Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment; however, the availability of cost-effective blood-based biomarkers for prognostic and predictive factors of immune treatment in patients with solid tumors remains limited. Due to low cost and easy accessibility, blood-based biomarkers should constitute an essential component of studies to optimize and monitor immunotherapy. Currently available markers that can be measured in peripheral blood include total monocyte count, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs), relative eosinophil count, cytokine levels (such as IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble forms of CTLA-4 and PD-1 or PD-L1, as well as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). In our mini-review, we discuss the latest evidence indicating that routinely accessible peripheral blood parameters—such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and rheological parameters, which so far have been rarely considered for such an application, may be used as non-invasive biomarkers in cancer immunotherapy. Rheological parameters such as whole blood viscosity are influenced by several factors, such as hematocrit, aggregability and deformability of erythrocytes, and plasma viscosity, which is largely dependent on plasma proteins. Especially in cases where the set of symptoms indicates a high probability of hyperviscosity syndrome, blood rheological tests can lead to early diagnosis and treatment. Both biochemical and rheological parameters are prone to become novel and future standards for assessing immunotherapy among patients with solid tumors.

Background: Proper body balance is maintained by both sensory, i.e., vision, hearing, vestibular, and proprioception, and motor nervous systems. Visual control facilitates balance both in a static position, as well as during movement. Visual dysfunctions can adversely affect balance and stability control. Methods: The study comprised a group of 30 individuals visually impaired from birth aged 18–24 years. The control group consisted of 50 persons in the same age range as the study group. The trial was performed as four separate tests: two on a stable surface platform, and two on an unstable surface platform. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in the posturography test on the stable platform between the study groups. When tested on an unstable ground surface, the visually impaired subjects obtained showed worse performance than the sighted persons. Statistically significant differences were observed in the majority of the analyzed results. Conclusions: Visually impaired individuals present a poorer ability to maintain balance under dynamic conditions. Tests conducted on the unstable surface platform seem to be more relevant and applicable in the diagnosis of the subjects with visual impairment, as they differentiate the subjects to a greater extent.

The influence of magnetic field on whole blood rheological properties remains a weakly known phenomenon. Anin vitroanalysis of the magnetic field influence on the rheological properties of healthy persons blood is presented in this work. The study was performed on blood samples taken from 25 healthy nonsmoking persons and included comparative analysis of the results of both the standard rotary method (flow curve measurement) and the oscillatory method known also as the mechanical dynamic analysis, performed before and after exposition of blood samples to magnetic field. The principle of the oscillatory technique lies in determining the amplitude and phase of the oscillations of the studied sample subjected to action of a harmonic force of controlled amplitude and frequency. The flow curve measurement involved determining the shear rate dependence of blood viscosity. The viscoelastic properties of the blood samples were analyzed in terms of complex blood viscosity. All the measurements have been performed by means of the Contraves LS40 rheometer. The data obtained from the flow curve measurements complemented by hematocrit and plasma viscosity measurements have been analyzed using the rheological model of Quemada. No significant changes of the studied rheological parameters have been found.

BACKGROUND: It is generally unknown if taste sensitivity is dependent upon saliva viscosity. The rheological properties of saliva result from many factors and it has been shown to behave as a non-Newtonian fluid whose viscosity decreases with increasing shear rate. Taste sensitivity may be quantitatively assayed by electro-gustometry. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to compare saliva rheological properties, obtained with a rotary-oscillating rheometer, to quantitative measures of taste sensitivity, using electro-gustometry. METHODS: Saliva samples were taken from 27 healthy non-smoking donors – 7 men and 20 women aged 18–65 years (mean age – 37 years). After thresholds of taste sensation were measured, the saliva samples were taken and characterized in terms of their rheological properties and pH. Saliva viscosity was measured in the order of decreasing shear rate in the range 100–0.01 s ⁻¹ . Viscoelastic properties were examined under constant frequency oscillations (with f = 0.5 Hz) and with decreasing shear effective amplitude [ ]. RESULTS and CONCLUSIONS: Saliva viscosity was found to decrease with increasing shear rate and varied with time. Analysis of the dependence of the viscosity values of saliva and components of complex viscosity did not show a significant correlation with taste sensation. A dependency of taste sensation on pH could not be discerned due to the narrow range of naturally occurring pH.

The aim of the study is to test the influence of in vivo magnetostimulation on the rheological properties of blood in neurological patients. Blood circulation in the body depends both on the mechanical properties of the circulatory system and on the physical and physicochemical properties of blood. The main factors influencing the rheological properties of blood are as follows: hematocrit, plasma viscosity, whole-blood viscosity, red cells aggregability, deformability, and the ability of red cells to orient in the flow. The blood samples were collected from neurological patients with pain. Blood samples were collected twice from each patient, that is, before the magnetostimulation and immediately after the therapy. For each blood sample, the hematocrit value was measured using the standard method. Plasma viscosity and whole-blood viscosity were measured by means of a rotary-oscillating rheometer Contraves LS40. Magnetic field was generated by the instrument Viofor JPS® and the magnetostimulation treatments were performed using M1P2 and M1P3 programs. The analysis of the results included estimation of the hematocrit value (Hct), plasma viscosity (η_p), whole-blood viscosity and rheological parameters of Quemada’s model: k₀, k_∞, γ′_c. Plasma viscosity values were obtained from the shear rate dependence of shear stress using the linear regression method. The results obtained in the study suggest that the blood rheological properties change in accord with applied magnetostimulation program.

Background: Hemorheology is a field of science which often becomes interesting to researchers studying impairments related to blood flow disturbances. Clinically silent vascular cerebral lesions (CSVCLs) are considered a problem of great importance in neurology. Objective: This work aimed to analyze the interdependencies of the rheological and biochemical parameters of the blood. Methods: The group of patients included persons with clinically silent multifocal vascular cerebral lesions diagnosed using neuroimaging. The control group had no symptoms in the central nervous system (CNS). We analyzed hemorheological profiles in 69 patients with CSVCLs diagnosed via magnetic resonance imaging (MR) or 64-row computer tomography measurements. Rheological data were acquired using a rotary-oscillating rheometer, the Contraves LS-40, an instrument dedicated to blood viscosity measurements. For each sample, the hematocrit value was measured using the standard method. Analysis of erythrocytes’ aggregability and deformability was performed using the rheological model of Quemada. Biochemical tests of blood were also performed. Results: The results of rheological and biochemical studies were compared with those obtained in the control group. Special attention was paid to the correlation analysis of rheological and biochemical parameters. Conclusions: Such correlations were found, e.g., between the red cells’ deformability and the fibrinogen level. The results improve our understanding of blood flow hemodynamics by analyzing the shear-dependent behavior of the aggregation and deformability of red blood cells.