The problem of the association of infective endocarditis (IE) and oncological diseases has been discussed for more than 60 years, and is now becoming increasingly relevant because of observed increasing of number IE in elderly patients. The review of the literature presents both data on the incidence of oncological diseases diagnosed with IE and in the long-term follow-up of patients after IE, as well as current estimates of IE incidence in cancer patients, obtained in large population-based studies. The highest risk of IE development was found in patients with tumors of the colon and rectum, and the predominant etiological role of Streptococcus bovis/gallolyticus was proved in such cases. The frequency of concomitant oncological diseases is higher in elderly patients with IE. On the other hand, it is obvious that IE can be considered as a marker of latent oncological pathology, especially gastrointestinal tumors, malignant blood diseases and lymphoproliferative diseases that are most often detected during the period of active IE and in the first 1–2 years later. Therefore, mandatory colonoscopy is recommended for patients with IE caused by Streptococcus bovis/gallolyticus during the period of IE and annually in subsequent years, even if initially the colonoscopy did not reveal pathology. In elderly IE patients we should also be aware of the high likelihood of concomitant oncological pathology and carry out appropriate oncological search. Antimicrobial prophylaxis of IE in patients with gastrointestinal cancer remains unresolved.

Pain syndrome in the shoulder occurs in every 5th adult and is the 2nd most frequent reason for seeking primary medical care among all musculoskeletal disorders. Group of local causes of pain syndrome in the shoulder area. The starting point for differential search is patient’s age. For persons younger than 40, the most common causes are joint instability (dislocations / subluxations), as well as mild damage of the rotator cuff muscles due to injury. Patients older than 40 have an increased risk of severe chronic disorders of the above-mentioned muscles, adhesive capsulitis, and osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint. Treatment of shoulder joint and soft tissue pathology is nosological in nature and has to be justified by pathogenesis. Chondroreparants are a new class of pharmaceuticals based on hyaluronic acid modified by low molecular weight compounds using solid-phase stabilization. During physical stabilization (mechanosynthesis) of hyaluronic acid, chemical crosslinkers are not used, which leads to high tolerability and safety. Modified hyaluronic acid in Hyalrepair formulas has a number of structural features leading to its slower biodegradation in the tissues. Chondroreparant Hyalrepair-10 consists of hyaluronic acid, ascorbyl phosphate, zinc, cysteine, and glutathione; Hyalrepair- 2 consists of hyaluronic acid, ascorbyl phosphate, L-proline, L-lysine, and glycine. Use of intra-joint and periarticular injection of hyaluronic acid can be an effective approach in combination pathogenesis-directed therapy of the shoulder and soft tissues.

Back pain (BP), associated with the degenerative disc disease (DDD), poses a heavy social and economic burden due to early disability and indications to surgery, emerging in young adults. Pathophysiological basis of premature intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is being actively studied. The study was aimed to define the profiles of inflammatory cytokines in DDD, as well as their relationship to the structural spine diseases. The molecular genetic analysis of the mRNA gene abundance in patients with BP and herniated IVD after discectomy and healthy individuals was performed by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. High expression of TNFα, IL17 was revealed in the IVD tissues of the affected patients (p < 0.01); the levels of TNFα and IL1β correlated with the DDD severity (r = 0.301 and 0.37; p < 0.05). Elevated expression of IL1β, IL6 was found in peripheral white blood cells (p < 0.01); the levels of IL6 negatively correlated with Modic type 1 and 2 changes (r = –0.31; p < 0.05), and the levels of IL17 positively correlated with the IVD herniation in combination with erosions of the adjacent vertebral body endplates and Modic changes (r = 0.401; p < 0.05). The expression of VEGF-А in the IVD tissues and white blood cells negatively correlated with the DDD grades (r = –0.85; p < 0.001), indicating reduced vascularization in the terminal phase of the disease. The findings on DDD demonstrate the contribution of the local low-immune inflammation, coupled with the intense disc vascularization at the earlier stages, and associated with the reactive inflammation in vertebral bodies. The results are prerequisites for developing the anti-inflammatory and reparative therapy based on the DDD grade and the presence of Modic changes in young adults with BP.

Back pain (BP) due to degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a severe, often disabling condition. The aim of this study was to determine the association between the expression level of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-17), angiogenesis markers (VEGF-A and CD31) in intervertebral disc (IVD) tissue and IVD degeneration in young people with discogenic BP. In patients who underwent discectomy for a disc herniation, a clinical examination, magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine, histological and immunohistochemical analyses of these factors in IVD were performed in comparison with the parameters of healthy group samples (controls). Histology image analysis of IVD fragments of the DDD group detected zones of inflammatory infiltration, combined with vascularization, the presence of granulation tissue and clusters of chondrocytes in the tissue of nucleus pulposus (NP). Statistically significant increased expression of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, VEGF-A and CD31 was evident in the samples of the DDD group compared with the controls, that showed a strong correlation with the histological disc degeneration stage. Our results denote an immunoinflammatory potential of chondrocytes and demonstrates their altered morphogenetic properties, also NP cells may trigger the angiogenesis.