VITAMIN D LEVEL AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CANCER STAGE IN PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENTIATED THYROID CARCINOMA.

Background: Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) has witnessed an increase in incidence and although it is considered to have a slow grow potential and a 90% 10-year survival rate, local or distant metastases can be observed in 20%. It is essential to recognize other factors associated with malignancy and poor prognosis. Vitamin D and its deficiency has proven useful as a prognostic biomarker for many types of cancer, including thyroid cancer. Aim: Evaluate the relationship between vitamin D status in DTC and benign thyroid disorders patients and correlation between vitamin D and histopathological findings in DTC group. Methods: Study included 170 patients with confirmed DTC and 200 with benign thyroid pathology. Evaluation included 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D], ultrasound and histopathologic features. Results: In DTC patients, mean value of vitamin D was significantly lower (17.86 ng/mL ± 9.31 DS versus 20.26 ng/mL ± 9.31 DS, p=0.029). Statistical analysis confirmed a negative correlation between vitamin D levels and tumor size (T) according to TNM classification (r=-0.176, p=0.02). Conclusions: Vitamin D level was significantly lower in the DTC group and 25(OH)D levels may be correlated with histopathology features like tumor size and aggressiveness according to TNM classification.

Advanced molecular approaches in male infertility diagnosis†.

In the recent years a special attention has been given to a major health concern namely to male infertility, defined as the inability to conceive after 12 months of regular unprotected sexual intercourse, taken into account the statistics that highlight that sperm counts have dropped by 50-60% in recent decades. According to the WHO, infertility affects approximately 9% of couples globally, and the male factor is believed to be present in roughly 50% of cases, with exclusive responsibility in 30%. The aim of this article is to present an evidence-based approach for diagnosing male infertility that includes finding new solutions for diagnosis and critical outcomes, retrieving up-to-date studies and existing guidelines. The diverse factors that induce male infertility generated in a vast amount of data that needed to be analyzed by a clinician before a decision could be made for each individual. Modern medicine faces numerous obstacles as a result of the massive amount of data generated by the molecular biology discipline. To address complex clinical problems, vast data must be collected, analyzed, and used, which can be very challenging. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods to create a decision support system can help predict the diagnosis and guide treatment for infertile men, based on analysis of different data as environmental and lifestyle, clinical (sperm count, morphology, hormone testing, karyotype, etc.), and "omics" bigdata. Ultimately, the development of AI algorithms will assist clinicians in formulating diagnosis, making treatment decisions, and predicting outcomes for assisted reproduction techniques.

THE INVOLVEMENT OF VDR PROMOTER METHYLATION, CDX-2 VDR POLYMORPHISM AND VITAMIN D LEVELS IN MALE INFERTILITY.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D (VD) levels were correlated with different health conditions, including reproductive disorders in males. Vitamin D action is mediated through vitamin D receptor (VDR), which acts as a transcription factor. VDR gene promoter is embedded in a GC-rich island. The VDR gene has been shown to have several polymorphisms that affect the receptor function. AIM: To examine the relationship between Cdx-2 polymorphism (rs17883968), the methylation status of VDR's promoter and serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in male infertility. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 69 infertile men and 37 age-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Vitamin D level assessments were detected using the electrochemiluminescent method. Cdx-2 VDR polymorphism identification was performed by PCR on DNA samples from blood, followed by restriction. Methylation of VDR gene promoter was assessed by qMS-PCR using bisulfite-treated DNA from fresh sperm. RESULTS: Vitamin D levels was found to be significantly decreased in infertile groups compared the controls (p=0.0279). The GG genotype was found in a higher percentage in controls and the AA genotype was higher in infertile group (p=0.0056). Infertile homozygote (GG) and heterozygote (GA) individuals had significantly higher vitamin D levels than AA homozygote. Methylation is higher in individuals with lower vitamin D levels and AA genotype is characterized by higher methylation values. CONCLUSION: The results provide new insights of Cdx-2 polymorphism is involved in vitamin D deficiency, highlighting the important role of epigenetic modification of vitamin D receptor and male infertility along with the genetic context.

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN POLYMORPHISMS OF ESTROGEN 1, VITAMIN D RECEPTORS AND HORMONAL PROFILE IN INFERTILE MEN.

OBJECTIVE: Estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) polymorphisms (XbaI and PvuII) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms (FokI, BsmI, ApaI and TaqI) are the most frequently studied regarding the correlations with the infertility in males, but the results are controversial.The purpose of this study is to evaluate possible correlations between hormonal markers, VDR and ESR1 genotypes and semen analysis, in order to bring new data for a better understanding of male infertility. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 42 infertile men and 28 controls were enrolled. The polymorphisms of VDR gene (ApaI, TaqI, BsmI and FokI) and ESR1 (XbaI and PvuII) were performed by PCR-RFLP, along with hormonal markers. RESULTS: An important correlation between PvuII polymorphism and infertility status was revealed. A significant difference between control and infertility group regarding the presence of BsmI (A>G) and ApaI (G>T) polymorphisms was observed in infertile group, prolactin and DHEA were found to correlate significantly statistic with BsmI GG genotype, whereas ApaI AA genotype correlates with prolactin and SHBG levels. CONCLUSIONS: By a multivariate analysis, we demonstrated a cumulative effect of some genetic variants in the hormonal status of infertile patients. Therefore, we show that specific genetic variants of ESR1 and VDR genes may jointly influence human spermatogenesis.

Dynamic of oxidative and nitrosative stress markers during the convalescent period of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Stroke patients have a redox imbalance, a consequence of both the cerebrovascular event and the associated pathological conditions. Our study was aimed to investigate the dynamic of some oxidative and nitrosative markers during the convalescent phase of postacute stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation. METHODS: We assessed thiol, advanced oxidation protein product, protein carbonyl, 3-nitro-l-tyrosine, ceruloplasmin and oxidized LDL concentrations, as well as gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) activity in 20 patients at the beginning of the hospitalization and at the discharge moment, respectively, and 24 apparently healthy controls. RESULTS: We found significantly increased values for GGT (P = 0.04), ceruloplasmin (P = 0.01) and protein carbonyl (P = 0.04) in stroke patients at the hospitalization moment when compared with healthy controls, while total thiols were significantly decreased (P = 0.002). Rehabilitation was associated with a significant decrease of protein carbonyl (P = 0.03) and oxidized LDL particle concentrations (P = 0.03), as well as GGT activity (P = 0.02). At the hospitalization moment, both GGT and ceruloplasmin were significantly negatively correlated with non-proteic thiols (r = -0.44, P = 0.049, and r = -0.53, P = 0.015, respectively) and significantly positively with protein carbonyls (r = +0.80, P < 0.001, and r = +0.69, P < 0.001, respectively) suggesting putative roles of GGT and ceruloplasmin in the redox imbalance. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the existence of a redox imbalance in postacute stroke patients, and the possible benefits of an antioxidant-based therapy for the recovery of these patients.