Contraceptives or Hormone Replacement Therapy and Associations with Autoimmune Conditions: Exploring Effects of Estrogen Analog Supplementation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of estrogen and progesterone analog supplementation on the development of autoimmune conditions.

Methods: This retrospective observational study used data from the TriNetX network, which comprised over 100 million patients from 89 health care organizations. We compared patients exposed to estrogen and progesterone analogs to those exposed to progesterone-only therapy, using 1:1 propensity score matching based on age, ethnicity, and additional criteria.

Diagnostic Pain: A Case of Pudendal Neuralgia.

Pudendal neuralgia remains a challenging diagnosis given the absence of sensitive biomarkers or imaging findings. The following case describes a patient with rectal pain complicated by prolonged hospitalization who was eventually diagnosed with pudendal neuralgia per the Nantes criteria. It furthermore underscores several confounders that prevented timely diagnosis, including misattribution of her symptoms to prior resolved conditions, anchoring bias in the absence of confirmatory evidence, and misattribution of her pain to opiate-induced allodynia.

Differentiation and Growth-Arrest-Related lncRNA (): Initial Characterization in Human Smooth Muscle and Fibroblast Cells.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) can transition between a quiescent contractile or "differentiated" phenotype and a "proliferative-dedifferentiated" phenotype in response to environmental cues, similar to what in occurs in the wound healing process observed in fibroblasts. When dysregulated, these processes contribute to the development of various lung and cardiovascular diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as key modulators of SMC differentiation and phenotypic changes.

Lysosomal cholesterol accumulation in aged astrocytes impairs cholesterol delivery to neurons and can be rescued by cannabinoids.

Cholesterol is crucial for the proper functioning of eukaryotic cells, especially neurons, which rely on cholesterol to maintain their complex structure and facilitate synaptic transmission. However, brain cells are isolated from peripheral cholesterol by the blood-brain barrier and mature neurons primarily uptake the cholesterol synthesized by astrocytes for proper function. This study aimed to investigate the effect of aging on cholesterol trafficking in astrocytes and its delivery to neurons.

New Cases and Mutations in Gene Causing Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia Type II.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II (CDA II) is an inherited autosomal recessive blood disorder which belongs to the wide group of ineffective erythropoiesis conditions. It is characterized by mild to severe normocytic anemia, jaundice, and splenomegaly owing to the hemolytic component. This often leads to liver iron overload and gallstones.