Women diagnosed with breast cancer of childbearing age are concerned about how to maintain ovarian function even after undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, a team of doctors from the United Kingdom focused on the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and its ability to protect women from premature menopause after chemotherapy.

Results from studies on new antidiabetic drugs showing cardiovascular (CV) benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i, gliflozins) and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) have led to efforts to create new recommendations for their use in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for primary and secondary CV disease prevention. A recent review by American experts succinctly summarizes what current guidelines from American and European professional societies say on this subject.

Which disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce the humoral response to COVID-19 vaccination? And does the quantity of post-vaccination antibodies vary depending on the specific vaccine?

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a nightmare for all doctors prescribing disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis. How Swiss colleagues dealt with this situation is illuminated by the following case study.

The EMPA-REG OUTCOME study already in 2015 highlighted one of the benefits of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin, which is the reduction of the risk of hospitalization for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Compared to placebo, empagliflozin reduced this risk by a relative 35%.

The British RATE-AF study, published in December 2020 in the JAMA journal, compared the impact on improving the quality of life in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) and symptoms of heart failure when administering bisoprolol and low-dose digoxin.

MUDr. Petr Smejkal, Ph.D., from the Department of Clinical Hematology, FN Brno, has prepared a case study for you of a patient born in 1941, diagnosed with hemophilia A at around 10 years of age. In 2013, he underwent surgery for right carotid stenosis with pdFVIII substitution and was started on acetylsalicylic acid. Two weeks after discharge, subcutaneous and muscle bleeding was recognized, leading to the development of an FVIII inhibitor (high responder) with FVIII levels

Hashimoto's (chronic lymphocytic) thyroiditis is the most common cause of acquired hypothyroidism in both adults and pediatric patients in developed countries. The study presented below explored the relationship between thyroid gland (TG) echogenicity observed in ultrasound (US) examinations and its function in patients diagnosed with this condition.

Much about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is still unknown. Some experts would like to reclassify this disease. What classification options are available? What would a focus on the "progressive fibrotic phenotype" in research mean? And what would a change in classification mean for patients?

Previously published results of clinical studies have shown that in patients refractory to crizotinib therapy, the administration of brigatinib led to a high rate of therapeutic response (systemic and intracranial) and simultaneously improved median progression-free survival. Additional results presented at this year's ASCO congress included the final outcomes of studies focusing on the administration of brigatinib specifically in patients refractory to crizotinib therapy.

Brigatinib is an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor with broad and potent activity against ALK gene mutations causing resistance to ALK inhibitor therapy (ALKi). In patients refractory to crizotinib therapy, brigatinib administration in phase III clinical trials led to high systemic and intracranial therapeutic responses and concurrently improved median progression-free survival (PFS). The primary analysis objective of the phase II J-ALTA clinical study, presented at this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) congress, was to assess the efficacy and safety of therapy in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC naïve to previous ALKi therapy.

The size of lymph nodes, liver, spleen, blood cell counts, systemic symptoms... Changes in these indicators provide clear information on whether the disease of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has progressed, stabilized, or if the patient has achieved partial or complete remission after therapy. An even deeper insight into what has happened at the cellular level in the human body is provided by the evaluation of minimal residual disease (MRD). Why is it meaningful to search for the remaining leukemic cells? How to identify them, in what material, and when? And is the information about MRD truly useful for all types and lines of treatment? The answers to these questions, along with other current data and information on the topic, are brought by the following presentation.

The key to adherence to long-term anticoagulant therapy is primarily the satisfaction of patients with the set therapy. The RE-SONANCE study published in April 2021 compared patient satisfaction with anticoagulant treatment using the direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) dabigatran versus vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). What were the findings?

Intravenous thrombolysis is the only approved systemic reperfusion therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The most commonly used thrombolytic is alteplase. Earlier this year, the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) issued new evidence-based recommendations for this clinical situation. They contain 40 points, summarized below are the most important ones.

The overuse of antibiotics has helped bacteria become resistant to them. In the fight against antibiotic resistance, the involvement of artificial intelligence in the development of new drugs could prove beneficial. Using AI, experts from MIT examined more than 36 million possible compounds and evaluated their antimicrobial properties. The researchers also analyzed potential new compounds that had not yet been synthesized. The best candidate molecules discovered are structurally distinct from all existing antibiotics and appear to disrupt bacterial cell membranes through previously unobserved mechanisms.