El papel central de la suplementación dirigida con betacaroteno en el comportamiento endocrino y reproductivo en caprinos de las regiones áridas de México

In the Americas, Mexico leads the census and the production of goat milk; the Comarca Lagunera, located in the arid northern (26° N), is the main goat milk production region in Mexico. Two experiments (Exp1 and Exp2) were carried out to evaluate the possible effect of betacarotene (BC) supplementation at endocrine and reproductive level. In the Exp1, adult goats (n=22, 45.35 ± 1.35 kg, 3.5 years-old, 7/8 Saanen-Alpine x Criollo), during the natural breeding season (Oct-Nov) it was evaluated the serum levels of growth hormone (GH), the insulin-like growth factor type-1 and upon the total ovarian activity (AOT; antral follicles + corpus luteum). In from October to November (during the natural breeding season). The Exp2 considered young goats (n=22, anestrous, 29.17 ± 1.02 kg, 1 year-old, Alpine-Saanen-Nubian x Criollo) during the non-reproductive season (Apr-May), evaluating the pulsatility of the luteinizing hormone (LH) and the AOT. In the Exp1, the BC-group depicted an augmented AOT regarding the control groups (CONT) (8.4 vs 6.2 units), parallel to a reduction in the serum average levels of GH in the BC-group (10.0 vs 14.3 ng/mL), with no differences in the IGF-1 levels (254.6 ng/mL). In the Exp2, besides to an increased AOT in the BC-group (3.44 vs 1.87 units), it was observed a grater LH pulse amplitude (0.55 vs 0.24 ng/mL). These results demonstrate for the first time to betacarotene not only as AOT-regulating molecule but also as a modulator of the release pattern of GH in adult goats as well as LH in yearling goats with genotypes with a high degree towards highly marked seasonal reproduction. Future research should define the probable site of BC-action regarding the function of the hypothalamichypophyseal- gonadal axis in goats.En América, México es líder en inventario y nivel de producción de leche caprina; la Comarca Lagunera, situada en el norte árido (26° N), es la principal región productora de leche caprina en México. Se desarrollaron dos experimentos (Exp1 y Exp2) para evaluar el posible efecto de la suplementación de betacaroteno (BC) a nivel endocrino y reproductivo. El Exp1, consideró cabras adultas (n=22, 45.35 ± 1.35 kg., 3.5 años, Saanen- Alpino x Criollo) en la época natural de empadre (oct-nov) evaluando los niveles séricos de la hormona del crecimiento (GH), el factor de crecimiento análogo a insulina tipo 1 (IGF-1), y en la actividad ovárica total (AOT; folículos antrales + cuerpos lúteos). El Exp2 consideró cabras jóvenes (n=22, anéstricas, 29.17 ± 1.02 kg, 1 año de edad, Alpino-Saanen-Nubian x Criollo), en la época no-reproductiva (abr-mayo), evaluando la pulsatilidad de la hormona luteinizante (LH) y la AOT. En el Exp1, el grupo-BC mostró un aumento en la AOT respecto al grupo control (CONT) (8.4 vs 6.2 unidades), paralelo a una reducción en los niveles medios de GH en el grupo-BC (10.0 vs 14.3 ng/mL), sin diferencias en los niveles de IGF-1 (254.6 ng/mL). En el Exp2, además de un incremento en la AOT en el grupo-BC (3.44 vs 1.87 unidades), se observó una mayor amplitud en el pulso de LH (0.55 vs 0.24 ng/mL). Los resultados demuestran por primera vez al BC como una molécula reguladora no solo de la actividad ovárica tanto en época reproductiva como en el anestro, sino como un modulador del patrón de secreción de GH en hembras adultas y LH en primalas, en genotipos con un alto encaste hacia razas lecheras con una marcada reproducción estacional. Futuras investigaciones deberán definir el probable sitio de acción del BC en la función del eje hipotalámico-hipofisiario-gonadal caprino

Clinical Study Mammographic Breast Density Patterns in Asymptomatic Mexican Women

Breast density (BD) is a risk factor for breast cancer. Aims. To describe BD patterns in asymptomatic Mexican women and the pathological mammographic findings. Methods and Material. Prospective, descriptive, and comparative study. Women answered a questionnaire and their mammograms were analyzed according to BI-RADS. Univariate (χ 2 ) and conditional logistic regression analyses were performed. Results. In 300 women studied the BD patterns were fat 56.7% (170), fibroglandular 29% (87), heterogeneously dense 5.7% (17), and dense pattern 8.6% (26). Prevalence of fat pattern was significantly different in women under 50 years (37.6%, 44/117) and older than 50 (68.8%, 126/183). Patterns of high breast density (BD) (dense + heterogeneously dense) were observed in 25.6% (30/117) of women ≤50 years and 7.1% (13/183) of women >50. Asymmetry in BD was observed in 22% (66/300). Compression cone ruled out underlying disease in 56 cases. In the remaining 10, biopsy revealed one fibroadenoma, one complex cyst, and 6 invasive and 2 intraductal carcinomas. 2.6% (8/300) of patients had non-palpable carcinomas. Benign lesions were observed in 63.3% (190/300) of cases, vascular calcification in 150 cases (78.9%), and fat necrosis in 38 cases (20%). Conclusions. Mexican women have a low percentage of high-density patterns

Does Size Matters? Relationships among Social Dominance and Some Morphometric Traits upon Out-of-Season Reproductive Outcomes in Anestrus Dairy Goats Treated with P4 + eCG

The possible role of the social rank (R) (i.e., low-LSR, middle-MSR, or high-HSR) in anestrus goats exposed to a P4 + eCG (D) (i.e., 100 or 350 IU) estrus induction protocol (EIP) was evaluated. Goats (Alpine-Saanen-Nubian × Criollo; n = 70; 25° North) managed under stall-fed conditions were all ultrasound evaluated to confirm anestrous status, while the social rank was determined 30 d prior to the EIP. The response variables included estrus induction (EI, %), duration of estrus (DUR, h), ovulation rate (OR, n), live weight (LW, kg), thoracic perimeter (TP, cm), thoracic diameter (TD, cm), body length (BL, cm), height at withers (HW, cm), beard length (BEA, cm), compactness index (COM, cm), and anamorphosis index (ANA, cm), as affected by R, D, and the R × D interaction were evaluated, while the correlation coefficients among reproductive and morphometric variables were quantified. An R × D interaction (p 0.05) with any response variable, either reproductive or morphometric. As expected, LW had high correlation coefficients (p < 0.01) with TP (0.86), TD (0.88), BL (0.82), HW (0.75), BEA (0.51), COM (0.97), and ANA (0.75). In general, the morphometric variables as a whole demonstrated important correlation coefficients among them (p < 0.01), ranging from 0.38 up to 0.84. To estimate the importance of the morphometric differences between social rank upon estrus induction, a principal component (PC) analysis was performed based on the correlation matrix derived from the corporal measurements. The PC1 and PC2 explained 70.3% and 17.6% of the morphometric variation, respectively. The PC1 was a measure of the goat size (i.e., small, medium, large) and its association with estrus occurrence was evaluated using a logistic regression model; the bigger the goat, the increased probability of being in estrus, by up to five times compared to small goats. Our results confirm that the higher social ranked, larger goats amalgamated some fundamental factors to be successful: aggressiveness, primacy to food access, augmented live weight, and corporal size; all of these were able to modulate out-of-season reproductive success in crossbred dairy goats subjected to an estrus induction protocol and managed under stall-fed conditions in Northern Mexico

Effect of Social Rank upon Estrus Induction and Some Reproductive Outcomes in Anestrus Goats Treated With Progesterone + eCG

We evaluated the possible role of the social rank [R] (i.e., low—LSR, middle—MSR, or high—HSR) in anestrus goats exposed to a P4 + eCG [D] (i.e., 100 or 350 IU) estrus induction protocol (EIP). Adult, multiparous (two to three lactations), multiracial, dairy-type goats (Alpine–Saanen–Nubian x Criollo goats (n = 70; 25°51′ North) managed under stall-fed conditions were all ultrasound evaluated to confirm anestrus status while the R was determined 30 d prior to the EIP. The variables of estrus induction (EI, %), estrus latency (LAT, h), estrus duration (DUR, h), ovulation (OVU, %), ovulation rate (OR, n), corpus luteum size (CLS, cm), pregnancy (PREG, %), kidding (KIDD, %), and litter size (LS, n) as affected by R, D, and the R × D interaction, were evaluated. While OVU and CLS favored (p 0.05; 38.5%) KIDD. However, EI, LAT, DUR, OR, and PREG were affected by the R × D interaction. The HSR group had the largest (p < 0.05) EI % and DUR h, irrespective of D. The shortest (p < 0.05) LAT occurred in D350, irrespective of R. While the largest (p < 0.05) OR occurred in HSR and MSR within D350, the HSR + D350 group had the largest PREG (p < 0.05). These research outcomes are central to defining out-of-season reproductive strategies designed to attenuate seasonal reproduction in goats

Precision Betacarotene Supplementation Enhanced Ovarian Function and the LH Release Pattern in Yearling Crossbred Anestrous Goats

The possible out-of-season effect of beta-carotene supplementation on ovulation rate (OR), antral follicles (AFN), and total ovarian activity (TOA = OR + AFN) as related to the LH release pattern in yearling anestrous goats was evaluated. In late April, Alpine-Saanen-Nubian x Criollo goats (n = 22, 26 N) were randomly allotted to: (1) Beta-carotene (BETA; n = 10, orally supplemented with 50 mg/goat/d; 36.4 ± 1.07 kg live weight (LW), 3.5 ± 0.20 units, body condition score (BCS) or (2) Non-supplemented (CONT; n = 12, 35.2 ± 1.07 kg LW, 3.4 ± 0.2 units BCS). Upon estrus synchronization, an intensive blood sampling (6 h × 15 min) was accomplished in May for LH quantifications; response variables included (pulsatility-PULSE, time to first pulse-TTFP, amplitude-AMPL, nadir-NAD and area under the curve-AUC). Thereafter, an ultrasonography scanning was completed to assess OR and AFN. The Munro algorithm was used to quantify LH pulsatility; if significant effects of time, treatment or interaction were identified, data were compared across time. Neither LW nor BCS (p > 0.05) or even the LH (p > 0.05); PULSE (4.1 ± 0.9 pulses/6 h), NAD (0.47 ± 0.13 ng) and AUC (51.7 ± 18.6 units) differed between treatments. Nonetheless, OR (1.57 vs. 0.87 ± 0.18 units) and TOA (3.44 vs. 1.87 ± 0.45 units) escorted by a reduced TTFP (33 vs. 126 ± 31.9 min) and an increased AMPL (0.55 vs. 0.24 ± 0.9 ng), favored to the BETA supplemented group (p < 0.05), possibly through a GnRH-LH enhanced pathway and(or) a direct effect at ovarian level. Results are relevant to speed-up the out-of-season reproductive outcomes in goats while may embrace translational applications