Influence of chosen environmental factors on age of menopause of women in the region of Małopolska

Cel: Głównym celem niniejszej pracy jest zbadanie, które z wybranych czynników środowiskowych różnicują wiek menopauzy kobiet w województwie małopolskim a także które z nich wpływają na ten fakt w największym stopniu. Pośrednim celem jest przeanalizowanie wybranych grup czynników które, mogą różnicować wiek menopauzy.Metody: Podstawy empiryczne pracy obejmują materiał pobrany w wyniku przeprowadzenia na przełomie 2010 i 2011 roku badań ankietowych na terenie Oddziału Ginekologicznego Szpitala Uniwersyteckiego Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w Krakowie oraz szpitala im. L. Rydygiera w Krakowie a także na terenie Domu Spokojnej Starości w Olkuszu. W badaniu wzięły udział 232 kobiety, w wieku od 43 do 92 lat, zamieszkałe w województwie małopolskim. Narzędziem badawczym wykorzystanym w pracy był anonimowy kwestionariusz. W celu określenia wieku menopauzy badanych kobiet posłużono się metodą retrospektywną. Analizując natomiast zmienne kategoryzowane, wykorzystano jednoczynnikową analizę warjancji dla grup zmiennych o jednorodnych wariancjach, a także test Kruskala-Willisa, test wielokrotnych porównań średnich rang oraz analizę korelacji rang Spearmana dla grup zmiennych o zróżnicowanych wariancjach. Ze względu na agregatowy charakter badanych czynników analizę poszerzono o metody wieloczynnikowe: MANOVA oraz analizę regresji wielokrotnej. Wyniki: Wiek menopauzy uzależniony był od sposobu, w jaki doszło do wygaśnięcia czynności hormonalnej jajników. W przypadku menopauzy naturalnej średni wiek jej pojawienia wyniósł 50,32 lata (s = 3,82). Z pośród czynników biologicznych jedynie długość okresu rozrodczego oraz wiek respondentek w momencie pierwszego porodu okazały się istotne dla wieku menopauzy naturalnej. Czynniki społeczno ekonomiczne nie miały wpływu na wiek menopauzy w badanej grupie. Długi okres palenia, duże dawki przyjmowanego alkoholu oraz rozpoczęcie nałogu tytoniowego w późniejszym wieku zwiększały ryzyko wcześniejszego pojawienia się menopauzy naturalnej. Oddziaływanie czynników środowiskowych na wiek menopauzy miało charakter agregatowy. Częstość oraz ilość z jaką spożywany był alkohol w połączeniu z wiekiem rozpoczęcia nałogu tytoniowego wpływały na wiek menopauzy naturalnej. Czynnikiem który w największym stopniu odpowiadał za wiek pojawienia się menopauzy naturalnej w badanej grupie była średnia ilość alkoholu spożywanego w ciągu doby.Objective: The main purpose of the dissertation is searching which of the chosen environmental factors distinguish the age of menopause of the women living in Małopolska region and which of them affect this fact in the most degree. The intermediate objective is to analyze selected groups of factors which can distinguish the age of menopause.Methods: Empirical research contain material collected as a result of the survey which was conducted in Gynecological ward of University Hospital of Jagiellonian University in Cracow as well as in L. Rydygier’s Hospital in Cracow and in the Old People’s Home in Olkusz. Two hundred and thirty-two women were investigated, all of them aged between 43 and 92 years of age living in the Małopolska region. The research was conducted on the basis of an anonymous questionnaire. To estimate the age of the menopause in the investigated group the retrospective method was used. During Analyzing categorized variables the One-way analysis of variance was employed for the group of variables of homogeneous variation and Kruskal-Willis’s test, the multiple comparisons test of mean ranks and the Spearman rank correlation was employed for the group of variables of heterogeneous variation. In view of aggregate character of the variables in questions the analyze was extended with multifactor methods: MANOVA and multiple regression analysis.Results: The age of menopause depended on the way of extinction of ovary hormonal activity. The main age of the natural menopause was 50,32 age of year (s = 3,82). From the biological factors only the length of the reproductive period and age at the time of first birth turned out to be associated with age of natural menopause. No association emerged between socio-economic factors and age at the menopause. Long smoking term and high dose of alcohol increased risk of the earlier natural menopause. Also commence the tobacco addiction late in life caused the earlier menopause. Association between the environmental factors and the age of natural menopause had complex character. Frequency and quantity of the alcohol intake in combination of the age of commence the tobacco addiction influenced on age of the natural menopause. The factor responsible for the age of natural menopause in the most degree was the main quantity of alcohol consumed per day. The alcohol in dose not exceeded 250 millilitre per day influence on extension of the age of natural menopause while the higher dose affect on reduction of this age

Estrogen-dependent seasonal adaptations in the immune response of fish

Clinical and experimental evidence shows that estrogens affect immunity in mammals. Less is known about this interaction in the evolutionary older, non-mammalian, vertebrates. Fish form an excellent model to identify evolutionary conserved neuroendocrine-immune interactions: i) they are the earliest vertebrates with fully developed innate and adaptive immunity, ii) immune and endocrine parameters vary with season, and iii) physiology is constantly disrupted by increasing contamination of the aquatic environment.Neuro-immuno-endocrine interactions enable adaption to changing internal and external environment and are based on shared signaling molecules and receptors. The presence of specific estrogen receptors on/in fish leukocytes, implies direct estrogen-mediated immunoregulation. Fish leukocytes most probably are also capable to produce estrogens as they express the . cyp19a and . cyp19b - genes, encoding aromatase cytochrome P450, the enzyme critical for conversion of C19 steroids to estrogens.Immunoregulatory actions of estrogens, vary among animal species, and also with dose, target cell type, or physiological condition (e.g., infected/non-infected, reproductive status). They moreover are multifaceted. Interestingly, season-dependent changes in immune status correlate with changes in the levels of circulating sex hormones. Whereas E2 circulating in the bloodstream is perhaps the most likely candidate to be the physiological mediator of systemic immune-reproductive trade-offs, leukocyte-derived hormones are hypothesized to be mainly involved in local tuning of the immune response. Contamination of the aquatic environment with estrogenic EDCs may violate the delicate and precise allostatic interactions between the endogenous estrogen system and the immune system. This has negative effects on fish health, but will also affect the physiology of its consumers.</p

A role for multiple estrogen receptors in immune regulation of common carp

Estrogens are important for bi-directional neuroendocrine-immune interaction. They act via nuclear estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) and/or G-protein coupled receptor - GPR30.We found expression of ERα, ERβ and GPR30 in carp lymphoid tissues and head kidney monocytes/macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes. Interestingly, ERβ is also expressed in some head kidney lymphocytes but not in naive PBLs. Immune stimulation altered the cell type specific profile of expression of these receptors, which depends on both activation and maturation stage.This implies direct leukocyte responsiveness to estrogen stimulation and therefore in vitro effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in monocytes/macrophages were determined. Short-time incubation with E2 increased ROS production in PMA-stimulated cells. Results comply with mediation by GPR30, partially functioning via phosphoinositide 3-kinase activation.These results furthermore demonstrate that neuroendocrine-immune communication via estrogen receptors is evolutionary conserved.</p

Evaluation of Whole-Cell and Acellular Pertussis Vaccines in the Context of Long-Term Herd Immunity

After the pertussis vaccine had been introduced in the 1940s and was shown to be very successful in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease, the possibility of improving both vaccine composition and vaccination schedules has become the subject of continuous interest. As a result, we are witnessing a considerable heterogeneity in pertussis vaccination policies, which remains beyond universal consensus. Many pertussis-related deaths still occur in low- and middle-income countries; however, these deaths are attributable to gaps in vaccination coverage and limited access to healthcare in these countries, rather than to the poor efficacy of the first generation of pertussis vaccine consisting in inactivated and detoxified whole cell pathogen (wP). In many, particularly high-income countries, a switch was made in the 1990s to the use of acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine, to reduce the rate of post-vaccination adverse events and thereby achieve a higher percentage of children vaccinated. However the epidemiological data collected over the past few decades, even in those high-income countries, show an increase in pertussis prevalence and morbidity rates, triggering a wide-ranging debate on the causes of pertussis resurgence and the effectiveness of current pertussis prevention strategies, as well as on the efficacy of available pertussis vaccines and immunization schedules. The current article presents a systematic review of scientific reports on the evaluation of the use of whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccines, in the context of long-term immunity and vaccines efficacy

A role for multiple estrogen receptors in immune regulation of common carp.

Estrogens are important for bi-directional neuroendocrine-immune interaction. They act via nuclear estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) and/or G-protein coupled receptor - GPR30. We found expression of ERα, ERβ and GPR30 in carp lymphoid tissues and head kidney monocytes/macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes. Interestingly, ERβ is also expressed in some head kidney lymphocytes but not in naive PBLs. Immune stimulation altered the cell type specific profile of expression of these receptors, which depends on both activation and maturation stage. This implies direct leukocyte responsiveness to estrogen stimulation and therefore in vitro effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in monocytes/macrophages were determined. Short-time incubation with E2 increased ROS production in PMA-stimulated cells. Results comply with mediation by GPR30, partially functioning via phosphoinositide 3-kinase activation. These results furthermore demonstrate that neuroendocrine-immune communication via estrogen receptors is evolutionary conserved