This study is a successor of our previous work concerning changes in the chemokine profile in infection that are associated with different SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants. The goal of our study was to take into account both the virus and the host immune system by assessing concentrations of cytokines in patients infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants (ancestral Wuhan strain, Alpha, Delta and Omicron). Our study was performed on 340 biological samples taken from COVID-19 patients and healthy donors in the timespan between May 2020 and April 2022. We performed genotyping of the virus in nasopharyngeal swabs, which was followed by assessment of cytokines’ concentration in blood plasma. We noted that out of nearly 30 cytokines, only four showed stable elevation independently of the variant (IL-6, IL-10, IL-18 and IL-27), and we believe them to be ‘constant’ markers for COVID-19 infection. Cytokines that were studied as potential biomarkers lose their diagnostic value as the virus evolves, and the specter of potential targets for predictive models is narrowing. So far, only four cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, and IL-27) showed a consistent rise in concentrations independently of the genetic variant of the virus. Although we believe our findings to be of scientific interest, we still consider them inconclusive; further investigation and comparison of immune responses to different variants of SARS-CoV-2 is required.

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Currently, the prevalence of obesity and its extreme forms is progressively increasing throughout the world. The article presents analysis of different approaches to the surgical treatment of super and super-super obesity. The range of methods varies from one-stage restrictive interventions to the use of multi-component combined operations with long-term preoperative preparation. In general, the opinions of the experts seem to be different, so at the present time there are no uniform recommendations for treating patients with extreme obesity, the fact determining the need for further research

Introduction. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common pathologies in obesity, at the same time the impact of bariatric operations on the course of NAFLD remains unresolved and debatable, the issue determining the relevance of this work.The aim of the study was to assess the effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on the course of NAFLD and determine the criteria that affect the dynamics of NAFLD after a performed bariatric intervention.Materials and methods. The study included clinical outcomes of 64 patients who underwent LSG between 2014 and 2017. Intraoperative liver biopsy, laboratory and instrumental investigations, the calculation of FibroTest in dynamics were performed to all patients. The frequency of postoperative complications was assessed. Follow up examinations including 58 (90.6%) patients were carried out during 2 years.Results. Initially, 29 (45,3%) patients manifested signs of fibrosis according to METAVIR, and 19 (29,7%) patients manifested signs of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Elevated transaminases were registered in 14 (21,9%) patients, elevated levels of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) were registered in 47 (73,4%) patients, increased total bilirubin were registered in 12 (18,8%) patients, increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were registered in 21 (32,8%) patients. There was an increased level of trygliceride (TG) and decreased level of high density lipoproteins (HDL) in 54 (84,4%) patients. Ultrasound investigation of the liver revealed an increased liver size in 46 (71,9%) patients, diffuse heterogeneity of the liver in 61 (95,3%), hyperechogenicity in 60 (93,8%) patients. Manifestations of liver cirrhosis were registered in 1 (1,6%) patient.There was a significant decrease in the excess body weight in the postoperative period, and hereat, the % EBMIL (Excess Body Mass Index Loss, percentage of overweight loss) in 1 year after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy achieved satisfactory values and amounted to 68,30 [58,67-78,77] %. ALT, AST findings were normal in 79,7% of operated patients, cholestasis parameters - in 76,5% of operated patients, FibroTest findings - in 42,2% of cases. In 6 months after surgery there was a deterioration of the clinical and biochemical properties of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which was transient and regressed in one year after surgery. The mortality rate during the entire follow-up period was 0%. The effect of the surgery on the signs of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease persisted for 2 years after surgery.Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy demonstrated high effectiveness in patients under 45 years old compared to the patients over 45 years old, and in patients with initial stages of fibrosis F0-F2 by METAVIR compared to patients with stages F3-F4 by METAVIR. In addition, patients with BMI higher than 40 kg/m2 achieved higher FibroTest findings after 6 months compared to subjects with BMI lower than 40 kg/m2, and in fewer cases FibroTest findings normalized in 1 year after surgery, respectively.Conclusions. Therefore, it was noted the efficacy of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in patients with obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; at the same time, it was revealed a transient worsening of the course of the disease in 6 months after surgery.