Arch Med Sci
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Non-cirrhotic treatment-naive hepatitis C patients infected with genotype 1 can be treated with ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) for 8 weeks, but in practice this regimen is frequently extended up to 12 weeks at least in part due to insufficient real-world data supporting shortening of treatment. The aim of our study was to compare 8- and 12-week regimens' efficacy in patients eligible for 8-week therapy in a real-world setting. ⋯ We confirmed high effectiveness regardless of treatment duration with LDV/SOF in non-cirrhotics infected with HCV genotype 1 eligible for the 8-week regimen according to the current label. This real-world study also demonstrated no need for addition of ribavirin (RBV) in this population and showed that shortening of treatment significantly improves the safety profile of LDV/SOF medication.
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Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a zoonotic disease caused by Gram-negative bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The majority of reported cases of LB originate in the northern hemisphere, mostly in the US and Europe. One of the typical manifestations of LB are musculoskeletal symptoms; they may appear in any of the three LB stages. ⋯ Patients who have been demonstrated to have specific antibodies but are symptomless should not be treated. In instances where the advised treatment proved to be unsuccessful, patients should be referred to rheumatologist for additional diagnostics. The goal of this review is to update physicians on current scientific knowledge on musculoskeletal manifestations of LB.
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Medullary breast cancer (MdBC) is an uncommon type of breast cancer representing 1-7% of all cases. It is characterized by the occurrence of many histopathological features associated with a high grade of malignancy. ⋯ MdBC presented at a younger age than IDC, had a higher histological grade, larger median size and less frequent regional lymph node involvement. Most MdBCs were triple-negative, whereas IDCs were predominantly luminal. Despite numerous aggressive pathological features of MdBC, its clinical outcome and overall prognosis are favorable.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provoked unprecedented disturbance in hypertension care, while alarming concerns arose about its long-term consequences. We investigated the trends of emergency visits and admissions regarding uncontrolled hypertension in order to assess the impact of COVID-19 spread on population behavior towards hypertension urgencies during its first wave. ⋯ Hypertensive urgency-related visits followed a U-shape distribution during the pandemic's first wave with the attendance nadir coinciding with the virus spread peak. This is a complex phenomenon, closely related to increased levels of public stress, disruptions in health care services and to a lesser extent to the imposed restrictions in transportation. The initial relative increase in uncontrolled hypertension-related admissions rate, combined with the later increase of hypertensive urgencies may be indicative of blood pressure deregulation among the studied population, which is multifactorial and potentially detrimental.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease which presents with an earlier age of onset and increased symptom severity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between regulation of miRNAs and AD. ⋯ Comprehensive analysis of all miRNA studies reveals cooperation in miRNA signatures whether in brain tissues or in CSF and peripheral blood. More and more studies suggest that miRNAs may play crucial roles as diagnostic biomarkers and/or as new therapeutic targets in AD. According to biomarkers, we can identify the preclinical phase early, which provides an important time window for therapeutic intervention.