In Vitro Safety/Protection Assessment of Resveratrol and Pterostilbene in a Human Hepatoma Cell Line (HepG2).

The aim of this work was to evaluate in vitro the genotoxic and/or antigenotoxic effects of resveratrol (RESV) and pterostilbene (PTER) on HepG2 cells. Moreover, additional tests were performed to evaluate early and late apoptosis events induced by the tested stilbenes. RESV and PTER did not show any genotoxic activity. As regards antigenotoxicity testing, RESV and PTER showed a typical, U-shaped hormetic dose-response relationship characterized by a biphasic trend with small quantities having opposite effects to large ones. HepG2 cells treated with PTER exhibited a marked increase in early apoptosis (40.1 %) at 250 μM; whereas, the highest concentration tested for both RESV and PTER significantly increased the proportion of HepG2 cells undergoing late apoptosis (32.5 and 51.2 %, respectively). The observed pro-apoptotic activity could, at least in part, explain the hormetic response observed when the compounds were tested for antigenotoxicity ( i.e., in the presence of induced DNA damage)

VALUTAZIONE DEL DANNO PRIMARIO ED OSSIDATIVO AL DNA IN LINFOCITI SALIVARI PER IL MONITORAGGIO DEGLI EFFETTI BIOLOGICI PRECOCI CAUSATI DALL’INQUINAMENTO ATMOSFERICO NEI BAMBINI: STUDIO MAPEC

VALUTAZIONE DEL DANNO PRIMARIO ED OSSIDATIVO AL DNA IN LINFOCITI SALIVARI PER IL MONITORAGGIO DEGLI EFFETTI BIOLOGICI PRECOCI CAUSATI DALL’INQUINAMENTO ATMOSFERICO NEI BAMBINI: STUDIO MAPEC Samuele Vannini (1) - Sara Levorato (1) - Elisabetta Ceretti (2) - Milena Villarini (1) - Silvia Bonetta (3) - Cristina Fatigoni(1) - Annalaura Carducci (4) - Tania Salvatori (1) - Maria Rosaria Tumolo (5) - Alessio Perotti (6) - Silvia Bonizzoni (7) - Alberto Bonetti (8) - Massimo Moretti (1) - Umberto Gelatti (2) Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italia (1) - Dipartimento di Specialità Medico-Chirurgiche, Scienze Radiologiche e Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italia (2) - Dipartimento di Scienze della Sanità Pubblica e Pediatriche, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italia (3) - Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Pisa, Italia (4) - Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italia (5) - Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università del Studi di Parma, Parma, Italia (6) - Ufficio Minori, Comune di Brescia, Brescia, Italia (7) - Centro Servizi Multisettoriale e Tecnologico, Csmt Gestione S.c.a.r.l., Brescia, Italia (8) Il particolato è l’inquinante atmosferico che provoca i maggiori danni alla salute umana in Europa (Agenzia Europea dell’Ambiente; www.eea.europa.eu). Tra le prime 30 città più inquinate del continente, oltre la metà sono italiane, in particolare quelle situate nella pianura Padana, con concentrazioni di PM10, PM2,5 e NOx ben al di sopra dei valori di riferimento europei. Studi epidemiologici hanno rilevato un’associazione positiva tra esposizione ad inquinamento atmosferico, soprattutto al PM, ed incidenza e mortalità per diverse malattie cronico-degenerative, come cancro al polmone, malattie cardiovascolari e diabete. I bambini, in particolar modo, risultano esposti ad un elevato rischio per quanto riguarda gli effetti a breve e lungo termine dell’inquinamento atmosferico. Dati recenti suggeriscono che alcune alterazioni genetiche che si verificano nella prima infanzia posso incrementare il rischio di malattie cronico-degenerative in età adulta. L’obiettivo dello studio MAPEC (Monitoring Air Pollution Effects on Children for supporting Public Health policy) è quello di valutare l’associazione tra inquinamento atmosferico e biomarcatori di effetti genotossici precoci nei bambini, e di proporre un modello per la stima del rischio globale causato dagli inquinanti atmosferici. Lo studio ha previsto il reclutamento di circa 1.000 bambini, di età compresa tra 6-8 anni, in cinque città italiane (200 bambini per città) caratterizzate da diverse concentrazioni di inquinanti atmosferici: Brescia, Torino, Pisa, Perugia e Lecce. Campioni di saliva sono stati raccolti in due differenti stagioni, inverno e primavera, caratterizzate da differenze qualitative e quantitative degli inquinanti atmosferici (1.000 × 2 = 2.000 campioni). Nei linfociti salivari è stato valutato il danno primario e ossidativo al DNA mediante il test della microgel elettroforesi su singole cellule (comet assay). Alla conferenza verranno presentati i risultati preliminari relativi al campionamento invernale

Lifestyles and socio-cultural factors among children aged 6-8 years from five Italian towns: The MAPEC-LIFE study cohort

Background: Lifestyles profoundly determine the quality of an individual’s health and life since his childhood. Many diseases in adulthood are avoidable if health-risk behaviors are identified and improved at an early stage of life. The aim of the present research was to characterize a cohort of children aged 6–8 years selected in order to perform an epidemiological molecular study (the MAPEC_LIFE study), investigate lifestyles of the children that could have effect on their health status, and assess possible association between lifestyles and socio-cultural factors. Methods: A questionnaire composed of 148 questions was administered in two different seasons to parents of children attending 18 primary schools in five Italian cities (Torino, Brescia, Pisa, Perugia and Lecce) to obtain information regarding the criteria for exclusion from the study, demographic, anthropometric and health information on the children, as well as some aspects on their lifestyles and parental characteristics. The results were analyzed in order to assess the frequency of specific conditions among the different seasons and cities and the association between lifestyles and socio-economic factors. Results: The final cohort was composed of 1,164 children (50.9 boys, 95.4% born in Italy). Frequency of some factors appeared different in terms of the survey season (physical activity in the open air, the ways of cooking certain foods) and among the various cities (parents’ level of education and rate of employment, sport, traffic near the home, type of heating, exposure to passive smoking, ways of cooking certain foods). Exposure to passive smoking and cooking fumes, obesity, residence in areas with heavy traffic, frequency of outdoor play and consumption of barbecued and fried foods were higher among children living in families with low educational and/or occupational level while children doing sports and consuming toasted bread were more frequent in families with high socio-economic level. Conclusions: The socio-economic level seems to affect the lifestyles of children enrolled in the study including those that could cause health effects. Many factors are linked to the geographical area and may depend on environmental, cultural and social aspects of the city of residence

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p < 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Sulforaphane and Epigallocatechin Gallate Restore Estrogen Receptor Expression by Modulating Epigenetic Events in the Breast Cancer Cell Line MDA-MB-231: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Epigenetics refers to modifications in gene activity and expression without alteration at the DNA sequence. Environment and diet could influence gene expression. Diet modifications may be meaningful in preventing and treating chronic diseases, cancer included. Dietary bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols (e.g., curcumin, resveratrol, or epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG]) or isothiocyanate (e.g., sulforaphane [SFN]), can regulate histone acetylation. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of SFN and EGCG on breast cancer (BC) cells cultured in vitro

(INVITED) Determination of non-linear refractive index of laser crystals and ceramics via different optical techniques

Published by Elsevier, Amsterda