{"title":"Influence of hormonal factors, number of sexual partners, surgical intervention on gastrointestinal and urogenital microbiota of patients endometriosis","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103112","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103112","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Problem</h3><div>Endometriosis is associated with gastrointestinal (GI) and urogenital (UG) microbial dysbiosis in patients with endometriosis (P-EOSIS). Sexual partner exposure may contribute to microbial dysbiosis but has not been studied in P-EOSIS. We hypothesized that sexual partner number, hormonal and surgical therapy would affect GI/UG microbial dysbiosis in P-EOSIS.</div></div><div><h3>Methods of Study</h3><div>Urine, fecal and vaginal swabs from control (<em>n</em> = 15) and P-EOSIS (<em>n</em> = 33) were collected on the day of surgery (DOS) and ∼1–3 weeks post-surgical intervention (PSI).</div><div>Control and P-EOSIS were grouped based on hormonal therapy (HT) to determine the effect of HT on microbial profiles, Control (HT <em>n</em> = 8; no HT <em>n</em> = 7) and P-EOSIS (HT <em>n</em> = 18; no HT <em>n</em> = 15). Samples underwent DNA extraction and sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rRNA gene. Sequences were processed using QIIME2 and amplicon sequence variants (ASV) were analyzed for microbial differences. Pearson's and Spearman correlation analyses determined associations among microbial features and sexual partner exposure.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>P-EOSIS had microbial dysbiosis characterized by unique GI/UG bacteria and altered microbial richness and diversity. Hormonal and surgical intervention in P-EOSIS restored GI microbial diversity. Increased sexual partner exposure decreased GI/UG microbial diversity. P-EOSIS who had 10 or more sexual partners had greater microbial dysbiosis compared to 4–6 partners. Surgical intervention negatively correlated with sexual partner numbers and GI/UG microbial abundance.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Increased sexual partner exposure may enhance microbial dysbiosis in P-EOSIS and diminish the effectiveness of HT and surgical interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142578570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Relevance of Circulating microRNA, and their Association with Islet Cell Autoantibodies in Type 1 Diabetes Pathogenesis","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background. Aims/hypothesis</h3><div>The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis and progression of type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been described, but data remain scarce and conflicting.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To evaluate the potential biological involvement of miRNA expression in the immune response and beta cell function in T1D.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We screened 10 serum miRNAs from 142 subjects divided into three groups: healthy individuals (control group; <em>n</em> = 52) and patients at different stages of T1D progression, from the initial immunological manifestation, presenting islet cell autoantibodies (AbP group; <em>n</em> = 39), to partial and severe beta cell damage in T1D (recent T1D group; <em>n</em> = 51).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Three miRNAs (miR-200c-3p, miR-301a-3p, and miR-382–5p) were highly expressed in the AbP and/or recent T1D groups compared to the control group. Furthermore, in the AbP group, miR-301a-3p and miR-382–5p were positively correlated with insulin autoantibody levels and miR-382–5p was negatively correlated with C-peptide levels. In the recent T1D group, miR-200c-3p expression was positively correlated with IA-2A levels. Enrichment analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs showed their involvement in immune response, inflammatory pathways, proliferation/survival/apoptosis mechanisms, bacterial and viral infection, and insulin resistance.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Our data indicated that miR-200c-3p, miR-301a-3p, and miR-382–5p might be involved in T1D pathogenesis. Proliferative, metabolic, and immune responses were main pathways associated with serum miRNA target genes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142570429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Features and allele frequency of JAK2 Exon 12-mutated polycythemia vera in comparison with JAK2V617F-mutated disease","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103109","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103109","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and Aim</h3><div><em>JAK2</em> exon 12 mutation status and the clinical characteristics of patients with polycythemia vera (PV) in Asia remain to be defined.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>We analyzed the clinical, molecular, and genetic features and outcomes of patients with PV harboring exon 12 mutation and compared them with the <em>JAK2</em>V617F-mutated patients in Taiwan. <em>JAK2</em>V617F with allele burden was measured by pyrosequencing and/or RT/qPCR. The allele frequency of exon 12 mutation was analyzed by next-generation sequencing in <em>JAK2</em>V617F-negative patients.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 532 patients diagnosed with PV were enrolled. The <em>JAK2</em>V617F mutation was present in 94.9% and exon 12 mutations in 5.1%. At diagnosis, patients with exon 12 mutation had higher hemoglobin (<em>p</em> = 0.012), and hematocrit levels (<em>p</em> = 0.003), and lower platelet (<em>p</em> < 0.001), and leukocyte counts (<em>p</em> < 0.001) compared to patients with <em>JAK2</em>V617F mutations. Patients harboring the <em>JAK2</em>V617F mutation had a higher incidence of high allele burden (<em>p</em> < 0.001), disease risk (<em>p</em> <em>=</em> 0.014), and bleeding events <em>(p</em> <em>=</em> 0.013) compared to patients with PV with exon 12 mutations. These patients showed similar outcomes (overall survival, leukemia-free, myelofibrosis and thrombosis-free survival) to those with <em>JAK2</em>V617F mutations. An allele frequency ≥ 52.5% conferred an inferior overall survival compared to ≤ 52.5% in both exon 12-mutated (<em>p</em> = 0.029) and <em>JAK2</em>V617F patients with PV (<em>p</em> = 0.038).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Taiwanese patients with PV showed differences in blood count, risk group, and bleeding events between exon 12 and <em>JAK2</em>V617F patients. Higher mutant allele burden had a negative impact on overall survival for both mutation types.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overview of hyperprolactinemia: General approach and reproductive health implications","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103102","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103102","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prolactin (PRL) is a polypeptide hormone produced by the lactotrope cells of the anterior pituitary gland. Among its myriads of biological functions, PRL is the main regulator of mammary gland growth and development, as well as of the production and secretion of milk. Hyperprolactinemia represents a frequent consultation cause in medical practice. Nevertheless, elevations in serum PRL are not always pathological. Drug induced hyperprolactinemia is the most common cause, mainly by antipsychotics, followed by other causes such as pituitary neuroendocrine tumors, physiologic conditions, and systemic diseases such as chronic kidney disease and hypothyroidism. When evaluating a patient with hyperprolactinemia it is of utmost importance to consider the diverse etiologies of this condition in order to avoid unnecessary diagnostic workup and treatment. Regarding reproductive health, hyperprolactinemia is a well-documented cause of infertility, as approximately 15-20% of women undergoing infertility evaluation have hyperprolactinemia, which causes secondary amenorrhea, and other menstrual irregularities. Similarly, in men it is a cause of hypogonadism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lethal synergistic infections by two concurrent respiratory pathogens","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103101","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103101","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lethal synergistic infections by concurrent pathogens have occurred in humans, including human immunodeficiency virus and <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> infections, or in animal or human models of influenza virus, or bacteria, e.g., <em>Streptococcus pneumoniae</em>, concurrent with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2). However, the intracellular synergistic interaction possibilities between two respiratory viral pathogens, or between viral and fungal pathogens, merits additional examination. The requirements for synergistic concurrent pathogen infections are: a) relatively little detrimental interference between two pathogens, b) one pathogen having the capability of directly or indirectly assisting the second pathogen by direct immuno–manipulation or indirect provision of infection opportunities and/or metabolic assistance, c) substantial human or environmental prevalence, possibly including a prevalence in any type of health–care facilities or other locations having congregations of potentially infected human or animal vectors and d) substantial transmissibility of the pathogens, which would make their concurrent pathogen infections much more probable. A new definition of pathogen synergy is proposed: “pathogen synergy is an interaction of two or more pathogens during concurrent infections causing an increased infection severity compared to mono–infections by the individual pathogens.” Non–respiratory pathogens can also concurrently infect organs besides the lungs. However, the air–transmissible respiratory pathogens, particularly the RNA viruses, can enable highly widespread and synergistic concurrent infections. For instance, certain strains of coronaviruses, influenza viruses and similar respiratory viruses, are highly transmissible and/or widely prevalent in various vectors for transmission to humans and have numerous capabilities for altering lung immune defenses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Strengthening public health systems during an emerging respiratory disease pandemic: A realist review","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103096","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103096","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The recent outbreak of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 has highlighted the need to strengthen public health systems to respond effectively to such crises. While previous research has identified various public health interventions for pandemics, there remains a significant gap in understanding which interventions can strengthen public health systems during emerging respiratory pandemics and under what conditions. To address this gap, we conducted a realist review to examine public health interventions during emerging respiratory disease pandemics, focusing on context, mechanisms, and outcomes. We conducted a literature search across PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Web of Science for studies published since 2003. Finally, we analyzed and assessed the quality of 601 articles and analyzed 32 of them.</div><div>This study emphasizes the importance of understanding the situational, structural, cultural, and environmental contexts that influence public health interventions within the six building blocks of public health systems. We have also identified the mechanisms of these interventions at the individual, organizational, and national levels for successful outcomes, such as improved access to health services, health equity, and effectiveness.</div><div>This information is important for policymakers and practitioners who can use it to develop evidence-based strategies to strengthen public health systems during emerging respiratory disease pandemics. Our review introduced a new conceptual model to explore the interaction between context, interventions, mechanisms, and outcomes to strengthen public health systems. However, further research is needed to determine the effect of specific contextual factors on public health system interventions during respiratory disease pandemics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comment on: “Impaired Ischemia-Reperfusion Responses in the Hearts of Aged Male and Female Offspring of Obese Rats”","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103110","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103110","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Measurements. A Reliable Tool for the Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103104","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103104","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and Purpose</h3><div>Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, rapidly fatal neurodegenerative disorder. The gold standard test for a positive diagnosis of definite CJD is histopathological confirmation, usually post-mortem; however, an autopsy study is not always feasible in all health settings.</div></div><div><h3>Materials and Methods</h3><div>We performed a cross-sectional analysis of a retrospectively enrolled cohort of patients with suspected prion disease between 2008 and 2019. Only patients with complete medical histories who fulfilled a diagnostic checklist were enrolled. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences (T2-FLAIR and DWI) were analyzed, and the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were calculated for five regions of interest (ROIs) in each cerebral hemisphere.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In total, 72 MRI scans were post-processed. The series included 47 cases of CJD, including 25 genetic and 22 sporadic cases, in addition to 25 age-paired controls with non-prion encephalopathies. The neostriatum showed the most significant difference in ADC values (×10<sup>–3</sup> mm<sup>2</sup>/s) at 0.5946 in the left anterior putamen vs. 0.8644 in the control encephalopathies (<em>p</em> < 0.001; 95% confidence interval: 0.5751–0.6142 vs. 0.7812–0.9476), while the other ROIs also showed significant differences. The best cut-off value to differentiate CJD from other encephalopathies was identified as 0.65×10<sup>–3</sup> mm<sup>2</sup>/s, with no significant differences in this coefficient between sporadic and genetic cases.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Quantitative ADC measurements made in the basal ganglia seem to be the most useful ante-mortem diagnostic tool for differentiating CJD from non-prion encephalopathies when cerebrospinal fluid real-time quaking-induced conversion or other specific misfolded protein detection tests are inaccessible.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"GNLY as a novel cis-eQTL and cis-pQTL mediated susceptibility gene in suppressing prostatitis. Mendelian randomization study","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103098","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103098","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Prostatitis is characterized by high prevalence, low cure rates, and frequent recurrences, and remains one of the most clinically challenging problems. Hence, in this article, we first integrated Mendelian randomization (MR) with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) data to identify novel therapeutic targets and their potential metabolic mechanisms for prostatitis.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Prostatitis-related genetic data, eQTLs, pQTLs, and 1400 metabolites were downloaded from online databases. MR, or summary data-based MR (SMR) analyses were applied to assess the potential causal relationships between exposures and predicted outcomes. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using pleiotropy, heterogeneity, and leave-one-out analysis to evaluate the robustness of our results.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Based on our results, we first identified and validated GNLY as a novel cis-eQTL and cis-pQTL-mediated susceptibility gene for reducing prostatitis risk in five independent datasets (one discovery dataset and four validation datasets) (all <em>p</em> <0.05). Meanwhile, we also found that the GNLY eQTL could increase the metabolite of sphingomyelin level (d18:0/20:0, d16:0/22:0) risks (<em>p</em> <0.05), and the metabolite of sphingomyelin level (d18:0/20:0, d16:0/22:0) could reduce the risk of prostatitis (<em>p</em> <0.05). According to the above-mentioned relationships, we finally revealed the potential metabolic mechanism of GNLY eQTL in suppressing prostatitis via regulating the metabolite of sphingomyelin level (d18:0/20:0, d16:0/22:0).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>We successfully identified GNLY as a novel cis-eQTL and cis-pQTL-mediated susceptibility gene in suppressing prostatitis and its potential metabolic mechanism via regulating sphingomyelin (d18:0/20:0, d16:0/22:0) levels, providing a novel therapeutic target and paving the way for future GNLY-related studies in prostatitis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Suicides in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland in 1990–2019: Epidemiological patterns and trends in European and Global context","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Suicides are a major public health problem with serious consequences for societies.</div></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><div>To compare epidemiological patterns and trends of suicides in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland in 1990–2019, and analyze them in the European and global context.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A trend analysis was conducted in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, in Western Europe and on global level for 1990–2019. All data were obtained from the Global Burden of Diseases study 2019. Numbers and age-standardized rates of deaths and Years of Life Lost (YLL) due to suicides were analyzed, stratified by sex and age (0–14 years old, 15–49 years old, 50–69 years old, 70+ years).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In 2019, 759,028 suicides occurred globally, 17,408 (2.3%) in Central Europe. The proportion of males was substantially larger, compared to the global and Western European levels (E.g., 82 vs. 69% and 75%, respectively). The highest rates of suicide were in Hungary (19.7 per 100,000), lowest in Slovakia (12.8); the rate in Central Europe was higher than the global rate (15.2 vs. 9.8), and the rate in Western Europe (11.4). A steady decline of rates was observed in all countries, particularly in Hungary. In Czech Republic we found an increasing relative importance of suicides among people 70 years and older.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Death rates due to suicides have been declining in the analyzed countries, but some characteristics and trends when compared to global and regional estimates, such as substantially higher proportion of male suicides or high death rates among the elderly warrant specifically tailored preventative action coordinated by governments with community involvement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8318,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Medical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}