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Expression of HER2, CD34, and EBV infection in gastric cancer, do they relate?
Get PDFIntroduction: Gastric cancer (GC), as a multifactorial disease, exhibits a complex pathogenesis, having intra and inter-tumor heterogeneity, challenging the efficacy of current treatments. GC is a major global health problem, and better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are needed, leading to further biomarkers research associated with innovative targeted therapies. Our aim was to study human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), Epstein Barr virus (EBV), and CD34 expression in GC samples to understand the relationship between these markers and relate them with the clinicopathological characteristics.
Methods: Thirty samples of primary carcinoma gastrectomy cases performed between February 2017 and December 2021 at the Hospital Distrital da Figueira da Foz, EPE, were studied after approval by the Ethics Committee. Immunohistochemistry assays were performed in sections of the selected tumor representative samples.
Results: All samples were negative for EBV and only two GC samples were positive for HER2. A significant statistical relationship was found between gender and CD34+ stroma cells. Microvascular density and stroma CD34+ cells presented relations with clinicopathological features and a positive tendency between them. Our study was able to identify a relationship between CD34+ stroma cells and females.
Conclusion: With this study, we mainly explored the potential role of CD34 as a biomarker in GC and projected possible associations of prognostic and therapeutic value toward other HER2 and EBV markers
The importance of social support for elderly people
Get PDFIntroduction: Social support is not a one-way relationship but is based on the connections people have with other people, groups, and the wider community. This study aimed to assess the perception of social support by people in the third age and to investigate the correlation of social support with the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 147 elderly people who actively use the services of the Center for Health Promotion and Improvement “Generacija” in Sarajevo. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to assess social perceptions.
Results: The results show a weak negative relationship between age and the total scale (r = −0.199, p = 0.05), with older people having lower scores on the total scale. A significant relationship was found between the subscale other factors and age (r = −0.202, p = 0.05). The evaluation of the performance of daily activities correlates weakly with the evaluation of the friend’s subscale (r = 0.186, p = 0.05). The friend’s subscale correlates significantly with the quality of social life (r = 0.227, p = 0.05). The subjective assessment of the quality of social life after arriving at the center showed a correlation with the overall scale score (r = 0.182, p = 0.05) and especially with the friend subscale (r = 0.219, p = 0.05), with the increase in social life and the subscales examined in both cases.
Conclusion: Users of the “Generacija” center rate social support on the MSPSS with high scores, with users receiving the most support from family. The sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents have an impact on the perception of social support by the users of the Center for Health Promotion and Improvement “Generacija,” more specifically; they were statistically significantly influenced by age, the way of performing daily activities, the quality of social life and the quality of social life after arrival at the Center
Osteoarthritis in athletes – surgical and non-surgical aspects of treatment
Get PDFIntroduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative chronic process that primarily affects the elderly, but there are also reports of OA in the young and sports-active population. Symptoms of OA usually include pain, joint stiffness, and crepitation. Physical, radiologic, and laboratory tests are required for diagnosis. The main goal of OA treatment is to restore normal function to the joint affected by OA.
Methods: A literature search on PubMed was used to collect facts about the relationship between sports and OA and possible treatment methods. All forms of articles were considered in the literature search. Articles that were not written in English were not included. Literature from the library of the Faculty of Medicine in Mostar was an additional source of information.
Results: OA occurs more frequently in people who play or have played professional sports. On the other hand, daily exercise has a positive effect on cartilage metabolism. Most articles reported the occurrence of OA in former professional athletes. The joint most commonly affected by OA was the knee. Injuries were a predictive factor for the occurrence of OA, and most studies talk about anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Running and football were the most commonly studied sports. Treatment options include conservative treatment, surgical methods, and biological therapy.
Conclusion: Frequent strain and injury in athletes can cause cartilage damage and potentially lead to the development of OA. The benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks of developing OA. In addition, some studies report a significant stimulating effect of exercise on cartilage cell metabolism. Treatment of OA consists of the use of analgesics, intra-articular therapy, and physiotherapy. Surgical methods are considered when conservative approaches are unsuccessful. Biological therapy and similar treatments are the new potential treatments
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of rural and suburban areas about brucellosis in Central Bosnia
Get PDFIntroduction: Brucellosis is a zoonosis classified as one of the most important neglected zoonoses in the world, especially in low and middle-income countries with livestock farming represented. In recent years, an increased incidence of brucellosis has been reported in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly in the Central Bosnia Canton (CBC) region. In the CBC region, the first case of the disease was registered at the end of 2002 in the municipality of Novi Travnik. In the period 2003-2012, 539 cases in humans and 7508 infected animals were registered. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the risk of brucellosis in the population living in rural and suburban areas because human behavior plays a significant role in the spread of brucellosis.
Methods: It is a cross-sectional study conducted in selected rural and suburban areas of the CBC in the period from October 2023 to January 2024. In this study, 117 respondents participated with 60 respondents (51.3%) from rural areas and 57 (48.7%) from suburban areas.
Results: The respondents from rural areas showed better knowledge with an average score of 69.86 ± 11.99% than the respondents from suburban areas with an average score of 59.21 ± 11.86 (p < 0.0001). Looking at the average scores of the attitudes of the same regions, it can be seen that the respondents from the suburban region have a better attitude with 55.56 ± 23.64% (p < 0.0001) than the respondents from the rural region. In practice, the suburban region scored better with an average of 50.50 ± 18.65% than the rural region with 37.08 ± 15.02% (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion: The One Health approach, which involves collaboration between veterinary and public health professionals, is the key to successful brucellosis control
Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) Effectiveness for Bacterial Decontamination in The Hospital Setting: A Systematic Review
Get PDFIntroduction: Bacteria are the most common agent reported to cause hospital-acquired infection (HAI) and nurses play a key role in achieving optimal decontamination. Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) is a promising candidate to reduce the bacteria infection burden. Therefore, this review aims to explore the UV-C application and its effectiveness in reducing bacteria contamination on various objects that can act as sources of HAI transmission.
Methods: Searches were conducted on the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases. The inclusion criteria were randomized clinical trials, and non-randomized clinical intervention studies, written in English and published between January 2018 and March 2023. The search strategy used a population (P), intervention (I), comparator (C), and outcome (O) approach.
Results: A total of 21 eligible studies were included in this review with four being related to decontaminating medical devices, two to personal equipment, nine to communication devices, and the remaining six to the environment. The exposure to UV-C radiation varies ranging from 24 s to 24 h (continuously) and it reduced the level of bacteria even up to 100%. Meanwhile, previously the objects were detected to be contaminated with pathogenic and resistant bacteria.
Conclusion: UV-C exposure can be effectively used to decontaminate various objects in hospitals. However, special consideration should be given to semi-critical devices due to contact with mucosal tissue. Further studies are needed regarding the application of doses and duration of UV-C exposure to eliminate bacteria completely
Clinical and radiologic features in patients with the WHO grade I and II meningiomas
Get PDFIntroduction: Meningiomas are the most common benign tumor of the central nervous system, accounting for 53.3% and 37.6% of all central nervous system tumors (1). The World Health Organization (WHO) Grade I meningiomas account for 80.5% of all meningiomas and are considered benign meningiomas; the WHO Grade II meningiomas account for 17.7% of all meningiomas and exhibit more aggressive behavior.
Methods: In the period 2015-2022, a retrospective single-center study at the clinic of neurosurgery at the Clinical Center University of Sarajevo was conducted, which included patients with a pathohistological finding of WHO Grade I or II meningioma. Depending on the pathohistological grade of the tumor, patients were divided into two groups: Grade I and Grade II patients. Patients were examined clinically and radiologically. Clinical data collected included in the study: Gender, age, number of symptoms before surgery, whether patients were symptomatic or asymptomatic, pre-operative Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group,and Karnopsky performance scale. Pre-operative contrast magnetic resonance imaging of the head measured tumor volume, temporal muscle thickness (TMT), sagittal midline shift, and surrounding cerebral edema.
Results: A total of 80 patients were enrolled in the study, 68 with WHO Grade I and 12 with WHO Grade II meningiomas. We found that patients with Grade I meningioma were younger and that the mean thickness of the temporal muscle was statistically thicker than in patients with Grade II. Increasing TMT was significantly and positively associated with Grade I tumors and negatively associated with Grade II tumors (p = 0.032).
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that TMT can serve as a radiologic pre-operative indicator of meningioma grade and provide valuable guidance to neurosurgeons in surgical planning. Further studies are needed to validate these results
Basic biochemical and hematological parameters in COVID-19 deceased: Analysis of potential mortality predictors
Get PDFIntroduction: As a result of research conducted globally, experts continue to extensively study the long-term consequences that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections can have on patients, as well as the factors contributing to severe outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the values of basic biochemical and hematological parameters in patients with fatal outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as to determine the combination of hematological and biochemical parameters that contribute to the progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The examined parameters were correlated with the age and gender distribution of patients with fatal outcomes from the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Methods: The study represents a retrospective study of patients hospitalized at the Cantonal Hospital Zenica from February to April 2021, focusing on the biochemical and hematological parameters of subjects with confirmed presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction methods who were hospitalized at the Cantonal Hospital Zenica.
Results: Of the 250 deceased subjects in the sample, females comprised the relative majority at 53.6%. Among the examined parameters, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and MCH were significantly lower in females compared to males, while males had significantly higher values of urea, creatinine, and troponin. The average age of the patients was 74 years, and with aging, the values of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, and troponin increased. Troponin showed a statistically significant positive correlation with age, as well as with urea and creatinine.
Conclusion: We can conclude that hemoglobin, urea, creatinine, and troponin are parameters that can be considered to contribute to the progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These parameters can be useful for assessing disease severity and prognosis in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus
The effect of the ergonomic intervention program on work-related musculoskeletal disorders in healthcare professionals
Get PDFIntroduction: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are the most common work-related disorders and describe a wide range of degenerative and inflammatory states that affect blood vessels, peripheral nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Healthcare as a special sector has almost the highest prevalence of WRMSDs in the world, far ahead of construction, mining, and manufacturing. Studies conducted in the EU and the USA indicate that health-care professionals most often have a problem with the lower back between 50% and 57% of cases, resulting in an average loss of more than 7 working days during 1 year.
Methods: This study included 177 health professionals of both genders who are actively involved in the provision of health-care services. The study was conducted in the Public Health Center of Sarajevo Canton, which provides primary and specialist consultative healthcare services. The study was designed as a prospective, longitudinal, interventional, and descriptive-analytical that included all respondents who met the inclusion criteria. The instruments used in the study are the standardized Dutch Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire, modified according to our study, the standardized work ability index, and the ergonomic intervention program (EIP).
Results: The highest frequency of work-related MKDs in health-care professionals before and after implementation of the EIP was in the neck area (83.1% before, 64.9% after), in the upper back region (71.8% before, 56.5 % after) and in the lower back region (68.4% before, 55.9% after). The average score of the working ability index before the introduction of the EIP was 35.44 ± 8.59, while after the implementation of the EIP it increased statistically significantly and amounted to 38.40 ± 7.30.
Conclusion: The EIP influenced the reduction of the MKDs frequency caused by work, and increased the working capacity of health-care professionals
Comparison of isokinetic exercise and standard exercise protocol in patients with spondyloarthropathies
Get PDFIntroduction: Spondyloarthropathy is a group of different chronic rheumatic diseases. There are a number of physiotherapy interventions that all aim to support the trunk flexors and extensors, relieve pain, and mobilize the joints. The aim of this study is to compare isokinetic exercises (IE) with a standard exercise protocol in patients with spondyloarthropathies.
Methods: A total of 16 subjects participated in the study and were randomly divided into two groups: The group with the standard protocol (SP) and the other in the isokinetic protocol (IP). Both groups underwent the same follow-up testing: Muscle strength, pain, and functional status. Both groups underwent a total of 15 physiotherapy interventions over a 3-week period.
Results: The mean age in the standard group was 36 ± 7.93 and in the isokinetic group 46.13 ± 13.88. In the isokinetic group, there was a difference in pain intensity between the second and third measurements (p = 0.016). There was an improvement in muscle strength in the isokinetic group (Cohen’s d = 0.33). At an angular velocity (AV) of 60°/s, this group is better than the delayed SP, while it is directly better at an AV of 90°/s (d = 0.30). The delayed measurement of the groups (IP) showed a lower functional deficit than the SP group (p = 0.012).
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study and a search of the scientific literature, we can conclude that IE has been shown to be beneficial rather than harmful. Further longitudinal studies with a larger number of subjects are needed to investigate the effects of isokinetics on functional outcomes in rheumatology patients.
Anti-inflammatory potential of polyphenols: Combining in silico prediction and in vivo data
Get PDFIntroduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by joint inflammation and destruction, leading to significant pain and disability. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is identified as a biomarker for RA’s inflammatory process. This study aims to investigate the potential of flavonoids and phenolic acids to inhibit ADA activity (in silico) and evaluate their anti-inflammatory effects in a RA model (in vivo).
Methods: The molecular docking study was conducted using YASARA Structure 19.12.14. software following the Auto Dock 4.2 protocol. A rat model with pristane-induced arthritis was used to test the anti-inflammatory effect of selected polyphenols. The consistency of the development of the rat model was evaluated through the following indicators artistic score, paw volume, and body weight. Quercetin was administered intragastrically at doses of 150 and 400 mg/kg over 15 days. The C-reactive protein (CRP) level in serum was measured with an automatic biochemical analyzer. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 29.0.2.0.
Results: Molecular docking simulations showed flavonoids inhibited ADA activity with inhibition constants ranging from 0.012 mM to 0.190 mM. In the in vivo RA model, quercetin significantly reduced joint inflammation and serum CRP levels at a higher dose of 400 mg/kg.
Conclusion: Quercetin shows promise as an anti-inflammatory agent for RA by targeting ADA, suggesting that flavonoid-rich plant extracts could enhance RA treatment