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Over the last few decades, an impressive number of studies have established strong associations between certain diseases and individuals carrying particular HLA alleles. 1 Although these studies have proven a strong association between HLA and certain diseases (eg ankylosing spondylitis, type 1 diabetes and narcolepsy), the effector mechanisms underlying HLA-disease associations remain

We systematically investigated an ongoing debate about the possible correlation between SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) epidemiological outcomes and solar exposure in European countries, in the period of March – August 2020. For each country, we correlated its mortality data with solar insolation (watt/square metre) and objective sky cloudiness (as cloud fraction) derived from satellite weather data. We found a positive correlation between the monthly mortality rate and the overall cloudiness in that month (Pearson’s r(35)=.779, P<.001; linear model fitting the data, adjusted R2 =0.59). In Europe, in colder months, approximately 34% to 58% of the variance in COVID-19 mortality/million appears to be predicted by the cloudiness fraction of the sky, except in August in which only ∼15% of the variance was explained. The data show a low, negative correlation between the mortality rate with the overall insolation received by the country area in that entire month (Pearson’s r(35)=-0.622, P<.001). Additionally, we did not find any statistically significant correlation between the mortality and the latitude of the countries when the “latitude of a country” was precisely defined as the average landmass location (country centroid). The unexpected correlation found between cloudiness and mortality could perhaps be explained by the following: 1) heavy cloudiness is linked with colder outdoor surfaces, which might aid virus survival; 2) reduced evaporation rate; 3) moderate pollution may be linked to both cloudiness and mortality; and 4) large-scale behavioural changes due to cloudiness (which perhaps drives people to spend more time indoors and thus facilitates indoor contamination).

Background and Objectives: To find low-cost markers that can identify the hepatitis C virus cirrhotic patients that are at risk for long-term severe adverse liver effects (ascites, ascites or upper gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatocellular carcinoma), after treatment. There is established evidence for the benefits of treating hepatitis C virus cirrhotic patients, but there is still some need for clarification concerning the real impact on the long-term evolution after achieving sustained virological response; there is no general consensus in the literature about identifying the patients that do not improve post-treatment. Materials and Methods: Our retrospective analysis investigated the long-term (2 years) evolution of 46 patients with cirrhosis with thrombocytopenia, previously infected with VHC, treated and who obtained an SVR after DAA treatment. Results: Despite the overall improvement, 8.7% patients developed hepatocellular carcinoma and 6.5% patients ascites/upper GI bleeding. We found that FIB-4, MELD and AFP changes at 1 year were the most significant predictors for these outcomes. Additionally, a drop in leukocyte count after 1 year seemed to indicate a risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, but this was not consistent. Conclusions: It might be beneficial to intensify the surveillance for post-treatment adverse liver effects for the patients with these marker changes at 1 year.

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