Environmental Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Its Association with Endometriosis Risk: Implications in the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Process.

We aimed to explore the relationship of adipose tissue concentrations of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with the risk of endometriosis and the endometriotic tissue expression profile of genes related to the endometriosis-related epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. This case-control study enrolled 109 women (34 cases and 75 controls) between January 2018 and March 2020. Adipose tissue samples and endometriotic tissues were intraoperatively collected to determine concentrations of nine POPs and the gene expression profiles of 36 EMT-related genes, respectively. Associations of POPs with endometriosis risk were explored with multivariate logistic regression, while the relationship between exposure and gene expression profiles was assessed through Spearman correlation or Mann-Whitney U tests. After adjustment, increased endometriosis risk was associated with p,p'-DDT, PCB-180, and ΣPCBs. POP exposure was also associated with reduced gene expression levels of the CLDN7 epithelial marker and increased levels of the ITGB2 mesenchymal marker and a variety of EMT promoters (HMGA1, HOXA10, FOXM1, DKK1, CCR1, TNFRSF1B, RRM2, ANG, ANGPT1, and ESR1). Our findings indicate that exposure to POPs may increase the risk of endometriosis and might have a role in the endometriosis-related EMT development, contributing to the disease onset and progression. Further studies are warranted to corroborate these findings.

Remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus after bariatric surgery - comparison between procedures.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to assess the mid-term type 2 diabetes mellitus recovery patterns in morbidly obese patients by comparing some relevant physiological parameters of patients of bariatric surgery between two types of surgical procedures: mixed (roux-en-Y gastric bypass and biliopancreatic diversion) and restrictive (sleeve gastrectomy). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a prospective and observational study of co-morbid, type 2 diabetes mellitus evolution in 49 morbidly obese patients: 37 underwent mixed surgery procedures and 12 a restrictive surgery procedure. We recorded weight, height, body mass index, and glycaemic, lipid, and nutritional blood parameters, prior to procedure, as well as six and twelve months post-operatively. In addition, we tested for differences in patient recovery and investigated predictive factors in diabetes remission. RESULTS: Both glycaemic and lipid profiles diminished significantly to healthy levels by 6 and 12 months post intervention. Type 2 diabetes mellitus showed remission in more than 80% of patients of both types of surgical procedures, with no difference between them. Baseline body mass index, glycated haemoglobin, and insulin intake, among others, were shown to be valuable predictors of diabetes remission one year after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of the type of surgical procedure did not significantly affect the remission rate of type 2 diabetes mellitus in morbidly obese patients. (Endokrynol Pol 2017; 68 (1): 18-25).