21 research outputs found
The impact of disorders in one-carbon metabolism on neurodegenerative diseases with special reference to dementia
Impact of the Vegan Diet on Sperm Quality and Sperm Oxidative Stress Values: A Preliminary Study
Insufficient nutrition and inappropriate diet have been related to many diseases. Although the literature confirms the hypothesis that particular nutritional factors can influence the quality of semen, until today, there are no specific dietary recommendations created for infertile males. Since the male contribution to the fertility of a couple is crucial, it is of high importance to determine the dietary factors that can affect male fertility.
Aim:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in sperm quality parameters, sperm oxidative stress values and sperm acrosome reaction between vegan diet consumers and non-vegans.
Setting and Design:
Prospective study in a University Medical School.
Materials and Methods:
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the sperm quality parameters of vegan diet consumers (10 males who had a strictly vegetable diet with no animal products) and compare them with non-vegans (10 males with no diet restrictions). Semen quality was assessed following the World Health Organization (2010) criteria. Acrosome and DNA integrity has been evaluated using the immunofluorescence technique.
Statistical Analysis:
All variables were analysed by IBM SPSS version 24. Mean differences among groups were compared by Mann–Whitney U-test.
Results:
Obtained results showed that total sperm count (224.7 [117–369] vs. 119.7 [64.8–442.8]; P = 0.011) and the percentage of rapid progressively motile sperm were significantly higher in the vegan group compared with the non-vegan group (1 [0–7] vs. 17.5 [15–30]; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the oxidation-reduction potential (0.4 [0.3–0.9] vs. 1.5 [0.6–2.8]; P < 0.0001) and the proportion of spermatozoon with DNA damage (14.7 [7–33.5] vs. 8.2 [3–19.5]; P = 0.05) were significantly higher in the non-vegan group in comparison to the vegan group.
Conclusions:
Results obtained in this study provide additional evidence about the favourable effect of a plant-based diet on sperm parameters. To confirm our preliminary findings, further studies including larger cohorts are warranted
Sonographic features of adenomyosis correlated with clinical symptoms and intraoperative findings : a case-control study
Purpose Adenomyosis is a common disease of females during their reproductive age. As of today, histologic examination of
the uterus after hysterectomy constitutes the gold standard for diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine the validity
of sonographic, hysteroscopic, and laparoscopic criteria for the diagnosis of the disease.
Methods This study included data collected from 50 women in the reproductive age of 18–45 years, who underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy in the gynecology department of the Saarland University Hospital in Homburg between 2017 and
2018. The patients with adenomyosis were compared with a healthy control group.
Results We collected data of anamnesis, sonographic criteria, hysteroscopic criteria and laparoscopic criteria and compared
it with the postoperative histological results. A total 25 patients were diagnosed with adenomyosis postoperatively. For each
of these; at least three sonographic diagnostical criteria for adenomyosis were found compared with a maximum of two for
the control group.
Conclusion This study demonstrated an association between pre- and intraoperative signs of adenomyosis. In this way, it
shows a high diagnostic accuracy of the sonographic examination as a pre-operative diagnostic method of the adenomyosis
Physical Activity and the Impact of Continued Exercise on Health-Related Quality of Life Prior to and during Pregnancy: A German Cohort Study
The goal of this study was to examine how regular physical activity before and during
pregnancy affected life quality throughout pregnancy. Between July 2020 and May 2021, 218 pregnant
women were recruited from 11 outpatient clinics for this survey. Data were collected prospectively in
a panel format beginning with the 10th gestational week over a 20-week period. Prior to pregnancy,
a previous time point was also defined. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the
EQ-5D-3L questionnaire, and the EQ-VAS questionnaire were used to collect data on the duration
and intensity of daily physical exercises, as well as to assess health-related quality of life and selfestimated health status. The final survey included data from 113 women. During pregnancy, physical
activity decreased dramatically. The duration of strenuous activities, but not moderate activities,
was significantly reduced. Continuous physical activity independently predicted higher life quality
scores at all points of assessment. Cases who participated in moderate and strenuous activities on
a regular basis had higher self-estimated health status scores than cases who only participated in
moderate activity. Instead of focusing solely on specific types of physical activity, we believe that
strategies for motivating all pregnant women to be constantly active should be developed
Postpartum Assessment of the Correlation between Serum Hormone Levels of Estradiol, Progesterone, Prolactin and Ăź-HCG and Blood Pressure Measurements in Pre-Eclampsia Patients
Background: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related hypertensive disease. Aberrant hormone
levels have been implicated in blood pressure disorders. This study investigated the association
of postpartum maternal serum hormone levels of estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, and Ăź-HCG
with poorer PE-related complications including arterial hypertension. Methods: Thirty patient
women with preeclampsia, and twenty women with uncomplicated pregnancy were included in this
study. Serum levels of estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, and Ăź-HCG were determined immediately
after delivery, and on the first and third postpartum days by means of ECLIA. Results: Compared
with normal pregnancy cases, preeclampsia cases had higher serum levels of Ăź-HCG levels on Day 0 (319%), of progesterone on Day-0 (207%) and Day-1 (178%), and of estradiol on Day-1 (187%) and
Day-3 (185%). Increased prolactin levels were positively associated with disease severity and estradiol
and progesterone levels were decreased in poorer preeclampsia features including disease onset and
IUGR diagnosis. No significant correlation between different hormone levels and blood pressure
measurements was reported. Conclusions: This study is the first that detected postpartum maternal
serum hormone levels and their correlation with blood pressure measurements in preeclampsia. We
believe that the persistent arterial hypertension in the puerperium in preeclampsia as well as poorer
disease specifications are most likely not of hormonal origin. Larger, well-defined prospective studies
are recommended
Immunohistochemical assessment of PD-L1 expression using three different monoclonal antibodies in triple negative breast cancer patients
Background
PD-L1 receptor expression in breast cancer tissue can be assessed with different anti-human PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies. The performance of three specific monoclonal antibodies in a head-to-head comparison is unknown. In addition, a potential correlation of PD-L1 expression and clinico-pathological parameters has not been investigated.
Methods
This was a retrospective study on tissue samples of patients with histologically confirmed triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). PD-L1 receptors were immune histochemically stained with three anti-human PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies: 22C3 and 28-8 for staining of tumor cell membranes (TC) and cytoplasm (Cyt), SP142 for immune cell staining (IC). Three different tissue samples of each patient were evaluated separately by two observers in a blinded fashion. The percentage of PD-L1 positive tumor cells in relation to the total number of tumor cells was determined. For antibodies 22C3 and 28-8 PD-L1 staining of 0 to  50% was rated "strong positive". Cyt staining was defined as “negative” when no signal was observed and as “positive”, when any positive signal was observed. For IC staining with SP142 all samples with PD-L1 expression ≥ 1% were rated as “positive”. Finally, the relationship between PD-L1 expression and clinico-pathological parameters was analyzed.
Results
Tissue samples from 59 of 60 enrolled patients could be analyzed. Mean age was 55 years. Both the monoclonal antibodies 22C3 and 28-8 had similar properties, and were positive for both TC in 13 patients (22%) and for Cyt staining in 24 patients (40.7%). IC staining with antibody SP142 was positive in 24 patients (40.7%), who were also positive for Cyt staining. The differences between TC and Cyt staining and TC and IC staining were significant (p = 0.001). Cases with positive TC staining showed higher Ki67 expression compared to those with negative staining, 40 vs 30%, respectively (p = 0.05). None of the other clinico-pathological parameters showed any correlation with PDL1 expression.
Conclusions
Antibodies 22C3 and 28-8 can be used interchangeably for PD-L1 determination in tumor cells of TNBC patients. Results for Cyt staining with 22C3 or 28-8 and IC staining with SP142 were identical. In our study PD-L1 expression correlates with Ki67 expression but not with OS or DFS
Effect of the 3q26-coding oncogene SEC62 as a potential prognostic marker in patients with ovarian neoplasia
With approximately 220,000 newly diagnosed cases per year, ovarian cancer is
among the most frequently occurring cancers among women and the second
leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies worldwide. About 70%
of these cancers are diagnosed in advanced stages (FIGO IIB–IV), with a 5-year
survival rate of 20–30%. Due to the poor prognosis of this disease, research has
focused on its pathogenesis and the identification of prognostic factors. One
possible approach for the identification of biological markers is the
identification of tumor entity-specific genetic “driver mutations”. One such
mutation is 3q26 amplification in the tumor driver SEC62, which has been
identified as relevant to the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. This study was
conducted to investigate the role of SEC62 in ovarian malignancies. Patients
with ovarian neoplasias (borderline tumors of the ovary and ovarian cancer) who
were treated between January 2007 and April 2019 at the Department of
Gynecology and Obstetrics, Saarland University Hospital, were included in
this retrospective study. SEC62 expression in tumor tissue samples taken
during clinical treatment was assessed immunohistochemically, with the
calculation of immunoreactivity scores according to Remmele and Stegner,
Pathologe, 1987, 8, 138–140. Correlations of SEC62 expression with the TNM
stage, histological subtype, tumor entity, and oncological outcomes
(progression-free and overall survival) were examined. The sample
comprised 167 patients (123 with ovarian cancer and 44 with borderline
tumors of the ovary) with a median age of 60 (range, 15–87) years. At the
time of diagnosis, 77 (46%) cases were FIGO stage III. All tissue slides showed
SEC62 overexpression in tumor cells and no SEC62 expression in other cells.
Median immunoreactivity scores were 8 (range, 2–12) for ovarian cancer and 9
(range, 4–12) for borderline tumors of the ovary. Patients with borderline
tumors of the ovary as well as patients with ovarian cancer and an
immunoreactive score (IRS) ≤ 9 showed an improved overall survival compared to those presenting with an IRS score >9 (p = 0.03). SEC62 seems to
be a prognostic biomarker for the overall survival of patients with ovarian
malignancies
The 3q Oncogene SEC62 Predicts Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Regulates Tumor Cell Migration in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
In the absence of targeted treatment options, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is applied
widely for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Response to NACT is an important parameter
predictive of oncological outcomes (progression-free and overall survival). An approach to the
evaluation of predictive markers enabling therapy individualization is the identification of tumor
driver genetic mutations. This study was conducted to investigate the role of SEC62, harbored at 3q26
and identified as a driver of breast cancer pathogenesis, in TNBC. We analyzed SEC62 expression
in The Cancer Genome Atlas database, and immunohistologically investigated SEC62 expression
in pre- and post-NACT tissue samples from 64 patients with TNBC treated at the Department of
Gynecology and Obstetrics/Saarland University Hospital/Homburg between January 2010 and
December 2018 and compared the effect of SEC62 on tumor cell migration and proliferation in
functional assays. SEC62 expression dynamics correlated positively with the response to NACT
(p ≤ 0.01) and oncological outcomes (p ≤ 0.01). SEC62 expression stimulated tumor cell migration
(p ≤ 0.01). The study findings indicate that SEC62 is overexpressed in TNBC and serves as a
predictive marker for the response to NACT, a prognostic marker for oncological outcomes, and a
migration-stimulating oncogene in TNBC