Do a spectrum of severe familial liver disorders associate with telomerase mutations?
These results indicate that heterozygous telomerase loss-of-function mutations associate with but are not determinant of a large spectrum of hematologic and liver abnormalities, with the latter sometimes occurring in the absence of marrow failure. Our findings, along with the link between pulmonary fibrosis and telomerase mutations, also suggest a common pathogenic mechanism for fibrotic diseases in which defective telomere repair plays important role.
Visceral leishmaniasis has been clinically recognized in Albania for at least 80 years; however, this is the first time that L. infantum, detected by molecular means, has been reported in sand flies in Albania. At the outset of this study, only Adria virus (Salehabad species) was recognized in Albania. A novel virus, Balkan virus, was identified and genetic analysis revealed that it belongs to the Sandfly fever Naples virus group containing human pathogens.