Endothelial function,regulation of angiogenesis and embryonic central hemodynamics in ART-conceived pregnancies

Abstract

This study was undertaken to compare the concentrations of pro- and anti-angiogenic growth factors, nitric oxide (NO) stable metabolites in maternal serum and embryonic left ventricular (LV) isovolumic relaxation time (IRT, ms) during the first trimester in two groups of women: with pregnancy conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART, n?=?39) and normally conceived (control group, n?=?68) pregnancy. The concentration of vasoconstrictor endothelin 1 was 45.5 times more in ART than in control group. On the contrary, the concentrations of NO stable metabolites in ART were 1.9 times less than in control women. The assessment of angiogenic suppressors in ART women demonstrates the decrease in s-endoglin concentration was 1.6 times and in soluble receptor to vascular endothelial growth factor concentration was 2.0 times in comparison with control group. There was a significant increase in LV IRT in ART embryos in comparison to control ones. These data suggest significant changes in pro- anti-angiogenic factors balance and increase in vascular impedance in ART-conceived embryos.     

Developing a Point-of-Sale Health Communication Campaign for Cigarillos and Waterpipe Tobacco

ABSTRACT

Adolescents and young adults smoke waterpipe tobacco (WT) and cigarillos, at least in part, based on erroneous beliefs that these products are safer than cigarettes. To address this challenge, we used a systematic, three-phase process to develop a health communication campaign to discourage WT and cigarillo smoking among at-risk (tobacco users and susceptible non-users) 16- to 25-year-olds. In Phase 1, we used a national phone survey (N = 896) to determine salient message beliefs. Participants reported constituents (i.e., harmful chemicals) emitted by the products were worrisome. In Phase 2, we developed and evaluated four message executions, with varying imagery, tone, and unappealing products with the same constituents, using focus groups (N = 38). Participants rated one execution highly, resulting in our development of a campaign where each message: (1) identified a tobacco product and constituent in the smoke; (2) included an image of an unappealing product containing the constituent (e.g., pesticides, gasoline) to grab attention; and (3) used a humorous sarcastic tone. In Phase 3, we tested the campaign messages (17 intervention and six control) with a nationally representative online survey (N = 1,636). Participants rated intervention and control messages highly with few differences between them. Exposure to messages resulted in significant increases in all risk beliefs from pre to post (p < 0.05). For WT, intervention messages increased beliefs about addiction more than control messages (p < 0.05). This systematic, iterative approach resulted in messages that show promise for discouraging WT and cigarillo use.     

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease and risk of incident diabetes in subjects who are not obese

Background and aims

It is not known whether non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a risk factor for diabetes in non obese, non centrally-obese subjects. Our aim was to investigate relationships between fatty liver, insulin resistance and a biomarker score for liver fibrosis with incident diabetes at follow up, in subjects who were neither obese nor centrally-obese.

Meta-Analysis of Saturated Fatty Acid Intake and Breast Cancer Risk

The associations between saturated fatty acid (SFA) consumption and risk of breast cancer (BC) remains inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to determine the quantitative relations between dietary SFA intake and incidence of BC.Literatures published up to April 2015 were systematically screened through Pubmed and Web of Science. Relevant publication quality was evaluated by conducting the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. We used fixed effects models or random effect models to calculate the summary relative risks (RRs) and odds ratios (ORs), and conducted sensitivity analyses and evaluated the publication bias.We identified a total of 52 studies (24 cohort studies and 28 case–control studies), with over 50,000 females diagnosed with BC. The associations between dietary SFA intake and risk of BC were 1.18 for case–control studies (high vs low intake, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03–1.34) and 1.04 for cohort studies (95% CI = 0.97–1.11). When restricted analyses to population-based studies, positive associations were observed for both cohort (RR [95% CI] = 1.11 [1.01–1.21]) and case–control studies (OR [95% CI] = 1.26 [1.03–1.53]). Additionally, for case–control studies, significant positive associations between higher SFA intake and BC risk were observed for Asian (OR [95% CI] = 1.17 [1.02–1.34]) and Caucasian (OR [95% CI] = 1.19 [1.00–1.41]), as well as for postmenopausal women (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.02–1.73). In contrast, higher dietary SFA intake was not associated with risk of BC among premenopausal women, in cohort studies or hospital-based studies.A positive association between higher dietary SFA intake and postmenopausal BC risk was observed in case–control but not in cohort studies. More studies are warranted to confirm these findings.     

Oral Everolimus for Treatment of a Giant Left Ventricular Rhabdomyoma in a Neonate—Rapid Tumor Regression Documented by Real Time 3D Echocardiography

The presented case reports on successful treatment with everolimus in a neonate with left ventricular giant rhabdomyoma. The authors used a different dosage regime compared to literature and documented rapid tumor regression by 3D echocardiography.