Background. Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO) is a significant yet frequently misdiagnosed cause of respiratory distress in athletes. Due to symptomatic overlap, it is routinely mistaken for bronchial asthma or exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). This diagnostic confusion leads to ineffective pharmacological treatment and impaired athletic performance. Aim. The aim of this review is to evaluate the clinical relationship between EILO and asthma, focusing on the physiological differences, diagnostic imperatives, and management strategies in competitive sports. Material and Methods. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, was conducted. The search strategy involved keywords such as "EILO", "exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction", "laryngeal obstruction", "asthma", and "CLE test". The analysis focused on peer-reviewed clinical trials and consensus statements. Sources were selected based on their relevance to pathophysiology, diagnostic accuracy, and therapeutic efficacy in the athletic population. Results. The study demonstrates that while EIB involves inflammatory narrowing of the lower airways, EILO is a mechanical event at the laryngeal level driven by Bernoulli’s principle. Differentiation depends on the timing of symptoms: EILO occurs during peak effort, whereas EIB typically presents post-exercise. The Continuous Laryngoscopy Exercise (CLE) test is confirmed as the gold standard for real-time visualization. Management is predominantly non-pharmacological, with respiratory retraining and biofeedback showing high efficacy. Conclusions. EILO should be considered a primary differential diagnosis in athletes unresponsive to asthma therapy. Objective endoscopic evaluation is essential to prevent medical errors. A multidisciplinary approach, prioritizing respiratory physiotherapy over pharmacology, is necessary to restore optimal breathing patterns and performance.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic and progressive metabolic disorder associated with abnormal blood glucose levels. The term involves several diseases with different pathophysiology mechanisms and treatment strategies. Stem cell-based treatments represent an emerging strategy for patients with diabetes mellitus with severe pancreatic insufficiency and poor glycemic control. Over the last 20 years, researchers have investigated mesenchymal stem cell infusion and the transplantation of stem cell-derived β cells and islet tissues. This review aims to comprehensively discuss the latest advances in the field of stem cell use in diabetes, including clinical studies and preclinical experiments aiming at improving the efficacy and safety of stem cell use.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease with a complex, multifactorial aetiology, in which both environmental factors and genetic predisposition play a significant role. This narrative review summarises the genetic polymorphisms associated with RA that have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Its aim is to synthesise the loci and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reported to date, to relate them to the immunological mechanisms through which they are thought to act, and to assess their emerging diagnostic, prognostic, and pharmacogenomic applications. Its scope covers large-scale GWAS and multi-ancestry meta-analyses together with the candidate-gene, functional, and pharmacogenomic studies required for their interpretation. Three principal conclusions emerge from the literature reviewed. First, the genetic architecture of RA remains dominated by the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope, which is associated primarily with seropositive, anti-citrullinated protein antibody-positive disease, whereas the numerous non-HLA loci identified to date each confer only a modest individual effect. Second, these non-HLA variants converge on a limited number of biological processes—the activation thresholds of T and B lymphocytes, NF-κB and JAK–STAT cytokine signalling, and the invasive behaviour of fibroblast-like synoviocytes—so that their value lies less in the prediction of risk by individual variants than in identifying pathways amenable to therapeutic targeting. Third, the most readily translatable findings are pharmacogenomic. Variants affecting adenosine signalling and nucleotide metabolism modulate the response to methotrexate. Several polymorphisms predict the response to TNFα inhibitors. Polygenic risk scores are beginning to support the differential diagnosis of early inflammatory arthritis. Progress remains constrained by the over-representation of European-ancestry cohorts, by the difficulty of moving from an associated locus to a causal variant and its target gene, and by the limited replication of pharmacogenomic associations. Integration of genomic with transcriptomic, epigenomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data, supported by machine learning approaches, is therefore required before genotype-guided management of RA can enter routine clinical practice.

Background. Growing evidence highlights the gut-muscle axis as a prominent area of research in sports science, illustrating a connection between the gastrointestinal tract and skeletal muscles. While individual factors such as diet and age influence the microbiome, physical exercise is increasingly recognized as a profound modulator of gut microbiotas’ composition. Purpose. The aim of this review is to evaluate recent scientific evidence on how the gut microbiota influences physiological performance, metabolic adaptations, and immune system function in athletes and physically active individuals. Findings. Recent evidence demonstrates that regular physical activity significantly enhances the alpha-diversity and abundance of beneficial microbial species. Studies show that athletes exhibit higher alpha-diversity and lower systemic inflammatory markers compared to sedentary controls. Distinct taxa, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, contribute heavily to mucosal barrier integrity and metabolic optimization. Furthermore, specific microbial groups actively augment performance, for example, Veillonella atypica metabolizes exercise-induced lactate into propionate—a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) utilized by skeletal muscles to enhance aerobic endurance. Practically, institutional consensus from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) indicates that dose-dependent probiotic supplementation supports gut barrier function, enhances nutrient absorption, and reduces the risk of upper respiratory tract infections. Conclusion. The gut microbiota exerts a profound influence on athletic capacity and systemic health. Modulating this ecosystem through targeted, evidence-based probiotic supplementation opens compelling new horizons for optimizing recovery, immunity, and athletic performance.