Effects of three-dimensional sodium alginate scaffold on maturation and developmental gene expressions in fresh and vitrified preantral follicles of mice

Background: Prior to chemotherapy interventions, in vitro maturation (IVM) of follicles through vitrification can be used to help young people conserve their fertility. The aim of s�tudy was to inves�tigate effect of sodium alginat scaffold on follicles development and improvement of the culture medium. Materials and Methods: This experimental s�tudy was conducted on immature female BALB/c mice (12-14 days). Follicles were gathered mechanically and placed in α-Minimal Essential Medium (α-MEM) containing 5 fetal bo-vine serum (FBS). Some pre-antral follicles were frozen. The fresh and vitrified follicles were cultured in different concentrations of sodium alginate (0.25, 0.5, and 1) and two dimensional (2D) medium for 12 days. The samples were evaluated for viability percentage, the number of MII-phase oocytes and reactive oxygen specious (ROS) level. Additionally, Gdf9, Bmp15, Bmp7, Bmp4, Gpx, mnSOD and Gcs gene expressions were assessed in the samples. Results: The highes�t and lowes�t percentages of follicle viability and maturation in the fresh and vitrified groups were re-spectively 0.5 concentration and 2D culture. There was no significant difference among the concentrations of 0.25 and 1. Viability and maturation of follicles showed a significant increase in the fresh groups in comparison with the vitrified groups. ROS levels in the both fresh and vitrified groups with different concentrations of alginate showed a significant decrease compared to the control group. ROS levels in follicles showed a significant decrease in the fresh groups in comparison with the vitrified groups (P�0.0001). The highes�t gene expression levels were observed in the 0.5 alginate (P�0.0001). Moreover, the viability percentage, follicle maturation, and gene expression levels were higher in the fresh groups than the vitrified groups (P�0.0001). Conclusion: Alginate hydrogel at a proper concentration of 5, not only helps follicle get mature, but also promotes the expression of developmental genes and reduces the level of intracellular ROS. Follicular vitrification decreases quality of the follicles, which are partially compensated using a three dimensional (3D) cell culture medium. © 2021, Royan Institute (ACECR). All rights reserved

Pretreatment serum GH levels and cardio-metabolic comorbidities in acromegaly; analysis of data from Iran Pituitary Tumor Registry

Background: Acromegaly is a rare chronic disabling disorder, in which growth hormone (GH) excess is associated with a range of clinical features and systemic complications. The present study aims to evaluate the association between pretreatment basal GH levels as well as GH levels after oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and cardio-metabolic comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus (DM), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and hypertension (HTN) in patients with active acromegaly. Methods: A retrospective study of the medical records regarding 113 patients with acromegaly registered at two main centers of Iran Pituitary Tumor Registry during 2011�2018. Results: The mean age of the patients was 42.76 ± 11.6 (range: 21�72) years. Mean GH level at baseline was 21 ng/ml while nadir GH levels at 60 and 120 min after glucose were 6.95 and 9.05 ng/ml, respectively. There was a negative correlation between age and basal serum GH level (r= -0.196, p = 0.038). Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were detected in 26.8 and 19.7 of the patients. A positive correlation was detected between serum GH values and systolic blood pressure. There was not any significant difference in basal GH and GH post OGTT regarding DM, Diastolic blood pressure and LVH. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that pretreatment basal GH levels are higher in younger patients with acromegaly. Furthermore, higher GH values (0, 60 and 120 min) during OGTT are associated with higher systolic blood pressure. A comprehensive evaluation of this population regarding comorbidities should be performed. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Effects of Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) on exercise-induced oxidative stress, muscle damage, and pain following a half-marathon: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Abstract Background Oxidative stress and muscle damage occur during exhaustive bouts of exercise, and many runners report pain and soreness as major influences on changes or breaks in training regimens, creating a barrier to training persistence. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a sulfur-based nutritional supplement that is purported to have pain and inflammation-reducing effects. To investigate the effects of MSM in attenuating damage associated with physical exertion, this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the effects of MSM supplementation on exercise-induced pain, oxidative stress and muscle damage. Methods Twenty-two healthy females (n = 17) and males (n = 5) (age 33.7 ± 6.9 yrs.) were recruited from the 2014 Portland Half-Marathon registrant pool. Participants were randomized to take either MSM (OptiMSM®) (n = 11), or a placebo (n = 11) at 3 g/day for 21 days prior to the race and for two days after (23 total). Participants provided blood samples for measurement of markers of oxidative stress, and completed VAS surveys for pain approximately one month prior to the race (T0), and at 15 min (T1), 90 min (T2), 1 Day (T3), and 2 days (T4) after race finish. The primary outcome measure 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanine (8-OHdG) measured oxidative stress. Secondary outcomes included malondialdehyde (MDA) for oxidative stress, creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as measures of muscle damage, and muscle (MP) and joint pain (JP) recorded using a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Data were analyzed using repeated and multivariate ANOVAs, and simple contrasts compared post-race time points to baseline, presented as mean (SD) or mean change (95% CI) where appropriate. Results Running a half-marathon induced significant increases in all outcome measures (p  0.05) and T4 by −0.57 ng/mL (−1.27–0.13 CI, p > 0.05). MDA increased significantly at T1 by 7.3 μM (3.9–10.7 CI, p  10 mm) reductions in both muscle and joint pain. Conclusion Participation in a half-marathon was associated with increased markers of oxidative stress, muscle damage, and pain. MSM supplementation was not associated with a decrease from pre-training levels of oxidative stress or muscle damage associated with an acute bout of exercise. MSM supplementation attenuated post-exercise muscle and joint pain at clinically, but not statistically significant levels