B. Almajan Guta’s research while affiliated with West University of Timişoara and other places

In cystic fibrosis (CF), the respiratory disease is the main factor that influences the outcome and the prognosis of patients, bacterial infections being responsible for severe exacerbations. The etiology is often multi-microbial and with resistant strains. The aim of this paper is to present current existing antibiotherapy solutions for CF-associated infections in order to offer a reliable support for individual, targeted, and specific treatment. The inclusion criteria were studies about antibiotherapy in CF pediatric patients. Studies involving adult patients or those with only in vitro results were excluded. The information sources were all articles published until December 2021, in PubMed and ScienceDirect. A total of 74 studies were included, with a total number of 26,979 patients aged between 0–18 years. We approached each pathogen individual, with their specific treatment, comparing treatment solutions proposed by different studies. Preservation of lung function is the main goal of therapy in CF, because once parenchyma is lost, it cannot be recovered. Early personalized intervention and prevention of infection with reputable germs is of paramount importance, even if is an asymmetrical challenge. This research received no external funding.

Background and Objectives: During pregnancy, women undergo various physiological and anatomical changes that are accentuated as the pregnancy progresses, but return to their previous state a few weeks/months after the pregnancy. However, a targeted therapeutic approach is needed. Most of the time, during this period, these changes precipitate the appearance of pain, musculoskeletal pain being the most common. Pregnant women should avoid treating musculoskeletal pain with medication and should choose alternative and complementary methods. Exercise along with rest is the basis for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain. Side effects of physical therapy are rare and, in addition, it is not contraindicated in pregnant women. The benefits of this type of treatment in combating pain far outweigh the risks, being an easy way to improve quality of life. The objective of this article is to discuss the management of musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy, to identify the main musculoskeletal pain encountered in pregnant women along with drug treatment, and to expose the beneficial effects of alternative and complementary methods in combating pain. Materials and Methods: A literature search was conducted using medical databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, using the keywords “changes of pregnancy”, “musculoskeletal pain”, “pregnancy pain”, “pain management”, “pharmacological approach”, “alternative and complementary treatment” and specific sites. Information was collected from studies whose target population included pregnant women who complained of musculoskeletal pain during the 9 months of pregnancy; pregnant women with other pathologies that could increase their pain were not included in this review. Results: The articles related to the most common non-obstetric musculoskeletal pain in pregnancy along with pharmacological treatment options and alternative and complementary methods for musculoskeletal pain management during pregnancy were selected. Conclusions: The results were used to guide information towards the safest methods of therapy but also to raise awareness of the treatment criteria in order to compare the effectiveness of existing methods. Treatment must consider the implications for the mother and fetus, optimizing non-pharmacological therapeutic options.

Study aimed to assess the level of 25-OH-cholecalciferol(vitamin D) and the relation with cholesterol, proteins and glycaemia levels in patients with cystic fibrosis. 58 patients underwent for the annual evaluations and were tested for vitamin D deficiency, as the centre�s protocol requires, besides dosage of cholesterol, glycaemia and proteins levels. Serum levels of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol were compared to levels of cholesterol, proteins and glycaemia, using Pearson correlation and logistic regression. The average value of 25-OH-cholecalciferol was 22,9 ng/mL, suggesting an important deficiency and different stages of 25-OH-cholecalciferol deficiency was found in the majority of patients. Nor a positive correlation neither negative relationship was found between vitamin D and cholesterol (r=0,23), glycaemia or proteins level. Vitamin D levels are not related to cholesterol or proteins in our study. Although cystic fibrosis is characterised by liposoluble vitamins deficiency and lipids impaired digestion, other factors influence the seric levels of vitamin D and lipids.

Introduction : We started from the idea that the association of dietary supplements recommended by specialists and approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency with natural honey-based products, is beneficial for improving body composition and effort capacity in elite rugby players. The main purpose of this study was to determine the type of carbohydrates with the most beneficial effects for recovery and performance. Materials and methods : The study lasted 30 days and included 30 rugby players from SCM Timisoara Saracens Rugby team. They were randomly divided into 2 groups: the study group who consumed dietary supplements based on apiculture and herbal products, along with classical nutritional supplements and the control group that only used classical supplements. With the help of the InBody 720 Body Composition Analyzer, we evaluated the body composition parameters, and the player’s ability to repeatedly perform high-intensity aerobic work was established with the intermittent Recovery Level 2 YO-YO test. Results : The results show a significant increase in the average running distance in the fitness test for the study group (p = 0.021) and also for the control group (p = 0.008), with a considerable difference between the groups in terms of running distance (increase by 300 meters versus 208 meters in the control group) but without a significant difference between groups at the end of the study (p = 0.789). Improvements in body composition parameters were found in both groups, but significant differences between groups occurred only in terms of extracellular fluids/total body fluids ratio (p = 0.047) and extracellular water/total water ratio (p = 0.042). The study group showed a significant decrease in total body fat (p = 0.054) and visceral fat area (p = 0.002) and an increase in extracellular water (p = 0.013). The control group experienced a significant decrease in body fat and body fat percentage (p = 0.013 and p = 0.017 respectively), and increase in terms of skeletal muscle mass (p = 0.03), intracellular water (p = 0.03) and total water = 0.032). Conclusion : The results of this study highlight the importance of the type and quality of nutritional supplements in professional athletes training.

Objective Evaluation of CF bone disease presence and identification of its risk factors in our CF children population. Methods Study included 68 children with cystic fibrosis, aged 10.2 to 18.8 years, genotyped and monitored in the National CF Centre, for 2 years. At the annual assessment, besides clinical examination, biochemical evaluation for pancreatic insufficiency, diabetes liver disease, a subgroup of 26 children were evaluated for bone mineral density using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Detection of body mass density – BMD (g/cm²) – by DXA was determined on lumbar spinal (L1-L4). The age-corrected BMD findings were expressed as Z scores and correlated with gender, nutritional status (BMI), pancreatic insufficiency, genotype and presence of related diabetes. Results Twenty-six patients, aged over 10 years were diagnosed with CF bone disease, signifying a cumulative prevalence of 38.2%, without significant gender gap. The average Z score for BMD was –2.55. Bone disease was frequent in patients aged over 10 years with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency RR = 1.37 (95% CI 1.044–1.804), p = 0.02, carriers of severe mutations (RR = 1.51; 95% CI 1.054–2.187) and CF liver disease. Conclusion CF children carriers of a severe genotype who associates pancreatic insufficiency and CF liver disease were more likely predisposed to low bone mineral density. Further studies should discover other significant influences in order to prevent the development of CF bone disease and an improved life quality in cystic fibrosis children.