84 research outputs found
Characterization of estrogenic activity and siteâspecific accumulation of bisphenolâa in epididymal fat pad: Interfering effects on the endocannabinoid system and temporal progression of germ cells
The objective of this work has been to characterize the estrogenic activity of bisphenolâA (BPA) and the adverse effects on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in modulating germ cell progression. Male offspring exposed to BPA during the foetalâperinatal period at doses below the noâobservedâadverseâeffectâlevel were used to investigate the exposure effects in adulthood. Results showed that BPA accumulates specifically in epididymal fat rather than in abdominal fat and targets testicular expression of 3ÎČâhydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and cytochrome P450 aromatase, thus promoting sustained increase of estrogens and a decrease of testosterone. The exposure to BPA affects the expression levels of some ECS components, namely typeâ1 (CB1) and typeâ2 cannabinoid (CB2) receptor and monoacylglycerolâlipase (MAGL). Furthermore, it affects the temporal progression of germ cells reported to be responsive to ECS and promotes epithelial germ cell exfoliation. In particular, it increases the germ cell content (i.e., spermatogonia while reducing spermatocytes and spermatids), accelerates progression of spermatocytes and spermatids, promotes epithelial detachment of round and condensed spermatids and interferes with expression of cellâcell junction genes (i.e., zonula occcludens proteinâ1, vimentin and ÎČâcatenin). Altogether, our study provides evidence that early exposure to BPA produces in adulthood sustained and siteâspecific BPA accumulation in epididymal fat, becoming a risk factor for the reproductive endocrine pathways associated to ECS
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Racial/ethnic differences in use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana: Is there a cross-over from adolescence to adulthood?
Black adolescents in the US are less likely to use alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco compared with non-Hispanic Whites, but little is known about the consistency of these racial/ethnic differences in substance use across the lifecourse. Understanding lifecourse patterning of substance use is critical to inform prevention and intervention efforts. Data were drawn from four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; Wave 1 (mean age = 16): N = 14,101; Wave 4 (mean age = 29): N = 11,365). Outcomes included alcohol (including at-risk drinking, defined as 5+/4+ drinks per drinking occasion or 14+/7+ drinks per week on average for men and women, respectively), cigarette, and marijuana use in 30-day/past-year. Random effects models stratified by gender tested differences-in-differences for wave by race interactions, controlling for age, parents' highest education/income, public assistance, and urbanicity. Results indicate that for alcohol, Whites were more likely to use alcohol and engage in at-risk alcohol use at all waves. By mean age 29.9, for example, White men were 2.1 times as likely to engage in at-risk alcohol use (95% C.I. 1.48â2.94). For cigarettes, Whites were more likely to use cigarettes and smoked more at Waves 1 through 3; there were no differences by Wave 4 for men and a diminished difference for women, and difference-in-difference models indicated evidence of convergence. For marijuana, there were no racial/ethnic differences in use for men at any wave. For women, by Wave 4 there was convergence in marijuana use and a cross-over in frequency of use among users, with Black women using more than White women. In summary, no convergence or cross-over for racial/ethnic differences through early adulthood in alcohol use; convergence for cigarette as well as marijuana use. Lifecourse patterns of health disparities secondary to heavy substance use by race and ethnicity may be, at least in part, due to age-related variation in cigarette and marijuana use
Trauma Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Predict Onset of Cardiovascular Events in Women
BackgroundâPsychological stress is a proposed risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the sentinel stress-related mental disorder, occurs twice as frequently in women as men. However, whether PTSD contributes to CVD risk in women is not established.
Methods and ResultsâWe examined trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in relation to incident CVD over a 20-year period in 49â978 women in the Nursesâ Health Study II. Proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for CVD events confirmed by additional information or medical record review (n=548, including myocardial infarction [n=277] and stroke [n=271]). Trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms were assessed by using the Brief Trauma Questionnaire and a PTSD screen. In comparison with no trauma exposure, endorsing â„4 PTSD symptoms was associated with increased CVD risk after adjusting for age, family history, and childhood factors (hazard ratio,1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.20â2.13). Being trauma-exposed and endorsing no PTSD symptoms was associated with elevated CVD risk (hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.15â1.83), although being trauma-exposed and endorsing 1 to 3 PTSD symptoms was not. After adjusting for adult health behaviors and medical risk factors, this pattern of findings was maintained. Health behaviors and medical risk factors accounted for 14% of the trauma/no symptomsâCVD association and 47% of the trauma/4+ symptomsâCVD association.
ConclusionâTrauma exposure and elevated PTSD symptoms may increase the risk of CVD in this population of women. These findings suggest that screening for CVD risk and reducing health risk behaviors in trauma-exposed women may be promising avenues for prevention and intervention
Cumulative Stress and Cortisol Disruption Among Black and Hispanic Pregnant Women in an Urban Cohort
Characterization of Follicular Atresia Responsive to BPA in Zebrafish by Morphometric Analysis of Follicular Stage Progression
Bisphenol A is an industrial chemical compound, pervasively polluting the environment and diet, classified as an endocrine disruptor because of its interference effects on the endocrine system. In zebrafish, BPA exposure induces follicular atresia. To acquire knowledge on this atretic effect, using a qualitative and quantitative histomorphological approach, we studied zebrafish ovarian follicular stage development in response to low BPA concentrations. Results show that BPA interferes with follicular progression by affecting the previtellogenic and vitellogenic phases. In particular, BPA exposure (i) increases follicular recruitment by acting on primary stage follicles, (ii) forces the follicular transition from stage III to stage IV producing enlarged stage IV follicles, and (iii) induces atresia by producing atretic follicles that are peculiarly enlarged (i.e., big atretic follicles). We suggest that BPA induces atresia by the primary effect on recruitment of stage I follicles. This forces follicular progression and produces stage IV follicles that are peculiarly enlarged that undertake the atretic development
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