Sexual well being of breast cancer patients

Introduction. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women – both in Poland and around the world. In terms of the mortality rate, it subsides brest cancer with lung cancer. In 2018, almost 2 million new cases were reported worldwide, and almost 44 million women have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the last 5 years. Material. The aim of this paper is to present ways to improve the sexual well being of breast cancer patients. Methods. Analysis of the literature by oncologists, gynecologists, and psychologists was used for theoretical discussion. Results. Sexuality is an extremely important part of every woman’s life, including those suffering from breast cancer. Surgery of the breast, a symbol of a woman’s sexuality, and the negative effects of cancer therapy can alter a woman’s perception of her own body and lower her libido. Sexual therapy which should be based on multi-faceted activities, is an extremely important part of breast cancer treatment. Conclusions. Therapeutic possibilities may be based on psychological and sexual therapies as well as pharmacological support (moisturizers, silicone lubricants, tampons inserted for several minutes with 4% vaginal lidocaine before intercourse, topical gels with estrogens, ospemifen, DHEA, testosterone)

Sexual Health in breast cancer patients in Poland

Introduction.Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Poland and in the world, with a mor­tality rate second only to that of lung cancer. Breasts are one of the most important symbols of femininity and sexuality. Cancer surgery, but also systemic therapy (chemotherapy and hormone therapy) cause a change in the perception of one’s body. The aim of the survey proposed by us was to assess interest in sex by breast cancer patients during and after oncological treatment, as well as to identify ways to improve the quality of patients’ sex lives. Materials and methods.The proposed survey consisted of 3 parts: the first part included questions about the demo­graphic, in the second part there were the author’s questions about sexual dysfunction (12 questions), in the third part there was the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) form assessing the sexual functioning of women. The questionna­ires were made available online from October 13, 2020 to December 20, 2020 through the social networks of patient organizations involved in breast cancer care. 287 women diagnosed with breast cancer were included in the survey. Results.Before the disease almost all patients were sexually active and had a partner (95.5%; n = 274); at the time of filling the questionnaire only slightly more than half of the patients remained sexually active ( 57.1%; n = 164). About 30.7% (n = 88) stated that the disease was the main reason for not being sexually active. More than 60% of patients (60.9%; n = 137) used products to improve the comfort of sexual intercourse, mainly lubricants (39.7%; n = 114). Only about 1/3 of the patients (32.1%; n = 92) were satisfied with their sex life, 48.1% (n = 138) stated they were not satisfied with their sex life, 19.9% (n = 57) did not answer this question. The main reasons for lack of satisfaction with sex life included: decreased libido (65.9%; n = 189), vaginal dryness (55.1%; n = 158). The mean score of forms filled out by the respondents was 24.50 in FSFI form. Conclusions.Assessment of sexual dysfunction in patients with breast cancer should be performed on a routine basis before treatment and regularly during treatment

Associations between the dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphisms and personality traits in elite athletes

Personality traits and temperament may affect sports performance. Previous studies suggest that dopamine may play an important role in behavior regulation and physical exercise performance. The aim of this study is to determine associations between dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4 Ex3) polymorphisms and personality traits (such as neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeability and conscientiousness) in elite combat athletes. A total of 302 physically active, unrelated, self-reported Caucasian participants were recruited for this study. The participants consisted of 200 elite male combat athletes and 102 healthy male participants (control group). For personality trait measurements, the NEO Five-Factor Personality Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaires were used. For the genetic assays, blood was collected and all samples were genotyped using the real-time PCR method. A 2 x 3 factorial ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences on the Openness NEO Five Factor Inventory scale for both examined factors, i.e. sport status and genetics DTD4 Ex3. Combat athletes achieved higher scores on the Conscientiousness NEO-FFI scale when compared to controls (7.18 vs 5.98). On the other hand, combat athletes scored lower on the Openness scale in comparison with control group (4.42 vs. 4.63). Subjects with the DRD4 Ex3 s/s genotype had lower results on the openness scale in comparison with participants with the DRD4 Ex3 s/1 genotype (4.01 vs. 4.57) and higher DRD4 Ex3 1/1 genotype (4,01 vs. 3,50). In conclusion, we found an association between the dopamine D4 receptor gene in variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms and athletic status for two NEO-FFI factors: Openness and Conscientiousness. The DRD4 exon 3 polymorphism may be associated with the selected personality traits in combat athletes, thereby modulating athletes’ predisposition to participate in high risk sports

Sexual Health in breast cancer patients in Poland

Introduction.Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Poland and in the world, with a mor­tality rate second only to that of lung cancer. Breasts are one of the most important symbols of femininity and sexuality. Cancer surgery, but also systemic therapy (chemotherapy and hormone therapy) cause a change in the perception of one’s body. The aim of the survey proposed by us was to assess interest in sex by breast cancer patients during and after oncological treatment, as well as to identify ways to improve the quality of patients’ sex lives. Materials and methods.The proposed survey consisted of 3 parts: the first part included questions about the demo­graphic, in the second part there were the author’s questions about sexual dysfunction (12 questions), in the third part there was the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) form assessing the sexual functioning of women. The questionna­ires were made available online from October 13, 2020 to December 20, 2020 through the social networks of patient organizations involved in breast cancer care. 287 women diagnosed with breast cancer were included in the survey. Results.Before the disease almost all patients were sexually active and had a partner (95.5%; n = 274); at the time of filling the questionnaire only slightly more than half of the patients remained sexually active ( 57.1%; n = 164). About 30.7% (n = 88) stated that the disease was the main reason for not being sexually active. More than 60% of patients (60.9%; n = 137) used products to improve the comfort of sexual intercourse, mainly lubricants (39.7%; n = 114). Only about 1/3 of the patients (32.1%; n = 92) were satisfied with their sex life, 48.1% (n = 138) stated they were not satisfied with their sex life, 19.9% (n = 57) did not answer this question. The main reasons for lack of satisfaction with sex life included: decreased libido (65.9%; n = 189), vaginal dryness (55.1%; n = 158). The mean score of forms filled out by the respondents was 24.50 in FSFI form. Conclusions.Assessment of sexual dysfunction in patients with breast cancer should be performed on a routine basis before treatment and regularly during treatment

Association of the rs3864283 Polymorphism Located in the <i>HINT1</i> Gene with Cigarette Use and Personality Traits

Nicotine is the major reinforcing component of tobacco and it is believed that the pharmacological effects of nicotine motivate the initiation and maintenance of a smoking habit. HINT1 appears to play a role in the modulation of the effects of drug abuse. Hence, the aim of this study was the analysis of the association between the rs3864283 polymorphism of the HINT1 gene and cigarette use; the analysis of personality traits assessed by the means of the NEO-FFI Inventory; the analysis of anxiety measured by the STAI questionnaire; and the analysis of the interactions between the rs3864283 and both personality traits and anxiety. The study group consisted of 522 volunteers. Of these, 371 were cigarette users and 151 were never-smokers. The genomic DNA was isolated from venous blood using standard procedures. The results of both inventories, i.e., NEO-FFI and STAI., were reported as the sten scores. Genotyping was conducted with the real-time PCR method. Statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of rs3864283 genotypes and alleles in the tested sample of Cigarette Users when compared to the control group. The Cigarette Users compared to the control group obtained higher scores in the assessment of NEO-FFI extraversion scale, and significantly lower results were obtained for the NEO-FFI openness scale, the agreeableness scale, and the conscientiousness scale. There was a statistically significant effect of rs3864283 genotype interaction and Cigarette Use or not using (control group) on the extraversion scale. There was also a statistically significant effect of Cigarette Users or the control group on the extraversion scale score. The results obtained in the presented study indicated a significant association between the HINT1 rs3864283 variant and smoking status. Moreover, this is the first study incorporating genetic association of above-mentioned polymorphic site with interaction analysis of personality traits and anxiety. Overall, the results of this study suggest that HINT1 is an important genetic component associated with nicotine usage mechanisms

Methylation in the Promoter Region of the Dopamine Transporter DAT1 Gene in People Addicted to Nicotine

The dopaminergic system is a crucial element of the addiction processes. The dopamine transporter modulates the dynamics and levels of released dopamine in the synaptic cleft. Therefore, regulation of dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene expression is critical for maintaining homeostasis in the dopaminergic system. The aim of our study is evaluation of the methylation status of 33 CpG islands located in the DAT1 gene promoter region related to nicotine dependency. We investigated 142 nicotine-dependent subjects and 238 controls. Our results show that as many as 14 of the 33 CpG islands tested had statistically significantly higher methylation in the nicotine-dependent group compared to the control group. After applying Bonferroni correction, the total number of methylation sites was also significantly higher in the dependent subjects group. The analysis of the methylation status of particular CpG sites revealed a new direction of research regarding the biological aspects of nicotine addiction

POST-EFFORT CHANGES IN ACTIVITY OF TRADITIONAL DIAGNOSTIC ENZYMATIC MARKERS IN FOOTBALL PLAYERS&apos; BLOOD PROMENE U AKTIVNOSTIMA TRADICIONALNIH DIJAGNOSTI^KIH ENZIMSKIH MARKERA U KRVI FUDBALERA POSLE FIZI^KOG NAPREZANJA

Summary Background: Long-term and intensive physical effort causes metabolic and biochemical adaptations for both athletic and non-athletic objectives. Knowing the importance of aerobic training in football players, the aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the activity of: creatinine kinase (CK), creatine kinase MB (CKMB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ahydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), cholinesterase (ChE) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in response to a semi-long distance outdoor run under aerobic conditions among both female and male football players. Methods: Sixteen participants aged 21.9±2 years (women) and 18.4±0.5 years (men), all of them voluntarily recruited football players, took part in an outdoor run, the women covering a distance of 7.4±0.3 km while men covered a distance of 10.7±1.0 km. Plasma activities of the studied enzymes were determined using an appropriate diagnostic assay kit. Results: Our results indicate that total LDH activity could be a useful tool in evaluating physical fitness among athletes. We simultaneously established that ChE could not be a marker useful in assessing metabolic response to physical effort in athletes. Moreover, our results suggest that post-effort changes in ALP activity might be used to estimate early symptoms of certain vitamin deficiencies in an athlete&apos;s diet. Conclusions: We confirmed that the assessment of activity of selected traditional diagnostic enzymatic markers provides information about muscle state after physical effort