Are insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with Peyronie's disease? A pilot study.

Risk factors for Peyronie's disease (PD) are serum lipid abnormalities, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Oxidative stress and inflammation are key-players in the pathogenesis of arterial diseases, leading to insulin resistance (IR), which is a major determinant of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We studied the potential relationship between PD, IR, and NAFLD. Forty-nine male patients were enrolled, fulfilling the well-accepted diagnostic criteria of stable PD. Fifty male individuals without PD, well-matched for age and BMI, were selected as the control group. Comorbidities (T2DM and hypertension), as well as the lipid profile and the glucometabolic asset, were evaluated. The triglycerides/HDL ratio (TG/HDL-C ratio) with a cut-off of ≥3 and the triglycerides-glucose index (TyG) with an optimal cut-point of 8.5 were used for diagnosis of IR and NAFLD, respectively. NAFLD diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of bright liver at ultrasonography. Hypertension was found more frequently in PD patients than in no-PD subjects (P=0.017), independently of age (P=0.99). Both IR and NAFLD were significantly associated with the presence of PD in our population of men (P=0.043 and 0.0001, respectively), no matter how old (P=0.11 and 0.74, respectively). At logistic regression, NAFLD was the only predictor of the PD presence (p=0.021). The AUROC of TyG to predict PD was 0.7437 (sensitivity 67.35% and specificity 80%) with a percentage of correctly classified patients of 73.74%. Oxidative stress markers were significantly associated with NAFLD. Testosterone level was significantly low in the subjects with NAFLD in cross-sectional analyses. Both factors, i.e., oxidative stress and hypogonadism, are central to PD pathogenesis. In conclusion, NAFLD and IR are strongly associated with PD. The pathogenic link between these conditions and the underlying mechanisms are only hypothetical and thoroughly summarized in the discussion.

Macroinvertebrados bentónicos del humedal de Palo Verde, Costa Rica / Benthic macroinvertebrates of the Palo Verde wetland, Costa Rica

Benthic macroinvertebrates of the Palo Verde wetland, Costa Rica. Palo Verde, Costa Rica, is one of the most important wetlands in the region now recovering from some invasive plants, especially Typha domingensis, and monitoring programs were started, including studies on the aquatic macoinvertebrate fauna. We sampled benthic macroinvertebrates monthly for more than a year with artificial substrates, and identified 116 taxa from 57 families and 18 orders, with 90 morfospecies of insects. The highest abundances were in the class Conchostraca (typical in seasonal wetlands) and in the family Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta), which together represent almost half of all individuals collected. In contrast, 97 taxa were less than 1% of total abundance each. Number of individuals and number of species were higher at lower water levels (dry season). Cumulative species curves indicate that more species would be found if sampling had continued for more time. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (Suppl. 1): 275-284. Epub 2009 November 30.

El humedal de Palo Verde es uno de los más importantes de Centro America para aves acuáticas. Durante el período 2002 y 2005, se llevaron a cabo actividades de manejo para controlar la invasión de Typha domingensis. Con el fin de establecer una línea base para monitoreos futuros, en el 2003 se realizó una evaluación de macroinvertebrados acuáticos. Se efectuó un muestreo mensual durante un año, usando el método de sustratos artificiales. Se identificaron 116 táxones pertenecientes a 47 familias y a 18 órdenes. La mayor abundancia se encontró en la clase Conchostraca y la familia Chironomidae que juntas representaron casi la mitad de todos los individuos colectados. En contraste, el 97% de los táxones tuvieron, cada uno, menos del 1% del total de la abundancia. La diversidad de táxones, así como la abundancia de individuos y el número de especies, fueron mayores en la época seca que en la lluviosa. La curva acumulada de especies indicó que se hubiera registrado una mayor cantidad de táxones si los muestreos se hubieran extendido por más tiempo. Con este trabajo damos a conocer la primera lista de macroinvertebrados para el humedal de Palo Verde.