The Impact of Peripheral Eosinophil Counts and Eosinophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (ELR) in the Clinical Course of COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Eosinophils are blood cells responsible for response against parasites and allergens. Eosinophil to lymphocyte ratio (ELR) is a biomarker for inflammatory conditions. Our aim was to evaluate the role of eosinophils and ELR in COVID-19 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 96 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. They were classified into moderate to severe cases and critical cases. Eosinophils and ELR were determined in both groups, in patients that died or survived and were correlated to duration of hospitalization. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in eosinophils and ELR between patients that died and patients that survived (p<0.05), and in mean values of the two biomarkers (p<0.05 for eosinophils and p<0.05 for ELR) between patients hospitalized for more or less than 15 days among those with moderate to severe disease. CONCLUSION: Lower eosinophil counts and ERL could probably predict worse outcome in COVID-19 patients.

Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) Inhibitors: Current Evidence for Therapeutic Activities in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer death. Current standard treatments include surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy but patient's prognosis remains poor and present severe side-effects. Contemporary oncology found a wide variety of novel anticancer drugs that regulate the epigenetic mechanisms of tumor genesis. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes with pleiotropic activities that control critical functions of the cell through regulation of the acetylation states of histone proteins and other non-histone protein targets. They are divided into four groups, each with different localization in the cell, role and structure. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are substances, which inhibit the function of HDACs. We recognize four leading groups (hydroxamic acid, cyclic tetrapeptide, benzamide, aliphatic acid). There are many HDACIs currently in pre-clinical and two (vorinostat, romidepsin) in clinical stages of investigation for pancreatic cancer. Numerous studies argue for the use HDACIs as monotherapy, others suggest that combination of HDACIs with other antitumor drugs has better therapeutic results. This review focuses on the use of HDACIs as novel anticancer drugs and will explain the mechanisms of therapeutic effect on pancreatic cancer.