AimsTakotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) remains a potentially life-threatening disease, which is clinically indistinguishable from acute myocardial infarction (MI). Today, no established biomarkers are available for the early diagnosis of TTC and differentiation from MI. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) emerge as promising sensitive and specific biomarkers for cardiovascular disease. Thus, we sought to identify circulating miRNAs suitable for diagnosis of acute TTC and for distinguishing TTC from acute MI.Methods and resultsAfter miRNA profiling, eight miRNAs were selected for verification by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in patients with TTC (n = 36), ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI, n = 27), and healthy controls (n = 28). We quantitatively confirmed up-regulation of miR-16 and miR-26a in patients with TTC compared with healthy subjects (both, P < 0.001), and up-regulation of miR-16, miR-26a, and let-7f compared with STEMI patients (P < 0.0001, P < 0.05, and P < 0.05, respectively). Consistent with previous publications, cardiac specific miR-1 and miR-133a were up-regulated in STEMI patients compared with healthy controls (both, P < 0.0001). Moreover, miR-133a was substantially increased in patients with STEMI compared with TTC (P < 0.05). A unique signature comprising miR-1, miR-16, miR-26a, and miR-133a differentiated TTC from healthy subjects [area under the curve (AUC) 0.835, 95% CI 0.733–0.937, P < 0.0001] and from STEMI patients (AUC 0.881, 95% CI 0.793–0.968, P < 0.0001). This signature yielded a sensitivity of 74.19% and a specificity of 78.57% for TTC vs. healthy subjects, and a sensitivity of 96.77% and a specificity of 70.37% for TTC vs. STEMI patients. Additionally, we noticed a decrease of the endothelin-1 (ET-1)-regulating miRNA-125a-5p in parallel with a robust increase of ET-1 plasma levels in TTC compared with healthy subjects (P < 0.05).ConclusionThe present study for the first time describes a signature of four circulating miRNAs as a robust biomarker to distinguish TTC from STEMI patients. The significant up-regulation of these stress- and depression-related miRNAs suggests a close connection of TTC with neuropsychiatric disorders. Moreover, decreased levels of miRNA125a-5p as well as increased plasma levels of its target ET-1 are in line with the microvascular spasm hypothesis of the TTC pathomechanism.

Body piercing is significantly more popular among women while tattooing is more popular in men. Among adolescents, body piercing is performed considerably earlier than tattooing. The main reasons for body ornamenting in the Polish population are the desire to enhance one's individuality and the need to increase sexual attractiveness.

Skin cancers are the most common neoplasms; frequently, they localize on the face. The aim of paper is to present the incidence of skin tumors in a single center from 2017 to 2019, describe trends in its frequency and find relations between neoplasms and sex, type of cancer, and its size. An analysis of histopathological files from the surgical department between 2017 and 2019 was calculated. These items were selected: sex, age, type of skin cancer, subtype of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), grading of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), localization and dimensions of the tumor. The study sample consisted of 387 cases. BCC was the most common cancer and its nodular type was the most frequent. In older patients, the vertical dimension of excised carcinoma was significantly larger. Moreover, this connection was detected only in women compared to men. There were statistically significant differences between dimensions of the skin cancer and sex. In men group, skin cancers had statistically higher vertical dimensions and larger surface areas. On the face and head, BCC more often localizes in the nasal area, while SCC on the auricle. It has been demonstrated that the older the patient, the larger the vertical dimension of the tumor. As such, tumor size is larger in men than in women, as women usually see their physicians sooner than men: cosmetic concerns are more important to them.

Atypical facial clefts are rare congenital anomalies, however because of functional and aesthetic disturbances they constitute a serious medical and therapeutic problem. Facial clefts are characterized by variable clinical presentation and require individualized treatment plan.

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