Prolactin Role in COVID-19 and Its Association with the Underlying Inflammatory Response.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted interest in identifying reliable biomarkers to predict disease severity and guide clinical decisions. Prolactin (PRL), a hormone traditionally associated with lactation, has gained attention for its role in immune modulation. This study aimed to assess PRL as a biomarker for disease severity in COVID-19.

Membrane Composition and Raf[CRD]-Membrane Attachment Are Driving Forces for K-Ras4B Dimer Stability.

Ras proteins are membrane-anchored GTPases that regulate key cellular signaling networks. It has been recently shown that different anionic lipid types can affect the properties of Ras in terms of dimerization/clustering on the cell membrane. To understand the effects of anionic lipids on key spatiotemporal properties of dimeric K-Ras4B, we perform all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the dimer K-Ras4B in the presence and absence of Raf[RBD/CRD] effectors on two model anionic lipid membranes: one containing 78% mol DOPC, 20% mol DOPS, and 2% mol PIP2 and another one with enhanced concentration of anionic lipids containing 50% mol DOPC, 40% mol DOPS, and 10% mol PIP2.

Improving the prediction of persistent and recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer using the American Thyroid Association 2015 risk stratification system.

Purpose: The 2015 American Thyroid Association risk stratification system (ATA RSS) is used in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) to assess their risk of persistent/recurrent disease. Our aims were to validate the 2015 ATA RSS in a registry of DTC patients and to examine whether the addition of factors not included in it, such as pre-radioactive iodine therapy stimulated thyroglobulin (pre-RAI sTg), gender, and age could increase its predictive ability.

Methods: We studied 403 patients with DTC, treated at a tertiary center from 1990 to 2018 and subjected to total thyroidectomy.

Low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma patients who underwent near-total thyroidectomy without prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection and were ablated with low-dose 50mCi RAI had excellent 10-year prognosis.

Background: The current trend in the management of low risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma is to follow less aggressive strategies.

Objective: To assess the long-term morbidity and mortality outcomes of low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients undergoing minimal intervention.

Design: We retrospectively analyzed 137 patients with low-risk PTC (stage I: n=77; stage II: n=60).

Final height in elite male artistic gymnasts.

Objective: Elite male artistic gymnasts (AG) are exposed to high levels of physical and psychological stress during adolescence and experience a significant late maturation in both linear growth and pubertal development. The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of intensive physical training on the adult final height in elite male AG.

Methods: This study is unique in character, as all variables were measured on the field of competition.

The role of ghrelin, neuropeptide Y and leptin peptides in weight gain after deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease.

Background: The exact mechanism of weight gain (WG) after deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease remains unknown.

Objectives: To investigate a possible involvement of ghrelin, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and leptin in WG after DBS.

Methods: Twenty-three Parkinson patients were submitted for body composition measurements and blood sampling 3 days before, and 3 and 6 months after STN DBS.

Measurement of salivary resistin, visfatin and adiponectin levels.

Hormonal determination in saliva offers several advantages. Peptides enter the salivary glands either by active transport mechanisms or are expressed and secreted by the salivary glands themselves. The collection of saliva is a noninvasive, easily repeatable and less stressful technique than blood withdrawal.

Abolished circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol in elite artistic gymnasts.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of intensive physical exercise and acute psychological stress during high level athletic competition as reflected on the levels of salivary cortisol in elite artistic gymnasts (AGs).

Design: The study included 239 AGs (142 females-97 males) who participated in the European Championship of Gymnastics in 2006 and 81 adolescents (40 females-41 males), matched for age, as controls. All athletes participated voluntarily in all or parts of the study, providing samples or data for each of the variables measured.

The influence of intensive physical training on growth and pubertal development in athletes.

Genetic potential for growth can be fully expressed only under favorable environmental conditions. Although moderate physical activity has beneficial effects on growth, excessive physical training may negatively affect it. Sports favoring restricted energy availability, in the presence of high energy expenditure, are of particular concern.

Bone acquisition during adolescence in athletes.

Bone mass (BM) and skeletal size are similar in prepubertal girls and boys and double between the onset of puberty and early adult life. Sex steroids are responsible for the maturation in human skeleton, as well as for the sexual dimorphism, observed after the onset of puberty. Physical activity in childhood is critical for maximizing bone growth and thus for preventing osteoporosis during older age.

Treating iodine deficiency: long-term effects of iodine repletion on growth and pubertal development in school-age children.

Background: Iodine deficiency (ID) is still a major universal health problem. Iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) affect people of all ages, among whom the most vulnerable are children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term effects on growth and pubertal development of correcting severe ID in areas of Azerbaijan between 1999 and 2000.

Thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion in humans after 80 milligrams of iodine for 15 days and subsequent withdrawal.

Context: In animals, acute iodine administration results in acute intrathyroidal inhibition of iodinations followed by escape of the inhibition if the excessive iodine intake continues. In humans, the intrathyroidal nonhormonal and hormonal iodine concentration after exposure to large doses of iodine for a relatively long period of time is not known.

Objective: To determine whether, in human thyroid, administration of large doses of iodine for a relatively long time results in alterations of intrathyroidal hormonal (HI) T4 and T3 and total iodine (TI) content, as well as whether changes in serum concentration of thyroid hormones and TSH would occur after iodine administration or discontinuation.

Growth, pubertal development, skeletal maturation and bone mass acquisition in athletes.

The genetic potentials for growth can be fully expressed only under favourable environmental conditions. Excessive physical training may negatively affect growth, especially during puberty. Sports that require a strict control of energy input in the presence of a high energy output are of particular concern.

Adequacy of saliva 17-hydroxyprogesterone determination using various collection methods.

Steroids determination in saliva offers several advantages. The collection of saliva is a noninvasive, less stressful technique than blood withdrawal and reflects the circulating unbound fractions. The suitability of saliva for 17-hydroxyprogesterone and cortisol determinations has been documented in healthy subjects as well as in diseases like Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and Cushing syndrome.

Delayed but normally progressed puberty is more pronounced in artistic compared with rhythmic elite gymnasts due to the intensity of training.

Context: Elite gymnasts are subjected to intense training, which may alter pubertal development.

Objective: The objective of the investigation was to study the impact of gymnastics on pubertal development in rhythmic (RGs) and artistic gymnasts (AGs).

Design: Evaluation of somatometric parameters, pubertal stage, and intensity of training in the competition field were studied.

The influence of intensive physical exercise on bone acquisition in adolescent elite female and male artistic gymnasts.

Physical exercise enhances bone acquisition during adolescence. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of intensive physical exercise on bone acquisition in adolescent elite artistic gymnasts. The study included 262 athletes (93 males and 169 females, aged 13-23 yr) participating in the 24th European Championship held in Greece.

Growth and skeletal maturation in male and female artistic gymnasts.

We studied 262 athletes who were 13-23 yr old. There were 93 male and 169 female artistic gymnasts (AG). This study is unique in character, because all variables were measured on the field of competition (24th European Championship).

Growth retardation in artistic compared with rhythmic elite female gymnasts.

We studied 129 female rhythmic gymnasts (RG) and 142 female artistic gymnasts (AG) who participated in the 1999 Gymnastics World Championship for RG in Osaka, Japan, and the 1999 and 2001 Gymnastics World Championships for AG in Tianjin, China (n = 48), and Ghent, Belgium (n = 94), respectively. RG were taller than average, with a mean height SD score above the 50th percentile, whereas AG were relatively short, with a mean height SD score below the 50th percentile. Both RG and AG followed their respective reported target height SD score, which was above the 50th percentile for the RG and below the 50th percentile for the AG.