Search

We thank the readers who share interesting ideas on our publication entitled ‘SLE, hydroxychloroquine and no SLE patients with COVID-19: a comment’.1 First, we really appreciate the reply by Monti and Montecucco.2 We agree that large registry data are required to clarify the incidence of COVID-19 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).1 Seeking for a new drug against the emerging COVID-19 is a challenge. In this pandemic situation, urgent search for drug and vaccine is necessary. Not only hydroxychloroquine but also other drugs such as antiretroviral drugs are widely used without complete clinical trials. We feel glad that our article can stimulate data sharing on the important issue of the inter-relationship between COVID-19, SLE …

Inter-relationship between covid-19 and rheumatic diseases is an interesting topic in clinical rheumatology. We found that article ‘Clinical course of COVID-19 in a series of patients with chronic arthritis treated with immunosuppressive targeted therapies’ is informative. Monti et al suggested for ‘avoiding the unjustifiable preventive withdrawal of DMARDs, which could lead to an increased risk of relapses and morbidity from the chronic rheumatological condition’ . …

The study on liver cancer has been performed in clinical medicine and medical science for a long time. Within the few recent years, there are many new emerging biomedical technologies that help better assess on the liver cancer. Of several new technologies, the advanced cell technologies for the assessment of liver cancer, organoids technology is very interesting. In fact, the organoids is an advanced cell research technique that can be useful for studying of many medical disorders. Organoids can be applied for study on the pathophysiology of many cancers. The application for studying on liver cancer is very interesting issue in hepatology. In this short article, the author summarizes and discusses on applied organoids technology for studying on various kinds of liver cancers. The application can be seen on primary hepatocellular carcinoma, metastatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, hepatoblastoma, as well as other rare liver cancers.

Dear Editor, we read the publication on “Tuberculosis and Latent Tuberculosis Infection Screening Among Asylum Seekers in Milan, Italy” with a great interest (1). The present report is concordant w...

This is a letter to the editor commenting on “Carpal tunnel syndrome: evaluation of its provocative clinical tests.”

Dear Editor, we read the publication on “Filarial tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE): a condition masquerading asthma, a series of 12 cases” with a great interest [1]. Tsanglao et al. reported 1...

Bulletin de l'Academie Nationale de Medecine - In corso di stampa. Prove corrette dall'autore. Disponibile online dal jeudi 6 mai 2021

COVID-19 is a new emerging respiratory infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, which is a novel coronavirus firstly detected in China1 At present, the disease has already spread to more than 50 countries around the world2 The patients usually have respiratory problems and death is the unwanted outcome in severe cases3,4 COVID-19 can affect any age group Infants or neonates are also affected3,4 The mode through which infants get the infection is very interesting It is believed that the close contact with the infected mother is the main route of transmission The interesting consideration is on the possibility that the disease may be transmittable via breast milk Based on the nanostructure analysis concept, an emerging viral pathogen can be transmitted via breast milk only if the virus is smaller than breast milk gland pore5 Molecularly, coronavirus is a large virus and the size of SARS CoV2 is more than 100 nm6 that is larger than a milk gland pore Therefore, the transmission via breast milk should not occur if there is no pathology of the milk gland In fact, this same principle of nanostructure consideration can be well applied as the explanation for the lack of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-27 because the virus is also larger than the placental pores © (publication year), (publisher) All rights reserved

We would like to share ideas on the report "Hydroxychloroquine in Patients with Rheumatic Disease Complicated by COVID-19: Clarifying Target Exposures and the Need for Clinical Trials"1 Balevic noted that "well-designed clinical trials that include patients with rheumatic disease are urgently needed to characterize the efficacy, safety, and target exposures for hydroxychloroquine1".

The publication entitled “Chilblains‐like lesions in children following suspected Covid‐19 infection” is very interesting [1]. Colonna et al. reported four children with suspected COVID‐19 cases with “[h]istology from one case showed signs of vasculitis with evident fibrin thrombus [1].” While various skin findings have been reported with COVID‐19 infection, the chilblains lesions have been reported from Italy and Spain, and sporadically from China, the starting point of disease pandemic [2‐5].

We read the article on risk of stroke in patients with dengue fever with great interest.[1][1] Li and colleagues concluded, “In this population-based study, the presence of dengue was associated with an increased risk of stroke. The effect of dengue on stroke may be acute rather than chronic.”[1

Background: Dioxin is accepted as an important toxic chemical that can induce carcinogenesis. The dioxin contamination in air is accepted as an important air pollutant. Apart from the industry, the dioxin in air can be generated by other little mentioned sources. Methods: Here, the authors assessed the cancer risk due to inhalation exposure to dioxins air pollutant generated by dead body incineration at Buddhist temple based on situation in Indochina. Indeed, there are many thousand Buddhist temples in Indochina and the dead body incineration is routinely done at the temple every day and the dioxin generated from this activity is little mentioned. Results: According to this study, the risk of cancer due to exposure to dioxins air pollutant generated by dead body incineration at Buddhist temple is high and should be the issue for proper public health management. Conclusion: Dioxins air pollutant generated by Dead bodyIncineration at Buddhist temple is an important cancer risk for both adult and children living in that area.

Background and Objectives: The increasing frequency of cardiovascular disease (CVD) rests on the presence of major cardiovascular risk factors including dyslipidemia. This dyslipidemia is also a target for the prevention and treatment of many cardiovascular diseases. Hence, identification of individuals at risk of CVD is needed for early identification and prevention. The study was carried out to evaluate dyslipidemia using the lipid ratios and indices instead of just the conventional lipid profile. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study with 699 participants recruited from semi-urban communities in Nigeria. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure, and fasting lipid profiles were determined. Abnormalities in lipid indices and lipid ratios with atherogenic index were also determined. SPSS software version 17.0 were used for analysis, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were 699 participants with a mean age of 64.45 ± 15.53 years. Elevated total cholesterol, high low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, elevated triglyceride, and low high-density lipoprotein were seen in 5.3%, 19.3%, 4.4%, and 76.3% of the participants, respectively. The Castelli's risk index-I (CRI-I) predicted the highest prevalence of predisposition to cardiovascular risk (47.8%) with females being at significantly higher risk (55.2% vs. 29.3%, P < 0.001). Atherogenic coefficient, CRI-II, CHOLIndex, atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) predicted a cardiovascular risk prevalence of 22.5%, 15.9%, 11.2%, and 11.0%, respectively, with no significant difference in between the sexes. Conclusions: Serum lipid ratios and AIP may be used in addition to lipid parameters in clinical practice to assess cardiovascular risks even when lipid profiles are apparently normal. AIP was more gender specific amidst the lipid ratios.

Dear Editor, Neurocysticercosis is an important infectious neuropsychiatric disorder. The infection is caused by a parasite and is common in several tropical countries around the world. The role of immunity of the host for protection against neurocysticercosis is very interesting. The observation by Silva et al. on interleukin 4 (IL4) and neurocysticercosis is a good example. Here, we would like to draw more attention to a complex immunological defect that can underline increased risk for neurocysticercosis. We would like to [...]

To describe the clinical manifestations of patients with pulmonary infection caused by mycobacteria of the Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC), and to compare these manifestations with those of patients infected with other nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM).This was a retrospective cohort study involving 43 patients divided into two groups: the MABSC group, consisting of patients with pulmonary infection caused by MABSC (n = 17); and the NTM group, consisting of patients with pulmonary infection caused by NTM other than MABSC (n = 26). Patients were previously treated with a regimen of rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol before the diagnosis of NTM was confirmed by two culture-positive sputum samples. The nucleotide sequences of the hsp65, 16S rRNA, and/or rpoB genes were analyzed to identify the mycobacteria. Data were collected on demographic, clinical, and radiological characteristics, as well as on treatment responses and outcomes.Loss of appetite was the only clinical manifestation that was significantly more common in the MABSC group than in the NTM group (p = 0.0306). The chance of having to use a second treatment regimen was almost 12 times higher in the MABSC group than in the NTM group. Treatment success was significantly higher in the NTM group than in the MABSC group (83.2% vs. 17.6%; p0.0001). The chance of recurrence was approximately 37 times higher in the MABSC group than in the NTM group.In the study sample, treatment response of pulmonary disease caused by MABSC was less favorable than that of pulmonary disease caused by other NTM.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a common pediatric malignancy. Methotrexate is the widely used chemotherapy for ALL. The polymorphism (rs1051296) of SLC19A1 is proposed for its effect on serum methotrexate. To explain this observation, the authors hereby studied the interrelationship between SLC19A1 polymorphism and blood methotrexate level in the patients with ALL. Here, the authors use a quantum chemistry analysis for explaining of this observation.