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Objectives. The biological markers that can indicate specifically and sensitively the absence or presence of a certain condition or its state can be used for diagnostic support and disease monitoring. Thus, this research set out to study the changes in neuropeptides (substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide) pro-inflammatory (TNFα, IL-1β and IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokine levels in the blood of patients with CRPS. Material and methods. Sixty patients were enlisted from the local Rheumatology Clinic of the Emergency County Hospital of Craiova and split into two groups (acute and chronic). CRPS related symptoms were estimated by means of the Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire. The quantification of cytokines and neuropeptides in blood was achieved using the high sensitivity colorimetric ELISA method. Outcomes. Cytokine analysis led to statistically insignificant results, while for the neuropeptides we obtained significantly increased values in the patient groups. ROC curves were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the neuropeptides both returning good AUC values. Conclusions. Our results indicate that the neuropeptide (substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide) profile has a good diagnostic sensitivity. A limitation of the study is the low number of patients in the acute group, including more patients in this phase might offer more insights on the cytokines’ role, as they could be increased in comparison to chronic patients, due to their short half-life and low acting concentrations.

Aim of the study: to compare the metabolic status using chemical blood test markers for periodontal disease-diagnosed patients suffering or not from systemic conditions (diabetes mellitus and chronic viral hepatitis). Material and Methods. 195 patients diagnosed with various stages of chronic periodontal disease (PD) were divided into four groups: PD + diabetes mellitus (n=60), PD + hepatitis B (n=16), PD + hepatitis C (n=10) and PD only (n=109). The patients’ blood samples were analyzed for: biochemical parameters (blood sugar – glucose, total cholesterol, hepatic enzymes – transaminase ALT and AST, triglycerides) and cellular parameters (full blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, prothrombin time and international normalized ratio). Data collection and statistical analysis t-test were performed for comparison, p < 0.05 for statistical significance. Results. Our retrospective study shows elevated levels of hepatic enzymes (both AST and ALT) for the periodontal patients diagnosed with chronic HCV/HBV infection than for systemic-healthy periodontal patients. The total cholesterol mean values expressed no statistically significant difference between the four group of patients. Triglycerides mean levels were lower than the physiological reference value for periodontal patients with no co-morbidities but expressed higher average values for systemic-diseased ones. Glucose levels were the highest for the periodontal patients with diabetes. Conclusion. Metabolic parameters in periodontal patients suffer alterations caused by diabetes and HBV/HCV infection.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the fifth most common cancer worldwide, while being the third leading cause of death by cancer. The primary risk factor for HCC seems to be liver cirrhosis. A large majority of these patients have a history of viral hepatitis., Materials and Methods: We selected a study lot consisting of 244 patients diagnosed with HCC, admitted between 2006 and October 2009 in the Emergency County Hospital of Craiova, Romania along with an age and gender matched control group, consisting of patients with no history of HCC or other malignancies. We interviewed all subjects regarding their alcohol consumption and background environment. All subjects underwent hepatitis B surface antigen (Hbs Ag) and anti-HCV antibodies (Anti-HCV Atb) serological determinations., Results: The study group consisted of 148 males and 96 females. Liver cirrhosis (LC) was present in 84% of the study lot, 10% associated viral B hepatitis (HBV) and 6% viral C hepatitis (HCV), with no signs of LC. We found LC to be an important risk factor for HCC (RR 6.53, CI 95% 3.18-13.38). The RR and 95% CI of HCC were 4.51 (2.48-8.21) for HbsAg positivity. We noticed a strong correlation (Chi-square test, p<0.001) between the rural environment and the association with LC. HVB was also more present in patients coming from rural areas (p< 0.01). Alcohol intake was present in 89% of the whole lot, being more correlated with the presence of LC as well as with HbsAg positivity (RR 9.165, CI 95% 4.43-18.92)., Conclusion: Cirrhosis proved to be the primary risk factors for HCC. We underline the fact that HCC was found to be directly associated with viral hepatitis, without evident LC. Further studies are needed in order to establish if intensified HCC screening, especially in rural areas, is required in patients with newly diagnosed viral hepatitis. The increased prevalence of HBV infections might encourage HBV vaccinations as an efficient tool to prevent HCC.