Resting energy expenditure in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Study Question: Is resting energy expenditure (REE) altered in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

Summary Answer: Women with PCOS have a reduction in REE, when corrected for fat-free mass, independent of PCOS clinical phenotypes and BMI categories.

What Is Known Already: Obesity is an important issue in women with PCOS, in terms of frequency and pathophysiological implications. It has been hypothesized that obesity may be favoured by alterations in REE, but the studies have been limited and conflicting.

Serum HMGB1 levels are independently associated with glucose clamp-derived measures of insulin resistance in women with PCOS.

Purpose: PCOS is associated with low grade inflammation which could play a role in insulin resistance and ovarian dysfunction. Preliminary findings suggested that serum levels of HMGB1, a cytokine involved in inflammation, might be altered in women with PCOS. Primary aim of this study was to assess whether HMGB1 serum concentrations are associated with PCOS and with the state of insulin resistance of these women.

Trimester-specific reference intervals for thyroid function parameters in pregnant Caucasian women using Roche platforms: a prospective study.

Background: Standard thyroid function parameters reference intervals (RI) are unsuitable during pregnancy, potentially resulting in incongruous treatments that may cause adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes. We aimed at defining trimester-specific TSH, FT4 and FT3 RI, using samples longitudinally collected from healthy Caucasian women.

Materials And Methods: Blood samples from 150 healthy Caucasian women, who had a physiological gestation and a healthy newborn at term, were collected in each trimester and at around six months post-partum.

Normal preoperative endogenous testosterone levels predict prostate cancer progression in elderly patients after radical prostatectomy.

Background: The impact of senior age on prostate cancer (PCa) oncological outcomes following radical prostatectomy (RP) is controversial, and further clinical factors could help stratifying risk categories in these patients.

Objective: We tested the association between endogenous testosterone (ET) and risk of PCa progression in elderly patients treated with RP.

Design: Data from PCa patients treated with RP at a single tertiary referral center, between November 2014 and December 2019 with available follow-up, were retrospectively evaluated.

Circadian Variations in Sympathetic Vasoconstriction in Older Adults with and Without Type 2 Diabetes.

Introduction: An impact of the sympathetic nervous system in the higher rate of cardiovascular events in the early morning compared to the evening has been claimed. Augmented sympathetic vasoconstriction increases cardiovascular risk by augmenting pulse pressure and cardiac afterload. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) further increases sympathetic neurovascular transduction and cardiovascular risk.

The role of hypoxia and inflammation in the regulation of iron metabolism and erythropoiesis in COVID-19: The IRONCOVID study.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) can be considered as a human pathological model of inflammation combined with hypoxia. In this setting, both erythropoiesis and iron metabolism appear to be profoundly affected by inflammatory and hypoxic stimuli, which act in the opposite direction on hepcidin regulation. The impact of low blood oxygen levels on erythropoiesis and iron metabolism in the context of human hypoxic disease (e.

Circadian and sex differences in carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in young individuals and elderly with and without type 2 diabetes.

The incidence of cardiovascular events is higher in the morning than in the evening and differs between sexes. We tested the hypothesis that aortic stiffness, a compelling cardiovascular risk factor, increases in the morning than in the evening in young, healthy individuals between 18 and 30 years (H18-30) or in older individuals between 50 and 80 years, either healthy (H50-80) or with type 2 diabetes (T2DM50-80). Sex differences were also investigated.

Sympathetic-mediated blunting of forearm vasodilation is similar between young men and women.

Background: The in-vivo regulation of vascular conductance (VC) is a continuous balance between endothelial vasodilation and sympathetic vasoconstriction. Although women may report blunted sympathetic vasoconstriction along with higher endothelial vasodilation than men, it is currently unknown whether the interaction between vasoconstriction and vasodilation leads to different regulation of VC between sexes. This study assessed sex differences in sympathetic-mediated blunting of endothelial vasodilation after a brief period of ischemia and whether any restriction of vasodilation blunts tissue blood flow (BF) and re-oxygenation.

Clinical Value of Serum Levels of 11-Oxygenated Metabolites of Testosterone in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Context: Recent data suggested that 11-oxygenated androgens may be the preponderant circulating androgens in women with PCOS. However, the pathophysiological significance of these hormones remains unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between serum 11-OH testosterone (11-OHT) and 11-keto testosterone (11-KetoT) and clinical and biochemical hyperandrogenism, as well as the metabolic parameters, in women with PCOS.

Hemochromatosis classification: update and recommendations by the BIOIRON Society.

Hemochromatosis (HC) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder in which uncontrolled intestinal iron absorption may lead to progressive iron overload (IO) responsible for disabling and life-threatening complications such as arthritis, diabetes, heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The recent advances in the knowledge of pathophysiology and molecular basis of iron metabolism have highlighted that HC is caused by mutations in at least 5 genes, resulting in insufficient hepcidin production or, rarely, resistance to hepcidin action. This has led to an HC classification based on different molecular subtypes, mainly reflecting successive gene discovery.

Methylsulfonylmethane enhances MSC chondrogenic commitment and promotes pre-osteoblasts formation.

Background: Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a nutraceutical compound which has been indicated to counteract osteoarthritis, a cartilage degenerative disorder. In addition, MSM has also been shown to increase osteoblast differentiation. So far, few studies have investigated MSM role in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and no study has been performed to evaluate its overall effects on both osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation.

Dietary ω-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation Improves Murine Sickle Cell Bone Disease and Reprograms Adipogenesis.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder of hemoglobin, leading to chronic hemolytic anemia and multiple organ damage. Among chronic organ complications, sickle cell bone disease (SBD) has a very high prevalence, resulting in long-term disability, chronic pain and fractures. Here, we evaluated the effects of ω-3 (fish oil-based, FD)-enriched diet vs.

Insulin-Mediated Substrate Use in Women With Different Phenotypes of PCOS: the Role of Androgens.

Context: Few studies have explored in vivo insulin action on substrate use in women with PCOS. In particular, no data are available in women with different PCOS phenotypes.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate insulin action on glucose (Gox) and lipid (Lox) oxidation, nonoxidative glucose metabolism (Gnonox), and serum free fatty acids (FFAs) in different PCOS phenotypes.

Insulin resistance and PCOS: chicken or egg?

PCOS is a common and heterogeneous endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, frequently associated with metabolic abnormalities. It was estimated that about 75% of these subjects have an impairment of insulin action, as measured by gold standard methods. While the relationship between insulin resistance and PCOS is consistently shown by a number of studies, the mechanisms underlying its primary origin still remains an unsolved issue.

The changing landscape of iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency (ID) with or without anemia is common worldwide. ID is a broad definition encompassing decreased total body iron (absolute deficiency) as well as reduced iron supply to erythropoietic and/or other organs with preserved stores (functional iron deficiency, FID), as it occurs in inflammation. Increased iron needs unbalanced by iron supply, low iron intake, reduced absorption and chronic blood loss, often in combination, are the main causes of absolute ID, easily diagnosed by low ferritin levels.

Pathologic angiogenesis in the bone marrow of humanized sickle cell mice is reversed by blood transfusion.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a monogenic red blood cell (RBC) disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Here, we report, for the first time, the impact of SCD on the bone marrow (BM) vascular niche, which is critical for hematopoiesis. In SCD mice, we find a disorganized and structurally abnormal BM vascular network of increased numbers of highly tortuous arterioles occupying the majority of the BM cavity, as well as fragmented sinusoidal vessels filled with aggregates of erythroid and myeloid cells.

Is triple-positive serology for Epstein-Barr virus (VCA-IgG, VCA-IgM, EBNA-IgG) a specific feature of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma?

Purpose: We assessed the frequency of triple-positive serology (viral capsid antigen [VCA]-immunoglobulin G [IgG], VCA-immunoglobulin M, Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-IgG) for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a small number of patients with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) at disease onset.

Methods: Nine patients with newly diagnosed AITL were retrospectively enrolled in the present study. For all of them, EBV serology data were available.

Clodronate in the management of different musculoskeletal conditions.

Introduction: Clodronic acid is a non-nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate largely used from some decades in the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal and secondary osteoporosis. In addition to antiresorptive activity, clodronate has shown anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, and modulatory effects on bone and cartilage metabolism.

Evidence Acquisition: A literature review has been conducted to characterize the mechanism of action of clodronate and to retrieve available evidence about the use of clodronate in primary and secondary osteoporosis, and its potential role in other musculoskeletal conditions and orthopedic surgery.

The curious case of Gαs gain-of-function in neoplasia.

Background: Mutations activating the α subunit of heterotrimeric Gs protein are associated with a number of highly specific pathological molecular phenotypes. One of the best characterized is the McCune Albright syndrome. The disease presents with an increased incidence of neoplasias in specific tissues.

Prognostic Impact of Diabetes on Long-term Survival Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure: A Meta-analysis.

Objective: Several studies have explored the impact of diabetes on mortality in patients with heart failure (HF). However, the extent to which diabetes may confer risk of mortality and hospitalization in this patient population remains imperfectly known. Here we examine the independent prognostic impact of diabetes on the long-term risk of mortality and hospitalization in patients with HF.