Socially unstable conditions experienced during development prime female Octodon degus to shape the phenotype of their own offspring.

Because residents and immigrants from group living species may experience fitness costs associated with permanent changes in group membership, we examined the hypothesis that females experiencing socially unstable or socially stable conditions during development compensate these costs by shaping the phenotype of their own offspring differently. Groups of adult females experiencing either socially stable or unstable conditions in the early social environment were assigned to either socially stable or unstable conditions in the social environment as adults. We quantified affiliative and agonistic interactions among the females during pregnancy and lactation of the focal female, maternal and allomaternal care, hypothalamic-anterior pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) acute stress response, and early offspring growth. Social instability during breeding enhanced agonistic interactions among adult females, and offspring that experienced socially unstable conditions exhibited enhanced offspring care, regardless of adult environments. Neither social behavior, offspring care, acute stress physiology, nor early growth was influenced by early or adult social stability conditions. These findings imply that socially unstable conditions prime developing females to shape the phenotype of their offspring to prevent negative effects of socially unstable environments.

[Surgical complications in cirrhotic patients. Analysis of 102 cases]. / Cirugía en el paciente cirrótico: características clínicas y complicaciones en una cohorte de pacientes chilenos.

BACKGROUND: Cirrhotic patients have an increased surgical risk due to potential intra and postoperative complications. AIM: To describe the clinical characteristics and surgical complications of cirrhotic patients undergoing surgery in a Chilean university hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Review of medical records of 102 cirrhotic patients aged 60 ± 11 years (52% males) who underwent elective or urgency surgery at an university hospital between 2010 and 2016. General, pre-surgical, and post-surgical complications were recorded. RESULTS: The main etiologies of cirrhosis were non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (31%), and alcoholic cirrhosis (28%). Child-Pugh scores were A, B and C in 50, 28 and 22% of cases respectively. Median MELD (Model for End-stage Liver Disease) score was 11 (interquartile range: 10-15). The surgical procedure was elective in 71% of cases, with predominance of abdominal surgery (86%). The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score was three or more in 52% of patients. The frequency of any adverse outcome was 62%. The frequency increased along with the severity of cirrhosis and when surgery was urgent. The most common complications were acute renal failure (24%), increased ascites (23%) and encephalopathy (22%). Admission to intensive care unit occurred on 26% of patients, with six hospital deaths. CONCLUSIONS: In these patients, surgical complications were common, although with low mortality.

Optimizing Patient Care: A Multicentric Study on the Clinical Impact of Sim&Size™ Simulation Software in Intracranial Aneurysm Treatment With Pipeline Embolization Devices.

BACKGROUND: To determine the clinical effects (stent size, and number of stents used) of the Sim&Size™ simulation software on the endovascular treatment of unruptured saccular intracranial aneurysms with Pipeline Embolization Devices (PED). METHODS: This study is a retrospective analytical multicenter study of patients treated with PED (Flex and Flex with SHIELD) for intracranial aneurysm in FOSCAL clinic and CHU de Montpellier. RESULTS: The study included 253 patients, of which 75 were treated in Colombia and 178 were treated in France. The majority of patients were women (83.8%), with a median age of 57.48 years, and had large vessel location (88.1%), with most aneurysms located in the ICA paraclinoid segment (56.8%). Patients in the group with Sim&Size™ simulation had shorter stents than those without simulation (15.62 mm versus 17.36 mm, P-value = 0.001). Also, a lower proportion of these patients required more than one stent (1.4% versus 7.3%, P-value = 0.022). There were 7 complications reported in the group that used the Sim&Size™ simulation software, compared to 9 complications in the group that did not use the software. CONCLUSIONS: Using Sim&Size™ simulation software for endovascular treatment of patients with intracranial aneurysms using PED reduces the stent length and decreasing the number of devices needed per treatment.

Prevalence and imaging characteristics of cerebral small vessel disease in a Colombian population aged 40 years and older.

Cerebral small vessel disease is a major contributor to both brain aging and cognitive decline. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cerebral small vessel disease in a Colombian population over 40 years of age who attended a Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging service for brain MRI between October 2018 and March 2019. This was an observational, cross-sectional and analytical study of 710 adult patients over 40 years of age who attended the Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging service for a brain MRI. The analysed data were obtained from an anonymized database of the service. We studied 710 MRI scans of patients aged between 40 and 104 years. The most frequent risk factor was hypertension (36.2%). Brain abnormalities associated with cerebral small vessel disease, such as white matter hyperintensities, were seen in 56.20% of the population, and brain atrophy was observed in 12.96%. Brain disease prevalence increased with age (23.18% for those aged 55 years, 54.49% for those aged 55-64 years, 69.8% for those aged 65-74 years and 90.53% for those older than 75 years). The prevalence of cerebral small vessel disease in our population was similar to that reported in the world literature, as were the prevalence of the evaluated cardiovascular risk factors. Additionally, we identified an association between hypertension and advanced age with cerebral small vessel disease, with white matter hyperintensities being the most characteristic finding.

Safety and Efficacy of Endovascular Coils and Non-Flow-Diverting Stents for Management of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Location-Specific Outcomes Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The relationship between the anatomical location of an unruptured saccular aneurysm, the efficacy, and the potential complications associated with coil and non-flow-diverting stents remains poorly documented. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endovascular treatment based on the anatomical position of the unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using an anonymized database of patients who underwent endovascular therapy for UIAs between 2014 and 2021. RESULTS: A total of 138 patients with 147 UIAs were included. Immediate Raymond-Roy occlusion class I or II was achieved in 99.2% of patients in all anatomical locations, with a 96.2% occlusion rate at the 12-month follow-up. Complications occurred more frequently in the anterior cerebral artery (35%) and internal carotid artery in its ophthalmic segment (25%). However, the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that endovascular treatment with stents and coils is effective and safe for managing UIAs in various anatomical locations. The incidence of thromboembolic complications was significantly higher for UIAs located in the anterior cerebral artery.

A Study on the Efficacy and Safety of Pipeline Shield Stents and Nonmodified Surface Flow-Diverting Stents in Patients with Intracranial Aneurysms.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have compared the Pipeline Shield stents with previous generations of flow-diverting stents (FDSs) for the treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Pipeline Shield stents and FDSs without modified surfaces. METHODS: The present evaluation is a retrospective cohort study of patients endovascularly treated with Pipeline Shield stents or FDSs without modified surfaces for unruptured intracranial aneurysms between January 2014 and June 2022. The data analyzed were obtained from the anonymized database of our institution's interventional radiology service. RESULTS: A total of 147 patients with 155 unruptured intracranial aneurysms were included. Of the 155 aneurysms, 96 were treated with Pipeline Shield stents and 59 with FDSs without modified surfaces. The aneurysms treated with Pipeline Shield stents had higher 6-month (O'Kelly-Marotta [OKM] D; 87.5% vs. 71.4%; P = 0.025) and 1-year (OKM D; 82.5% vs. 63.0%; P = 0.047) occlusion rates than the aneurysms treated using FDSs without modified surfaces. No differences between the devices were found at the 1-year follow-up in the incidence of ischemic stroke (P = 0.939) or hemorrhagic complications (P = 0.559). CONCLUSIONS: Pipeline Shield stents demonstrated superior complete occlusion rates (OKM D) at both the 6-month and the 1-year follow-up assessments compared with nonmodified surface FDSs. No significant differences were found in the safety profiles between the 2 types of stents with regard to thromboembolic complications and ischemic events. Further research with larger study populations is necessary to validate these findings.

Heterogeneous model to evaluate CFD in intracranial bifurcation aneurysms treated with the WEB device to predict angiographic outcome.

INTRODUCTION: The Woven EndoBridge device (WEB) was developed as an alternative to treat Wide-Necked bifurcation aneurysms. It has proven to be effective and safe, however, cases of recanalization have been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and quantify hemodynamic parameters and indexes with CFD of the intracranial aneurysms before and after WEB simulation and to establish their relationship to complete occlusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the heterogeneous model based on the marching cubes algorithm, we created 3D representations of 27 bifurcated intracranial aneurysms treated with the single-layer WEB device to evaluate hemodynamics parameters with CFD, calculated with and without the WEB. RESULTS: We observed a lower treatment entry concentration indices (ICI) (2.12 ± 1.31 versus 3.14 ± 0.93, p-value: 0.029) previous to placement of WEB and higher pre-treatment FN (7.56 ± 5.92 versus 3.35 ± 1.51, p-value: 0.018) and post-treatment FN (5.34 ± 5.89 versus 1.99 ± 0.83, p-value: 0.021) for cases with successful occlusions. Lower post-treatment SRa (197.81 ± 221.29 versus 80.02 ± 45.25, p-value: 0.044) and higher pre (0.11 ± 0.07 versus 0.25 ± 0.19, p-value: 0.011) and post-treatment MATT (0.69 ± 1.23 versus 1.02 ± 0.46, p-value: 0.006) were observed in non-occluded cases. CONCLUSIONS: In our CFD analysis of the hemodynamic parameters of IA, we found lower ICI before the placement of the WEB device and higher FN pre- and post-treatment for cases with successful occlusions. Non-occluded cases had lower post-treatment SRa and higher pre-treatment and post-treatment MATT.

A deep supervised cross-attention strategy for ischemic stroke segmentation in MRI studies.

The key component of stroke diagnosis is the localization and delineation of brain lesions, especially from MRI studies. Nonetheless, this manual delineation is time-consuming and biased by expert opinion. The main purpose of this study is to introduce an autoencoder architecture that effectively integrates cross-attention mechanisms, together with hierarchical deep supervision to delineate lesions under scenarios of remarked unbalance tissue classes, challenging geometry of the shape, and a variable textural representation. This work introduces a cross-attention deep autoencoder that focuses on the lesion shape through a set of convolutional saliency maps, forcing skip connections to preserve the morphology of affected tissue. Moreover, a deep supervision training scheme was herein adapted to induce the learning of hierarchical lesion details. Besides, a special weighted loss function remarks lesion tissue, alleviating the negative impact of class imbalance. The proposed approach was validated on the public ISLES2017 dataset outperforming state-of-the-art results, achieving a dice score of 0.36 and a precision of 0.42. Deeply supervised cross-attention autoencoders, trained to pay more attention to lesion tissue, are better at estimating ischemic lesions in MRI studies. The best architectural configuration was achieved by integrating ADC, TTP and Tmax sequences. The contribution of deeply supervised cross-attention autoencoders allows better support the discrimination between healthy and lesion regions, which in consequence results in favorable prognosis and follow-up of patients.

Geometry of intracranial aneurysms and of intrasaccular devices may influence aneurysmal occlusion rates after endovascular treatment.

INTRODUCTION: The Woven EndoBridge device (WEB) is used to treat wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms. These devices are deployed inside the sac. Therefore, the mesh structure provides apposition with the aneurysm wall and induces aneurysmal thrombosis. The objective of our study was to evaluate the anatomic and device-related parameters and indexes with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) of the intracranial aneurysms before and after WEB simulation and find their relationship to complete occlusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the heterogeneous model based on the marching cubes algorithm, we created 3D representations of 27 bifurcated intracranial aneurysms treated with the single-layer WEB device to evaluate anatomic and device-related parameters with CFD. RESULTS: In our CFD analysis, we observed higher large volumes (Va) (0.25 ± 0.18 versus 0.39 ± 0.09, p-value= 0.025) and higher volume to neck surface ratio (Ra) (1.32 ± 0.17 versus 1.54 ± 0.14, p-value= 0.021) in cases with occlusion failure. CONCLUSIONS: Large aneurysm volumes (Va) and higher volume to neck surface ratio (Ra) could be associated with occlusion failure in aneurysms treated with the WEB device.

The Woven EndoBridge device, an effective and safe alternative endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysm-systematic review.

PURPOSE: This study is a systematic review about the WEB device and addresses the efficacy and safety of this device for the endovascular treatment of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This systematic literature review followed PRISMA-P guidelines and included studies published until 2010. PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched, resulting in 22 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: The studies involved 1705 patients and 1224 aneurysms, predominantly wide-neck aneurysms in the middle cerebral artery, internal carotid artery, and basilar artery. The treatment success rate was 28.1%, with the WEB-SL and WEB-SLS devices being commonly used. The immediate post-treatment adequate occlusion rate was 33.3%, increasing to 49.7% at follow-up. Thromboembolic complications occurred in 6.5% of cases, while other complications were observed in 3.1% of cases. The mortality rate associated with the WEB device was low, approximately 1%. CONCLUSION: The WEB device demonstrates favorable outcomes in treating patients with intracranial aneurysms, with adequate occlusion rates improving over time. Thromboembolic complications are the primary concern, but overall complication and mortality rates remain low. Further research is needed to optimize device selection, standardize classification systems, and enhance long-term evaluation and training protocols.

Flow Diverter Treatment for Non-Ruptured Carotid Aneurysms: Efficacy and Safety.

PURPOSE: Internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysm treatment with a flow diverter (FD) has shown an adequate efficacy and safety profile, presenting high complete occlusion or near occlusion rates with low complications during follow-up. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FD treatment in non-ruptured internal carotid aneurysms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective, single-center, observational study evaluating patients diagnosed with unruptured ICA aneurysms treated with an FD between January 1, 2014, and January 1, 2020. We analyzed an anonymized database. The primary effectiveness endpoint was complete occlusion (O'Kelly-Marotta D, OKM-D) of the target aneurysm through 1-year follow-up. The safety endpoint was the evaluation of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 90 days after treatment, considering a favorable outcome an mRS 0-2. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were treated with an FD, 91.5% were women; the mean follow- up was 427.2±144.8 days. Technical success was achieved in 105 cases (99.1%). All patients included had 1-year follow-up digital subtraction angiography control; 78 patients (73.6%) completed the primary efficacy endpoint by achieving total occlusion (OKM-D). Giant aneurysms had a higher risk of not achieving complete occlusion (risk ratio, 3.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.70 - 5.54]). The safety endpoint of mRS 0-2 at 90 days was accomplished in 103 patients (97.2%). CONCLUSION: Treatment of unruptured ICA aneurysms with an FD showed high 1-year total occlusion results, with very low morbidity and mortality complications.

Clinical perspective in relation to age in patients treated with thrombectomy for anterior circulation stroke in a stroke center in Colombia.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endovascular treatment for cerebrovascular disease is accepted as a first-line option with level I evidence in patients with an early and late time of window of onset symptoms, and an additional option in patients who do not respond or with contraindications to systemic thrombolysis; nevertheless the efficacy and outcomes of some groups were not clear, one of them are patients aged 80 years and older, because they were excluded of the trials, so the evidence is controversial with significant heterogeneity, for that reason in our study, we decided to analyze the age in the patients treated in our stroke center, as a predictor of prognosis, and to provide a baseline for the establishment of personalized treatment plans. METHODS: Observational, retrospective study of patients that received endovascular treatment for cerebrovascular disease in a Colombian stroke center between 2016 and 2020, continuous and categorical variables were compared using the Student's t test and Chi-Square. To determine cut-off points in the variable against death and Rankin score variable on 90th day. RESULTS: In total, 108 patients were recruited, 35 of them were of 80 or more years, and the mean age was 72.7 years, we found age as a significant variable to predict the risk in the population over 80 years of age [RR 3.37 CI (95% 1.14-103) p = 0.029]. CONCLUSIONS: Age younger than 80 is a significant predictor for results and long-term outcomes in patients suffering from stroke, and in patients older than 80 years old a Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score 2b-3 is a predictor of good outcomes. Further studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between intrahospital complications and long-term outcomes.

Molecular T2 asthma phenotypes are stable but heterogeneous: the usefulness of periostin for endotyping.

Background: The stability of molecular T2/non-T2 phenotypes remains uncertain. The objectives of this study were to assess the stability of these phenotypes and the correlation between serum periostin and asthma T2 phenotypes and endotypes. Methods: Demographics, clinical data, and blood samples were collected. Patients diagnosed with moderate-to-severe asthma were classified into T2 or non-T2 according to previously defined thresholds of blood eosinophilia and serum total IgE levels. Asthma endotype was also determined. After at least 1 year of follow-up, the stability of T2 phenotypes and endotypes was assessed. Results: A total of 53 patients (72% women), mean age 47 years (range 16-77), were included. In the initial and second evaluations, the T2 phenotype was found in 41.5% and 43.4% of patients and the non-T2 phenotype was found in 58.4% and 56.7%, respectively. The mean [standard deviation (SD), range] serum periostin level was 52.7 (26.2, 22.6-129.7) ng/mL in patients with T2 phenotype, and 39.3 (25.6, 7.7-104.) ng/mL in non-T2 patients (P = 0.063). Periostin levels correlated to endotypes (P = 0.001): 45.7 (27.9) ng/mL in allergic asthma (n = 16 patients), 64.7 (24.9) in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (n = 14), 59.0 (27.6) ng/mL in late-onset eosinophilic asthma (n = 4), and 28.3 (13.3) ng/mL in non-eosinophilic asthma (n = 18). Conclusions: T2 and non-T2 asthma phenotypes assessed by accessible methods in daily practice are stable over time yet widely heterogeneous. Serum periostin does not discriminate between T2 and non-T2 phenotypes. Nevertheless, its correlation to asthma endotypes may contribute to guide therapies targeting T2 cytokines in a more personalized approach.

Angiographic outcomes of embolization in patients with intracranial aneurysms with coil- assisted Laser cut stent versus braided stents.

INTRODUCTION: Intracranial aneurysms (IA) are a focal dilatation of the vessel wall, the rupture of these, causes subarachnoid hemorrhage. Until now, endovascular management is the ideal treatment, providing the interventionist a range of options among which the stent and coils embolization stands out because of its occlusion rate. This study presents the results of a retrospective cohort comparing the effectiveness, morbidity, and mortality of IA treatment with laser-cut stent-assisted coils versus braided stents. METHODOLOGY: Retrospective cohort of patients diagnosed with unruptured intracranial aneurysms treated with coil-assisted laser-cut stents or braided stents between January 2014 and December 2021. RESULTS: In total, 138 patients with 147 intracranial aneurysms were analyzed, 91 of them were treated with laser-cut stent and 56 with braided stents. The main antecedent was arterial hypertension (48.55%). In the immediate angiographic control, a Raymond Roy scale (RRO) I was obtained in 86.81% of the patients with laser-cut stents and 87.50% of the patients with braided stents. In the angiographic follow-up at 12 months, an RRO I occlusion rate of 85.19% was reported in both groups. Perioperative complications occur in 16 patients treated with laser-cut stents and 12 patients treated with braided stents. Three patients presented bleeding complications during the 12-month follow-up, of which two correspond to patients treated with braided stents and one with a laser-cut stent. CONCLUSION: Treatment of patients with intracranial aneurysms with laser-cut stents or braided stents and coils is just as safe and effective.

Chlorido(4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine)(1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane)ruthenium(II) perchlorate acetonitrile disolvate and aqua(4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine)(1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane)ruthenium(II) bis(perchlorate) dihydrate.

The title complexes, [RuCl(C(9)H(21)N(3))(C(12)H(12)N(2)O(2))]ClO(4)·2C(2)H(3)N, (I), and [Ru(C(9)H(21)N(3))(C(12)H(12)N(2)O(2))(H(2)O)](ClO(4))(2)·2H(2)O, (II), display similar structures with the Ru atom in a distorted octahedral environment. In the crystal packing of the chloride complex, (I), the Ru complex molecules are held together in pairs through C-H···Cl interactions of the 4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine and chloride ligands. In the case of the aqua complex, (II), hydrogen bonding affords a tetrameric hydrogen-bonded network. These two structures are the first examples of complexes with the {Ru(1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane)} motif and an electron-rich substituted 2,2'-bipyridine ligand.

Validation of three-dimensional printed models of intracranial aneurysms.

INTRODUCTION: Three-dimensional (3D) printing has evolved for medical applications as it can produce customized 3D models of devices and implants that can improve patient care. In this study, we aimed to validate the geometrical accuracy of the 3D models of intracranial aneurysms printed using Stereolithography 3D printing technology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To compare the unruptured intracranial aneurysm mesh between the five patients and 3D printed models, we opened the DICOM files in the Sim&Size® simulation software, selected the region of interest, and performed the threshold check. We juxtaposed the 3D reconstructions and manually rotated the images to get the same orientation when needed and measured deviations at different nodes of the patient and 3D printed model meshes. RESULTS: In the first patient, 80% of the nodes were separated by <0.56 mm and 0.17 mm. In the second patient, the deviations were below 0.17 mm for 80% of the meshes' nodes. In the next three patients, the deviations were below 0.21, 0.23, and 0.11 mm for 80% of the meshes' nodes. Finally, the overall deviation was below 0.21 mm for 80% of the mesh nodes of the five aneurysms. CONCLUSIONS: 3D printed models of intracranial aneurysms are accurate, having surfaces that resemble that of patients' angiographies with an 80% cumulative deviation below 0.21 mm.

Role of Mitochondria in Interplay between NGF/TRKA, miR-145 and Possible Therapeutic Strategies for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological neoplasm, and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) accounts for 90% of ovarian malignancies. The 5-year survival is less than 45%, and, unlike other types of cancer, the proportion of women who die from this disease has not improved in recent decades. Nerve growth factor (NGF) and tropomyosin kinase A (TRKA), its high-affinity receptor, play a crucial role in pathogenesis through cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion, and migration. NGF/TRKA increase their expression during the progression of EOC by upregulation of oncogenic proteins as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and c-Myc. Otherwise, the expression of most oncoproteins is regulated by microRNAs (miRs). Our laboratory group reported that the tumoral effect of NGF/TRKA depends on the regulation of miR-145 levels in EOC. Currently, mitochondria have been proposed as new therapeutic targets to activate the apoptotic pathway in the cancer cell. The mitochondria are involved in a myriad of functions as energy production, redox control, homeostasis of Ca+2, and cell death. We demonstrated that NGF stimulation produces an augment in the Bcl-2/BAX ratio, which supports the anti-apoptotic effects of NGF in EOC cells. The review aimed to discuss the role of mitochondria in the interplay between NGF/TRKA and miR-145 and possible therapeutic strategies that may decrease mortality due to EOC.

Parental care in male degus (Octodon degus) is flexible and contingent upon female care.

Parents in many animal species provide care to their offspring as a mechanism to enhance their own fitness. In mammals, this behavior is expressed mostly by the females, but also by males of some species. Proximally, rates of paternal offspring care have been linked to organizational and activational effects of testosterone. Specifically, intrauterine position of male fetuses is associated with differential exposure to testosterone, leading to development of males with different levels of masculinization (assessed through differences in the length of the anogenital distance (AGD). The relative roles played by organizational and activational effects of testosterone on male parental care remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine if male sex-biased uterine environment and testosterone levels across the breeding period explain variation in paternal care in the social rodent, Octodon degus. Neither quantity (time with the offspring) nor quality (frequency of grooming and retrieving) of paternal care was affected by male sex-biased uterine environment, nor did paternal care significantly differ across the different stages of male reproduction. In contrast, paternal care was associated with maternal care. Quantity of male care decreased with increasing quantity of maternal care, and quality of male care increased with increasing quality of maternal care. While serum testosterone did not differ between males with different sex-biased uterine environment, male testosterone tended to increase during mating and decrease when pregnant females or offspring were present.

Current Treatments and New Possible Complementary Therapies for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the deadliest gynaecological malignancies. The late diagnosis is frequent due to the absence of specific symptomatology and the molecular complexity of the disease, which includes a high angiogenesis potential. The first-line treatment is based on optimal debulking surgery following chemotherapy with platinum/gemcitabine and taxane compounds. During the last years, anti-angiogenic therapy and poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerases (PARP)-inhibitors were introduced in therapeutic schemes. Several studies have shown that these drugs increase the progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with ovarian cancer, but the identification of patients who have the greatest benefits is still under investigation. In the present review, we discuss about the molecular characteristics of the disease, the recent evidence of approved treatments and the new possible complementary approaches, focusing on drug repurposing, non-coding RNAs, and nanomedicine as a new method for drug delivery.