Ischemic stroke triggers a dynamic immune response that influences both acute damage and long-term recovery. This review synthesizes a decade of evidence on immunological and inflammatory biomarkers in ischemic stroke, emphasizing their prognostic and therapeutic significance. Following ischemic insult, levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and chemokines like interleukin-8 (IL-8) rapidly rise, promoting blood–brain barrier disruption, leukocyte infiltration, and neuronal death. Conversely, anti-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) facilitate repair, neurogenesis, and immune regulation in later phases. The balance between these pathways determines outcomes and is reflected in circulating biomarkers. Composite hematological indices including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) offer accessible and cost-effective prognostic tools. Several biomarkers correlate with infarct size, neurological deterioration, and mortality, and may predict complications like hemorrhagic transformation or infection. Therapeutic strategies targeting cytokines, especially IL-1 and IL-6, have shown promise in modulating inflammation and improving outcomes. Future directions include personalized immune profiling, real-time cytokine monitoring, and combining immunotherapy with neurorestorative approaches. By integrating immune biomarkers into stroke care, clinicians may enhance risk stratification, optimize treatment timing, and identify candidates for novel interventions. This review underscores inflammation’s dual role and evolving therapeutic and prognostic relevance in ischemic stroke.

Phytochemicals are plant-derived bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and epigenetic modulatory effects that may contribute to the prevention and management of chronic diseases. This review synthesizes recent evidence on the molecular mechanisms through which phytochemicals influence oxidative stress, inflammatory signaling, and epigenetic regulation. A targeted literature search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases (2015–2025) identified over 400 experimental and review studies investigating phytochemicals with documented antioxidant and epigenetic activities. Eligible articles were selected based on relevance to oxidative stress, inflammation, and DNA or histone modification pathways in chronic diseases. Data were qualitatively analyzed to highlight mechanistic links between redox balance, transcriptional regulation, and disease modulation. The results indicate that several phytochemicals, including hesperidin, phloretin, lycopene, and silybin, modulate signaling cascades—NF-κB, Nrf2, and PI3K/Akt—while also influencing DNA methylation and histone acetylation to restore gene expression homeostasis. Despite strong in vitro and in vivo evidence, translation to clinical practice remains limited by low bioavailability, lack of standardized formulations, and insufficient human trials. Future research should prioritize integrative study designs linking molecular mechanisms to clinical endpoints. Understanding the epigenetic actions of phytochemicals may guide the development of nutraceutical strategies for chronic disease prevention.

Ischemic stroke triggers a dynamic immune response that influences both acute damage and long-term recovery. This review synthesizes a decade of evidence on immunolog-ical and inflammatory biomarkers in ischemic stroke, emphasizing their prognostic and therapeutic significance. Following ischemic insult, pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and chemokines like IL-8 rapidly rise, promoting blood-brain barrier disruption, leukocyte infiltration, and neu-ronal death. Conversely, anti-inflammatory mediators such as IL-10 and TGF-β facilitate repair, neurogenesis, and immune regulation in later phases. The balance between these pathways determines outcomes and is reflected in circulating biomarkers. Composite hematological indices including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), plate-let-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) offer accessible and cost-effective prognostic tools. Several biomarkers correlate with infarct size, neurological deterioration, and mortality, and may predict complications like hemorrhagic transformation or infection. Therapeutic strategies targeting cytokines, especially IL-1 and IL-6, have shown promise in modulating inflammation and im-proving outcomes. Future directions include personalized immune profiling, real-time cytokine monitoring, and combining immunotherapy with neurorestorative approach-es. By integrating immune biomarkers into stroke care, clinicians may enhance risk stratification, optimize treatment timing, and identify candidates for novel interven-tions. This review underscores inflammation’s dual role and evolving therapeutic and prognostic relevance in ischemic stroke.

Complicated wounds often require specialized medical treatments, and hydrogels have emerged as a popular choice for wound dressings in such cases due to their unique properties and the ability to incorporate and release therapeutic agents. Our focus was to develop and characterize a new optimized formula for biohybrid hydrogel membranes, which combine natural and synthetic polymers, bioactive natural compounds, like collagen and hyaluronic acid, and pharmacologically active substances (doxycycline or npAg). Dynamic (oscillatory) rheometry confirmed the strong gel-like properties of the obtained hydrogel membranes. Samples containing low-dose DOXY showed a swelling index of 285.68 ± 6.99%, a degradation rate of 71.6 ± 0.91% at 20 h, and achieved a cumulative drug release of approximately 90% at pH 7.4 and 80% at pH 8.3 within 12 h. The addition of npAg influenced the physical properties of the hydrogel membranes. Furthermore, the samples containing DOXY demonstrated exceptional antimicrobial efficacy against seven selected bacterial strains commonly associated with wound infections and complications. Biocompatibility assessments revealed that the samples exhibited over 80% cell viability. However, the addition of smaller-sized nanoparticles led to decreased cellular viability. The obtained biohybrid hydrogel membranes show favorable properties that render them suitable for application as wound dressings.

Phytochemicals are bioactive plant-derived compounds with significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and epigenetic modulatory properties, offering promising avenues for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Chronic conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic, and autoimmune disorders often involve oxidative stress, inflammation, and epigenetic dysregulation. Evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies indicates that phytochemicals, including flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids, organosulfur compounds, and terpenes, can attenuate oxidative damage by enhancing endogenous antioxidant defenses, modulate inflammatory signaling pathways such as NF-κB and Nrf2, and influence gene expression through the regulation of DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs. Specific compounds—such as hesperidin, genistein, phloretin, lycopene, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, anacardic acid, allyl mercaptan, silybin, artemisinin, and geraniol—demonstrate multi-targeted actions, reversing aberrant epigenetic marks and restoring cellular homeostasis. By simultaneously acting on redox balance, inflammatory mediators, and epigenetic regulators, these natural compounds provide a mechanistic basis for chemoprevention and adjuvant therapy. However, translation into clinical applications requires rigorous trials to assess bioavailability, synergistic effects, and safety in humans. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of phytochemical action may advance novel, integrative strategies for chronic disease prevention and health promotion.