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Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS), a rare disorder determined by distal 4p deletion, is characterized by a pre and postnatal growth retardation, hypotonia, intellectual disability, epilepsy, craniofacial dysmorphism, and congenital fusion anomalies. The clinical aspects are dependent on the deletion’ size. Our aim was to identify rare specific characteristics in a cohort of seven cases with 4p deletion and to assess the utility of Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) (cheap and sensitive test)—combined kits—as a diagnostic test and selection tool for cases that require other investigations (chromosomal microarray analysis—CMA, karyotype). For all cases we conducted a clinical examination with the main features identified: facial dysmorphism, intellectual disability, postnatal development delay, cardiac defects and hypotonia. In some cases, we observed seizures, structural brain abnormalities, immunodeficiencies, and renal anomalies. Prenatal growth retardation was detected in a relatively small number of cases, but postnatal growth failure was a constant feature. In all cases, the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by genetic analyses: karyotype and/or MLPA. In conclusion, renal and brain defects, as well as immunodeficiency are rare manifestations and should be looked for. Although CMA is the standard test, in our experience, MLPA is also a reliable screening method as the identified cases were either confirmed by MLPA or selected for further investigations.
Eva-Cristiana Gavril; Alina Costina Luca; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Roxana Popescu; Irina Resmerita; Monica Cristina Panzaru; Lacramioara Ionela Butnariu; Eusebiu Vlad Gorduza; Mihaela Gramescu; Cristina Rusu. Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome: Clinical and Genetic Study of 7 New Cases, and Mini Review. Children 2021, 8, 751 .
AMA StyleEva-Cristiana Gavril, Alina Costina Luca, Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan, Roxana Popescu, Irina Resmerita, Monica Cristina Panzaru, Lacramioara Ionela Butnariu, Eusebiu Vlad Gorduza, Mihaela Gramescu, Cristina Rusu. Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome: Clinical and Genetic Study of 7 New Cases, and Mini Review. Children. 2021; 8 (9):751.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEva-Cristiana Gavril; Alina Costina Luca; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Roxana Popescu; Irina Resmerita; Monica Cristina Panzaru; Lacramioara Ionela Butnariu; Eusebiu Vlad Gorduza; Mihaela Gramescu; Cristina Rusu. 2021. "Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome: Clinical and Genetic Study of 7 New Cases, and Mini Review." Children 8, no. 9: 751.
Athletes are exposed to a tremendous amount of stress, both physically and mentally, when performing high intensity sports with frequent practices, pushing numerous athletes into choose to use ergogenic aids such as caffeine or β-alanine to significantly improve their performance and ease the stress and pressure that is put onto the body. The beneficial or even detrimental effects of these so-called ergogenic aids can be appreciated through the use of numerous diagnostic tools that can analyze various body fluids. In the recent years, saliva samples are gaining more ground in the field of diagnostic as it is a non-invasive procedure, contains a tremendous amount of analytes that are subject to pathophysiological changes caused by diseases, exercises, fatigue as well as nutrition and hydration. Thus, we describe here the current progress regarding potential novel biomarkers for stress and physical activity, salivary α-amylase and salivary cortisol, as well as their use and measurement in combination with different already-known or new ergogenic aids.
Cezar Honceriu; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Alin Ciobica; Andrei Ciobica; Constantin Trus; Daniel Timofte. Connections between Different Sports and Ergogenic Aids—Focusing on Salivary Cortisol and Amylase. Medicina 2021, 57, 753 .
AMA StyleCezar Honceriu, Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan, Alin Ciobica, Andrei Ciobica, Constantin Trus, Daniel Timofte. Connections between Different Sports and Ergogenic Aids—Focusing on Salivary Cortisol and Amylase. Medicina. 2021; 57 (8):753.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCezar Honceriu; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Alin Ciobica; Andrei Ciobica; Constantin Trus; Daniel Timofte. 2021. "Connections between Different Sports and Ergogenic Aids—Focusing on Salivary Cortisol and Amylase." Medicina 57, no. 8: 753.
Neurodevelopmental disorders are a category of diseases that is not yet fully understood. Due to their common traits and pathways, often it is difficult to differentiate between them based on their symptoms only. A series of hypotheses are trying to define their etiology, such as neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and immunology, but none have managed to explain their multifactorial manifestation. One feature that may link all theories is that of oxidative stress, with a redox imbalance as well as several other markers of oxidative damage (on lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids) being observed in both postmortem samples of the brain of patients with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. However, the implication of oxidative stress in pathology is still distrustfully looked upon. For this purpose, in the current paper, we were interested in reviewing the implications of oxidative stress in these disorders as well as the impact of N-acetylcysteine on the oxidative status with a focus on the glutathione level and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. We were also interested in finding papers targeting the use of antioxidant properties of different plant extracts.
Alexandrina S. Curpan; Alina-Costina Luca; Alin Ciobica. Potential Novel Therapies for Neurodevelopmental Diseases Targeting Oxidative Stress. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2021, 2021, 1 -13.
AMA StyleAlexandrina S. Curpan, Alina-Costina Luca, Alin Ciobica. Potential Novel Therapies for Neurodevelopmental Diseases Targeting Oxidative Stress. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2021; 2021 ():1-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexandrina S. Curpan; Alina-Costina Luca; Alin Ciobica. 2021. "Potential Novel Therapies for Neurodevelopmental Diseases Targeting Oxidative Stress." Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2021, no. : 1-13.
While animal models for schizophrenia, ranging from pharmacological models to lesions and genetic models, are available, they usually mimic only the positive symptoms of this disorder. Identifying a feasible model of chronic schizophrenia would be valuable for studying the possible underlying mechanism and to investigate emerging treatments. Our hypothesis starts from the observation that combining ketamine with isolation could result in long-lasting neuro-psychological deficits and schizophrenia-like features; thus, it could probably be used as the first model of chronic schizophrenia that emphasizes the characteristic of having a multifactorial etiology. By the means of this study, we investigated the effects of ketamine administration combined with isolation in inducing schizophrenia-like symptoms in male albino rats and the brain reactive oxygen species levels. Our results showed that the number of lines crossings in the open field test, the number of open arm entries in the elevated plus maze, and the spontaneous alternations percentage in the Y-maze were significantly lower in the ketamine + isolation group compared to both the control and ketamine + social housing group (p< 0.05). Furthermore, the ketamine + isolation intervention significantly increased the MDA levels and decreased the GPx levels both in the hippocampus and the cortex of the rats. In addition, our premise of creating a model capable of exhibiting both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia was also based on adding the aripiprazole treatment to a group of rats. Therefore, we compared the ketamine + social isolation group with the ketamine + social isolation + aripiprazole group in order to attempt to discover if the antipsychotic drug would significantly decrease the potential positive schizophrenia-like symptoms induced by social isolation and ketamine. Given that we obtained significant results, we cautiously presume that this might be an important step in developing our animal model capable of illustrating both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. This study could be a first step towards the creation of a complex animal model capable of exhibiting the multifactorial origin and manifestation of schizophrenia.
Suzanne Estaphan; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpăn; Dalia Khalifa; Laila Rashed; Andrei Ciobica; Adrian Cantemir; Alin Ciobica; Constantin Trus; Mahmoud Ali; Asmaa ShamsEldeen. Combined Low Dose of Ketamine and Social Isolation: A Possible Model of Induced Chronic Schizophrenia-Like Symptoms in Male Albino Rats. Brain Sciences 2021, 11, 917 .
AMA StyleSuzanne Estaphan, Alexandrina-Stefania Curpăn, Dalia Khalifa, Laila Rashed, Andrei Ciobica, Adrian Cantemir, Alin Ciobica, Constantin Trus, Mahmoud Ali, Asmaa ShamsEldeen. Combined Low Dose of Ketamine and Social Isolation: A Possible Model of Induced Chronic Schizophrenia-Like Symptoms in Male Albino Rats. Brain Sciences. 2021; 11 (7):917.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuzanne Estaphan; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpăn; Dalia Khalifa; Laila Rashed; Andrei Ciobica; Adrian Cantemir; Alin Ciobica; Constantin Trus; Mahmoud Ali; Asmaa ShamsEldeen. 2021. "Combined Low Dose of Ketamine and Social Isolation: A Possible Model of Induced Chronic Schizophrenia-Like Symptoms in Male Albino Rats." Brain Sciences 11, no. 7: 917.
Despite the progress in management and prophylaxis measures, infective endocarditis (IE) is still a condition associated with high mortality rates and severe complications. Fortunately, the incidence of IE is much lower in children and adolescents, with only 0.05–0.12/1000 cases being reported in hospitalized pediatric patients. According to recent data, IE is, in most cases, a complication of pre-existing congenital heart disorders, in up to 75–90% of cases. About 8–10% of all IE cases occur in children without a pre-existing heart condition, due to the widespread use of catheters and invasive procedures, or are associated with immunosuppression. The overall mortality rate due to IE among children and adolescents is 16–25%, a fairly high incidence despite advances made in management and treatment methodologies. We present a retrospective case study conducted in the Pediatric Cardiology Department of ‘St. Maria’ Emergency Children’s Hospital of Iași between February 2007 and February 2020, including 54 children aged between 23 days and 17 years. Our study was aimed at revealing the evolution of IE in recent years in the pediatric population, at identifying the main causes leading to the onset and progress of the disease, at assessing the incidence of clinical and paraclinical manifestations and at determining efficient diagnosis and therapy approaches for the population under survey.
Alina-Costina Luca; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Heidrun Adumitrachioaiei; Ioana Ciobanu; Cezarina Dragomirescu; Raluca-Stefania Manea; Ecaterina Vlad; Alina Surguci-Copaceanu. Difficulties in Diagnosis and Therapy of Infective Endocarditis in Children and Adolescents—Cohort Study. Healthcare 2021, 9, 760 .
AMA StyleAlina-Costina Luca, Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan, Heidrun Adumitrachioaiei, Ioana Ciobanu, Cezarina Dragomirescu, Raluca-Stefania Manea, Ecaterina Vlad, Alina Surguci-Copaceanu. Difficulties in Diagnosis and Therapy of Infective Endocarditis in Children and Adolescents—Cohort Study. Healthcare. 2021; 9 (6):760.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlina-Costina Luca; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Heidrun Adumitrachioaiei; Ioana Ciobanu; Cezarina Dragomirescu; Raluca-Stefania Manea; Ecaterina Vlad; Alina Surguci-Copaceanu. 2021. "Difficulties in Diagnosis and Therapy of Infective Endocarditis in Children and Adolescents—Cohort Study." Healthcare 9, no. 6: 760.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most salient developmental neurological diseases and remarkable similarities have been found between humans and model animals of ASD. A common method of inducing ASD in zebrafish is by administrating valproic acid (VPA), which is an antiepileptic drug that is strongly linked with developmental defects in children. In the present study we replicated and extended the findings of VPA on social behavior in zebrafish by adding several sleep observations. Juvenile zebrafish manifested hyperactivity and an increase in ASD-like social behaviors but, interestingly, only exhibited minimal alterations in sleep. Our study confirmed that VPA can generate specific ASD symptoms, indicating that the zebrafish is an alternative model in this field of research.
Madalina Robea; Alin Ciobica; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Gabriel Plavan; Stefan Strungaru; Radu Lefter; Mircea Nicoara. Preliminary Results Regarding Sleep in a Zebrafish Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brain Sciences 2021, 11, 556 .
AMA StyleMadalina Robea, Alin Ciobica, Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan, Gabriel Plavan, Stefan Strungaru, Radu Lefter, Mircea Nicoara. Preliminary Results Regarding Sleep in a Zebrafish Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brain Sciences. 2021; 11 (5):556.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMadalina Robea; Alin Ciobica; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Gabriel Plavan; Stefan Strungaru; Radu Lefter; Mircea Nicoara. 2021. "Preliminary Results Regarding Sleep in a Zebrafish Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder." Brain Sciences 11, no. 5: 556.
Wolff–Parkinson–White (WPW) syndrome is a rare abnormal condition frequently associated with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and is described as an arrhythmia under the form of increased heartbeat. Currently, there are various possible treatments going from medicines such as adenosine and beta-blockers to cardioversion. The unknown causes of this condition together with the different responses to treatment in each patient make it difficult to establish the best therapeutic approach. In this context, in the current paper, we were interested in reporting the therapeutic options and their efficiency in the case of associated heart or inflammatory conditions in a 13-day-old patient.
Alina-Costica Luca; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Ingrith Miron; Emma Horhota; Alin-Constantin Iordache. Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia in Wolff–Parkinson–White Syndrome in a Newborn—Case Report and Mini-Review. Medicina 2020, 56, 588 .
AMA StyleAlina-Costica Luca, Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan, Ingrith Miron, Emma Horhota, Alin-Constantin Iordache. Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia in Wolff–Parkinson–White Syndrome in a Newborn—Case Report and Mini-Review. Medicina. 2020; 56 (11):588.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlina-Costica Luca; Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan; Ingrith Miron; Emma Horhota; Alin-Constantin Iordache. 2020. "Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia in Wolff–Parkinson–White Syndrome in a Newborn—Case Report and Mini-Review." Medicina 56, no. 11: 588.
Although the connections between neuropsychiatric and dental disorders attracted the attention of some research groups for more than 50 years now, there is a general opinion in the literature that it remains a clearly understudied and underrated topic, with many unknowns and a multitude of challenges for the specialists working in both these areas of research. In this way, considering the previous experience of our groups in these individual matters which are combined here, we are summarizing in this minireport the current status of knowledge on the connections between neuropsychiatric and dental manifestations, as well as some general ideas on how oxidative stress, pain, music therapy or even irritable bowel syndrome-related manifestations could be relevant in this current context and summarize some current approaches in this matter.
Alin Ciobica; Manuela Padurariu; Alexandrina Curpan; Iulia Antioch; Roxana Chirita; Cristinel Stefanescu; Alina-Costina Luca; Mihoko Tomida. Minireview on the Connections between the Neuropsychiatric and Dental Disorders: Current Perspectives and the Possible Relevance of Oxidative Stress and Other Factors. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2020, 2020, 1 -13.
AMA StyleAlin Ciobica, Manuela Padurariu, Alexandrina Curpan, Iulia Antioch, Roxana Chirita, Cristinel Stefanescu, Alina-Costina Luca, Mihoko Tomida. Minireview on the Connections between the Neuropsychiatric and Dental Disorders: Current Perspectives and the Possible Relevance of Oxidative Stress and Other Factors. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2020; 2020 ():1-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlin Ciobica; Manuela Padurariu; Alexandrina Curpan; Iulia Antioch; Roxana Chirita; Cristinel Stefanescu; Alina-Costina Luca; Mihoko Tomida. 2020. "Minireview on the Connections between the Neuropsychiatric and Dental Disorders: Current Perspectives and the Possible Relevance of Oxidative Stress and Other Factors." Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2020, no. : 1-13.