly rare- FFI affects only about one person per milion annually. The aim of this study is to review the literature and systematize knowledge about fatal familial insomnia.Brief description of the state of knowledge. The causative agent of this disease is a misfolded version of the physiological prion protein called PrP(Sc) in the brain.  Major vulnerable regions in FFI are mediodorsal and anterior ventral nuclei of the thalamus.  Average  survival time after the onset of symptoms is 18 months. Hence molecular mechanisms involved in pathogenesis are poorly understood, the disease is incureable yet. However, there are a number of therapeutic options currently under investigation, e.g. immunotherapy or doxycycline usage.Conclusions. Subsequent researches are essential to improve understending of fatal familial insomnia. The prime issue is to develop functioning therapeutic or preventive treatment. While some of presented terapeutic approches appers promising, all of them require profoud research

Current prospects of urine cytology in diagnosis and follow-up urinary tract malignancies - the short review

Introduction and purpose: Cytology of urine sediment is a diagnostic tool used to screen for urinary tract lesions in two cases: surveillance of patients with a history of urothelial malignancies and patients with unexplained, new onset haematuria. Since 2015 histopathological laboratories have been able to report urine cytology according to The Paris System (TPS).  Current studies suggest usefulness of urinary cytology in follow-up of urinary tract malignancies, especially urinary bladder cancer, which is the 13th most deadly throughout the world being responsible for 200 000 deaths in 2018 among neoplasms.Objective: To review currently available data on PubMed about usefulness urine cytology reporting in follow-up and diagnosis of urinary tract malignancies.A brief description of the state of knowledge: Advantages of urine cytology examination contain non-invasiveness, high specificity, lower cost than cystoscopy and enable immunohistochemistry performance as well. Implementation of The Paris System for reporting urine cytology has created an universally acceptable and globally used report system. Reporting according to TPS significantly reduced the number of cases described as atypical changes.Conclusions: Urinary cytology is used to supplement endoscopic evaluation of the urinary tract in the screening and the surveillance of urothelial carcinoma. The Paris System for reporting urinary cytology has clarified the diagnostic categories of urine sediment examination. Cystoscopy and urine cytology are the standard tools for monitoring urinary tract malignancies.</p