In various diseases, there is an increased production of the free radicals needed to carry out certain physiological processes but their excessive amounts can cause oxidative stress and cell damage. Enzymes play a major role in the transformations associated with free radicals. One of them is nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which catalyzes the formation of nitric oxide (NO). This enzyme exists in three forms (NOS1, NOS2, NOS3), each encoded by a different gene. The following work presents the most important information on the NOS isoforms and their role in the human body, including NO synthesis in various tissues and cells, intercellular signaling and activities supporting the immune system and regulating blood vessel functions. The role of NOS in pathological conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease is considered. Attention is also paid to the influence of the polymorphisms of these genes, encoding particular isoforms, on the development of these pathologies and the role of NOS inhibitors in the treatment of patients.

Kidney transplantation (KTx) is the best treatment method for end-stage kidney disease. KTx improves the patient’s quality of life and prolongs their survival time; however, not all patients benefit fully from the transplantation procedure. For some patients, a problem is the premature loss of graft function due to immunological or non-immunological factors. Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is degraded deoxyribonucleic acid fragments that are released into the blood and other body fluids. Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is cfDNA that is exogenous to the patient and comes from a transplanted organ. As opposed to an invasive biopsy, dd-cfDNA can be detected by a non-invasive analysis of a sample. The increase in dd-cfDNA concentration occurs even before the creatinine level starts rising, which may enable early diagnosis of transplant injury and adequate treatment to avoid premature graft loss. In this paper, we summarise the latest promising results related to cfDNA in transplant patients.

Plans for the museum path of the Medical University in Wrocław People have always been interested in discovering their past and seeking answers to their existential questions. Therefore institutions like museums, which collect exhibits related to the history and development of humans, have been known since antiquity. However, museology today has changed and is no longer confined to establishments related to popular fields like painting, sculpture and archaeology. Nowadays, there are also museums dedicated to medical sciences, which present the history of humanity in the sphere of its biological development. The Medical University in Wrocław can boast of several such establishments, although so far they have been treated as separate institutions. For this reason, the idea was created to combine them all into a single museum route, and to make it available to a broader visitor base. Thanks to this, people can view items from old and modern medicine practice located in many different sites, allowing them to deepen their knowledge and expand their interests. To make it easier for visitors to navigate through such a diverse complex, a special museum path has been created, along with a description of each location.