Background and Aim: Telepharmacy has emerged as a transformative model for delivering pharmaceutical services remotely through digital and telecommunication technologies. In Bulgaria, persistent regional disparities in pharmacy distribution, a growing elderly population, and advancing digital infrastructure create both the need and the conditions for telepharmacy implementation...
A QSAR prediction model was built from 270 curated bioactivity records and used to estimate the inhibitory potential of previously uncharacterized compounds. The Random Forest model based on PubChem fingerprints showed stable predictive performance (test R2 = 0.688) and met OECD validation criteria, as confirmed by cross-validation, Y-randomization, and applicability-domain...
Nutritional rehabilitation is a critical but often overlooked element in clinical practice in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and postoperative recovery. This review analyzes the importance of nutritional support in overcoming the hypermetabolic response and anabolic resistance that occur as a result of immobilization. Optimizing caloric intake through an individualized...
Electronic prescription (e-prescription) is part of digital solutions in healthcare. Studies have shown the benefits of electronic prescriptions, such as easier communication, fewer errors, reduced costs, and improved access to prescription history. Furthermore, studies were conducted in Bulgaria to examine patient experience with electronic prescribing, but they were conducted...
Bulgaria occupies a unique position among European Union member states, with the lowest per capita healthcare expenditure (€990 annually) yet demonstrating the second-highest growth rate in health spending between 2014 and 2022. This economic paradox reflects the dynamics of a developing market operating under resource constraints while facing growing needs from an aging...
Chronic pharmacotherapy poses significant challenges for contemporary pharmaceutical practice due to its long-term nature and dependence on sustained patient engagement. Medication non-adherence remains a major cause of suboptimal therapeutic outcomes and increased health care costs, highlighting the growing importance of pharmaceutical care. This article presents a narrative and...
Fecal calprotectin, fecal lactoferrin, and C-reactive protein are well-established biomarkers of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity. This study explores novel serum biomarkers, including Oncostatin M (OSM), 90K/Mac-2 binding protein (90K), and interleukin (IL)-12 p40, and their possible association with the achievement of target adalimumab (ADL) trough level (TL) and with...
Trimebutine, a selective antispasmodic and gastrointestinal motility modulator, was evaluated for symptom control in functional dyspepsia and overlapping functional gastrointestinal disorders. A multicenter, prospective observational study was conducted in four centers in Sofia, Bulgaria, enrolling 161 patients aged 24–75 years diagnosed according to the Rome IV criteria. All...
Benzoylated α-mangostin derivatives demonstrated improved pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles compared to the parent compound and doxorubicin. In silico screening identified AM-4-Nitrobenzoate, AM-3,5-Dinitrobenzoate, AM-4-Aminobenzoate, and AM-4-Trifluoromethylbenzoate as top candidates with lower binding energies and favorable interactions with key GSK3β residues. Molecular...
The aim of this study is to analyse the scientific literature on broader patient awareness of diabetic retinopathy (DR). A scoping review of the scientific literature in PubMed on patient awareness of DR identified 18 manuscripts exploring DR awareness over the past 20 years. The average patient awareness was 57.6%, indicating that more than half of diabetics are aware of DR and...
Amanita muscaria is a well-known mushroom containing the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol, a compound of growing interest due to its potential neuroprotective properties. The present study investigated the in vivo neuroprotective effects of an A. muscaria tincture (AM) in a rotenone-induced mouse model of Parkinson’s disease and evaluated its in vitro effects on the contractility...
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Fructus Sophorae extract (FSE) combined with a highly soluble form of curcumin on the skeletal system of rats with estrogen deficiency induced by subcutaneous implantation of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH, LH-RH) analogue, goserelin (GR). FSE and curcumin demonstrated significant bone-protective effects in GR-induced...
Background: Transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) has been distinguished as a tumor suppressor in lung adenocarcinoma, and its reduced expression has been associated with disease progression. Aim: To estimate the effects of a kaempferol–metal complex on lung cancer cells and assess its influence on TMPRSS2 gene expression in comparison with standard kaempferol. Materials and...
In patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, the presence of acute hemorrhage is a common clinical finding. The different types of bleeding that may be observed include variceal and non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding and systemic bleeding due to abnormalities in overall coagulation status. This retrospective study included 438 patients with liver cirrhosis who were...
Background: Unintended pregnancy remains a major public health problem worldwide, and access to effective emergency contraception is essential for reducing unsafe abortion and maternal morbidity. Although the World Health Organization recommends emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) for over-the-counter availability, evidence on women’s knowledge, attitudes, and use of ECPs in...
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) are severe, socially significant diseases that require a clear understanding of the relationship between the current health status and quality of life of patients. On the one hand, in the scientific literature, there is not enough data to assess the quality of life for the different therapeutic regimens, and...
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease requiring long-term pharmacological treatment and active patient engagement. Low to moderate levels of treatment adherence were observed in most participants, while disease activity was predominantly moderate to high. A statistically significant moderate positive association was identified between reported...
Background: Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Risk and progression are dose-dependent and influenced by exposure duration and sex-specific susceptibility. Aim: To evaluate the quantity and duration of alcohol consumption in patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis. Materials and methods: In this prospective cross-sectional...
Introduction: Drug–drug interactions (DDIs) influence treatment outcomes, particularly in complex diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of DDIs in COVID-19 patients. Materials and methods: A study was conducted on 200 patients with mild, moderate, or severe COVID-19 infections. Next, DDIs were classified into five risk...
Background: KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog) mutation testing is essential for therapeutic decision-making in colorectal cancer (CRC), as the presence of any activating KRAS variant predicts resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) therapy. Routine real-time PCR (qPCR) assays widely used in diagnostic laboratories typically exhibit limits...
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with significant health and social importance. Unfortunately, currently there is no well-defined effective treatment. Thus, the search for new therapeutic approaches is currently ongoing. This study presents the clinical impact on skin inflammation induced by 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene in a rat model, after local treatment...
Background: Improper use of topical antibiotics contributes significantly to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Objective: This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia regarding the dispensing of topical antibiotics. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2024 among 233 community pharmacists using...
The present article discusses and highlights the need for education and scientific research in the field of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) through the prism of the COST Action on the European Network on Optimising Treatment with Therapeutic Antibodies in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (ENOTTA). The overall hypothesis was that training schools and short-term scientific missions...
In the last decade, the term tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) has gained significant attention and is used to describe ectopic lymphoid organs that exhibit characteristics similar to secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs) and form in response to chronic inflammation. TLSs are closely related to cancer development and might serve as a predictive factor for patient prognosis. The...
The pharmacological therapy of neonates is extremely complicated due to the immature organ systems of the body, high water content, and low numbers of clinical studies in children of this age. Conventional dosing strategies, usually based on weight or age, are often inaccurate and may result in either underexposure or toxicity. A structured literature search was performed in...