Adina Turcu-Stiolica

University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova | UMF Craiova

Background and Objectives: Amyloidosis is a disorder characterized by the abnormal folding of proteins, forming insoluble fibrils that accumulate in tissues and organs. This accumulation disrupts normal tissue architecture and organ function, often with serious consequences, including death if left untreated. Light-chain amyloidosis (AL) and heredi...

Background: Brain metastases (BM) from gastric cancer (GC) are rare but associated with poor prognosis, significantly impacting patient survival and quality of life. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to consolidate existing research on BM from GC, evaluate the incidence and clinical outcomes, and explore the effectiveness...

OBJECTIVES: The aim is to analyze health technology assessment (HTA) process and its specificities concerning advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), and to review the progress in their market access over a 3-year period in three Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: Bulgaria, Romania and Poland. METHODS: A specifically designed quest...

Introduction Adherence to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) could be a predictor of chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) therapeutic failure. We examined the perceptions of patients receiving DAAs to determine how cognitive factors influence their decision to maintain adherence. Also, we explored the threshold of DAAs adherence for obtaining sustained vir...

Background: Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy, characterised by a complex pathophysiology, with mitochondrial dysfunction playing a significant role in the cellular damage and apoptosis of ganglion cells. Niacin is a precursor to several molecules acting as coenzymes in the mitochondrial production of ATP, in DNA repair and in the reductio...

Antimicrobial resistance is increasingly concerning, causing millions of deaths and a high cost burden. Given that carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales are particularly concerning due to their ability to develop structural modifications and produce antibiotic-degrading enzymes, leading to high resistance levels, we sought to summarize the avail...

Purpose Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a heterogeneous spectrum of liver diseases that encompass simple steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Periodontitis is a chronic infectious disease with multiple causal factors that presents a complex interaction between the microbial biofil...

Background and Objectives: Previous studies have shown that the levodopa treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) elevates circulating homocysteine levels, which are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and neurological disorders, or thrombosis. The present trial aimed to examine whether the intake of vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitami...

This study aimed to investigate the transferability of novel artificial intelligence (AI) methods for prediction modelling of diabetes based on real-world data (RWD) between early and late adopters of emerging health technologies from the perspective of developers and health technology assessment (HTA) experts. A two-step approach was used. Develop...

Background: Cholecystectomy has been a subject of debate regarding its timing and utility in cases of mild and moderately severe acute pancreatitis (AP). We aimed to critically evaluate the role of early cholecystectomy in the management of mild and moderate AP, considering patient's characteristics, associated procedures, and overall impact on pat...

Introduction: It is imperative for patients to respect the prescribed treatments to achieve the anticipated clinical outcomes, including the outpatients receiving oral anti-cancer drugs such as selective cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK 4/6i). With the introduction of three CDK 4/6i drugs in the Romanian pharmaceutical market in 2018, ou...

Connections between vitamin D and psoriasis have been a matter of interest for the past decades, with its active metabolite, 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D, being valued for antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects. However, none of vitamin D’s actions could be possible without the CYP27B1 enzyme that bio-activates this metabolite of interest. In order...

Objectives To analyze and compare the access of patients with rare diseases (RDs) to pharmacotherapy by monitoring the legislative procedures and the number of reimbursed orphan medicinal products (OMPs) in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. Methods A comparative analysis of the current legislation in these countries was performed. In addition, the nati...

Our purpose is to emphasize the role of botulinum toxin in spasticity therapy and functional recovery in patients following strokes. Our retrospective study compared two groups, namely ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. The study group (BT group) comprised 80 patients who received focal botulinum toxin as therapy for an upper limb with spast...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the pediatric population has been reported in many studies to be associated with an inflammatory response. However, to our knowledge, there is no definitive conclusion in the form of a meta-analysis. The issue we aimed to address is whether C-reactive protein (CRP) is a trustworthy marker in detecting inflammation in ch...

Background In upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB), admissions after normal working hours and during weekends may be associated with increased mortality. Aim To assess the evolution of the after-hours and weekend effects during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of progressive improved management despite management challenges during the pandemic....

Background: New pharmaceutical services were approved in Romania through the Romanian Ministry of Health Orders no. 2382/2021 and 3262/2022, and therefore the pharmacists working in Romanian community pharmacies must be trained in implementing the new pharmaceutical services, such as therapeutic education, support of medication adherence, medicatio...

The aim of this study was to assess the role of immunocyte-derived ratios (IDRs), such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), as markers for the postoperative recovery of gastrointestinal function following colorectal cancer s...

Background: This study sought to investigate the diagnostic procedures, treatment modalities, and consequences of anastomotic leakage (AL) in low anterior resection rectal cancer patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 186 patients consecutively admitted and treated in the 1st Department of Surgery in Craiova, between January 2...

This observational study included all patients undergoing HCV treatment with direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-based therapy between May 2020 and September 2023 at the Dolj County Hospital, Romania. The aim was to investigate adherence to DAAs among HCV patients and the effect of this treatment on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Chronic H...

Our concern was to obtain a biocomposite material with improved properties of the constituent materials (poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and zinc–boron (Zn–B) complex) in accordance with the novelties in the field of delivery systems for therapeutic agents which lately redefine the importance of biopolymer nanocomposites with PLGA (biodegrada...

Aims An analysis of the budget impact of using a bovine pericardial aortic bioprosthesis (BPAB) or a mechanical valve (MV) in aortic stenosis (AS) patients in Romania. Materials and methods A decision-tree with a partitioned survival model was used to predict the financial outcomes of using either a BPAB (the Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Magna Eas...

Background: While ventral hernia repair is a frequent surgical intervention, the possibility of complications remains present. The use of drains to mitigate complications is a topic of debate, with conflicting evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the association between drain usage and postoperative complications in ventral hernia repair. Materia...

Introduction Digital health services and technology are rapidly developing following the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to reveal the differences between users of digital health technology (DHT) and the general population with regard to cancer prevention. Materials and Methods This was an observational study on a conventional sample of 270 DH...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and obesity are known to influence postoperative outcomes in surgical patients. This study aimed to analyze the divergence in outcomes between patients with and without DM who underwent ventral hernia repair, while also assessing the additional impact of obesity on postoperative complications, hospitalization, and costs. A pr...

The aim of the present study was to determine the health-related quality of life of stroke patients and their caregivers during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 70 patients who had been diagnosed with stroke between October 2021 and March 2022 and 70 caregivers were included in the present study. A prospective follow-up study ass...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two arginine-based supplements on the fatigue level of patients following the COVID-19 infection. This is a prospective study of the SARS-CoV-2-infected patients divided into two groups (according to family physicians’ prescriptions, Group 1 of patients were treated with Astenor Energy® contai...

Background: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is associated with periodontal tissue inflammation, a condition that precedes alveolar bone resorption. It is also elevated in obese tissues and is a useful biomarker of proinflammatory status. Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a proinflammatory and lipolytic adipokine. Adipocytes strongly express SAA, which suggests that it...

Citation: Miut , escu, B.; Vuletici, D.; Burciu, C.; Turcu-Stiolica, A.; Bende, F.; Rat , iu, I.; Moga, T.; Sabuni, O.; Anjary, A.; Dalati, S.; et al.

Unlabelled: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) represents a major emergency, and patient management requires endoscopic assessment to ensure appropriate treatment. The impact of COVID-19 on patient mortality in UGIB may be related to the combination of respiratory failure and severe bleeding and indirectly to delayed admissions or a reduction...

Stroke remains one of the most important causes of death and disability. Preclinical research is a powerful tool for understanding the molecular and cellular response to stroke. However, a lack of standardization in animal evaluation does not always ensure reproducible results. In the present study, we wanted to identify the best strategy for evalu...

Background Non-endoscopic risk scores, Glasgow Blatchford (GBS) and admission Rockall (Rock), are limited by poor specificity. The aim of this study was to develop an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for the non-endoscopic triage of nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB), with mortality as a primary outcome. Methods Four machine learn...

Background and Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality and morbidity worldwide. Bevacizumab was approved for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) based on favorable benefit-risk assessments from randomized controlled trials, but evidence on its use in the real-world setting is limited. The...

Nowadays, the state-of-the-art discoveries in the field of delivery systems for therapeutic purposes have redefined the importance of biocompatible and biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanocomposites. The study aimed to obtain a biocomposite material, with improved properties of its constituents [zinc-boron (Zn-B) complex and PLGA]...

Background: Hyperuricemia is classically defined as serum uric acid (SUA) value higher than 6.8 mg/dL; between hyperuricemic patients, only 15–20% will develop gout. Our first goal was to find if there is a specificity of the “snowstorm” feature on ultrasound (US) for hyperuricemia. Moreover, we aimed to determine if there is a level of SUA from wh...

Osteopenic bone disease occurs frequently in patients with chronic liver cirrhosis, which most frequently presents with hepatic osteodystrophy. Thus, the relationship between nutritional status and bone mineral density has been poorly measured in liver cirrhosis. This single-center study consisted of a group of 70 patients diagnosed with liver cirr...

We performed a meta-analysis of chemo-brain diagnostic, pooling sensitivities, and specificities in order to assess the accuracy of a machine-learning (ML) algorithm in breast cancer survivors previously treated with chemotherapy. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for eligible articles before 30 September 2022. We identified three elig...

Although cancer can be cured if detected early and treated effectively, it is still a leading cause of death worldwide. Tumor development can be limited by an appropiate immune response, but it can be promoted by chronic extensive inflammation through metabolic dysregulation and angiogenesis. In the past decade, numerous efforts have been made in o...

Suboptimal states of vitamin D may play a role in psoriasis evolution, but the interconnections have been studied over the past years with controversial results. Although a peerless therapy among moderate to severe types of psoriasis, the therapeutic effectiveness of biological therapy may vary unforeseeably between patients and leads to biologics...

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide. In the last years, resistant strains of the etiological agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, have emerged, thus demanding more triage tests to identify active pulmonary TB (PTB) patients and to evaluate their disease severity. Therefore, acute-phase reaction serum te...

The purpose of this study was to create biodegradable composites using a synthetic polymer of polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), in which gentamicin or gentamicin and hydroxyapatite were included in order to achieve a local prolonged release of the drug in orthopedic disorders. The physico-chemical characterization of the biomaterial was achieved...

Data about the association between primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and metabolic bone disease are still unclear. PSC is a chronic cholestatic liver disease (CCLD) which affects the biliary tract, and it has a highly variable natural history. We systematically searched until 28 February 2022 MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Tria...