Development of innovative methodology for determination of 6-thioguanine in whole blood erythrocytes by HPLC-PDA-based technique for medical diagnostics purposes.

6-Thioguanine is an immunosuppressive drug, an analogue of guanine, applied to treat acute leukemia and inflammatory bowel disease. Excessive use of 6-thioguanine during clinical treatment may cause side effects. Moreover, providing a dose too low will be ineffective. Therefore, there is a critical need for a rapid, selective and routine approach to quantifying 6-thioguanine in body fluids to support a clinical application. A fully validated HPLC method has been developed to determine 6-thioguanine in whole blood samples using 5-bromouracil as an internal standard. 6-Thioguanine nucleotides were released from erythrocytes by perchloric acid, and then hydrolysed at 100 °C to the parent thiopurine, 6-thioguanine. The following validation parameters of the method were determined: specificity/selectivity, linearity range (479-17,118 ng/mL, R > 0.992), limits of detection (150 ng/mL) and quantification (479 ng/mL), accuracy (- 5.6 < Bias < 14.7), repeatability (CV 1.30-3.24%), intermediate precision (CV 4.19-5.78%), extraction recovery (79.1-103.6%) and carryover. Furthermore, the stability of the drug in whole blood samples under various storage conditions was investigated. The suggested method is suitable for determining 6-thioguanine in whole blood erythrocyte samples for drug level monitoring, thus correct dosing.

Arthroscopic utilization of ChondroFiller gel for the treatment of hip articular cartilage defects: a cohort study with 12- to 60-month follow-up.

ChondroFiller gel is an absorbable collagen implant. It serves as a protective cover for the cartilage defects, allowing chondrocyte migration into the lesion. The implant consists of collagen (Type I) and is derived from veterinary monitored rats. This study evaluates the use of ChondroFiller gel in the treatment of cartilage lesions during hip joint arthroscopy. A prospective study was conducted on a group of 26 adult patients. All patients had an existing femoroacetabular impingement together with acetabular cartilage lesions >2 cm2. All patients underwent hip arthroscopic surgery and the lesions were treated using ChondroFiller gel. The cartilage tissue healing was evaluated postoperatively using MRI. A total of 26 patients, including 5 females and 21 males, all with articular cartilage lesions, were included in the study. Cartilage healing conditions were evaluated for all patients, and the difference between pre- and post-surgery conditions was statistically significant. The follow-up scores have been acquired from 21 out of initial 26 patients (2 were disqualified after receiving THR, 3 could not be reached by researchers) after 3, 4 and 5 years consecutively with 17/21 patients having good/excellent results. The use of ChondroFiller gel during arthroscopy of the hip for acetabular cartilage lesions is an effective treatment technique. Encouraging long-term results have been observed, but further research on larger group of patient is required to better assess the full value of this technique. Patients with pre-existing osteoarthritis (Tönnis 2-3) have poor results.

Ligamentum teres reconstruction with labrum and capsule repair after posterior acetabular wall fracture: a case report.

The aim of this case study is to present arthroscopic treatment of recurrent hip instability after acute post-traumatic posterior hip dislocation with a fracture of the posterior acetabular wall. A male patient aged 35 suffered a dislocation of the right hip joint with a fracture of the posterior acetabular wall due to an accident. The fracture was stabilized during emergency surgery with a locking compression plate, and the patient was released home in a hip brace. Multiple dislocations of the hip joint followed with the implant being confirmed as stable. Decision was made to qualify the patient for a right hip arthroscopy. During the surgery, ligamentum teres was reconstructed using gracilis and semitendinous muscle grafts, followed by the labrum and joint capsule repair, where the surgery that stabilized the acetabular wall fracture had damaged them. There were no complications following the procedure. Short-term follow-up of 3 months demonstrates the patient has a stable hip, reduced pain and has returned to pre-injury activities.

Noninvasive skin imaging in esthetic medicine-Why do we need useful tools for evaluation of the esthetic procedures.

BACKGROUND: Despite the constant development of aesthetic medicine, there is still a lack of objective methods to assess the effectiveness of antiaging treatments and their impact on the skin. Histopathological examination of the skin section provides most of the key information about the condition of the skin, but it is an invasive procedure that requires a skin biopsy, which may be associated with the formation of a scar that is considered to be an aesthetic defect. Non-invasive imaging methods of the skin like dermoscopy, skin ultrasonography and reflectance confocal microscopy may be a useful solution. AIMS AND METHODS: In this systematic review, we present the possible application of noninvasive skin imaging methods in esthetic medicine. The literature search was conducted via medical database (PubMed, Google Scholar). RESULTS: The research suggests the use of dermoscopy during laser therapy, for the targeted treatment of vascular lesions and appropriate adjustment of laser parameters. Skin ultrasonography, especially high-frequency ultrasonography, has been widely used in aesthetic medicine-during and after volumetric treatments and in the assessment of the effects of anti-cellulite therapies, treatments that correct discolorations and improve skin quality. Publications also highlight the importance of reflexive confocal microscopy in the evaluation of the results of anti-aging treatments using the fractional laser, moisturizing preparations or micro puncturing combined with hyaluronic acid injections. CONCLUSION: Non-invasive skin imaging methods are useful tools for pre- and postoperative assessment in aesthetic medicine and their wide application may help to objectively assess the impact of anti-aging procedures on the skin.

Functional status of thyroid and cognitive functions after menopause.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid activity plays a role in cognition. However, the relation between the functional state of thyroid and neuropsychiatric changes proceeding with age among people without clinical symptoms of thyroid dysfunction is still unknown. The aim of this study was analysis of cognitive function levels in reference to thyroid examination: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxin (TT4), triiodothyronine (TT3), free thyroxin (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPO-AB), and thyroglobulin antibodies (Tg-AB), TSH receptor antibodies (AB-TSHR) in women after menopause. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of 383 women was recruited for the study. The inclusion criteria were: minimum two years after the last menstruation and no dementia signs on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Computerized battery of Central Nervous System Vital Signs (CNS VS) test was used to diagnostic cognitive functions. The blood plasma values were determined: TSH, FT3, FT4, TT3, TT4, TPO-AB, Tg-AB, and AB-TSHR. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and analysis of variance in STATISTICA software. RESULTS: In women after menopause, TSH was negatively correlated with NCI results, executive functions, complex attention, and cognitive flexibility. FT4 was positively correlated with results of psychomotor speed. TT3 and TT4 were negatively correlated with results of memory and verbal memory. Furthermore, TT4 was negatively correlated with NCI, executive functions, and cognitive flexibility. TPO-AB was negatively correlated with results of memory, verbal memory, and psychomotor speed. Tg-AB was positively correlated with results of reaction time. AB-TSHR was negatively correlated with NCI results, memory, executive functions, psychomotor speed, complex attention, and cognitive flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports the importance of thyroid functionality in cognitive functioning in a group of women after menopause. The values of TSH, TT3, TT4, TPO-AB, and AB-TSHR were higher and FT4 was lower in examined women. The results were poorer in examination of cognitive functions measured with a battery of CNS-VS tests.

Cutaneous adverse reactions of amiodarone.

Dermatological complications of amiodarone are commonly encountered problems in therapy. The incidence in the population of patients with prolonged use of amiodarone reaches nearly 75% according to various sources. Nevertheless, they are often misdiagnosed or overlooked. The aim of this review is to present the current state of knowledge about skin changes induced by amiodarone, including phototoxic and photoallergic reactions, as well as hyperpigmentation. In most cases, the adverse effects are reversible and disappear after discontinuation of the drug. Although the dermatological complications usually do not influence the outcome of the therapy and rarely cause discontinuation of treatment, they have a great impact on patient quality of life.