Contribution of the adrenal gland to the production of androstenedione and testosterone during the first two years of life

Androstenedione and testosterone were measured in whole adrenal glands of 56 previously healthy boys who died suddenly between birth and 2 yr of age. In each adrenal gland, the concentration of androstenedione considerably exceeded that of testosterone. The highest concentrations were found during the first week of life (median, 295 ng/g; range, 98- 320 ng/g). Thereafter, values decreased rapidly until the end of the first year of life (median, 10 ng/g; range, 4.4-22.7 ng/g). Adrenal testosterone concentrations averaged 15% of those of androstenedione in the same gland and similarly decreased until the end of the first year. The decrease of adrenal androgen concentrations paralleled the involution of the fetal adrenal zone. A close correlation existed between the concentration of androstenedione in adrenal tissue and plasma. However, no correlation existed between adrenal and plasma testosterone. When the adrenals and testes of the same infant were compared, there was 10 times more androstenedione in the adrenals than in the testes during the first 2 yr of life. The testes contained more testosterone than the adrenals only during the first 4 months. Thus, in infant boys the adrenals are the main source of androstenedione during the first 2 yr. After the sixth month of life, they also are the main source of testosterone

Testosterone and androstenedione concentrations in human testis and epididymis during the first two years of life

Testosterone and androstenedione were measured in testicular and epididymal tissue of 37 previously healthy infants between 1 and 24 months of age who died suddenly. In half of the patients elevated plasma levels of cortisol and androstenedione suggested preterminal stress. Plasma testosterone levels, however, did not differ from those in healthy infants. Testicular testosterone concentrations were maximal in boys from 1-3 months of age (median, 36.6 ng/g; range, 7-380 ng/g) with peak values similar to those found in pubertal or even adult testes. Thereafter testicular testosterone concentrations decreased and after the age of 6 months all values were below 12.5 ng/g, which corresponds to the low normal range of older prepubertal boys. Plasma testosterone and testicular testosterone correlated significantly (P less than 0.001). On average the testicular concentrations were 36.4 times higher than the corresponding plasma concentrations. Testicular androstenedione was low but correlated significantly with testicular testosterone (P less than 0.001). Epididymal testosterone concentrations were surprisingly high (1-3 months: median, 10.3 ng/g; range, 4-42.7 ng/g) and averaged 30% of the testicular testosterone concentration. Thus, epididymal testosterone concentrations were significantly higher than the circulating plasma testosterone levels, indicating the capacity of the infant epididymis to accumulate androgens. These findings suggest that high local testosterone concentrations during early infancy are important not only for the testis itself but particularly for the developing epididymi

Vitamin D in the prevention, prediction and treatment of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases

Vitamin D research has gained increased attention in recent times due to its roles beyond bone health and calcium homeostasis, such as immunomodulation. In some parts of the brain and on immune cells, vitamin D hydroxylating enzymes and its receptors are located. Epidemiological evidence demonstrates that deficiency of Vitamin D is relevant for disease risk and course in multiple sclerosis (MS) and presumably also in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although the exact mechanism underlying vitamin D effects in these diseases remains widely unexplored, human and animal studies continue to provide some hints. While the majority of vitamin D researchers so far speculate that vitamin D may be involved in disease pathogenesis, others could not show any association although none have reported that sufficient vitamin D worsens disease progression. The studies presented in this review suggest that whether vitamin D may have beneficial effects in disease course or not, may be dependent on factors such as ethnicity, gender, diet, vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms and sunlight exposure. We here review the possible role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis and disease course of MS, NMOSD, PD, and AD and potential therapeutic effects of vitamin D supplementation which may be relevant for predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine. We suggest areas to consider in vitamin D research for future studies and recommend the need to supplement patients with low vitamin D levels below 30 ng/ml to at least reach sufficient levels

Experimental and numerical investigation of the shear behaviour of infiltrated woven fabrics

Wet compression moulding (WCM) as a promising alternative to resin transfer moulding (RTM) provides high-volume production potential for continuously fibre reinforced composite components. Lower cycle times are possible due to the parallelisation of the process steps draping, infiltration and curing during moulding. Although experimental and theoretical investigations indicate a strong mutual dependency arising from this parallelisation, no material characterisation set-ups for textiles infiltrated with low viscous fluids are yet available, which limits a physical-based process understanding and prevents the development of proper simulation tools. Therefore, a modified bias-extension test set-up is presented, which enables infiltrated shear characterisation of engineering textiles. Experimental studies on an infiltrated woven fabric reveal both, rate- and viscosity-dependent shear behaviour. The process relevance is evaluated on part level within a numerical study by means of FE-forming simulation. Results reveal a significant impact on the global and local shear angle distribution, especially during forming

Exercise in multiple sclerosis -- an integral component of disease management

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) in young adults. The disease causes a wide range of symptoms depending on the localization and characteristics of the CNS pathology. In addition to drug-based immunomodulatory treatment, both drug-based and non-drug approaches are established as complementary strategies to alleviate existing symptoms and to prevent secondary diseases. In particular, physical therapy like exercise and physiotherapy can be customized to the individual patient's needs and has the potential to improve the individual outcome. However, high quality systematic data on physical therapy in MS are rare. This article summarizes the current knowledge on the influence of physical activity and exercise on disease-related symptoms and physical restrictions in MS patients. Other treatment strategies such as drug treatments or cognitive training were deliberately excluded for the purposes of this article

Relations of low contrast visual acuity, quality of life and multiple sclerosis functional composite: a cross-sectional analysis

Background: Although common and often disabling in multiple sclerosis (MS), visual dysfunction is currently not adequately accounted for in both clinical routine and MS trials. Sloan low contrast letter acuity (SLCLA) is a standardised chart-based measure of visual function particular at low contrast and has been suggested as additional visual component to the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC). Here, we evaluate the relations between SLCLA, retinal integrity, MSFC, and quality of life (QoL) in MS patients. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, MSFC, SLCLA (2.5% and 1.25% contrast levels), visual evoked potentials, and QoL (Short Form (SF) 36, National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEIVFQ)) using baseline data of 92 MS patients from an ongoing prospective longitudinal trial. Relations between RNFL thickness or P100 latency and SLCLA were analysed using generalised estimating equations (GEE) accounting for intra-individual inter-eye dependencies and corrected for age, gender, and history of optic neuritis. Pearson’s correlations were used to assess relations between SLCLA, MSFC, and QoL. Results: SLCLA reflected RNFL thickness (p = 0.021) and P100 latency (p = 0.004) and predicted vision-related QoL, reflected by the NEIVFQ39 subscores “general vision” and “near activities” (p < 0.008 for both). SLCLA did not predict general QoL reflected by SF36. Implementing SLCLA into MSFC, thus creating a four-dimensional MSFC4, captured aspects of disability reflected by the NEIVFQ39 subscores “general vision” (r = 0.42, p < 0.0001) and “near activity” (r = 0.3, p = 0.014) which were not captured by standard MSFC3. Conclusions: SLCLA at 2.5% and 1.25% contrast levels correlates with retinal morphology and P100 latency and predicts some aspects of vision-related QoL in MS. More importantly, using a prospective cross-sectional approach we provide evidence that extending the MSFC by SLCLA as an additional visual component increases the performance of MSFC to capture MS-related disability. Longitudinal data on the relation between SLCLA, MSFC, and QoL will be available in the near future