Oleanolic Acid Modulates DNA Damage Response to Camptothecin Increasing Cancer Cell Death.

Targeting DNA damage response (DDR) pathways represents one of the principal approaches in cancer therapy. However, defects in DDR mechanisms, exhibited by various tumors, can also promote tumor progression and resistance to therapy, negatively impacting patient survival. Therefore, identifying new molecules from natural extracts could provide a powerful source of novel compounds for cancer treatment strategies.

The Italian National Vaccine Prevention Plans, 1999/2020-2023/2025: challenges and obstacles to vaccine coverage goals. Commentary.

Five consecutive national vaccination plans (from 1999 to 2025) were revised, outlining their objectives, challenges, and results. Vaccination coverage for children consistently approached target levels, though regional differences emerged. In contrast, coverage for adolescents, the elderly, and vulnerable groups, consistently fell short of targets.

Validated questionnaires for the assessment of Italian patients with pelvic floor dysfunctions: a systematic review.

Background: Pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFDs) have a complex, multifactorial pathophysiology that impacts women's health and must be identified to provide the most appropriate care and treatment. Therefore, symptom and quality of life (QoL) questionnaires, briefly identified as patient-reported outcomes (PROs), have been developed. Despite the large number of questionnaires available for the assessment of PFDs and QoL-related issues in English, few of them have been validated for the Italian language.

Urethral Bulking Agents for the Treatment of Urinary Incontinence: Efficacy, Safety, and Impact on the Overactive Bladder Symptoms with an Underlying Detrusor Overactivity.

: Mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) has always represented a major therapeutic challenge and the management of this type of incontinence is often complicated by uncertain outcomes. Surgical options include interventions targeting both stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and urge urinary incontinence (UUI), although there are no international published guidelines that dictate whether it is better to start with surgical management to address the SUI or UUI component after the failure of conservative treatment. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Macroplastique (MPQ) procedure on overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms in women with MUI with a minimum follow-up of 1 year.

Long-Term Outcomes of Tension-Free Vaginal Tape Obturator: Efficacy and Safety at Long-Term Follow-Up.

The use of tension-free vaginal tape obturator (TVT-O) for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has been widely debated over the last decade due to the lack of evidence on its long-term outcomes. The aim of this prospective study is to assess, for the first time in the available literature, the efficacy and safety of TVT-O implantation in women with pure SUI over a 17-year follow-up period. : We included all women who complained of pure SUI symptoms (confirmed urodynamically) and underwent the TVT-O procedure.

Determination of Fertility Hormones and Adipokines by LC-MRM/MS Analysis.

Due to the increase in the rate of male and female infertility, assisted fertilization practices are currently adopted as valid support for couples unable to get pregnant. Analytical approaches for fertility hormone dosages are constantly being developed, following the technological progress of fertilization methods that have evolved for more than a century. Indeed, the analysis of fertility hormones in serum samples is a common clinical practice to check the fertility state, but absolute quantification of these hormones is a great challenge due to biological variability and low serum concentrations.

Macroplastique Is a Safe and Effective Long-term Surgical Treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence: Prospective Study with 10-Year Follow-up.

Background And Objective: Until a few years ago, a midurethral sling was considered the gold standard for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after failure of conservative therapies. However, criticisms regarding the rate of mesh exposure and lack of long-term efficacy have led to reconsideration of other surgical procedures. Our aim was to investigate long-term subjective and objective outcomes after injection of Macroplastique, a urethral bulking agent.

Gonadotropin Activity during Early Folliculogenesis and Implications for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: A Narrative Review.

Female fertility depends on the ovarian reserve of follicles, which is determined at birth. Primordial follicle development and oocyte maturation are regulated by multiple factors and pathways and classified into gonadotropin-independent and gonadotropin-dependent phases, according to the response to gonadotropins. Folliculogenesis has always been considered to be gonadotropin-dependent only from the antral stage, but evidence from the literature highlights the role of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) during early folliculogenesis with a potential role in the progression of the pool of primordial follicles.

Racial and ethnic disparities in non-invasive prenatal testing adherence: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Fetal aneuploidies, including trisomies 21, 13, and 18, represent a significant issue in prenatal care. The advent of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) through the detection of cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) in maternal blood has modified screening for chromosomal abnormalities. This study evaluates NIPT adherence among pregnant of different ethnicities, addressing potential disparities in prenatal care.

Real-World Safety Data of the Orphan Drug Onasemnogene Abeparvovec (Zolgensma) for the SMA Rare Disease: A Pharmacovigilance Study Based on the EMA Adverse Event Reporting System.

The recent introduction of the innovative therapy, onasemnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma), has revolutionized the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapeutic landscape. Although Zolgensma therapy has proven to lead to functional improvements in SMA children, some gaps in its safety profile still need to be investigated. To better characterize the Zolgensma safety profile, we conducted a retrospective observational study, analyzing all the Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) referred to it and collected in the European pharmacovigilance database between 1 January 2019 and 22 September 2023.

The Role of β1 Integrin/CD29 as a Potential Prognostic Factor for the Risk of Progression to Cervical Carcinoma in HPV-Associated Lesions.

: Available evidence reports the overexpression of β1 integrin in dysplastic rather than normal cervical tissue. We aimed to evaluate the involvement of β1 (CD29) integrin in the progressive pathogenesis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). : From January 2019 to December 2021, we prospectively enrolled women undergoing a colposcopy with a cervical biopsy for abnormal cervical cytology and/or undefined cytology with a positive HPV DNA test and women with relapsing cervical inflammatory disorders.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Scleroderma: Data from the European Pharmacovigilance Database.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be commonly associated with the occurrence of immune-related adverse drug reactions (irADRs), which can involve any tissue and organ. ICI-induced skin toxicities are common irADRs and they can be a consequence of a rheumatologic ADR, such as in the case of scleroderma. A recent literature review reported that scleroderma and scleroderma mimics represent a group of disorders with significant morbidity that have been described during ICIs' use.

Genetic Variants of Gonadotropins and Their Receptors Could Influence Controlled Ovarian Stimulation: IVF Data from a Prospective Multicenter Study.

Background: Specific polymorphisms might influence controlled ovarian stimulation in women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). Data regarding possible interactions of these polymorphisms are still scanty. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the effect of polymorphisms of gonadotropins and their receptors in women undergoing ART.

Inhibition of Galectins and the P2X7 Purinergic Receptor as a Therapeutic Approach in the Neurovascular Inflammation of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most frequent microvascular retinal complication of diabetic patients, contributing to loss of vision. Recently, retinal neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration have emerged as key players in DR progression, and therefore, this review examines the neuroinflammatory molecular basis of DR. We focus on four important aspects of retinal neuroinflammation: (i) the exacerbation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; (ii) the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome; (iii) the role of galectins; and (iv) the activation of purinergic 2X7 receptor (P2X7R).

Does Intrauterine Injection of hCG Improve IVF Outcome? A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis.

Various interventions have been proposed to improve embryo implantation in IVF. Among these, intrauterine injections of human chorionic gonadotropin seem to have promising results. Consequently, we conducted a review and meta-analysis to assess IVF outcomes by comparing couples who underwent intrauterine hCG injection transfer versus those who underwent embryo transfer with intrauterine injection of placebo, or without any additional intervention.

Endometrial LGR7 expression and implantation failure.

Implantation failure is considered as a major cause of infertility in women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and in otherwise healthy women with unexplained infertility. Preliminary data in primates suggested that relaxin (RLX) is involved in endometrial preparation for implantation. In a prospective observational study, the endometrial RLX receptor (LGR7) expression was assessed in three groups of patients with regular ovulatory cycle and normal uterine cavity: 23 with RPL (Group A), 23 with unexplained infertility undergone at least three cycles of failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) reporting good oocyte and embryo quality (Group B), 23 with proven fertility (Group C).

Endometrial LGR7 expression during menstrual cycle.

In a prospective observational study, 50 healthy patients aged 18-39 years, with regular ovulatory cycle and normal hormone levels, underwent endometrial biopsy in the proliferative and secretory phase of the menstrual cycle for semiquantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis of mRNA for LGR7, the classic relaxin receptor. LGR7 is constitutively expressed in human endometrium, and an increased LGR7 immunostaining is demonstrated in the secretory phase, confirming the involvement of relaxin in the physiology of endometrium and suggesting its role in implantation.