No abstract

Although the platelet activation profile after stroke is a well-known issue, the platelet reactivity assessed prospectively after ischaemic stroke still remains equivocal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reactivity of platelets in response to stimulation with thrombin receptor-activating peptide (TRAP) at 1, 10 and 90 days after ischaemic stroke and to compare it with results obtained in control groups. We determined the increment in surface expression of CD62P, CD40L and monocyte- and granulocyte-platelet aggregate formation using five-colour flow cytometry in 86 subjects after an ischaemic event, in 62 disease controls, and in 38 healthy volunteers. We assessed the plasma levels of CD62P and CD40L soluble forms. In patients after stroke a significantly lower increment in CD62P surface expression (p < 0.01) and higher increments in both CD40L platelet surface expression (p < 0.01) and monocyte-platelet aggregate percentage (p < 0.01) were found at every studied time point, as compared with the control groups. Plasma levels of soluble CD62P (sCD62P) and soluble CD40L (sCD40L) were increased in stroke subjects in both the acute and the subacute phase of the stroke and they dropped to levels observed in controls at day 90 after the ischaemic incident. In all studied groups a positive correlation was noted between plasma levels of sCD62P and sCD40L. In conclusion, while at 3-month follow-up the levels of soluble forms normalize in stroke patients, the profile of platelet reactivity in response to activation with TRAP differs from that observed in the controls despite the secondary stroke prevention.

Background. The initial approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marked a milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased public debate about the vaccine development process and vaccine side effects has activated the anti-vaccine community, which has begun to spread conspiracy theories about vaccine safety. Objectives.Our study is the first to investigate the awareness of Polish patients suffering from various chronic diseases, mainly cancer, about vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Materials and methods.An anonymous survey was made available from November 2020 to February 2021 to representatives of patient organizations through social media (Facebook) and to patients in the Chemotherapy Department of the Clinical Hospital in Poznań. The survey was completed by 836 patients. The majority of the survey respondents had cancer (77%, n = 644), and almost 1 / 5 of the respondents indicated hypertension (15.7%, n = 131) as well as depression and/or anxiety disorders (11. 1%, n = 93).Results. Less than half of the respondents (43.5%, n = 364) believed that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were safe (40.4%, n = 260, among cancer patients; 53.9%, n = 104, among patients with other medical conditions). More than half of the respondents (60.5%, n = 506) intended to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (58.8%, n = 378, among cancer patients; 66.3%, n = 128, among patients with other medical conditions). Fear of vaccine complications and lack of belief in vaccine effectiveness were prevalent among both cancer patients and patients with other medical conditions.Conclusions. The vast majority of cancer and medical patients wanted to be vaccinated against COVID-19. More than half of the respondents did not believe that the COVID-19 vaccine would be safe for them. Education of cancer and medical patients on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, as well as the use of additional protective measures against infection, is an extremely important element of prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESEARCH LETTER The use of CAM among cancer patients 83 Statistical analysis The analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 program (IBM Co., Armonk, New York, United States). The significance level was set at a P value of 0.05. The statistic values for the χ 2 test for data independence were calculated. The Cramer V coefficient was calculated to assess the strength of association. In order to detail the occurring relationships, the z test was used to compare the structure indices (percentage value). Bonferroni correction was applied. Results Characteristics of the surveyed group A total of 280 women (97.9%) and 6 men (2.1%) participated in the survey. The survey group mainly included young people, up to 50 years old (194 [67.9%]), followed by persons aged 51 to 65 years (81 [28.3%]). There were significantly fewer elderly people aged 66 to 75 years (9 [3.1%]) and older than 75 years (2 [0.7%]). The survey was mostly completed by patients with breast cancer (274 [95.8%]). Almost half of the patients received cancer therapy for less than a year (136 [47.6%]), and one -third for 2 to 3 years (95 [33.2%]). In the remaining participants, the treatment lasted at least 4 years (55 [19.2%]). The survey was mostly completed by patients with cancer in early stages, that is, without distant metastases: 76 (26.6%) in stage I, 116 (40.6%) in stage II, and 74 (25.9%) in stage III. Only 20 people (7%) had cancer in the stage of dissemination (stage IV). The vast majority of respondents underwent surgical treatment (234 [81.8%]). A total of 212 underwent chemotherapy (74.1%), 192 hormone therapy (67.1%), 173 radiotherapy (60.5%), and 20 immunotherapy (7%). Main analysis More than two -thirds of respondents (196 [68.5%]) were able to define an

The white blood cell count and mean platelet volume determined shortly after the symptom onset are known as independent predictors for clinical outcome after stroke. In the present study we sought to evaluate the prognostic value of platelet-derived inflammatory biomarkers measured prospectively after an ischaemic event. Using five-colour flow cytometry, the platelet surface expression of CD40L, CD62P and subpopulations of leukocyte-platelet aggregates were assessed in 93 stroke patients on the first (V(0)), 10th (V(1)) and 90th (V(2)) day after stroke, and once in 65 disease controls. The clinical outcome was evaluated using the Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at the same time points as blood sampling and 24 months after the event. Patients with either CD40L surface expression or the percentage of monocyte-platelet aggregates (M-plt) in the third tertile (T3) at V0 had a significantly lower score on the SSS at V(1). Patients with the percentage M-plt at V(0) higher than the median value of M-plt in controls were at increased risk of SSS < 40 at V(1) (odds ratio: 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4 - 8.7; p=0.006). Patients with the percentage of M-plt in T3 at V(0) showed progressive decline in survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1-1.9; p=0.02) and a significantly higher number of recurrent vascular events (HR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.3-3.2; p=0.02) when compared to the first tertile. In conclusion, increased levels of M-plt could be a predictive marker for both early outcome and long-term prognosis while increased CD40L was correlated with worse clinical outcome.