Gangliosides are multifunctional molecules, abundantly expressed in renal cell membrane but also in sera of patients with renal disease. The aim of this study was to quantify the serum levels of sialic acid-ganglioside in patients diagnosed with diabetes for an eventual biomarker stratification of patients with renal complications. We included 35 diabetic patients without metabolic complications, 35 patients with diabetic nephropathy, 35 non-diabetic individuals. We found that sialic acid ganglioside serum level was significantly increased in patients with diabetic nephropathy compared to the level obtained in patients with uncomplicated diabetes and to non-diabetic controls. A statistically significant positive correlation was obtained between serum levels of sialic acid gangliosides, HbA1c, and serum creatinine in patients with diabetes without complications. Moreover positive correlation was found between sialic acid ganglioside and blood glucose, HbA1c, urea, creatinine, microalbuminuria in patients with diabetic nephropathy. We can conclude that serum sialic acid-gangliosides are statistically increased in diabetic nephropathy positively correlated with microalbuminuria.

The term chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) comprises of an assortment of diseases that share a common feature: inflammation of the sinonasal mucosa. The phenotype classification of CRS, based on the presence of polyps, has failed to offer a curative treatment for the disease, particularly in refractory cases. Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) remains a challenging entity. Researchers have made efforts trying to characterize subtypes of the disease according to the endotypes, which are delineated by different immunological pathways, using biomarkers. Even if the inflammatory processes controlling CRSwNP are not fully understood, data suggested that the disease associated with a type 2 inflammatory mechanisms can be also linked to the type 1 or type 3 pathomechanism, being highly heterogeneous. Biomarkers for CRSwNP are proposed, such as: eosinophil count, cytokines, metalloproteinases, bitter and sweet taste receptors, and the nasal microbiome. For endotyping to be clinically applicable and simply determined, biomarkers referring to the intrinsic biomolecular mechanism still need to be found. Precision medicine is becoming the new standard of care, but innovative therapies such as biologics may be rather challenging for the clinicians in their daily practice. This new approach to CRSwNP implies patient selection and a simple algorithm for deciding the right treatment, easy to implement and adjust. Our review points out the ongoing new research on the pathophysiology of CRSwNP, biomarkers and treatment opportunities. It allows clinicians to keep abreast of current evidence-based knowledge and to individualize the management of CRSwNP, especially in refractory cases.

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Morphological variability of paranasal sinuses is well known for endoscopic surgeons and anatomists alike. The ethmoid sinus is the most complex and variable of all paranasal sinuses, due to the fact that its development is not yet well known and is influenced by many factors. Volumetric studies of the sinuses have been made using dried skulls, cadaver heads and imaging studies, but there are still not sufficient data in order to name a standard value for each sinus. Few data can be found especially regarding the ethmoid sinus. In this paper, we measured the volumes of ethmoid lateral masses, and for anterior and posterior groups of cells, using imaging studies and a volumetric feature of our imaging studies. Results showed an average volume between 7.34 cm3 and 8.39 cm3for the ethmoid lateral mass, between 4.33 cm3and 4.92 cm3 for the anterior ethmoid and between 3.01 cm3and 3.47 cm3for the posterior ethmoid groups. We also found that the average volume of the anterior ethmoid occupies between 58-59% of the whole volume, while the posterior ethmoid occupies only 41-42% of this volume.

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The high number of available wound dressing materials as well as the scientific reports about the topic indicate that the problem of an ideal wound dressing is to be solved. For the last half of century many scientific reports about collagen as wound covering have been published, the benefits of collagen application as a wound dressing being proved. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the efficiency of the collagen sponge on healing full thickness skin wounds. The study population was divided into two groups: control and experimental. In the control group, the wounds were treated conventionally, using gauze swabs, in the experimental group such wounds being covered with collagen sponge, the results being compared. The wounds from the control group healed in 50 days, covering the wounds with collagen sponge in the case-group shortening the healing process to 27 days. Not only the healing time was shortened but also the quality of the wound repair by dressing the wounds with collagen sponge was enhanced.

No abstract

Cystic hygromas (CHs) are benign congenital malformations of the lymphatic system mainly diagnosed in small children aged less than two years old. They may give a multitude of local, sometimes severe complications. The most used method of treatment is surgical removal. In this paper, we present the case of a CH of a 13-year-old boy, localized in the right lateral region of the neck, diagnosed through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with excellent results of the surgical treatment.