Interleukin 6 (IL-6), a cytokine produced by various cells of the human body (macrophages, lymphocytes, astrocytes, ischemic myocytes, endothelial cells) has both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties, being a key component in regulating various physiologic and pathological processes. The structure of this molecule and the receptor system it possesses are important due to the different activities that IL-6 can exert; through trans-signaling pro-inflammatory activities are mediated, while through classic signaling, IL-6 is responsible for anti-inflammatory and regenerative activities. IL-6 signaling is involved in coronary artery disease and the global COVID-19 pandemic. This proatherogenic cytokine reaches elevated serum levels in the cytokine storm generated by SARS-CoV-2, and is also associated with smoking or obesity-classic cardiovascular risk factors which promote inflammatory states. IL-6 levels are proportionally correlated with dyslipidemia, hypertension and glucose dysregulation, and they are associated with poor outcomes in patients with unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction. IL-6 targeting for treatment development (not only) in cardiovascular disease and COVID-19 is still a matter of ongoing research, although tocilizumab has proven to be effective in reducing the proatherogenic effects of IL-6 and is suggested to improve COVID-19 patient survival.

The COVID-19 pandemic is probably the greatest natural disaster of our generation and the 21st century with a great impact on mental health. The present study aims to quantify, with the help of the Beck questionnaire, the degree of depression in a group of 109 patients with moderate forms of COVID-19, hospitalized in the Second Clinic of the Clinical Hospital for Infectious Diseases St. Cuv. Parascheva Galati during the period: 1.01-30.03.2021. Of these, 35 patients (32.11%) had varying degrees of depression, and had an age and body mass index statistically significantly higher than those without depression. These patients also had statistically significantly higher Charlson scores of cumulative comorbidities and required longer hospitalization than patients without depression. The severity of COVID-19 and the percentage of favorable prognosis did not show statistically significant differences between the two groups. Our study reveals a lower incidence of depression among patients with COVID-19 compared to existing studies in the literature. This can be explained by the fact that our study is conducted at the end of the first year of the pandemic when antiviral therapy schemes stabilized and population vaccination began. The high genetic variability of the virus, which can determine at any time the appearance of new strains with greater aggression, contagion or with mutations on the spike protein, maintains the need to keep non-specific preventive measures and the mental tension related to this pathology. Thus, intrapandemic psychiatric disorders remain a major public health problem and require strong government prevention and control measures.

BackgroundElizabethkingia meningoseptica are Gram-negative rod bacteria which are commonly found in the environment. The bacteria have also been associated with nosocomial infections, having been isolated on contaminated medical equipment, especially in neonatal wards.Case reportHere, we present the case of a premature female infant born at 33 weeks’ gestational age, with neonatal meningitis. The onset was marked by fever, in the 5th day of life, while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The patient was commenced on Gentamicin and Ampicillin, but her clinical condition worsened. Psychomotor agitation and food refusal developed in the 10th day of life, and a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis was made based on clinical and cerebrospinal fluid findings. A strain of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica sensitive to Vancomycin, Rifampicin and Clarithromycin was isolated from cerebrospinal fluid. First-line antibiotic therapy with Meropenem and Vancomycin was adjusted by replacing Meronem with Piperacillin/Tazobactam and Rifampicin. The patient’s clinical condition improved, although some isolated febrile episodes were still present. The cerebrospinal fluid was normalized after 6 weeks of antibiotic treatment, although periventriculitis and tetraventricular hydrocephalus were revealed by imaging studies. Neurosurgical drainage was necessary.ConclusionElizabethkingia meningoseptica can cause severe infection, with high risk of mortality and neurological sequelae in neonates. Intensive care and multidisciplinary interventions are crucial for case management.

Many of the chemical additives in the plastic products, besides the possible safety problems that may arise during the production process, have negative effecty, too, on the environment and human health. Plastic is a synthetic polymer. The polymers include starch, latex and cellulose, combined with different substances and chemicals, used in various formulas, the polymer is included in the naylon. At high temperatures such as microwave oven temperature, polymers can migrate from the packaging plastic in food. In most cases, establishing the diagnosis of allergic disease is a complex and difficult operation. This difficulty is primarily related to the polymorphism of the clinical manifestations accompanying allergic reactions, the existence during the evolution of these conditions, of long clinical asymptomatic latencies, as well as due to numerous subjective and objective symptoms that overlap with those caused by the allergen, complicating and altering the clinical picture. Allergies are an abnormal reaction of the body to allergens and develop in two stages. After the first contact with the allergen, the IgE antibodies are produced, and the second contact produces the allergic reaction. The produced antibodies will release the chemical mediators (histamine, prostaglandine, etc.) which cause an inflammatory response, vascular changes and irritation of the tissues, with the appearance of symptoms specific to allergy: redness, rash, itching, edema, etc.The so complex symptom of allergic diseases comprises several systems and organs at the same time, and the existence of over-additive phenomena makes it impossible to have characteristic clinical symptoms of allergic diseases that allow their identification only by clinical examination. However, this does not mean that the clinical exam and the analysis of the various objective and subjective symptoms presented by the patient is of no importance in establishing the diagnosis and recognizing the allergic character of the disease.The study includes a number of patients studied at the Galati Allergy Clinic. Specific immunotherapy known as desensitization or anti-allergic vaccination, is designed to fight the causes of allergies that occur when the immune system misinterprets harmless substances. Clinical examination results are complemented by allergen and specific antibody research; skin tests are the most common method for allergen detection.