The influence of Castanea sativa Mill. flower extract on hormonally and chemically induced prostate cancer in a rat model

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in men, with a huge impact on their health. The use of Castanea sativa Mill. flowers (CFs) in beverages has been reported, through ancestral claims, as having health benefits. In vitro research has evidenced the properties of CFs, such as antitumor and antioxidant activities. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of CF extract in an animal model of PCa. Forty male Wistar Unilever rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, induced, control + CF, and induced + CF groups. Animals from the induced groups were exposed to a multistep protocol for PCa induction. The CF extract, rich in trigalloyl-HHDP-glucoside and obtained via decoction, was administered to the CF groups in drinking water (3 mg per animal per day) for 49 weeks. Animals were sacrificed at 61 weeks of age. Regarding the effects of CFs on dorsolateral prostate tumorigenesis, no significant differences were observed between the induced and induced + CF groups. However, animals exposed to the CF extract showed fewer inflammation areas on the dorsolateral prostate lobe than those not exposed to CF. Moreover, the CF extract alleviated the hepatic oxidative stress associated with the multistep protocol, resulting in lower levels of lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that CF extract has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This journal is.This work was supported by European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI - Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization and National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the projects UIDB/04033/2020 (CITAB), UIDB/00690/2020 (CIMO), UIDB/50006/2020 (LAQV), UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 (CECAV), and UIDP/00616/2020 (CQ-VR), the project RUNawayPCa (POCI-01-0145- FEDER-016728 and PTDC/DTP-DES/6077/2014), and PhD fellowship SFRH/BD/136747/2018. L. Barros also acknowledges national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract. The Interreg Program received financial support from the Project IBERPHENOL, Project Number 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E, cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through POCTEP 2014-2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vascular complications in patients undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention via the femoral artery after fibrinolysis with tenecteplase: registry of 199 patients

BACKGROUND: Fibrinolysis is often used in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes with ST segment elevation (STEMI). Major cardiac outcomes were reduced with antiplatelet therapy intensification, but with increased risk of bleeding. Our objective was to assess the risk of vascular bleeding in patients undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention after thrombolysis. METHODS: Between February 2010 and December 2011, five public emergency rooms in the city of São Paulo and the Emergency Health Care Service (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência - SAMU) used tenecteplase (TNK) to treat patients with STEMI. Patients were referred to a single tertiary hospital and were submitted to early cardiac catheterization during hospitalization. All examinations were performed via the femoral artery and BARC criteria were used to classify bleeding. RESULTS: We evaluated 199 patients, of whom 193 had no bleeding of vascular origin (group 1) and 6 (3%) developed this complication (group 2). The median time between the administration of the fibrinolytic agent and catheterization was 24 hours in group 1 and 14.7 hours in group 2. According to BARC criteria, 1 patient had type 3a bleeding (hematoma in the inguinal region with a hemoglobin decrease of 3-5 g/dL), 2 patients had type 3b bleeding (1 not related to vascular access and 1 retroperitoneal hematoma with a hemoglobin decrease ≥ 5 g/dL) and the remaining patients had type 1 bleeding (small inguinal hematomas). Blood transfusions were required in 2 patients. None of the patients died due to vascular complications after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, early catheterization via the femoral artery as part of a pharmaco-invasive strategy, using TNK as a fibrinolytic agent, had a low vascular bleeding rate, comparable to that of elective angioplasties.INTRODUÇÃO: A fibrinólise é frequentemente utilizada no tratamento das síndromes coronárias com supradesnivelamento do segmento ST (SCCSST). Desfechos cardíacos maiores foram reduzidos com a intensificação do tratamento antiplaquetário, porém com aumento do risco de sangramento. Nosso objetivo foi avaliar o risco de sangramentos de origem vascular em pacientes submetidos a intervenção coronária precoce pós-trombólise. MÉTODOS: Entre fevereiro de 2010 e dezembro de 2011, 5 prontos-socorros municipais da cidade de São Paulo e o Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU) utilizaram tenecteplase (TNK) para tratamento de pacientes com SCCSST. Os pacientes foram encaminhados a um único hospital terciário e submetidos a cateterismo cardíaco precoce durante a internação. Todos os exames foram realizados por via femoral e os critérios do BARC foram utilizados para a classificação dos sangramentos. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliados 199 pacientes, dos quais 193 não apresentaram sangramento de origem vascular (grupo 1) e 6 (3%) evoluíram com essa complicação (grupo 2). A mediana de tempo entre a administração do fibrinolítico e o cateterismo foi de 24 horas no grupo 1 e de 14,7 horas no grupo 2. Segundo os critérios do BARC, 1 paciente apresentou sangramento do tipo 3a (hematoma em região inguinal com queda de hemoglobina de 3-5 g/dl), 2 pacientes apresentaram sangramento do tipo 3b (1 não relacionado ao acesso vascular e 1 hematoma de retroperitônio, com queda de hemoglobina ≥ 5 g/dl), e os demais apresentaram sangramentos do tipo 1 (pequenos hematomas em região inguinal). Nesse grupo foram necessárias duas hemotransfusões. Nenhum paciente teve óbito relacionado à complicação vascular pós-intervenção. CONCLUSÕES: Em nosso estudo, a cateterização precoce via femoral como parte de uma estratégia fármaco-invasiva, utilizando TNK como fibrinolítico, apresentou baixa taxa de sangramentos de origem vascular, comparável à das angioplastias eletivas.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Hemodinâmica e Cardiologia IntervencionistaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de MiocardiopatiasUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaServiço de Atendimento Móvel de UrgênciaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Hemodinâmica e Cardiologia IntervencionistaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de MiocardiopatiasUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Growth or somatotrophic hormone: new perspectives in isolated GH deficiency after description of the mutation in the GHRH receptor gene in individuals of Itabaianinha county, Brazil

Além de influenciar o crescimento corpóreo, o hormônio do crescimento, ou somatotrófico, desempenha importante papel no metabolismo, composição corporal, perfil lipídico, estado cardiovascular e longevidade. Seu controle é multi-regulado por hormônios, metabólitos e peptídeos hipotalâmicos. Dados sobre a Deficiência Isolada de GH (DIGH) obtidos a partir da descrição da mutação IVS1+1G→A no gene do receptor do hormônio liberador do GH (GHRH-R) em indivíduos da cidade de Itabaianinha, SE, são revisados. São abordadas novas perspectivas sobre o modelo de resistência ao GHRH, a importância do GHRH no controle da secreção de GH, a freqüência das mutações do gene do GHRH-R, a relevância diagnóstica do IGF-I e os achados metabólicos, cardiovasculares e de qualidade de vida nestes indivíduos._________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: In addition to stimulating body growth, growth or somatotrophic hormone plays an important role in metabolism, body composition, lipid profile, cardiovascular status and longevity. Its control is multiregulated by hormones, metabolites and hypothalamic peptides. Obtained data of the isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) after the description of the IVS1+1G→A GHRH receptor gene mutation in individuals of Itabaianinha County are reviewed. New perspectives about the growth hormone resistance model, the importance of GHRH in the control of GH secretion, the frequency of GHRH-R gene mutations, the diagnostic relevance of IGF-I and the metabolic, cardiovascular and quality of life findings are approached

Prognostic value of exercise echocardiography in diabetic patients

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in diabetic patients. Although exercise echocardiography (EE) is established as a useful method for diagnosis and stratification of risk for CAD in the general population, there are few studies on its value as a prognostic tool in diabetic patients. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the value of EE in predicting cardiac events in diabetics. Methods 193 diabetic patients, 97 males, 59.8 ± 9.3 yrs (mean ± SD) were submitted to EE between 2001 and 2006 and followed from 7 to 65 months with median of 29 months by phone calls and personal interviews with patients and their primary physician, and reviewing medical records and death certificates. The end points were cardiac events, defined as non-fatal myocardial infarction, late myocardial revascularization and cardiac death. Sudden death without another explanation was considered cardiac death. Survival free of end points was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Twenty-six cardiac events were registered in 24 individuals during the follow-up. The rates of cardiac events were 20.6 and 7% in patients with positive and negative EE, respectively (p < 0.001). Predictors of cardiac events included sedentary lifestyle, with RR of 2.57 95%CI [1.09 to 6.02] (P = 0.03) and positive EE, with RR 3.63, 95%CI [1.44 to 9.16] (P = 0.01). Patients with positive EE presented higher rates of cardiac events at 12 months (6.8% vs. 2.2%), p = 0.004. Conclusion EE is a useful method to predict cardiac events in diabetic patients with suspected or known CAD

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran\u27s eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R$^{2}$ = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R$^{2}$ = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (&gt;66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions