RESUMO
Background: Women are typically diagnosed with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer around the postmenopausal period when declining estrogen levels initiate changes in lipid profiles. Aromatase inhibitors (AI) are used to prevent the progression of cancer; however, a further reduction in estrogen levels may have detrimental effects on lipid levels, which was our working hypothesis. Methods: Our meta-analysis was conducted on the lipid profiles of postmenopausal breast cancer patients at baseline and at different treatment time points. Results: We identified 15 studies, including 1708 patients. Studies using anastrozole (ANA), exemestane (EXE), letrozole (LET), and tamoxifen (TMX) were involved. Subgroup analyses revealed that 3- and 12-month administrations of LET and EXE lead to negative changes in lipid profiles that tend to alter the lipid profile undesirably, unlike ANA and TMX. Conclusions: Our results suggest that, despite statistically significant results, EXE and LET may not be sufficient to cause severe dyslipidemia in patients without cardiovascular comorbidities according to the AHA/ACC Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. However, the results may raise the question of monitoring the effects of AIs in patients, especially those with pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia.
RESUMO
This paper presents numeric morphology-based evidence on the broadly overlapping distribution of two thief ant species Solenopsisfugax (Latreille, 1798) and S.juliae (Arakelian, 1991) in the East European Pontic-Caspian region. The paper integrates two autonomous data collections and independent analyses performed by different researchers, using different equipment, considering different character combinations, and evaluating partially different samples. Five type series, the neotype series of Solenopsisfugax (Latreille 1798) and the type series of S.flavidula (Nylander, 1849), S. (Diplorhoptrum) fugax var. furtiva Santschi, 1934, S. (Diplorhoptrum) fugax var. pontica Santschi, 1934, S. (Diplorhoptrum) fugax var. scytica Santschi, 1934 were nested in one cluster and we propose the junior synonymy of the latter four taxa names with S.fugax. The other cluster contained only one type specimen of Solenopsisnitida (Dlussky & Radchenko, 1994) measured from AntWeb images. The naming of this cluster was based on both verbal statements and measurements of gynes given in the original description of Solenopsisjuliae (Arakelian, 1991), which represents the oldest available name for this cluster. Hence, S.nitida is proposed as junior synonym of S.juliae. Solenopsiscypridis Santschi, 1934 is raised to species rank based on investigation of worker and gyne type specimens.