Annals of medicine
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 continues to have a serious impact on public health worldwide. Most patients develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment, but up to 15% develop severe (dyspnea, hypoxia, lung involvement) or critical symptoms (respiratory failure, septic shock, thromboembolism, multiorgan dysfunction). Although vaccination is having a substantial impact on case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths, there remains a need for new effective treatments against COVID-19. ⋯ Recommendations and guidelines for clinical practice should be regularly updated as further evidence becomes available in favour or against specific interventions, to inform all stakeholders involved in the health care of COVID-19 patients both in the community and in the hospital setting, aiming at improving the quality of care and therefore the patient outcome.KEY MESSAGESCOVID-19 has been recognized as a multisystem disorder affecting many body systems; this wide spectrum of clinical patterns made difficult an appropriate choice of treatments able to counteract severe symptoms of the disease and alleviate the burden on the healthcare system.New effective drugs, like antiviral medications and monoclonal antibodies, have been developed and approved by the European Medicines Agency as therapy against severe and life-threatening disease courses.Recommendations and guidelines should be regularly updated as further evidence becomes available in favour or against specific interventions aiming at improving the quality of care and therefore the patient outcome.
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Epidemiologic evidence of the effect of dietary selenium intake on stroke risk remains controversial. This study aimed to examine the cross-sectional correlation between dietary selenium intake and the risk of stroke in adults. ⋯ Dietary selenium had a negative and non-linear correlation with the risk of stroke in adults. The correlation varied across different population subgroups.KEY MESSAGESDietary selenium had a negative and non-linear correlation with the risk of stroke in adults.Non-linear negative correlation trends were observed in subpopulations of females, age <60 years, poverty-income ratio <2.14, overweight and obesity, hypertension, non-diabetes, and non-anaemia.Dietary selenium intake of approximately 105 μg per day has an optimum effect on stroke.
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During endochondral bone development, a complex process that leads to the formation of the majority of skeletal elements, mesenchymal cells condense, differentiating into chondrocytes and producing the foetal growth plate. Chondrocytes progressively hypertrophy, induce angiogenesis and are then gradually replaced by bone. Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), one of many growth factors, is the prototype of the EGF-ligand family, which comprises several proteins involved in cell proliferation, migration and survival. ⋯ EGF signalling is essential in the very early stages of limb development by maintaining cells in an undifferentiated stage. EGF pathway positively regulates chondrocyte proliferation, negatively modulates hypertrophy, and favours cartilage replacement by bone. EGF and EGF-like proteins finely tune the proliferation and differentiation of bone tissue cells, and they also regulate the initial phases of endochondral ossification.
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Hamstring injuries are among the most common muscle injuries. They have been reported in many different sports, such as running, soccer, track and field, rugby, and waterskiing. However, they are also present among the general population. ⋯ KEY MESSAGEsSurgical treatment of hamstring tendon ruptures leads to high satisfaction and return to sport rates. Both complete and partial hamstring tendon ruptures have better results after acute surgical repair, when compared to cases treated surgically later. Athletes with hamstring tendon ruptures should be treated more aggressively with operative methods.
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Sarcoidosis is a heterogeneous disease, which can affect virtually every body organ, even though lungs and intra thoracic lymph nodes are almost universally affected. The presence of noncaseating granulomas is the histopathological hallmark of the disease, and clinical picture depends on the organs affected. Data about interaction between sarcoidosis and comorbidities, such as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, autoimmune disorders, malignancy and drug-related adverse events are limited. ⋯ In the diagnostic workup, a distinction must be made between sarcoidosis-related complaints and complaints caused by other separate disorders. It can be very difficult to distinguish between complications of sarcoidosis and other concomitant conditions. The coexistence of multiple conditions may complicate the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, affect its natural course and response to treatment.