Topic Review
Adipocytokines Produced by Adipose Tissue
The alterations of adipocyte-derived signal mediators strongly influence the regulation of inflammation, resulting in chronic low-grade inflammation.
  • 908
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Pathophysiology and Clinical Assessment of DFI
In the past 30 years, diabetic foot infections (DFI) have become increasingly prevalent due to the rising incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM). Twenty percent of diabetes-related hospital admissions in the U.S. are from DFI, which is typically introduced by direct inoculation through a traumatic entry site in an insensate foot.
  • 901
  • 28 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Ocular Sporotrichosis
Sporotrichosis is a subacute or chronic mycosis predominant in tropical and subtropical regions. It is an infection of subcutaneous tissue caused by Sporothrix fungus species, but occasionally resulting in an extracutaneous condition, including osteoarticular, pulmonary, nervous central system, and ocular disease. Cases of ocular sporotrichosis are rare, but reports have been increasing in recent decades. Ocular infections usually occur in hyperendemic areas of sporotrichosis. For its classification, anatomic criteria are used. The clinical presentation is the infection in the ocular adnexal and intraocular infection. Ocular adnexa infections include palpebral, conjunctivitis, and infections of the lacrimal sac. Intraocular infection includes exogenous or endogenous endophthalmitis.
  • 897
  • 03 Dec 2021
Topic Review
The Importance of Capsules in Dry Powder Inhalers
Capsule-based dry powder inhalers (cDPI) use a hard capsule that contains a powder formulation which consists of a mixture of a micronized drug and a carrier usually the lactose, known for its good lung tolerance. The capsule is either inserted into the device during manufacturer or by the patient prior to use. After perforating, opening or cut the capsule in the device, patients take a deep and rapid breath to inhale the powder, using air as the vector of drug displacement. The system is simple, relatively cheap and characterized by a lower carbon footprint than that of pressurized metered dose inhalers. 
  • 890
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 and Coronavirus Disease 2019
Coronaviruses, named for the crown-like spikes on their surface (Latin: corona = crown), are positive-sense RNA viruses that belong to the Coronvirinae subfamily, in the Coronaviridae family of the Nidovirales order. They have four main subgroups—alpha, beta, gamma, and delta—based on their genomic structure. Alpha- and betacoronaviruses infect only mammals, usually causing respiratory symptoms in humans and gastroenteritis in other animals. In December 2019, a cluster of fatal pneumonia cases presented in Wuhan, China.  Based on clinical criteria and available serological and molecular information, the new disease was called coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), and the novel coronavirus was called SARS Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), emphasizing its close relationship to the 2002 SARS virus (SARS-CoV).
  • 880
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
COVID-19: Gender and Outcomes
The existence of differences in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection between males and females in both incidence and outcomes is well documented in the scientific literature. These differences, which are still underestimated, may have important implications in terms of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19, with significant prognostic consequences. The greater severity of the infection observed in males, even more so if they are elderly, would seem, according to current knowledge, to be due to multiple influences: immunological and endocrinological, but also genetic and behavioral.
  • 879
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination-Associated Coagulopathy
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is frequently complicated by thrombosis. In some cases of severe COVID-19, fibrinolysis may be markedly enhanced within a few days, resulting in fatal bleeding. In the treatment of COVID-19, attention should be paid to both coagulation activation and fibrinolytic activation. Various thromboses are known to occur after vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) can occur after adenovirus-vectored vaccination, and is characterized by the detection of anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and thrombosis in unusual locations such as cerebral venous sinuses and visceral veins. Treatment comprises high-dose immunoglobulin, argatroban, and fondaparinux. Some VITT cases show marked decreases in fibrinogen and platelets and marked increases in D-dimer, suggesting the presence of enhanced-fibrinolytic-type disseminated intravascular coagulation with a high risk of bleeding. In the treatment of VITT, evaluation of both coagulation activation and fibrinolytic activation is important, adjusting treatments accordingly to improve outcomes.
  • 879
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Daily Persistent Headache and COVID-19
Dubbed Long COVID or Long-Haul COVID, those recovering from the initial COVID-19 infection may maintain clinical signs for longer than two or more weeks following the initial onset of the infection. The virus can gain entry into the CNS through axonal transport mediated through the olfactory nerve or hematogenous spread and can also cross the blood–brain barrier to access the temporal lobe and the brainstem. The neurologic and neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with COVID-19 patients are becoming a highly studied area due to the increased frequency of reported cases. Multiple hospital case series and observational studies have found a headache to be a common symptom among patients who are symptomatic with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The headache described by many of these patients is similar to new daily persistent headache (NDPH). NDPH potentially develops in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines during a persistent systemic or CNS inflammation, mostly due to the initial infection. The treatments investigated were high-dose steroids, tetracycline derivatives, onabotulinum toxin type A, and long-term multidrug regimens. Among the identified symptoms of post-COVID-19 viral illness, fatigue appears to be the most ubiquitous. 
  • 867
  • 11 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Carbapenem-Sparing Strategies for ESBL Producers
Extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria are prevalent worldwide and correlated with hospital infections, but they have been evolving as an increasing cause of community acquired infections. The spread of ESBL constitutes a major threat for public health, and infections with ESBL-producing organisms have been associated with poor outcomes. Established therapeutic options for severe infections caused by ESBL-producing organisms are considered the carbapenems. However, under the pressure of carbapenem overuse and the emergence of resistance, carbapenem-sparing strategies have been implemented. The administration of carbapenem-sparing antibiotics for the treatment of ESBL infections has yielded conflicting results. 
  • 849
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Epidemiology of Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kills about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are a chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. It was historically called consumption due to the weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms. Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. People with latent TB do not spread the disease. Active infection occurs more often in people with HIV/AIDS and in those who smoke. Diagnosis of active TB is based on chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and culture of body fluids. Diagnosis of latent TB relies on the tuberculin skin test (TST) or blood tests. Prevention of TB involves screening those at high risk, early detection and treatment of cases, and vaccination with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine. Those at high risk include household, workplace, and social contacts of people with active TB. Treatment requires the use of multiple antibiotics over a long period of time. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with increasing rates of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). As of 2018, one quarter of the world's population was thought to have latent infection with TB. New infections occur in about 1% of the population each year. In 2018, there were more than 10 million cases of active TB, resulting in 1.5 million deaths and making it the number one cause of death from an infectious disease at that time. As of 2018, most TB cases occurred in the regions of South-East Asia (44%), Africa (24%) and the Western Pacific (18%), with more than 50% of cases being diagnosed in eight countries: India (27%), China (9%), Indonesia (8%), the Philippines (6%), Pakistan (6%), Nigeria (4%) and Bangladesh (4%). The number of new cases each year has decreased since 2000. About 80% of people in many Asian and African countries test positive while 5–10% of people in the United States population test positive by the tuberculin test. Tuberculosis has been present in humans since ancient times. 
  • 840
  • 09 Oct 2022
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