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The aim of the article was to determine the association between neutrophil to lymphocyte-ratio (NLR), clinical disease severity and joint effusion in patients with early knee osteoarthritis. We evaluated 79 patients with mild knee degeneration. We obtained NLR from routine hematology panels. As controls, 1260 hematology panels were also obtained. Clinical severity was evaluated from patient reported outcome scores: International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Evaluation Form, Knee Disability And Osteoarthritis Outcome Score For Joint Replacement, Tegner-Lysholm scale and Euroqol EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Joint effusion was determined by ultrasound. For the statistics software R, version 3.4.4 was used. There were differences in demographics but not in NLR between the study patients and controls (2.03 versus 1.98, p=0.606). There was no correlation between NLR and joint effusion (r2= - 0.121) or between NLR, joint effusion and any other parameter recorded (r2 from - 0.134 to 0.190). In the multiple regression model, NLR was minimally influenced by age (p=0.059) and KOOSJR (p=0.023). Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is within normal limits in patients with early stage knee osteoarthritis and is not associated with clinical severity or with joint effusion.

Levonorgestrel is the most widely used synthetic hormone due in particular to strong progestin and anti-ovulatory effects, without estrogenic effects, being also used in hormone supportive therapy and found in preclinical studies for the prevention / occurrence of malignant processes. In order to be able to eliminate the adverse effects but to benefit at the same time from the beneficial biological effects, the posibility of obtaining effective and safe biocompatible formulations is studied. In the present research silver nanoparticles loaded with lenorgestrel were obtained and were subsequently included in a liposomal transporter system. Physico-chemical characterizations showed good stability of the liposomal systems obtained and dimensions compatible with the biological environment. In vitro data conducted on breast cells (MCF 10A and MCF7) revealed a dose-dependent influence in terms of cell viability with no significant changes at low concentration of samples (0.1 μM), while higher concentration was associated with a decrease of the viable breast adenocarcinoma cells especially in the case of silver nanoparticles.

Numerous plants are currently used for both their curative and preventive effects in a wide range of pathologies. They possess multiple beneficial effects, including the well-known antioxidant capacity. Agrimonia eupatoria L. and Filipendula spp., from the Rosaceae family have emerged as a potential source of phenolic constituents, showing antioxidant activities. The aim of this study was to obtain ethanolic extracts from Agrimonia eupatoria L., Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim. and Filipendula vulgaris Moench. collected from the West part of Romania and to determine their antioxidant capacity. Two DPPH assays were used to determine the antioxidant activity of the extracts, ethanolic solution of 1 and 0.1 mM DPPH. Our data indicated that all the extracts, regardless of the place of harvest possess significant antioxidant activity. The most potent activity was recorded for the extracts prepared from Agrimonia eupatoria L. collected from Bazia� � Locva Mountains in mixture with ethanolic solution of 0.1 mM DPPH, followed by Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim, using the same concentration of ethanolic solution of standard antioxidant.

Antihypertensives are widely prescribed in the geriatric population and could influence kidney stone risk but many aspects are still unknown. Thiazides are used to control lithogenic factors and recurrences in patients with calcium lithiasis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between essential arterial hypertension and stone disease, by studying the pharmaco-therapeutic effects of a fixed-dose combination of amlodipine + valsartan + hydrochlorothiazide (Aml + Val + HCTZ) 10/320/25 mg, on the urinary stone risk in a study group of hypertensive geriatric patients. A longitudinal, randomized, three years follow-up clinical and experimental study was conducted during June 1, 2014 - July 31, 2017. A number of 60 eligible geriatric patients, treated only with a fixed-dose combination of Aml + Val + HCTZ 10/320/25 mg, as a single-tablet, were enrolled in the study. All the patients were stone formers, with more than three episodes of crystalluria in the last two years. The patient�s age ranged between 55 and 65 years. Exclusion criteria: patients with heart failure, kidney chronic diseases, use of drugs known to affect renal function, patients with multi-morbidities. All patients had similar blood pressure values, and tension was well controlled throughout the whole study period. In the elderly patients, the treatment with 25 mg/day of hydrochlorothiazide (from the combination of Aml + Val + HCTZ 10/320/25 mg) has a beneficial and prolonged efficacy in treatment of recurrences in patients with calcium oxalate and phosphate lithiasis Our study reveals that in the elderly patients with hypertension and nephrolithiasis as a comorbidity, thiazides - 25 mg/day of hydrochlorothiazide (from the combination of Aml + Val + HCTZ 10/320/25 mg) has a beneficial effect in order to control lithogenic factors and recurrences in patients with calcium phosphate lithiasis.

The purpose of the study is to show the effects and evolution of patients with back pain treated with a different dose of betamethasone, analyzing both their evolution in terms of pain perception and lifestyle. In this study, 43 patients diagnosed with back pain in the lumbar region were included over a 12-month period. Patients were divided into two categories, depending on the dose of betamethasone administered. At 1 month control after the last injection, the first group of patients, a total of 22, given the local injection of betamethasone, trigger point injection, administering the usual dose: 1 ampoule of betamethasone 1 mL + 1 ampoule 1% xyline, at the clinical examination, they claimed that pain was reduced by about 70%, sustaining the improvement of the quality of life. The same group of patients, called for the final evaluation, at 3 month, claimed the pain was reduced by about 95%, as compared to the initial pain before starting the treatment. In the second category, where 21 patients were treated by local injections, trigger point injection, administering the modified dose of betamethasone: � ampoule of betanethasone 0.5 mL + 1 ampule 1% xyline, at 1 month control after the last injection, at the clinical examination they claimed thtat the pain was reduced with just 40%, sustaining an average quality of life. Even if a low dose of betamethasone shows significantly less systemic effects, a higher dose is required in the treatment of low back pain to have the desired effect and to significantly improve the quality of life of the patient.

The aim of this study was to develop a method for identification and quantification of diazepam and its major metabolite, desmethyldiazepam in plasma samples in psychiatric patients. Liquid - liquid extraction (LLE) procedure was applied in order to simplify the pre-analytical phase, followed by gas chromatography � mass spectrometry (GC-MS) detection and gas chromatography � flame ionization (GC-FID) quantitation.