Collagenotherapy for patients with genitourinary menopausal syndrome is a new opportunity in the doctor’s arsenal

Material and methods. 65 patients aged 49-65 years were examined with the confirmed diagnosis: postmenopausal atrophic vag-initis (ICD-10 N95.2). Patients of the 1st group (n=32) underwent intravaginal injection submucose multipoint injection of cross-linked collagen fraction gel into the composition with peptide complex (30-50 mg/g), uronic acids (0.8-1.2 mg/g) and hexosamines (2.0-3.0 mg/g) — SpheroGel MEDIUM with microparticle size 100-200 microns, patients of the 2nd group (n=33) — Sphero-Gel LONG gel with larger microparticle size 200-360 microns. The routine study was extended with the use of an adapted scale R. Nappi, et al. (2019) for objective assessment of complaints and clinical picture, the Female Sexuality Index (FSFI) questionnaire and the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Results. The average age of patients was 54.5±2.0 years, the average duration of postmenopause — 6.04±4.3 years, the duration of clinical manifestations of genitourinary menopausal syndrome ranged from 1 to 10 years (on average, 5.5±2.36 years). A significant decrease in the manifestations of this syndrome was noted at the end of collagenotherapy course and in a distant time — 12 weeks from its beginning. At the same time for the majority of symptoms at the end of therapy the tendency for improvement was noted in the 1st group (p>0.05), but the remote results were significantly better in the 2nd group (p0.05) before the start of therapy to 17.31±8.51 and 23.81±7.59 points (1st and 2nd groups, respectively, p<0.05) 12 weeks before the start of therapy, however, it did not reach 26.5 points as a limit for the selected method. Quality of life indicators improved 1.2-2 times by the criteria of “physical role”, “pain intensity”, “emotional role” (p<0.05), where in a remote period, 12 weeks from the beginning of therapy and within 2 months after its completion, treatment was more effective in the 2nd group (p<0.05). Conclusion. Local collagen therapy may be an effective and safe variant of treatment of patients with genitourinary menopausal syndrome if there are contraindications to topical hormone therapy or if the patient refuses it. With the help of collagen-contain-ing gel with microparticle size of 100-200 microns it is possible to achieve quick and significant effect in relieving or reducing symptoms of GUMS, but the need for repeated treatment arises after 3 months. Collagen-containing gel with microparticle size of 200-360 µm allows to achieve smoother improvement of symptoms, which lasts significantly longer. © 2020, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved

Differential susceptibility to etoposide in clones derived from a human ovarian cancer cell line

Objectives: To identify parameters/factors that may contribute to the differential sensitivity to etoposide in two clones isolated from the human ovarian carcinoma SKOV-3 cell line, which does not express p53 and is resistant to platinum-based regimens. Methods: Differential sensitivity of the cells to etoposide was monitored by microscopy to observe morphological changes, by flow cytometry analyses to detect cell cycle perturbations, and by molecular/biochemical assays to identify events involved in induction of apoptosis. Results: Etoposide treatment (1) induced apoptosis in one clone, ES, but not in another clone, ER, (2) had no effect on the expression of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X L in both cell clones, whereas the proapoptotic proteins Bak and Bax were dramatically upregulated in ES, but not ER cells, and (3) induced more extensive processing of procaspase-8, procaspase-9, and the caspase-3-targeted substrates, topoisomerase I and PARP, in ES cells. Ectopic overexpression of Bcl-2 in ES cells failed to inhibit etoposide-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: The differential susceptibility of ES and ER cells to etoposide-induced apoptosis is associated with differences in several events rather than with a specific single genetic regulator of the apoptotic machinery. We propose that the differential response of ovarian cancer patients to etoposide treatment is associated with the number of etoposide-sensitive cells in the tumor. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG

Antiproliferative activity and induction of apoptosis in human colon cancer cells treated in vitro with constituents of a product derived from Pistacia lentiscus L. var. chia

In this report, we demonstrate that a 50% ethanol extract of the plant-derived product, Chios mastic gum (CMG), contains compounds which inhibit proliferation and induce death of HCT116 human colon cancer cells in vitro. CMG-treatment induces cell arrest at G1, detachment of the cells from the substrate, activation of pro-caspases-8, -9 and -3, and causes several morphological changes typical of apoptosis in cell organelles. These events, furthermore, are time- and dose-dependent, but p53- and p21-independent. Apoptosis induction by CMG is not inhibited in HCT116 cell clones expressing high levels of the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, or dominant-negative FADD, thereby indicating that CMG induces cell death via a yet-to-be identified pathway, unrelated to the death receptor- and mitochondrion-dependent pathways. The findings presented here suggest that CMG (a) induces an anoikis form of cell death in HCT116 colon cancer cells that includes events associated with caspase-dependent pathways; and (b) might be developed into a chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of human colon and other cancers. © 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved

Mastalgia in infertility: Search for additional possibilities of therapy [Масталгия при бесплодии: поиск дополнительных возможностей терапии]

Aim. To assess the efficacy and safety of using the homeopathic drug Mastopol for the relief of mastalgia in women with infertility, including those associated with endometriosis, as well as to study the drug tolerability and adherence to the treatment, as well as to determine its antiproliferative and analgesic effects in patients of the study cohort. Study design: open-label, randomized, non-comparative, observational study. Material and methods. 79 infertile women with mastalgia (67 with cyclic mastalgia and 12 with acyclic mastalgia) were examined and treated with Mastopol. Mastopol was prescribed 1 tablet 3 times a day sublingually. The course of treatment was 8 weeks. The efficacy of mastalgia relief was assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Treatment outcomes were considered good if pain severity by the VAS decreased by 4 or more points from the baseline levels at the end of Mastopol treatment course. Results. One Mastopol treatment course provided good treatment outcomes in 76,2% of patients with cyclic mastalgia and in 33,3% of patients with acyclic mastalgia. There were no adverse reactions or complications in patients treated with Mastopol. Conclusions. Mastopol has established itself as a quite effective and safe drug in patients of the study cohort; if there is an insufficient effect, Mastopol can supplement traditional pharmacological agents recorded in the current clinical guidelines. © 2021 Federal Informational-Analytical Center of the Defense Industry. All rights reserved