Search

One of the most frequent types of dementia is the Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The fundamental concepts of pharmacotherapy valid for AD are substances that increase the cerebral acetylcholine level, intervening in cholinergic neurotransmission through cholinesterase inhibition and N-methyl D-aspartate receptor antagonists. These drugs have the role of slowing down the further evolution of the disease, providing at the same time a symptomatic improvement. The effectiveness of these drugs is clearly limited, both because of several negative side effects and their inefficiency to cure the disease. The therapeutic management is therefore a major challenge in AD, and the non-adherence to treatment often constitutes a serious barrier to an effective therapy. Doctors and pharmacists play a vital role in the pharmacotherapeutic management of AD, contributing to improved clinical results and quality of life of the patient. The current review analysed the challenges in therapeutic management, especially those related to treatment adherence and pharmacist involvement.

Introduction. Probiotics are well-known adjuvants, used as complementary therapeutic agents in health (e.g. gastrointestinal or metabolic) disorders, considering their beneficial role on gut microbiota, and their support in immunity. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of probiotic supplementation on abundance of Bacteroides spp. in intestinal microbiome of patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). Materials and methods. The comparative evaluation was conducted over a 6-month period, on 49 subjects diagnosed with CD, who were separated into two groups, as follows: the study group (probiotics associated with allopathic treatment) and the control group (only allopathic treatment). All patients were evaluated at baseline and at 6 months. Demographic characteristics, associated pathology, and the evolution of intestinal microbiome and faecal pH were followed. Results. In this research, the microbiome of patients with CD showed changes in the abundance of bacterial species. The combination of probiotic treatment led to the following changes: Escherichia coli ​(from 5.77×107 to 4.15×107, p=0.006) and Enterobacter spp. ​(from 1.92×104 to 1.17×104, p=0.009) values decreased significantly and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (from 3.73×108 to 4.55×108, p=0.003), Bifidobacterium spp. (from 4.76×106 to 4.92×106, p

Introduction. The composition of gut microbiota can be affected by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome (MS), its improvement is frequently ignored in metabolic disorders. The objective of the study was a comparative evaluation of the faecal microbiota of healthy controls and of T2DM and MS patients (n = 150). Materials and methods. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed, between July 2019-December 2020 in the Bio-standard laboratory Oradea, Romania. A group of 75 patients with non-insulin dependent T2DM and MS (study group = SG) and 75 healthy subjects (control group = CG) has been included in the study. The composition of the microbiome and the influence of oral antidiabetic treatment on the microbiome in SG patients were compared. Results. 8 out of 19 species of the analysed bacteria had a different relative abundance in the SG, compared to CG; Enterococcus spp. were significantly higher (3.18×106 vs 1.94×106, p=0.004), while Akkermansia muciniphila (2.55×109 vs. 4.66×109, p

Introduction. Probiotics are well-known adjuvants, used as complementary therapeutic agents in health (e.g. metabolic or gastrointestinal) disorders, considering their beneficial role on gut microbiota, and their support in immunity. The objective of the study. This research followed the impact of probiotic supplementation on some clinical parameters related to metabolic syndrome (MS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (weight status, body mass index, carbohydrate/ lipid profiles). Materials and methods. The comparative monitoring of the parameters was conducted over a 3- month period, on 41 subjects diagnosed with both MS and T2DM, who were separated into two groups, as follows: the study group (probiotics associated with allopathic treatment) and the control group (without probiotics). Results. Administration of dietary probiotics had a major impact on body weight, weight loss being significantly enhanced in the probiotic group than in the diet-only group (p=0.01). The effect of dietary probiotic administration on glucidic and lipidic profile was small (effect size (ES) 0.26 and 0.33, respectively), but better than in the control group, in whom the evolution was insignificant (ES 0.10 and 0.10, respectively). From a statistical point of view, the differences were insignificant (p>0.05). Conclusions. In the metabolic profile management of patients suffering from both MS and T2DM, probiotics administration had beneficial results, as highlighted by the results of the present study.

Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is an X-linked recessive genetic syndrome that occurs as result of an androgen receptor mutation; it affects the normal masculinization process in chromosomal male patients. More than 900 androgen receptor mutations that can lead to AIS have been identified. The complete androgen insensitivity is characterized by a total lack of response to androgens, usually in patients with 46XY karyotype but with feminine phenotype. Primary amenorrhoea and inguinal swellings in female patients are the main signs that could raise suspicion for this syndrome. Patients with partial androgen insensitivity have ambiguous genitalia at birth and gynecomastia during puberty, whereas those with mild androgen insensitivity present a normal male phenotype but altered spermatogenesis during adulthood and pubertal gynecomastia. The diagnosis of AIS often proves to be a challenge; its management is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach to meet decision-making challenges in sex assignment, fertility and timing of gonadectomy, psychological outcomes and genetic counselling.