Factors Associated with Frailty Syndrome in Older Adults

The journal of nutrition, health & aging - Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome, characterized by a decrease in energy reserve and stress resistance, resulting in an accumulated decline of...     

Clinical features of sellar and suprasellar meningiomas

Meningiomas account for about 1 % of sellar masses. Although they can mimic pituitary adenomas, they are more vascularized and invasive. To gain insights that would enhance our ability to establish a pre-surgical diagnosis of meningioma, we performed a retrospective study of these tumors. Query of the surgical pathology database identified 1,516 meningiomas operated at out institution between January 2000 and May 2012. Cases were matched to the radiology database to identify a strictly defined sellar and/or suprasellar location. We identified 57 meningiomas. F:M ratio was 6:1. The mean age was 52 years (median 50, range 30–78). The most common symptoms were visual disturbance (58 %), headache (16 %) and incidental finding (12 %). The mean duration of symptoms was 13 months. Hyperprolactinemia was found in 36 %, with mean value of 51.6 ng/ml (median 41.8, range 22.5–132). Mean maximal diameter was 2.9 cm (median 2.7, range 0.9–6.8), and most tumors enhanced homogeneously on MRI after gadolinium. A “dural tail” sign was reported in a third. The radiologist reported “likely meningioma” in 65 %, “possible meningioma” in 8.7 %, and pituitary adenoma in 11 %. After surgery, visual disturbances improved in most patients (80 %) but headache only in 7 %. Post-operative complications at 1 and 3 months occurred 38.6 and 33.3 % respectively. There was no mortality. Sellar/suprasellar meningiomas represent 4 % of all meningiomas, and have a particularly high female predominance. The diagnosis is suggested by the radiologist in approximately 2/3 of the cases. An improved method to differentiate preoperatively these tumors from adenomas would be desirable.

     

Distribution of the P2X2 receptor and chemical coding in ileal enteric neurons of obese male mice (ob/ob)

AIM: To investigate the colocalization, density and profile of neuronal areas of enteric neurons in the ileum of male obese mice.METHODS: The small intestinal samples of male mice in an obese group (OG) (C57BL/6J ob/ob) and a control group (CG) (+/+) were used. The tissues were analyzed using a double immunostaining technique for immunoreactivity (ir) of the P2X2 receptor, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) and calretinin (Calr). Also, we investigated the density and profile of neuronal areas of the NOS-, ChAT- and Calr-ir neurons in the myenteric plexus. Myenteric neurons were labeled using an NADH-diaphorase histochemical staining method.RESULTS: The analysis demonstrated that the P2X2 receptor was expressed in the cytoplasm and in the nuclear and cytoplasmic membranes only in the CG. Neuronal density values (neuron/cm²) decreased 31% (CG: 6579 ± 837; OG: 4556 ± 407) and 16.5% (CG: 7796 ± 528; OG: 6513 ± 610) in the NOS-ir and calretinin-ir neurons in the OG, respectively (P < 0.05). Density of ChAT-ir (CG: 6200 ± 310; OG: 8125 ± 749) neurons significantly increased 31% in the OG (P < 0.05). Neuron size studies demonstrated that NOS, ChAT, and Calr-ir neurons did not differ significantly between the CG and OG groups. The examination of NADH-diaphorase-positive myenteric neurons revealed an overall similarity between the OG and CG.CONCLUSION: Obesity may exert its effects by promoting a decrease in P2X2 receptor expression and modifications in the density of the NOS-ir, ChAT-ir and CalR-ir myenteric neurons.     

The Relationship Between COVID-19 Confinement,Psychological Adjustment,and Sexual Functioning,in a Sample of Portuguese Men and Women

BackgroundPast research has revealed the detrimental effects of social isolation and physical distancing measures in health related outcomes. However, only recently COVID-19 confinement measures provided a context to test whether such detrimental effects exist in the human sexuality domain.AimThis study was aimed at testing the relationship between COVID-19 confinement levels and sexual functioning domains in men and women, while accounting for the mediating role of psychological adjustment during lockdown.MethodsTwo hundred and forty five men and 417 women completed a web survey on the effects of COVID-19 in sexual health. The reference period includes the first confinement in Portugal (March 19–June 1, 2020). Data were handled under Hays’ procedures for simple mediation analysis.OutcomesMeasurement outcomes included self-reported levels of confinement, IIEF and FSFI scores, and psychological adjustment during lockdown.ResultsPsychological adjustment during lockdown mediated the relationship between confinement levels and most sexual functioning domains in men but not in women. Also, while confinement levels were not directly related with most sexual functioning domains, psychological adjustment during lockdown did predict lower sexual functioning in both genders.Clinical TranslationFindings support that human sexual functioning should be framed within a contextual perspective, emphasizing how psychological adjustment and situational life stressors, such as lockdown situations, shape individuals’ sexuality. Such perspective should be considered in treatment protocols implemented during current pandemic.Strengths & LimitationsData add to the literature on the effects of lockdown in the sexuality domain. However, the study precludes inference of causality and targets only a little proportion of all the dynamics involved in sexuality during the current historical moment.ConclusionPsychological adjustment during COVID-19 seems to have a role on human sexual functioning, over the single effects of confinement.Carvalho J, Campos P, Carrito M, et al. The Relationship Between COVID-19 Confinement, Psychological Adjustment, and Sexual Functioning, in a Sample of Portuguese Men and Women. J Sex Med 2021;18:1191–1197.     

Melatonin antiproliferative effects require active mitochondrial function in embryonal carcinoma cells

Although melatonin oncostatic and cytotoxic effects have been described in different types of cancer cells, the specific mechanisms leading to its antitumoral effects and their metabolic context specificity are still not completely understood. Here, we evaluated the effects of melatonin in P19 embryonal carcinoma stem cells (CSCs) and in their differentiated counterparts, cultured in either high glucose medium or in a galactose (glucose-free) medium which leads to glycolytic suppression and increased mitochondrial metabolism. We found that highly glycolytic P19 CSCs were less susceptible to melatonin antitumoral effects while cell populations relying on oxidative metabolism for ATP production were more affected. The observed antiproliferative action of melatonin was associated with an arrest at S-phase, decreased oxygen consumption, down-regulation of BCL-2 expression and an increase in oxidative stress culminating with caspase-3-independent cell death. Interestingly, the combined treatment of melatonin and dichloroacetate had a synergistic effect in cells grown in the galactose medium and resulted in an inhibitory effect in the highly resistant P19 CSCs. Melatonin appears to exert its antiproliferative activity in P19 carcinoma cells through a mitochondrially-mediated action which in turn allows the amplification of the effects of dichloroacetate, even in cells with a more glycolytic phenotype.