Androgen receptor polymorphisms and testicular cancer risk

Testicular cancer (TC) is currently the most common malignant solid tumour in Caucasian males aged 15-39 years. Epidemiological evidence suggests that its onset may be due to an imbalance in the action of steroidal sex hormones and their receptors. A faulty androgen receptor signalling pathway can, in fact, cause various male reproductive disorders. The androgen receptor (AR) gene has two polymorphic segments consisting of CAG and GGC repeats. The length of CAG repeats has been shown to affect the regulation of AR activity. In our study, we used fragment analysis to evaluate the AR gene repeats of 302 TC patients and 322 controls, to establish if there is any association between repeat number and TC. This study of the largest Italian caseload investigated to date highlighted three particularly significant aspects. First, a CAG repeat number of ≥25 may be considered a risk factor for the onset of TC, given its greater frequency in patients in comparison with controls. This difference became significant for the non-seminoma group. Second, men with CAG repeats below 21 or above 24 were found to have a, respectively, 50 and 76% higher risk of TC than those with CAG 21-24, suggesting that these too can be considered a risk factor for TC. Finally, stage II patients were more likely to have a CAG repeat number 24 than stage I patients. © 2014 American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology

INTERAZIONE GENE-AMBIENTE NELLA INSORGENZA DEL TUMORE DEL TESTICOLO

INTERAZIONE GENE-AMBIENTE NELLA INSORGENZA DEL TUMORE DEL TESTICOL

Interazione gene-ambiente nella insorgenza del tumore del testicolo

INTERAZIONE GENE-AMBIENTE NELLA INSORGENZA DEL TUMORE DEL TESTICOL

Gender diversity and monetary policy

Gender diversity matters in many respects. Obviously. Does gender diversity also matter in monetary policy? This is perhaps not so obvious. In the present SUERF Policy Note, the authors refer to some recent studies, which document some impact of gender diversity on monetary policy making. Data from the US FOMC reveals different patterns of voting behavior for respectively women and men. Women tend in this study more often than men to have a dovish attitude i.e. being in favor of an active monetary policy. Results from studies of central bankers in other OECD countries are somewhat different. A 2016-study by the three authors applying an index of gender diversity suggests that presence of women in central bank boards can be associated with a more hawkish approach to monetary policy making

Women and governance: central bank boards and monetary policy

Monetary policy decisions taken by central banks affect the economy, society and politics worldwide. Does the presence of women matter in these decisions? We construct a new and unique dataset on the presence of women on central bank monetary policy committees for a large sample of countries, over the period 2001-2017 and document an increasing share of women on central bank boards. We investigate how the presence of women correlates with the conduct of monetary policy by estimating Taylor rules augmented to include the share of women on monetary policy committees. We show that central bank boards with a higher proportion of women are more responsive to inflation. This suggests that central banks whose boards are characterised by a higher presence of women are associated with a more conservative approach to monetary policy when inflation is higher. We confirm this result by analysing the voting behaviour of members of the executive board of the Swedish Central Bank during the period 2000-2017

Hormone and genetic study in male to female transsexual patients

Background: Data of the literature demonstrated controversial results of a correlation between transsexualism and genetic mutations. Aim: To evaluate the hormone and gene profile of male-female (M-F) transsexual. Subjects and methods: Thirty M-F transsexuals aged 24-39. Seventeen had already undergone sex reassignment surgery, 13 were awaiting. All subjects had been undergoing estrogen and antiandrogen therapy. We studied hormones of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axis, thyroid and adrenal profile, GH basal and after GHRH stimulation, IGF-I. The gene study analyzed SRY, AR, DAX1, SOX9, AZF region of the Y chromosome. Results: Pre-surgery subjects had elevated PRL, reduced testosterone and gonadotropins. Post-surgery subjects showed reduced androgens, a marked increase in LH and FSH and normal PRL. Cortisol and ACTH were similar to reference values in pre- and post-surgery patients. There was a marked increase in the baseline and post-stimulation GH values in 6 of the 13 pre-surgery patients, peaking at T15. IGF-I was similar to reference values in both groups except for one post-surgery patient, whose level was below the normal range. There were no polymorphisms in the amplified gene region for SOX9, and a single nucleotide synonimous polymorphism for DAX1. No statistically significant differences were seen in the mean of CAG repeats between controls and transsexual subjects. SRY gene was present in all subjects. Qualitative analysis of the AZFa, AZFb, and AZFc regions did not reveal any microdeletions in any subject. Conclusions: This gender disorder does not seem to be associated with any molecular mutations of some of the main genes involved in sexual differentiation. (C) 2013, Editrice Kurti

Fertility preservation in males with cancer: 16-year monocentric experience of sperm banking and post-thaw reproductive outcomes

Background: Anticancer treatments can impair male fertility. Cryopreservation of semen is an efficient procedure for fertility preservation. The aim of this study was to evaluate pre-freeze semen parameters among the various types of cancer, post-thaw sperm viability and reproductive outcome of samples used for assisted reproductive treatment (ART). Methods: This study included 721 men with cancer that had their semen cryopreserved in our bank in 1999-2015. Semen analysis and cryopreservation were performed before the start of antineoplastic treatment, according to the World Health Organization recommendations, European Commission and Italian law. Results: Among the 721 patient, 196 had seminoma of the testis, 173 Hodgkin's lymphoma, 108 mixed testicular tumors, 89 germ cell tumors, 67 other tumors, 46 hematological tumors, and 42 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The mean age of patients was significantly lower in Hodgkin's lymphoma compared to other tumors. Statistically significant lower volume, sperm count and number of straws stored were observed respectively in Hodgkin's lymphoma, mixed testicular tumor and hematological tumors. Nineteen patients used their frozen semen for 20 ART cycles. After thawing a significant reduction of motility and vitality was recorded. A lower fertilization rate was observed in patients affected by testicular tumor and lymphoma (35.42% and 50%) compared with other cancers (71.43%). No significant differences were observed in terms of cleavage and implantation rates. A total of five pregnancies and seven healthy newborns were achieved. Conclusions: Fertility preservation before gonadotoxic therapy is of great importance to patients with cancer and must be indicate before the start of treatment

Phytoremediated marine sediments as suitable peat-free growing media for production of Red Robin photinia (Photinia x fraseri)

Sediments dredged by an industrial port, slightly contaminated by heavy metals and petroleoum hydrocarbons, were phytoremediated and used as peat-free growing media for the red robin photinia (Photinia x fraseri L.). Plants were grown on sediment only (S), sediment mixed with composted pruning residues (S+PR), sediment fertilized with controlled release fertilizers (S+F) and peat-based growing media as control (C). Plant elongation and dry weight, leaf contents of chlorophyll, malondialdehyde (MDA), macronutrients and heavy metals were determined at the end of one growing season. Environmental impact related to the use of sediment-based as compared to peat-based growing media was assessed by the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Sediment-based growing media presented significantly higher bulk density, pH and electrical conductivity values, lower C and N contents, and significantly higher total and available P. Red robin photinia grown on S+F growing media showed morphological and chemical parameters similar to those of control plants (C), whereas plants grown on S and S+PR showed lower growth. Leaf concentration of nutrients and heavy metals varied depending on the considered element and growing media, but were all within the common values for ornamental plants, whereas the highest MDA concentrations were found in plants grown on traditional growing media. The LCA indicated the use of sediments as growing media reduced the C footprint of ornamental plant production and the contribute of growing media to the environmental impact per produced plant. We concluded that sediments phytoremediation and use in plant nursery is a practical alternative re-use option for dredged sediments