Caring for Pregnant Patients with Cancer: A Framework for Ethical and Patient-Centred Care.

(1) Background: Caring for pregnant cancer patients is clinically and ethically complex. There is no structured ethical guidance for healthcare professionals caring for these patients. (2) Objective: This concept paper proposes a theoretically grounded framework to support ethical and patient-centred care of pregnant cancer patients.

Association between hair cortisol concentration and metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a highly prevalent disorder defined as a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors including obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. It is believed that excessive cortisol secretion due to psychosocial stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation might be involved in the pathogenesis of MetS. We sought to explore the association between MetS and psychosocial risk factors, as well as cortisol concentration measured in different biological specimens including saliva, blood serum, and hair samples.

Electroporation Assisted Improvement of Freezing Tolerance in Yeast Cells.

Prolonged storage of frozen dough worsens the structure of thawed dough. The main reason is the inhibition of yeast activity. In this study we investigated applicability of pulsed electric field treatment for introduction of cryoprotectant into yeast cells.

Discussing motherhood when the oncological prognosis is dire: ethical considerations for physicians.

Physicians are increasingly open to discussing and supporting pregnancy after cancer treatment. However, counselling patients who are seeking pregnancy despite advanced oncological disease and/or uncertain prognosis is still challenging. Two paradigmatic cases are presented and analysed to illustrate the ethical uneasiness faced by treating physicians when seriously ill patients seek fertility preservation and/or pregnancy.

Changes in circulating endothelial microvesicles in men after myocardial infarction.

Purpose: The objective of the study was to determine the differences in the numbers of endothelial microvesicles (EMV) after myocardial infarction (MI) and their association with oxidative stress.

Materials And Methods: We included 15 post MI patients and 28 healthy controls. Samples were analysed by flow cytometry.

Association of Hair Cortisol Concentration with Prevalence of Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Allostatic Load.

BACKGROUND The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases cannot be explained completely by conventional risk factors such as older age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Results of recent studies indicate that chronic stress may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the associations between the hair cortisol concentration (HCC), which is considered as a potential biomarker of long-term psychosocial stress, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity.

Chronic and oxidative stress association with total count of endothelial microvesicles in healthy young male plasma.

Background: Chronic and oxidative stress promotes injury to the endothelium. This happens early in the disease and novel biomarkers describing the rate of the damage may be important in early diagnostics and prevention. Microvesicles are shed from endothelial cells in response to oxidative stress, inflammation, coagulation, and angiogenesis.

Oocyte cryopreservation beyond cancer: tools for ethical reflection.

Purpose: This article offers physicians a tool for structured ethical reflection on challenging situations surrounding oocyte cryopreservation in young healthy women.

Methods: A systematic literature review offers a comprehensive overview of the ethical debate surrounding the practice. Ethical Counseling Methodology (ECM) offers a practical approach for addressing ethical uncertainties.

Preparation and characterization of quercetin-loaded lipid liquid crystalline systems.

The aim of the present study was to investigate mixtures of soy phosphatidylcholine (SPC) and glycerol dioleate (GDO) as encapsulation matrices for antioxidant quercetin. The effects of quercetin loading into non-aqueous formulations, non-lamellar liquid crystalline phases and their colloidal dispersions were studied by using synchrotron small angle X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, cryogenic electron microscopy and high performance liquid chromatography. Quercetin incorporation is discussed in the context of lipid aggregation behavior, self-assembled nanostructure and chemical stability.

Fertility preservation in cancer patients: the global framework.

Cancer treatment is the most frequent cause of reduced fertility in cancer patients, with up to 80% of survivors affected. None of the established or experimental fertility preservation methods can assure parenthood, rather they may provide a future opportunity to overcome treatment induced sterility. Around 70-75% of young cancer survivors are interested in parenthood but the numbers of patients who access fertility preservation techniques prior treatment are significantly lower.