Human anelloviruses (TTV, TTMDV and TTMV) are at high prevalence all across the globe, having also a controversial disease-inducing potential. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anelloviral DNA in the Romanian human population and to investigate the association of infections with common pathologies in Romanian population. After informed consent, blood samples were collected from 2000 subjects represented by: clinically healthy individuals (n = 701) and a group of patients with pathologies linked to low grade inflammation or alteration of carbohydrate metabolism (n = 1299). All samples were analysed for the presence of TTV, TTMDV and TTMV DNA by hemi-nested PCR. The prevalence of TTV, TTMDV and TTMV in the studied population was 68.2, 54.4%, respectively 40.1%, lower than the recent reports from other geographic regions. The three viral species were significantly more frequent in the group of patients compared to the healthy subjects and were associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The presence of anelloviral DNA was also associated with medical procedures (e.g. haemodialysis/transfusions, surgical procedures) and previous hepatitis A virus infection. Lifestyle choices related to alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity and living environment were not associated with differences in distribution of the three viruses. Further evidence is needed to establish a correlation between infection with human anelloviruses and a pathology or group of pathologies.

The insulin -23Hph and IGF2 Apa polymorphisms were genotyped in Romanian patients with T1DM (n = 204), T2DM (n = 215) or obesity (n = 200) and normoponderal healthy subjects (n = 750). The genotypes of both polymorphisms were distributed in concordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all groups. The -23Hph AA genotype increased the risk for T1DM (OR: 3.22, 95%CI: 2.09-4.98, p < 0,0001), especially in patients without macroalbuminuria (OR: 4.32, 95%CI: 2.54-7.45, p < 0,0001). No other significant association between the alleles or genotypes of insulin -23Hph and IGF2 Apa and diabetes or obesity was identified.

" Stroke has a significant prevalence in Romania. The predisposition for this multifactorial disease is partially known. The aim of this study is to investigate the predisposition for stroke in Romanian population. Material and methods. We selected cases with recent ischemic stroke (n=100) and healthy control subjects (n=100). The AGTR1 A1166C (rs5186) polymorphism was genotyped by restriction of amplicons with Dde I endonuclease. Results. Active cigarette smoking (O.R. =6.92, p=0.0001) or presence of the AT1R C variant (O.R. =6.69, p=0.0006) in overweight or obese women significantly increase the risk for ischemic stroke. The diagnosis of stroke (71.5 vs 68 years old) or T2DM (63.39 vs 60.77 years old) was recorded at an older age in women compared to men (p<0.05). Obesity considered independent (O.R. =4.22, p<0.05) or in association with T2DM (O.R. = 10.16, p=0.0002) confers the highest risk of stroke when compared to women. Conclusions. Obesity in association with T2DM confers the highest risk of stroke for men when compared to women. Active cigarette smoking or AT1R C variant significantly increase the risk for stroke in women with a high BMI compared with controls. Keywords: stroke, AT1R, BMI, cigarette smoking"

Diabetes mellitus refers to metabolic disorders whose main characteristic is chronic hyperglycaemia. The cause is either disturbed insulin secretion, insulin resistance, or usually both. MicroRNAs represent a subclass of non-coding RNA molecules that are short in length, about 17-26 nucleotides. Since they are circulant and can be tissue-specific, their use as diagnostic biomarkers or screening for different diseases is currently undergoing deeper studies. It was found that 22 miRNAs were associated with the pathophysiology of T1DM, 34 with T2DM, and 16 miRNAs were identified to be common amongst T1DM and T2DM. All of them were reconfirmed in at least two separate studies.