Imbalance Between Oxidative Stress and Growth Factors in Human High Myopia

Myopia is one of the commonest eye pathologies that could affect 2.56 billion people by 2020. Today high myopia is a leading cause of blindness worldwide due to associated ocular illness. Nevertheless, the cellular bases for these diseases to develop are unclear in many areas. We conducted a prospective study of oxidative stress and growth factors in human myopic and non myopic eyes in an attempt to increase our understanding of the underlying physiopathological conditions to adequately early diagnose, prevent and treat the retina problem that derives from myopia. Aqueous humor samples were obtained from 41 patients being operated for cataracts in our hospital. Axial length, refractive status and complete ophthalmologic examination were recorded. The VEGF and HGF levels were determined by an ELISA kit. Total antioxidant capacity and total nitrites/nitrate levels were established with a lab kit. We show for the first time an increase in the total nitrite levels in high myopia. We also propose for the first time the concurrence of three factors: myopia, oxidative stress, and oxidative stress together with growth factors in the same group of patients. In this way, it would not be accurate to envision high myopia as a type of normal myopia, but one with more diopters or longer axial length.This work was supported by funds from Generalitat Valenciana (AICO 2018/274) from FB-M.Medicin

Antioxidant capacity of 5-Fluorouracile and new fluorinated uracil derivates

Oxidative stress is associated with multiple pathologies such as cancer and can exacerbate the development of them. In this work, we have studied the antioxidant capacity of 5-Fluorouracile (5-FU) which is an antineoplastic drug that is used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. 5-FU is a compound that has a chemical structure similar to uracil and is also fluorinated. New fluorinated derivates previously obtained in our laboratory were tested to study its antioxidant activity. All the compounds analyzed were able to inhibit lipid peroxidation when used in concentrations of 10 µM.El estrés oxidativo está asociado a múltiples patologías, como el cáncer, y puede agravar el desarrollo de estas. En este trabajo hemos estudiado la capacidad antioxidante del 5-fluorouracilo (5-FU), que es un fármaco antineoplásico que se utiliza en el tratamiento del cáncer colorrectal. El 5-FU es un compuesto que tiene una estructura química similar al uracilo y además está fluorado. Nuevos derivados uracilofluorados que se habían obtenido previamente en nuestro laboratorio fueron testados para estudiar su actividad antioxidante. Todos los compuestos analizados fueron capaces de inhibir la peroxidación lipídica cuando se utilizaron a concentraciones de 10 µM

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified