Background/Objectives: Maternal overweight and obesity are critical factors increasing the risk of various pregnancy complications. Maternal obesity can lead to fetal macrosomia and a heightened risk of intrauterine death, with long-term implications for the child’s health. This study aimed to analyze the incidence of obesity and its impact on pregnancy outcomes in women who delivered by cesarean section at the University Hospital “St. George”, Plovdiv. Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted. The documentary method was used for gathering data. Records were randomly selected. The statistical methods used included mean values, confidence intervals (of mean), frequency, and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for normality of distribution. Data comparisons were performed using the Mann–Whitney test. Mean values of numerical variables were compared using the independent samples t-test. Results: In total, 46.36% of women in this study were affected by obesity to varying degrees, and the proportion of women who were overweight at the end of their pregnancy was 37.85%. In the studied cohort, 15.99% of women were affected by hypertensive complications. This significant prevalence of obesity highlights concerns regarding body weight among women of reproductive age. This study emphasized a strong correlation between maternal obesity, particularly severe obesity, and the occurrence of preeclampsia. Conclusions: In this study among women who delivered by cesarean section, a significant proportion of them were affected by overweight and obesity. Data for our country are insufficient, and a more in-depth study of this problem is needed. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of maternal obesity on the health of the mother and the newborn.

Introduction: Cervical cancer causes major morbidity and mortality around the world. This makes prophylactic vaccines a significant tool for preventing the disease. As these vaccines become more widely available, they have the potential to drastically lower the cancer’s prevalence and burden in the future. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes toward awareness of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Materials and methods: A pilot, cross-sectional, medicosocial survey was conducted using a structured, anonymous online questionnaire, including self-assessment questions on awareness and attitudes towards HPV vaccination. Sixty-four adult female parents of female children participated in the study between June and August 2023. The design and conduct of the study was done with the personal involvement of the researchers. SPSS v. 23.0 was used to analyze the primary statistical information. The results obtained were presented graphically using MS Excel 2010. Results: We found significantly good awareness and negative attitude towards vaccination as prevention against HPV. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that respondents had a relatively good awareness of cervical cancer, the risk factors associated with the disease, and the virus that causes it. There was a correlation between socio-demographic characteristics and awareness of the study population. The respondents had a certain distrust of the vaccine. The dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that vaccination was not a substitute for routine cervical screening, was not 100% effective, and did not provide protection against any type of papilloma virus or against pre-existing HPV infections. The low vaccination coverage in Bulgaria leads the authors to believe that our country urgently needs new strategies and approaches in the fight against cervical cancer, through continuous training of medical personnel, inclusion of immunization programs in school health care, and improved health education and awareness of HPV vaccination among adolescent girls and their parents.

Background/Objectives: Maternal overweight and obesity are critical factors increasing the risk of various pregnancy complications. Maternal obesity can lead to fetal macrosomia and a heightened risk of intrauterine death, with long-term implications for the child’s health. The study aimed to analyse the incidence of obesity and its impact on pregnancy outcome in women delivered by caesarean section from 2021 to 2023 at the University Hospital "St. George", Plovdiv. Methods: This retrospective cohort study examined the prevalence of obesity and its effects on pregnancy outcomes among 494 women undergoing caesarean sections between 2021 and 2023. The documentary method was used for gathering data. Inclusion criteria were applied. Data were statistically analysed with SPSS v.23. Results: A significant prevalence of obesity in the studied cohort was revealed, highlighting concerns regarding body weight among women of reproductive age. The presence of preeclampsia in these mothers was associated with increased risks to newborns, including prematurity and low birth weight. The study emphasized a strong correlation between maternal obesity, particularly severe obesity, and the occurrence of preeclampsia. Conclusions: There is a noticeable trend towards increasing rates of pregnancy complications associated with maternal obesity. A substantial proportion of women delivered by caesarean section is affected by obesity and overweight. This study indicated a clear trend towards a rise in the frequency of preterm births linked to preeclampsia, as well as an increased incidence of hypertensive disorders in women with elevated BMI. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of maternal obesity on health.

Gout is a crystal-induced inflammatory arthritis driven by hyperuricemia and monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition, yet urate burden alone does not explain why only a subset of hyperuricemic individuals develops clinical disease, why acute flares are usually self-limited, or why gout clusters with renal and cardiometabolic comorbidity. This structured narrative review uses a gout-specific redox-switch framework, defined as a context-dependent shift in uric acid biology according to concentration, compartment, crystallization state, xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) activity, inflammatory priming, and disease stage rather than as a binary molecular event. We integrate evidence on XOR-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial stress, NLRP3 inflammasome signaling, neutrophil oxidative responses, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), lipid peroxidation, and potential ferroptosis-related mechanisms. Evidence is classified into five categories: established, mechanistically supported, human-associative, conceptual, and emerging/unvalidated. The available human data support lipid-peroxidation and ferroptosis-associated molecular signatures, but do not yet establish ferroptotic cell death as a driver of gout. Therapeutic implications are therefore framed conservatively: urate-lowering therapy remains foundational, whereas redox-directed approaches require pathway specificity, disease-stage definition, and biomarker validation. The redox-switch concept is proposed as an organizing framework for mechanistic and translational research, not as a validated clinical algorithm.

The aim of this research is to study the main medical-social aspects and indications when performing CS. For this purpose, we conducted a retrospective epidemiological study. We used a documentary method. A total of 467 deliveries through CS were covered. The group of women in the age group from 30 to 34 yrs., incl., is the largest one. 233 women in the sample have at least one born child, 178 of them have undergone at least one previous CS. In 453 cases, the pregnancy is a singleton one, while in 14 cases, the pregnancy is a twin one. There is a stated refusal of attempted vaginal delivery and insistence of the woman for delivery through CS in the cases of 32 pregnant women in the sample. They do not differ in age versus the rest of the cohort, yet higher education level is observed in their cases. We did not find any statistically significant difference in the period of postoperative stay in the group of women who stated a refusal. CS is usually indicated by a few factors. The leading indication for surgical intervention in this study is the presence of an already performed CS. This indication is almost always accompanied by at least one more indication, as most often it is low pelvic score, established labour or presence of pain in the region of the surgical cicatrix. The presence of eye pathology and evidence of a narrow pelvis are independent reasons for CS.