Fusarium Keratitis—Review of Current Treatment Possibilities

In many parts of the world, fungi are the predominant cause of infectious keratitis; among which, Fusarium is the most commonly isolated pathogen. The clinical management of this ophthalmic emergency is challenging. Due to the retardation of the first symptoms from an injury and the inability to differentiate fungal from bacterial infections based on clinical symptoms and difficult microbial diagnostics, proper treatment, in many cases, is postponed. Moreover, therapeutical options of Fusarium keratitis remain limited. This paper summarizes the available treatment modalities of Fusarium keratitis, including antifungals and their routes of administration, antiseptics, and surgical interventions.

New therapies in atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases. Despite of this, the pathomechanism of the disease is still not fully understood. In recent years, several scientific results led to the better understanding of the disease. Meantime, new therapeutical options have emerged which were developed specifically for AD patients. In this manuscript new therapies, namely dupilumab and baricitinib, which are already licenced in Hungary, are reviewed. A detailed description of therapies e.g. biological therapy, small molecular weight drugs, topical therapy and antipruritics which are currently in clinical research have been also summarized.

Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Disease: An Update on the Clinical Significance of Atherogenic Small, Dense LDL and New Therapeutical Options

Dyslipidemia is a potent risk factor for the genesis and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and both the concentration and type of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) augment this association. The small, dense LDL (sdLDL) subfraction is the subtype which is most strongly predictive of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. In addition to the traditionally available lipid-lowering treatment options, certain novel therapies have been shown to favorably impact sdLDL, among them the antidiabetic class of agents known as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs). These drugs seem to alter the pathophysiologic mechanisms responsible for the formation and accumulation of atherogenic lipoprotein particles, thus potentially reducing cardiovascular outcomes. They represent a uniquely targeted therapeutic approach to reduce cardiometabolic risk and warrant further study for their beneficial nonglycemic actions.

Glial Purinergic Signaling in Neurodegeneration

Purinergic signaling regulates neuronal and glial cell functions in the healthy CNS. In neurodegenerative diseases, purinergic signaling becomes dysregulated and can affect disease-associated phenotypes of glial cells. In this review, we discuss how cell-specific expression patterns of purinergic signaling components change in neurodegeneration and how dysregulated glial purinergic signaling and crosstalk may contribute to disease pathophysiology, thus bearing promising potential for the development of new therapeutical options for neurodegenerative diseases.

Targeted Therapy with Sirolimus and Nivolumab in a Child with Refractory Multifocal Anaplastic Ependymoma

Pediatric ependymoma (EPN) is the third most common central nervous system (CNS) tumor, with 90% arising intracranially. Management typically involves maximal surgical resection and radiotherapy, but patients’ outcome is poor. Moreover, there are only a few therapeutical options available for recurrent or refractory disease. In this report, we present the case of a 7-year-old girl with relapsed refractory multifocal grade III EPN who failed conventional treatments and experienced a stable and durable response to the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPI) nivolumab in association with the mammalian target of rapamycin (m-TOR) inhibitor sirolimus. This experimental therapy was targeted on immune phenotypical analyses of the patient’s last relapse tumor sample, and this procedure should be routinely done to find new possible therapeutical approaches in recurrent solid tumors.

COVID-19 THERAPEUTICAL OPTIONS: OVERVIEW ON CURRENTLY ANTIMALARIALS AND ANTIPARASITIC DRUGS USED

Given the amount of scientific knowledge produced and published daily about the new corovavirus, this study sought to review evidence on some of the drugs used to treat Acute Respiratory Infection Syndrome caused by the COVID-19 virus. Thus, antimalarials and antiparasitics were evaluated regarding chemical and pharmacological aspects, including mechanism of action, toxicity, adverse effects and recommendation for use in the treatment of COVID-19.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms of lung, pancreas and gut: a morphology-based comparison

The bronchopulmonary (BP) and gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) organ systems harbor the majority of the neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) of the body, comprising 20 and 70% of all NENs, respectively. Common to both NEN groups is a classification distinguishing between well- and poorly differentiated NENs associated with distinct genetic profiles. Differences between the two groups concern the reciprocal prevalence of well and poorly differentiated neoplasms, the application of a Ki67-based grading, the variety of histological patterns, the diversity of hormone expression and associated syndromes, the variable involvement in hereditary tumor syndromes, and the peculiarities of genetic changes. This review focuses on a detailed comparison of BP-NENs with GEP-NENs with the aim of highlighting and discussing the most obvious differences. Despite obvious differences, the principle therapeutical options are still the same for both NEN groups, but with further progress in genetics, more targeted therapy strategies can be expected in future.