Extensive research in recent decades has expanded our insights into the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), though the underlying cause remains incompletely understood. Neuroinflammation have become a point of interest in the interconnecting areas of neurodegeneration and infectious diseases. The hypothesis concerning an infectious origin in PD stems from the observation of Parkinson-like symptoms in individuals infected with the influenza virus who then developed encephalitis lethargica. The implications of infectious pathogens have later been studied in neuronal pathways leading to the development of Parkinsonism and PD, through both a direct association and through synergistic effects of infectious pathogens in inducing neuroinflammation. This review explores the relationship between important infectious pathogens and Parkinsonism, including symptoms of Parkinsonism following infectious etiologies, infectious contributions to neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative processes associated with Parkinsonism, and the epidemiologic correlations between infectious pathogens and idiopathic PD.

Epilepsy is a group of chronic neurological disorders characterized by recurrent, spontaneous, and unpredictable seizures. It is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. Comprehensive studies on epilepsy in recent decades have revealed the complexity of epileptogenesis, in which immunological processes, epigenetic modifications, and structural changes in neuronal tissues have been identified as playing a crucial role. This review discusses the recent advances in the biomarkers of epilepsy. We evaluate the possible molecular background underlying the clinical changes observed in recent studies, focusing on therapeutic investigations, and the evidence of their safety and efficacy in the human population. This article reviews the pathophysiology of epilepsy, including recent reports on the effects of oxidative stress and hypoxia, and focuses on specific biomarkers and their clinical implications, along with further perspectives in epilepsy research.

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death. Its poor prognosis can be attributed to the patients' advanced or metastatic presentation at the time of diagnosis. To improve and accelerate the diagnosis, better therapeutic and diagnostic methods are constantly being sought. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short nucleotide sequences of single-stranded, non-coding RNA that function as critical post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. They are identified not only intracellularly, but also in physiological and pathological body fluids. These molecules are responsible for the regulation of approximately 33% of human genes, either regulating the expression of both oncogenes and suppressor genes or acting directly as an oncogene or suppressor gene itself. MiRNAs can contribute to the formation of cancer. The high specificity and sensitivity of miRNAs have been demonstrated with various malignant diseases, and for this reason, they raise particular interest as new and perspective biomarkers of tumours. Our work summarises the available information from recent years regarding the possibility of using miRNAs as biomarkers in the diagnosis of neoplasms. In this review, we focused on malignant pleural effusions with an emphasis on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is used to treat many different types of wounds, but there is still a lack of large studies describing its effectiveness in breast surgery. Enhanced recovery, reduction of complications, and good scar quality might be improved by the application of NPWT. Existing data show that vacuumassisted closure (VAC) application after expander-based breast reconstruction may be beneficial because of decreasing overall complications in comparison with standard wound treatment. There are few cases in which the use of negative pressure resulted in healing of complicated breast wounds after implant insertion-most breasts achieved healing, wherein duration of NPWT ranged from seven to 21 days. The use of NPWT leads to a decrease of seroma formation (from 70% to 15%), the mean percutaneous aspirated volume (from 193 ml to 26 ml) and the numbers of percutaneous aspirations (from three to one) in latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction. Furthermore, a prospective, within-patient, randomised study with 200 participants showed that treating closed incisional wounds after reduction mammoplasty with a VAC system resulted in a decrease of overall complications and protected against wound dehiscence. In the literature, there are cases showing that NPWT may be useful for the successful treatment of chronic and non-healing wounds, included non-puerperal mastitis and surgical sites affected by radiation therapy due to breast cancer. There is still a need for evidence confirming the effectiveness of NPWT in breast surgery because of the deficiency of large prospective studies that compare NPWT with standard treatment.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common heterogeneous endocrine disorder among women of reproductive age. The pathogenesis of PCOS remains elusive; however, there is evidence suggesting the potential contribution of genetic interactions or predispositions combined with environmental factors. Among these, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been proposed to potentially contribute to the etiology of PCOS. Granulosa and theca cells are known to cooperate to maintain ovarian function, and any disturbance can lead to endocrine disorders, such as PCOS. This article provides a review of the recent knowledge on PCOS pathophysiology, the role of granulosa and theca cells in PCOS pathogenesis, and the evidence linking exposure to EDCs with reproductive disorders such as PCOS.