Spermatozoal sensitive biomarkers to defective protaminosis and fragmented DNA

Human sperm DNA damage may have adverse effects on reproductive outcome. Infertile men possess substantially more spermatozoa with damaged DNA compared to fertile donors. Although the extent of this abnormality is closely related to sperm function, the underlying etiology of ensuing male infertility is still largely controversial. Both intra-testicular and post-testicular events have been postulated and different mechanisms have been proposed to explain the presence of damaged DNA in human spermatozoa. Three among them, i.e. abnormal chromatin packaging, oxidative stress and apoptosis, are the most studied and discussed in the present review. Furthermore, results from numerous investigations are presented, including our own findings on these pathological conditions, as well as the techniques applied for their evaluation. The crucial points of each methodology on the successful detection of DNA damage and their validity on the appraisal of infertile patients are also discussed. Along with the conventional parameters examined in the standard semen analysis, evaluation of damaged sperm DNA seems to complement the investigation of factors affecting male fertility and may prove an efficient diagnostic tool in the prediction of pregnancy outcome

Upadacitinib tartrate in rheumatoid arthritis

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) there is an unmet therapeutic need, as a substantial proportion of patients does not achieve low disease activity or remission despite the use of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) and/or biological DMARDs (bDMARDs). The Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are the most recently added drug category in the therapeutic armamentarium in RA. Upadacitinib tartrate (Rinvoq), a selective and reversible JAK1 inhibitor, inhibited interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-7 and ameliorated adjuvant-induced arthritis in preclinical studies. In phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs), upadacitinib, as monotherapy or in combination with csDMARDs, showed efficacy in RA patients with inadequate response to csDMARDs or bDMARDs. In a head-to-head RCT, upadacitinib 15 mg once daily was superior to adalimumab in achieving remission and in patient-reported outcomes. Upadacitinib has a good safety profile but it may increase the risk for herpes zoster, and as a substrate of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme CYP3A4 it should not be coadministered with strong CYP3A4 inducers. Upadacitinib is contraindicated in patients with active tuberculosis, serious infections, active malignancy and in patients with severe liver impairment. Upadacitinib has been approved for the treatment of moderate to severe RA

The involvement of substance P in the induction of aggressive behavior

Aggression is a complex social behavior that involves a similarly complex neurochemical background. The involvement of substance P (SP) and its potent tachykinin receptor (NK1) in the induction of both defensive rage and predatory attack appears to be a consistent finding. However, an overall understanding of the nature of the SP involvement in the induction of aggressive behavior has not yet been fully achieved. The aim of this review is to summarize and present the current knowledge with regards to the role of SP in the induction of aggressive behavior and to synopsize: (a) its biochemical profile, and (b) the exact anatomical circuits through which it mediates all types of aggressive behavior. Future studies should seriously consider the potential use of this knowledge in their quest for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for the Broader Messinia (SW Greece) Region

Messinia is located in SW Peloponnese (Greece), in the vicinity of the Hellenic Arc which is one of the most seismically active areas of Europe. The arc is dominated by reverse faulting, whereas normal faults are mapped onshore, mainly striking N-S. Large earthquakes have occurred in the study area, both in the historical and instrumental periods. In the present study, a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) is applied to estimate the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Peak Ground Velocity (PGV), Peak Ground Rotational Acceleration (PGRA) and Peak Ground Rotational Velocity (PGRV) for the broader Messinia region. PGRA and PGRV are not often examined in detail in the literature, even though they are useful for the evaluation of the possible damages in structures. The widely used approach proposed by Cornell and McGuire is implemented taking into account: (a) the seismotectonic model proposed by Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe (SHARE), (b) an earthquake catalogue for the instrumental period and (c) Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) proposed for the Greek territory. The computational grid spacing for Messinia was set to 1 km, in order to accurately calculate the hazard parameters and to reduce the bias of the results through interpolation processes. For PGA and PGV, a logic tree approach is considered, where every branch is a hybrid version of each GMPE considering the percentage of the type (normal or non-normal) of focal mechanisms for all zones of the seismotectonic model. The results show an increase of the hazard values in the NW part of the study area, where the Greek Building Code provides lower PGA values. In addition, hazard curves in terms of PGA for multiple probabilities of exceedance in 50 years are determined for five major towns of Messinia, i.e. Kalamata, Messini, Filiatra, Kyparissia and Pylos. Kyparissia has the higher hazard in all probabilities of exceedance, which is in full agreement with the PGA and PGV results. Pylos and Filiatra have intermediate to high hazard, whereas Kalamata and Messini show intermediate hazard values. Furthermore, the Uniform Hazard Spectrum (UHS) in terms of Spectral Acceleration for the same towns is computed. The latter provides essential information about the design parameters. Lastly, the results are compared to the seismic histories of the five major towns in terms of European Macroseismic Scale (EMS98) intensity, plotted for the last 200 years

Greek College Students and Psychopathology: New Insights

Background: College students’ mental health problems include depression, anxiety, panic disorders, phobias and obsessive compulsive thoughts. Aims: To investigate Greek college students’ psychopathology. Methods: During the initial evaluation, 638 college students were assessed through the following psychometric questionnaires: (a) Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ); (b) The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90); (c) The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); (d) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: State anxiety and trait anxiety were correlated, to a statistically significant degree, with the family status of the students (p = 0.024) and the past visits to the psychiatrist (p = 0.039) respectively. The subscale of psychoticism is significantly related with the students’ origin, school, family status and semester. The subscale of neuroticism is significantly related with the students’ school. The subscale of extraversion is significantly related with the students’ family psychiatric history. Students, whose place of origin is Attica, have on average higher scores in somatization, phobic anxiety and paranoid ideation than the other students. Students from abroad have, on average, higher scores in interpersonal sensitivity and psychoticism than students who hail from other parts of Greece. The majority of the students (79.7%) do not suffer from depression, according to the Beck’s depression inventory scale. Conclusions: Anxiety, somatization, personality traits and depression are related with the students’ college life

Greek College Students and Psychopathology: New Insights

Background: College students’ mental health problems include depression, anxiety, panic disorders, phobias and obsessive compulsive thoughts. Aims: To investigate Greek college students’ psychopathology. Methods: During the initial evaluation, 638 college students were assessed through the following psychometric questionnaires: (a) Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ); (b) The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90); (c) The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); (d) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: State anxiety and trait anxiety were correlated, to a statistically significant degree, with the family status of the students (p = 0.024) and the past visits to the psychiatrist (p = 0.039) respectively. The subscale of psychoticism is significantly related with the students’ origin, school, family status and semester. The subscale of neuroticism is significantly related with the students’ school. The subscale of extraversion is significantly related with the students’ family psychiatric history. Students, whose place of origin is Attica, have on average higher scores in somatization, phobic anxiety and paranoid ideation than the other students. Students from abroad have, on average, higher scores in interpersonal sensitivity and psychoticism than students who hail from other parts of Greece. The majority of the students (79.7%) do not suffer from depression, according to the Beck’s depression inventory scale. Conclusions: Anxiety, somatization, personality traits and depression are related with the students’ college life

Jacksonian seizure in a manic patient treated with rTMS

This is a report of a jacksonian seizure in a non-psychotic manic patient who was treated with right prefrontal high frequency rTMS concomitant to pharmacotherapy