Asia-pacific consensus on osteoporotic fracture prevention in postmenopausal women with low bone mass or osteoporosis but no fragility fractures.

Postmenopausal women are at significant risk for osteoporotic fractures due to their rapid bone loss. Half of all postmenopausal women will get an osteoporosis-related fracture over their lifetime, with 25% developing a spine deformity and 15% developing a hip fracture. By 2050, more than half of all osteoporotic fractures will occur in Asia, with postmenopausal women being the most susceptible.

Targeted activation of androgen receptor signaling in the periosteum improves bone fracture repair.

Low testosterone level is an independent predictor of osteoporotic fracture in elderly men as well as increased fracture risk in men undergoing androgen deprivation. Androgens and androgen receptor (AR) actions are essential for bone development and homeostasis but their linkage to fracture repair remains unclear. Here we found that AR is highly expressed in the periosteum cells and is co-localized with a mesenchymal progenitor cell marker, paired-related homeobox protein 1 (Prrx1), during bone fracture repair.

Correction to: Consensus on best practice standards for Fracture Liaison Service in the Asia-Pacific region.

In this article the name of the sixth author, E. Michael Lewiecki was rendered incorrectly. The publisher regrets this error and apologizes for the inconvenience caused.

The Effects of Phytosterols Extracted from Diascorea alata on the Antioxidant Activity, Plasma Lipids, and Hematological Profiles in Taiwanese Menopausal Women.

The efficacy of phytosterols extracted from on antioxidant activities, plasma lipids and hematological profiles was assessed in postmenopausal women. Gas chromatography and mass spectrophotometry was employed to determine the steroid content of Taiwanese yam ( cv. Tainung No.

Correction: Increased expression of SKP2 is an independent predictor of locoregional recurrence in cervical cancer via promoting DNA-damage response after irradiation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.10057.

Effects of depression and antidepressant medications on hip fracture: A population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of depression and antidepressant medications on hip fracture. The database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance with medical records of more than 1,000,000 individuals was searched for patients who had hip fracture with or without depression from 1998 to 2009. Patients with the following conditions were excluded: hip fracture due to cancer or traffic accidents, hip fracture that occurred before the diagnosis of depression, and use of antidepressants before the diagnosis of depression.

Increased expression of SKP2 is an independent predictor of locoregional recurrence in cervical cancer via promoting DNA-damage response after irradiation.

Although radiation therapy was known to be effective to cervical cancer, loco-regional recurrences are frequently found in patients. We aimed to identify a molecular marker predicting the response of cervical cancer to radiotherapy. We included the patients (n = 149) with cervical cancer who had undergone radiotherapy from 2004 to 2006.

Androgen receptor accelerates premature senescence of human dermal papilla cells in association with DNA damage.

The dermal papilla, located in the hair follicle, expresses androgen receptor and plays an important role in hair growth. Androgen/Androgen receptor actions have been implicated in the pathogenesis of androgenetic alopecia, but the exact mechanism is not well known. Recent studies suggest that balding dermal papilla cells exhibit premature senescence, upregulation of p16(INK4a), and nuclear expression of DNA damage markers.

Up-regulation of SOX9 in sertoli cells from testiculopathic patients accounts for increasing anti-mullerian hormone expression via impaired androgen receptor signaling.

Background: Testosterone provokes Sertoli cell maturation and represses AMH production. In adult patients with Sertoli-cells-only syndrome (SCOS) and androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), high level of AMH expression is detected in Sertoli cells due to defect of androgen/AR signaling.

Objective: We postulated that up-regulation of SOX9 due to impairment of androgen/AR signaling in Sertoli cells might explain why high level of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) expression occur in these testiculopathic patients.

Testosterone delivered with a scaffold is as effective as bone morphologic protein-2 in promoting the repair of critical-size segmental defect of femoral bone in mice.

Loss of large bone segments due to fracture resulting from trauma or tumor removal is a common clinical problem. The goal of this study was to evaluate the use of scaffolds containing testosterone, bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), or a combination of both for treatment of critical-size segmental bone defects in mice. A 2.

Association between single nucleotide polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor 1 and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand genes and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Taiwanese.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the genes encoding the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL) and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal Taiwanese.

Materials And Methods: Five ESR1 SNPs and three RANKL SNPs in 467 women were genotyped. Results of genotyping were correlated with BMD that had been adjusted for body mass index (BMI), age, and years after menopause.

Analysis of androgen receptor and anti-Müllerian hormone pathways in human granulosa cells under luteinizing hormone treatment.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the gene expression profiles of the androgen/androgen receptor (AR) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH)/ Sry-related high-mobility group box 9 (SOX9) pathways in granulosa-luteal cells from patients undergoing standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) with or without recombinant luteinizing hormone (rLH) therapy.

Methods: Levels of reproductive hormones in the pre-ovulatory follicular fluid and the expression levels of LHR (luteinizing hormone receptor), AR, SOX9, AMH, AR-associated protein 54(ARA54)and ARA70 were determined in granulosa-luteal cells by real-time reverse-transcription PCR. The effects of androgen and rLH treatments on AR and AMH expression levels were also tested in vitro using HO23 cells.

Effect of curcumin on in vitro early post-implantation stages of mouse embryo development.

Objectives: This study was designed to examine the embryotoxic potential of the curcumin at the blastocyst stage and during early post-implantation development of mouse embryos in vitro.

Study Design: Curcumin was administered to ICR mice embryos at a dose of 0, 6, 12, 24 μM throughout in vitro culture. A total of 1015 embryos were randomly assigned to the different dosage groups.

Effects of standardized phytoestrogen on Taiwanese menopausal women.

Objective: To investigate the effects of standardized soy extract on climacteric symptoms, lipid profiles, bone markers, and serum isoflavone concentration in healthy Taiwanese postmenopausal women.

Materials And Methods: A multicenter, open-labeled, randomized, prospective, comparative study design was used. A total of 130 outpatients who had undergone natural menopause were randomly administered either 70 mg or 35 mg soy extract daily for 24 weeks.

Cryptotanshinone down-regulates androgen receptor signaling by modulating lysine-specific demethylase 1 function.

Development and progression of prostate cancer are intimately associated with androgen receptor (AR) signaling. The emergence of hormone-refractory prostate cancer and consequent failure of conventional androgen deprivation therapies make it necessary to bypass hormonal resistance by targeting the same signaling pathway at new intervention points. In our study, we showed that cryptotanshinone inhibited the growth of AR-positive prostate cancer cells, suggesting that cryptotanshinone affected AR function.

The reduced trabecular bone mass of adult ARKO male mice results from the decreased osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stroma cells.

Male mice with androgen receptor knock-out (ARKO) show significant bone loss at a young age. However, the lasting effect of AR inactivation on bone in aging male mice remains unclear. We designed this study to evaluate the effect of AR on bone quality in aging male mice and to find the possible causes of AR inactivation contributing to the bone loss.

Retinoic acid influences the embryoid body formation in mouse embryonic stem cells by induction of caspase and p38 MAPK/JNK-mediated apoptosis.

Although all-trans retinoic acid (RA), the oxidative metabolite of vitamin A, is essential for normal development, high levels are teratogenic in many species. RA results in immediate effects on the preimplantation embryo and on blastocyst development in vitro and in vivo. To further elucidate the cellular mechanisms of early postimplantation embryo development induced by RA, we present an embryonic cell line, B5, as a candidate system for the investigation of these processes.

Menopause perspectives and treatment of Asian women.

This review summarizes the published literature on menopausal symptoms and concerns from the perspective of Asian menopausal women, compares and contrasts common menopausal symptoms between the Asian and the Western postmenopausal populations, and highlights considerations from the perspective of clinical practice. In contrast to menopausal symptomatology described in the Western populations, musculoskeletal symptoms and sleeplessness, rather than vasomotor symptoms, dominate the clinical presentation in menopausal Asian women; decreased sexual function, although an important issue, is not commonly brought up for discussion in the context of bothersome menopausal symptoms by Asian women. The epidemiology of the common disorders of aging, such as osteoporosis, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease, differs between the Asian and Western populations.

VEGF modulates angiogenesis and osteogenesis in shockwave-promoted fracture healing in rabbits.

Objective: Strong vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of osteoprogenitors was found in callus site during fracture healing. The aim of this study was to investigate whether VEGF modulates the angiogenesis and osteogenesis in shockwave-promoted fracture healing in rabbits.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-seven Japanese rabbits were used in the study.

The Asian Menopause Survey: knowledge, perceptions, hormone treatment and sexual function.

Objective: To provide current insights into the opinions, attitudes, and knowledge of menopausal women in Asia regarding menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Main Outcome Measures: Between January 2006 and February 2006, 1000 postmenopausal women from China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong were interviewed to determine postmenopausal symptoms, HRT use and knowledge, breast discomfort and knowledge of breast cancer risks, and sexual function.

Expression of androgen receptor in human placentas from normal and preeclamptic pregnancies.

Objective: To elucidate the expression of androgen receptor (AR) in human placenta from normal and preeclamptic (PE) pregnancies.

Materials And Methods: This study was performed at the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Academic Medical Center. Forty normal pregnant women at 37.

Tumor suppressor PAX6 functions as androgen receptor co-repressor to inhibit prostate cancer growth.

Background: PAX6, a transcription factor, has currently been suggested to function as a tumor suppressor in glioblastoma and to act as an early differentiation marker for neuroendocrine cells. The androgen receptor (AR) plays a pivotal role in prostate cancer development and progression due to its transcriptional activity in regulating genes involved in cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. To determine the role of PAX6 in prostate cancer, we investigated whether PAX6 interacts with AR to affect prostate cancer development.

Activin A enhances prostate cancer cell migration through activation of androgen receptor and is overexpressed in metastatic prostate cancer.

Bone metastasis is the major cause of mortality associated with prostate cancer. Whereas activin A is known to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth and promote apoptosis, the correlation of elevated activin A with increasing serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in bone metastatic stages of prostate cancer is well documented. The molecular mechanisms explaining these paradoxical effects of activin A and how activin A influences the progression of prostate cancer with bone metastasis remain unclear.

Roles of testicular orphan nuclear receptors 2 and 4 in early embryonic development and embryonic stem cells.

The testicular orphan nuclear receptors (TRs) 2 and 4 act as either transcriptional activators or regulatory proteins of other nuclear receptor superfamily members. With no identified cognate ligands, their physiological roles remain unclear. Here we showed the phenotypes of TR2(-/-):TR4(-/-) mutant embryos, which reveal that the loss of TR2 and TR4 causes early embryonic lethality and increased cell death.