Effects of tamoxifen and conjugated estrogens on the mammary epithelium of rats in persistent estrus

Purpose: to evaluate the morphologic and morphometric alterations produced by tamoxifen and conjugated estrogens in the mammary epithelium of rats in persistent estrus. Methods: thirty-three adult female rats in persistent estrus induced with 1.25 mg testosterone propionate were divided at random into three groups: GI -- which received only water, control group (n = 12); GII -- treated with 500 mug tamoxifen daily (n = 10); GIII -- treated with 30 mug conjugated estrogens per day (n = 11). The first inguinal-abdominal pair of mammary glands of the animals was extirpated and processed for morphologic and morphometric study. Data were analyzed statistically by the Kruskal-Wallis rank analysis of variance (p < 0.05). Results: the morphologic study revealed signs of epithelial atrophy and the morphometric study showed a statistically significant reduction in the mean number of ducts and alveoli in groups II (10.1 and 1.9, respectively) and III (11.1 and 3.5, respectively) compared to group I (25.0 and 6.6, respectively). There was no significant difference between groups II and III. Conclusions: the results of this study indicate that tamoxifen as well as conjugated estrogens at the tested doses produced mammary epithelial atrophy in rats in persistent estrus.Objetivo: avaliar as alterações morfológicas e morfométricas produzidas pelo tamoxifeno e pelos estrogênios conjugados no epitélio mamário de ratas em estro permanente. Métodos: foram utilizadas 33 ratas adultas, induzidas a estro permanente com 1,25 mg de propionato de testosterona e divididas ao acaso em três grupos: GI -- que receberam apenas água, servindo como controle (n = 12); GII -- tratadas com 500 mig de tamoxifeno diariamente (n = 10); GIII -- tratadas com 30 mig de estrogênios conjugados ao dia (n = 11). O primeiro par mamário abdômino-inguinal dos animais foi extirpado e processado para estudo morfológico e morfométrico. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente pela análise de variância por postos de Kruskal-Wallis (p < 0,05). Resultados: o estudo morfológico revelou sinais de atrofia epitelial e o estudo morfométrico exibiu redução estatisticamente significante do número médio de ductos e alvéolos nos grupos II (10,1 e 1,9, respectivamente) e III (11,1 e 3,5, respectivamente) em relação ao grupo I (25,0 e 6,6, respectivamente). Não houve diferença estatística entre os grupos II e III. Conclusões: os resultados deste estudo indicam que tanto o tamoxifeno como os estrogênios conjugados, nas doses e no tempo utilizado, produziram atrofia no epitélio mamário de ratas em estro permanente.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Influence of CYP19A1 gene expression levels in women with breast cancer: a systematic review of the literature

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignant neoplasm in women and is considered a multifactorial disease of unknown etiology. One of the major risk factors is genetic alteration. Changes in&nbsp;CYP19A1&nbsp;gene expression levels have been associated with increased risk and increased aggressiveness of breast cancer. Increased&nbsp;CYP19A1&nbsp;gene expression and/or aromatase activity are among the major regulatory events for intratumoral production of estrogens in breast malignant tissues. This systematic review aimed to investigate the influence of&nbsp;CYP19A1&nbsp;gene expression levels in women with breast cancer. The research was carried out using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Searches were conducted between February 2 and May 15, 2019. Inclusion criteria were studies published between 2009 and 2019, English language publications, and human studies addressing the gene expression of&nbsp;CYP19A1&nbsp;in breast cancer. A total of 6.068 studies were identified through PubMed (n=773), Scopus (n=2,927), and the Web of Science (n=2,368). After selecting and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six articles were included in this systematic review. This systematic review provides evidence that increased or decreased levels of&nbsp;CYP19A1&nbsp;gene expression may be related to pathological clinical factors of disease, MFS, OS, DFS, WATi, markers of metabolic function, concentrations of E1, FSH, and in the use of multiple exons 1 of the&nbsp;CYP19A1&nbsp;gene in breast cancer

Cephalometric and anthropometric data of obstructive apnea in different age groups

Pacientes com a síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono (SAOS) geralmente apresentam alterações na morfologia das vias aéreas superiores e/ou na distribuição da gordura corporal, que podem ocorrer durante a vida e aumentar a gravidade da SAOS com a idade. Correlacionar medidas cefalométricas e antropométricas com a gravidade da SAOS em diferentes faixas etárias. Estudo retrospectivo de medidas cefalométricas e antropométricas de 102 pacientes portadores de SAOS. Os pacientes foram divididos em três faixas etárias (≥20 e <40 anos, ≥40 e <60 anos, e ≥60 anos). Foi realizada correlação de Pearson destas medidas com o índice de apneia-hipopneia (IAH) na amostra completa e depois por faixa etária. As medidas cefalométricas MP-H (distância entre o plano mandibular e o osso hioide) e PNS-P (distância entre a espinha nasal posterior e a ponta do palato mole) e as circunferências cervical e abdominal apresentaram correlação estatisticamente significante com o IAH tanto na amostra total quanto na faixa de <40 e ≥ 60 anos. Estas variáveis não mostraram correlação significante com as outras duas faixas etárias (≤ 40 e ≥ 60 anos).As medidas cefalométricas MP-H e PNS-P e as circunferências cervical e abdominal apresentaram correlação com a gravidade da SAOS em pacientes na faixa etária de ≥40 e <60 anos811Patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome usually present with changes in upper airway morphology and/or body fat distribution, which may occur throughout life and increase the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome with age. To correlate cephalometric and anthropometric measures with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome severity in different age groups. A retrospective study of cephalometric and anthropometric measures of 102 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome was analyzed. Patients were divided into three age groups (≥20 and <40 years, ≥40 and <60 years, and ≥60 years). Pearson's correlation was performed for these measures with the apnea-hypopnea index in the full sample, and subsequently by age group. The cephalometric measures MP-H (distance between the mandibular plane and the hyoid bone) and PNS-P (distance between the posterior nasal spine and the tip of the soft palate) and the neck and waist circumferences showed a statistically significant correlation with apnea-hypopnea index in both the full sample and in the ≥40 and <60 years age group. These variables did not show any significant correlation with the other two age groups (<40 and ≥60 years). Cephalometric measurements MP-H and PNS-P and cervical and waist circumfer- ences correlated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome severity in patients in the ≥40 and <60 age group

Prevalência e fatores associados aos sintomas urinários na doença de Parkinson

The authors present a cross-sectional study involving 61 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) who were consecutively examined and compared to a control group with 74 subjects. Only patients who fulfilled the standard diagnostic criteria for PD and whose brain magnetic resonance imaging was normal were included. The objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of inferior urinary tract symptoms in PD and to study the possible association between clinical factors to urinary dysfunction. ln the patient group, 39.3% presented urinary symptoms when compared to 10.8% in the control group. All symptomatic patients presented irritative symptoms. The most common irritative symptom PD was nocturia, followed by frequency and urinary incontinence. Around 25% of the patients presented functional obstructive symptoms determined by the disease. The most frequent obstructive symptom was incomplete emptying of the bladder. Only the age of the patients and control group were correlated with urinary dysfunction.Trata-se de estudo clínico transversal, envolvendo 61 pacientes com doença de Parkinson idiopática (DP) examinados consecutivamente e comparados a 74 indivíduos do grupo controle. Foram incluídos apenas pacientes com DP que preencheram os critérios de diagnóstico estabelecidos. A ressonância magnética do encéfalo e a ultra-sonografia da próstata foram utilizadas como critérios de exclusão. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a prevalência de sintomas do trato urinário inferior na DP e verificar associações entre sexo, idade e fatores clínicos às disfunções urinárias. Sintomatologia urinária foi encontrada em 39,3% dos parkinsonianos e 10,8% do grupo controle. Todos os pacientes sintomáticos apresentavam sintomas irritativos e 25% destes tinham sintomas obstrutivos. A sintomatologia urinária não estava associada ao sexo, duração e gravidade da doença, hipotensão postural e sintomas ortostáticos, assim como com os sinais cardeais e tratamento com a levodopa.35936

Effects of anastrozole on Ki-67 antigen expression in the vaginal epithelium of female rats in persistent estrus

OBJECTIVES: Aromatase inhibitors are the first-choice drugs for the treatment of hormone sensitive breast cancer. However, in addition to the scarcity of studies, there are controversies about their effects on vaginal epithelial cell proliferation in rats, especially those in persistent estrus. METHODS: To investigate vaginal epithelial cell proliferation by Ki-67 antigen expression, persistent estrus was induced in 42 randomly selected rats. These rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: group I (control, n=21), which received 0.1 mL of propylene glycol (vehicle) daily, and group II (experimental, n=21), which received 0.5 mg/kg or 0.125 mg/day of anastrozole diluted with 0.1 mL of propylene glycol. RESULTS: Light microscopy showed a higher concentration of cells with brown Ki-67 stained nuclei in the control compared to the experimental group. The mean percentage of Ki-67 stained nuclei per 500 cells in the vaginal epithelium was 68.64±2.64 and 30.46±2.00 [mean±standard error of the mean (SEM)] in the control and experimental groups, respectively (po0.003). CONCLUSION: This study showed that anastrozole, at the dose and treatment duration selected, significantly decreased cell proliferation in the vaginal mucosa of the rats in persistent estrus

Expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors in astrocytomas: a literature review

Gliomas are the most common type of primary central nervous system neoplasm. Astrocytomas are the most prevalent type of glioma and these tumors may be influenced by sex steroid hormones. A literature review for the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors in astrocytomas was conducted in the PubMed database using the following MeSH terms: “estrogen receptor beta” OR “estrogen receptor alpha” OR “estrogen receptor antagonists” OR “progesterone receptors” OR “astrocytoma” OR “glioma” OR “glioblastoma”. Among the 111 articles identified, 13 studies met our inclusion criteria. The majority of reports showed the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors in astrocytomas. Overall, higher tumor grades were associated with decreased estrogen receptor expression and increased progesterone receptor expression