1 2995 210 GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS IN FOLATE PATHWAY ENZYMES, DRD4 AND GSTM1 ARE RELATED TO TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER. BACKGROUND: TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER (TMD) IS A MULTIFACTORIAL SYNDROME RELATED TO A CRITICAL PERIOD OF HUMAN LIFE. TMD HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTIONS, OXIDATIVE STATE AND SEXUAL DIMORPHISM WITH COINCIDENTAL OCCURRENCE ALONG THE PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS WORK WE STUDY THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TMD AND GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS OF FOLATE METABOLISM, NEUROTRANSMISSION, OXIDATIVE AND HORMONAL METABOLISM. FOLATE METABOLISM, WHICH DEPENDS ON GENES VARIATIONS AND DIET, IS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS THAT CAN INFLUENCE THE CHANGES OF LAST GROWING PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT IN HUMAN AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE TMD. METHODS: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS ABOVE DESCRIBED ON TMD. A TOTAL OF 229 INDIVIDUALS (69% WOMEN) WERE INCLUDED AT THE STUDY; 86 WERE PATIENTS WITH TMD AND 143 WERE HEALTHY CONTROL SUBJECTS. SUBJECTS UNDERWENT TO A CLINICAL EXAMINATION FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES BY THE RESEARCH DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS (RDC/TMD). GENOTYPING OF 20 SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS), DIVIDED IN TWO GROUPS, WAS PERFORMED BY MULTIPLEX MINISEQUENCING PRECEDED BY MULTIPLEX PCR. OTHER SEVEN GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS DIFFERENT FROM SNPS (DELETIONS, INSERTIONS, TANDEM REPEAT, NULL GENOTYPE) WERE ACHIEVED BY A MULTIPLEX-PCR. A CHI-SQUARE TEST WAS PERFORMED TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN GENOTYPE AND ALLELIC FREQUENCIES BETWEEN TMD PATIENTS AND HEALTHY SUBJECTS. TO ESTIMATE TMD RISK, IN THOSE POLYMORPHISMS THAT SHOWN SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES, ODDS RATIO (OR) WITH A 95% OF CONFIDENCE INTERVAL WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: SIX OF THE POLYMORPHISMS SHOWED STATISTICAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH TMD. FOUR OF THEM ARE RELATED TO ENZYMES OF FOLATES METABOLISM: ALLELE G OF SERINE HYDOXYMETHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (SHMT1) RS1979277 (OR = 3.99; 95%CI 1.72, 9.25; P = 0.002), ALLELE G OF SHMT1 RS638416 (OR = 2.80; 95%CI 1.51, 5.21; P = 0.013), ALLELE T OF METHYLENTETRAHYDROFOLATE DEHYDROGENASE (MTHFD) RS2236225 (OR = 3.09; 95%CI 1.27, 7.50; P = 0.016) AND ALLELE A OF METHIONINE SYNTHASE REDUCTASE (MTRR) RS1801394 (OR = 2.35; 95CI 1.10, 5.00; P = 0.037). AN INFLAMMATORY OXIDATIVE STRESS ENZYME, GLUTHATIONE S-TRANFERASE MU-1(GSTM1), NULL ALLELE (OR = 2.21; 95%CI 1.24, 4.36; P = 0.030) AND A NEUROTRANSMISSION RECEPTOR, DOPAMINE RECEPTOR D4 (DRD4), LONG ALLELE OF 48 BP-REPEAT (OR = 3.62; 95%CI 0.76, 17.26; P = 0.161). CONCLUSIONS: SOME GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS RELATED TO FOLATES METABOLISM, INFLAMMATORY OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND NEUROTRANSMISSION RESPONSES TO PAIN, HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED TO TMD SYNDROME. 2011 2 509 34 ASSOCIATION OF NUTRACEUTICAL SUPPLEMENTS WITH LONGER TELOMERE LENGTH. TELOMERES ARE NUCLEOTIDE TANDEM REPEATS LOCATED AT THE TIP OF EUKARYOTIC CHROMOSOMES THAT MAINTAIN GENOMIC INTEGRITY. THE GRADUAL SHORTENING OF TELOMERES LEADS TO CELLULAR SENESCENCE AND APOPTOSIS, A KEY MECHANISM OF AGING AND AGE?RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES. EPIGENETIC FACTORS, SUCH AS NUTRITION, EXERCISE AND TOBACCO CAN AFFECT THE RATE AT WHICH TELOMERES SHORTEN AND CAN MODIFY THE RISK OF DEVELOPING CHRONIC DISEASES. IN THIS STUDY, WE EVALUATED THE EFFECTS OF A COMBINATION OF NUTRACEUTICAL SUPPLEMENTS (NS) ON TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS WITH NO MEDICAL HISTORY OF ANY DISEASE. PARTICIPANTS (N=47) WERE SELECTED FROM HEALTHY OUTPATIENTS VISITING A PRIVATE CLINIC AND WERE DIVIDED INTO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP (N=16), THAT RECEIVED THE NS AND THE CONTROL GROUP (N=31). WE ESTIMATED THE LENGTH OF SINGLE TELOMERES IN METAPHASE SPREAD LEUKOCYTES, ISOLATED FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD, USING QUANTITATIVE?FLUORESCENT IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION (Q?FISH) ANALYSIS. THE LENGTH OF THE WHOLE TELOMERE GENOME WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P<0.05) FOR THE MEAN, 1ST QUARTILE AND MEDIAN MEASUREMENTS IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. SIMILAR FINDINGS WERE OBSERVED FOR SHORT TL (20TH PERCENTILE) (P<0.05) FOR THE MEDIAN AND 3RD QUARTILE MEASUREMENTS IN THE NS GROUP, COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF THE SUPPLEMENTS ON THE LENGTH OF SHORT TELOMERES REMAINED SIGNIFICANT (P<0.05) FOLLOWING ADJUSTMENT FOR AGE AND SEX. TELOMERES WERE MODERATELY LONGER IN FEMALE PATIENTS COMPARED TO THE MALE PATIENTS. ON THE WHOLE, THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT THE ADMINISTRATION OF NS MAY BE LINKED TO SUSTAINING THE TL. 2019 3 5108 49 POLYMORPHISMS OF TNF-ALPHA (- 308), IL-1BETA (+ 3954) AND IL1-RA (VNTR) ARE ASSOCIATED TO SEVERE STAGE OF ENDOMETRIOSIS IN MEXICAN WOMEN: A CASE CONTROL STUDY. BACKGROUND: ENDOMETRIOSIS IS AN ESTROGEN-DEPENDENT AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE AFFECTING UP TO 10% OF WOMEN. IT IS THE RESULT OF A COMBINED INTERACTION OF GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, LIFESTYLE, REPRODUCTIVE AND LOCAL INFLAMMATORY FACTORS. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS) MAPPING TO TNF-ALPHA (TNF, RS1800629) AND IL-1BETA (IL1B, RS1143634) AND VARIABLE NUMBER TANDEM REPEAT POLYMORPHISM MAPPING TO IL1-RA (IL1RN INTRON 2, RS2234663) GENETIC LOCI ARE ASSOCIATED WITH RISK FOR ENDOMETRIOSIS IN A MEXICAN MESTIZO POPULATION. METHODS: THIS STUDY INCLUDED 183 WOMEN WITH CONFIRMED ENDOMETRIOSIS (ENDO) DIAGNOSED AFTER SURGICAL LAPAROSCOPY AND 186 WOMEN WITH SATISFIED PARITY AND WITHOUT ENDOMETRIOSIS AS CONTROLS (CTR). PCR/RFLP TECHNIQUE WAS USED FOR GENOTYPING SNPS (RS1800629 AND RS1143634); PCR FOR GENOTYPING RS2234663. RESULTS: WE FOUND NO STATISTICAL DIFFERENCES IN AGE BETWEEN GROUPS NOR AMONG STAGES OF ENDOMETRIOSIS AND THE CTR GROUP. WE OBSERVED NO DIFFERENCE IN GENOTYPE AND ALLELE FREQUENCIES, NOR CARRIAGE RATE BETWEEN GROUPS IN NONE OF THE THREE STUDIED POLYMORPHISMS. THE PREVALENCE OF TNF*2-ALLELE HETEROZYGOTES (P = 0.025; OR 3.8), TNF*2-ALLELE (P = 0.029; OR 3.4), IL1B*2-ALLELE HETEROZYGOTES (P = 0.044; OR 2.69) AND ITS CARRIAGE RATE (P = 0.041; OR 2.64) IN ENDOMETRIOSIS STAGE IV WAS HIGHER THAN THE CTR GROUP. SURPRISINGLY, THE CARRIAGE RATE OF IL1RN*2-ALLELE (ENDO: P = 0.0004; OR 0.4; STAGE I: P = 0.002, OR 0.38; STAGE II: P = 0.002, OR 0.35; STAGE III: P = 0.003, OR 0.33), AS WELL AS THE IL1RN*2-ALLELE FREQUENCIES (ENDO: P = 0.0008, OR 0.55; I: P = 0.037, OR 0.60; II: P = 0.002, OR 0.41; III: P = 0.003, OR 0.38) WERE LOWER THAN THE CTR GROUP. WOMEN WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS STAGE IV (SEVERE) HAD FREQUENCIES MORE ALIKE TO THE CTR GROUP IN THE IL1RN*2 ALLELE FREQUENCY (31.2% VS. 27.2%) AND CARRIAGE RATE (37.5% VS. 41.9%). CONCLUSION: ALTHOUGH THESE POLYMORPHISMS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE RISK OF ENDOMETRIOSIS, MEXICAN MESTIZO WOMEN WITH SEVERE STAGE OF ENDOMETRIOSIS HAVE HIGHER FREQUENCIES OF TNF*2-, IL1B*2- AND IL1RN*2-ALLELES, WHICH MAY EXPLAIN A POSSIBLE CORRELATION WITH DISEASE SEVERITY RATHER THAN PREDISPOSITION OR RISK. 2022 4 1916 33 ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS AND TELOMERE LENGTH IN HUMAN STUDIES. TELOMERES ARE COMPLEXES OF TANDEM REPEATS OF DNA (5'-TTAGGG-3') AND PROTEIN THAT CAP EUKARYOTIC CHROMOSOMES AND PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN CHROMOSOME STABILITY. TELOMERES SHORTEN WITH AGING AND THIS PROCESS CAN BE ACCELERATED BY INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND EPISODES OF INFLAMMATION. EVIDENCE IS RAPIDLY GROWING THAT TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) MAY BE AFFECTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS THAT HAVE FREQUENTLY BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC DISEASES. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE REVIEW THE PUBLISHED DATA ON TL IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO SEVERAL CHEMICALS BASED ON OUR OWN AND OTHERS' STUDIES. THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES ASSOCIATED WITH SHORTER TL INCLUDE TRAFFIC-RELATED AIR POLLUTION (IE, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM), BLACK CARBON (BC), AND BENZENE AND TOLUENE), POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS), N-NITROSAMINES, PESTICIDES, LEAD, EXPOSURE IN CAR MECHANICAL WORKSHOPS, AND HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPOSURE. ARSENIC, PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS) AND SHORT-TERM EXPOSURE TO PM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LONGER TL. WE DISCUSS THE POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN RESULTS, INCLUDING TIME- AND DOSE-RELATED ISSUES, STUDY DESIGN, AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN TELOMERE REGULATION. WE ALSO DISCUSS THE FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR TL-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH, SUCH AS INVESTIGATION OF TL IN SUBPOPULATIONS OF BLOOD LEUKOCYTES, AND THE STUDY OF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS THAT MAY REGULATE TELOMERE INTEGRITY USING LONGITUDINAL DESIGNS. 2013 5 811 26 CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION OF TANDEM DNA REPEATS ARE DIFFERENT FROM INTERSPERSED REPEATS IN CANCER. HYPOMETHYLATION OF DNA REPETITIVE ELEMENTS IS A COMMON FINDING IN CANCER, BUT VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE DNA METHYLATION CHANGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF DNA REPETITIVE ELEMENTS, SUCH AS INTERSPERSED REPEATS (LINE1 AND ALU YB8) AND TANDEM REPEATS (SAT-ALPHA, NBL-2 AND D4Z4). WE USED BISULFITE-PCR PYROSEQUENCING TO QUANTITATIVELY MEASURE THE DNA METHYLATION OF FIVE DIFFERENT DNA REPETITIVE ELEMENTS IN NORMAL TISSUE AND CANCER. IN ALL WE STUDIED 10 DIFFERENT TISSUES FROM FOUR INDIVIDUALS UNDERGOING AUTOPSY, 34 PAIRED NORMAL AND TUMOR TISSUES FROM PATIENTS WITH BLADDER CANCER, 58 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA AND 23 PATIENTS WITH ACUTE PROMYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. WE FOUND THAT THE DNA METHYLATION OF INTERSPERSED REPEATS (LINE1 AND ALU YB8) WAS VERY CONSISTENT FROM PERSON TO PERSON AND TISSUE TO TISSUE WHILE TANDEM DNA REPEATS APPEARED MORE VARIABLE IN NORMAL TISSUES. IN BLADDER CANCER WE FOUND CLEAR HYPOMETHYLATION OF LINE1, ALU YB8, SAT-ALPHA AND NBL-2. CONVERSELY, WE FOUND AN INCREASE IN THE DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF D4Z4 FROM NORMAL TO CANCER. IN CONTRAST LEUKEMIA SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE DNA METHYLATION OF LINE1 AND ALU YB8, BUT DNA METHYLATION INCREASES IN NBL-2 AND D4Z4 TANDEM REPEATS. OUR FINDINGS SHOW THAT THE CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF INDIVIDUAL DNA REPETITIVE ELEMENTS ARE UNIQUE FOR EACH REPETITIVE ELEMENT, WHICH MAY REFLECT DISTINCT EPIGENETIC FACTORS AND MAY HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS IN THE USE OF DNA METHYLATION OF REPETITIVE ELEMENTS AS GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION BIOMARKERS. 2009 6 734 32 CANCER HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES. A NEED EXISTS TO EXAMINE RACIAL DISPARITIES IN THE HEALTHCARE ARENA AND THE IMPACT ON PATIENTS WITH CANCER. DESPITE ONGOING EFFORTS TO INCREASE EQUITY IN PRIMARY HEALTHCARE ACCESS, RACIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES PERSIST, THUS CONTRIBUTING TO DISPROPORTIONATE TREATMENT OUTCOMES AND SURVIVORSHIP AMONG MINORITY AND LOW-INCOME PATIENTS. SUCH DISPARITIES HAVE BEEN REVEALED IN TREATMENT COHORTS OF PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE FORMS OF CANCER, INCLUDING BREAST, CERVICAL, OVARIAN, ENDOMETRIAL, PROSTATE, LUNG, COLORECTAL, GASTROINTESTINAL, AND HEPATOCELLULAR, AND HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO A RANGE OF CO-OCCURRING BEHAVIORAL, SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, UNDERLYING GENETIC FACTORS, AS WELL AS ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT LIMIT THE QUALITY OF INFORMED HEALTHCARE. THESE VARIOUS INTERRELATED FACTORS WIDEN CANCER HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES SYNERGISTICALLY THROUGHOUT UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, AND THEIR INFLUENCE HAS BEEN AMPLIFIED BY THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) PANDEMIC. FUNDAMENTALLY, A LACK OF BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH EXISTS THAT FAILS TO ADEQUATELY REFLECT DIVERSITY AND MINORITY INVOLVEMENT IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT. ALTHOUGH OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLES RESPONSIBLE FOR CHRONIC TREATMENT DISPARITIES IS A FORMIDABLE TASK, PROMISING MEANS OF ACHIEVING MORE UNIFORM QUALITY HEALTHCARE ARE BECOMING MORE CLEARLY ELUCIDATED. TO REDUCE DISEASE PROGRESSION, INCREASE OVERALL SURVIVAL, AND IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, IT IS NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY AND FULLY DISCLOSE ENVIRONMENTAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND ANCESTRAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT THE RISK FOR CANCER; HEAL HISTORICAL FRACTURES WITHIN COMMUNITIES; AND INCREASE PARTICIPATION OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES IN SCREENING EFFORTS AND RESEARCH STUDIES. THIS REQUIRES DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF JUSTICE AND TRUST BASED ON SPECIFIC, SOLUTION-ORIENTED GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY EFFORTS WORKING IN TANDEM WITH MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL LEADERS. BY FULLY EXPLORING AND PINPOINTING THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES, IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO DEFINE STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS MOST LIKELY TO TRANSFORM CANCER CARE. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL, CULTURAL, AND BIOLOGICAL VULNERABILITIES, INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL AND EPIGENETIC LIABILITIES, TO OPTIMIZE CANCER PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT. 2022 7 1189 44 CORRELATION BETWEEN GLOBAL METHYLATION LEVEL OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES AND SERUM C REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVEL MODIFIED BY MTHFR POLYMORPHISM: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER TUMOR INCIDENCE THROUGH EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC ALTERATIONS. HERE, WE FOCUSED ON AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AN INFLAMMATION MARKER, C-REACTIVE-PROTEIN (CRP), AND GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES. METHODS: THE SUBJECTS WERE 384 HEALTHY JAPANESE WOMEN ENROLLED AS THE CONTROL GROUP OF A CASE-CONTROL STUDY FOR BREAST CANCER CONDUCTED FROM 2001 TO 2005. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION WAS QUANTIFIED BY LUMINOMETRIC METHYLATION ASSAY (LUMA). RESULTS: WITH ADJUSTMENT FOR LIFESTYLE-RELATED FACTORS, INCLUDING FOLATE INTAKE, THE GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVEL OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BUT WEAKLY INCREASED BY 0.43% PER QUARTILE CATEGORY FOR CRP (P FOR TREND = 0.010). ESTIMATED METHYLATION LEVELS STRATIFIED BY CRP QUARTILE WERE 70.0%, 70.8%, 71.4%, AND 71.3%, RESPECTIVELY. IN ADDITION, INTERACTION BETWEEN POLYMORPHISM OF MTHFR (RS1801133, KNOWN AS C677T) AND CRP WAS SIGNIFICANT (P FOR INTERACTION = 0.046); THE GLOBAL METHYLATION LEVEL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED BY 0.61% PER QUARTILE CATEGORY FOR CRP IN THE CT/TT GROUP (THOSE WITH THE MINOR ALLELE T, P FOR TREND = 0.001), WHEREAS NO ASSOCIATION WAS OBSERVED IN THE CC GROUP (WILD TYPE). CONCLUSIONS: OUR STUDY SUGGESTS THAT CRP CONCENTRATION IS WEAKLY ASSOCIATED WITH GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVEL. HOWEVER, THIS ASSOCIATION WAS OBSERVED MORE CLEARLY IN INDIVIDUALS WITH THE MINOR ALLELE OF THE MTHFR MISSENSE SNP RS1801133. BY ELUCIDATING THE COMPLEX MECHANISM OF THE REGULATION OF DNA METHYLATION BY BOTH ACQUIRED AND GENETIC FACTORS, OUR RESULTS MAY BE IMPORTANT FOR CANCER PREVENTION. 2018 8 5957 39 TELOMERE LENGTH AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS. EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENETICS AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE FLOURISHING. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES ARE EVALUATING EARLY BIOMARKERS THAT MIGHT LINK GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. WE AIMED TO STUDY TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (AA) IN A COHORT OF ADOLESCENTS WITH AND WITHOUT ANXIETY DISORDERS (N = 234). WE EVALUATED A REPRESENTATIVE SUBSAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 5 YEARS (N = 76) AND CATEGORIZED THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR ANXIETY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS AT BOTH TIME POINTS: (1) CONTROL GROUP (NO ANXIETY DISORDER, N = 18), (2) VARIABLE GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER IN ONE EVALUATION, N = 38), AND (3) PERSISTENT GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER AT BOTH TIME POINTS, N = 20). WE ASSESSED RELATIVE MEAN TL BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR AND DNA METHYLATION BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP. WE CALCULATED AA USING THE HORVATH AGE ESTIMATION ALGORITHM AND ANALYZED DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS USING GENERALIZED LINEAR MIXED MODELS. THE PERSISTENT GROUP OF ANXIETY DISORDER DID NOT CHANGE TL OVER TIME (P = 0.495). THE VARIABLE GROUP HAD HIGHER BASELINE TL (P = 0.003) BUT NO ACCELERATED TL EROSION IN COMPARISON TO THE NON-ANXIETY CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.053). FURTHERMORE, THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN AA AMONG GROUPS OVER TIME. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC ANXIETY DID NOT CHANGE TELOMERE LENGTH OVER TIME, WHICH COULD BE RELATED TO A DELAY IN NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THIS PERIOD OF LIFE. 2021 9 1118 37 COMPARATIVE GENOTYPING AND PHENOTYPING OF ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS ISOLATES FROM HUMANS, DOGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. BACKGROUND: ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS IS A UBIQUITOUS SAPROTROPHIC FUNGUS AND AN OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGEN OF HUMANS AND ANIMALS. HUMANS AND ANIMALS CAN INHALE HUNDREDS OF A. FUMIGATUS SPORES DAILY. NORMALLY THIS IS HARMLESS FOR HUMANS, BUT IN CASE OF IMMUNODEFICIENCY, INVASIVE PULMONARY ASPERGILLOSIS (IPA) CAN DEVELOP WITH A HIGH MORTALITY RATE. A. FUMIGATUS ALSO CAUSES NON-INVASIVE MYCOSES LIKE SINO-NASAL ASPERGILLOSIS (SNA) IN DOGS. RESULTS: IN THIS STUDY WE COMPARED A. FUMIGATUS ISOLATES FROM HUMANS WITH SUSPECTED IPA, DOGS WITH SNA, AND A SET OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISOLATES. PHYLOGENETIC INFERENCE BASED ON CALMODULIN (CAM) AND BETA-TUBULIN (BENA) SEQUENCES DID NOT REVEAL A. FUMIGATUS SUB-GROUPS LINKED TO THE ORIGIN OF THE ISOLATES. GENOTYPING AND MICROSATELLITE ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT EACH DOG WAS INFECTED BY ONE A. FUMIGATUS GENOTYPE, WHEREAS HUMAN PATIENTS HAD MIXED INFECTIONS. AZOLE RESISTANCE WAS DETERMINED BY ANTIFUNGAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING AND SEQUENCING OF THE CYP51A GENE. A TOTAL OF 12 OUT OF 29 HUMAN ISOLATES AND 1 OUT OF 27 ENVIRONMENTAL ISOLATES WERE AZOLE RESISTANT. OF THE AZOLE RESISTANT STRAINS, 11 HUMAN ISOLATES SHOWED TR(34)/L98H (N = 6) OR TR46/Y121F/T289A (N = 5). PHENOTYPICALLY, ISOLATES FROM DOGS WERE MORE VARIABLE IN GROWTH SPEED AND MORPHOLOGY WHEN COMPARED TO THOSE ISOLATED FROM HUMAN AND THE ENVIRONMENT. CONCLUSIONS: 1. A. FUMIGATUS FROM DOGS WITH SNA ARE PHENOTYPICALLY VERY DIVERSE IN CONTRAST TO THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN COUNTERPARTS. 2. PHENOTYPIC VARIABILITY CAN BE INDUCED DURING THE CHRONIC INFECTION PROCESS IN THE SINUS OF THE DOGS. THE BASIS OF THIS HETEROGENEITY MIGHT BE DUE TO GENOMIC DIFFERENCES AND/OR EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS. 3. DIFFERENCES IN DOGS IS A COULD BE A RESULT OF WITHIN-HOST ADAPTION AND MIGHT BE TRIGGERED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE SINUS, HOWEVER THIS HYPOTHESIS STILL NEEDS TO BE TESTED. 2018 10 2900 33 GENDER BIAS IN THERAPEUTIC EFFORT: FROM RESEARCH TO HEALTH CARE. THERE ARE RELEVANT DIMENSIONS FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE RELATED TO THERAPEUTIC EFFORT. TO ILLUSTRATE AND DISCUSS POSSIBLE GENDER BIAS RELATED TO MEDICINES, THROUGH THE CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS IN WOMEN, THE PRESCRIPTION OF BIOLOGICAL DRUGS ACCORDING TO SEX, THE POTENTIAL GENDER INEQUALITY IN ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS, AND RESEARCH WITH CLINICAL TRIALS, AS WELL AS THE DECISIONS OF INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE MARKETING OF MEDICINAL PRODUCTS. THERE IS GREATER TENDENCY TO PRESCRIBE PAIN RELIEVERS, REGARDLESS OF PAIN, AND DRUGS FOR LOW INTENSITY DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN THAN IN MEN. THE OPPOSITE OCCURS IN THE PRESCRIPTION OF STATINS AND ADEQUATE DOSES, AND WITH THE GREATER PROBABILITY OF PRESCRIBING ANTI-TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR IN MEN THAN IN WOMEN WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS, DESPITE A SIMILAR DISEASE BURDEN. ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS ARE OBSERVED MORE FREQUENTLY IN WOMEN THAN IN MEN, WHERE DETERMINANTS SUCH AS BODY WEIGHT ARE HAVING LITTLE INFLUENCE ON THE DOSAGE. IT IS CURRENTLY SCARCELY CONSIDERED IN THE PRESCRIPTION THAT WOMEN HAVE DIFFERENCES IN THE ACTIVITY OF CYTOCHROME CYPP450 ENZYMES, WHICH CAN AFFECT THE LIVER'S METABOLISM RATE. THERE ARE EVEN IMMUNOLOGICAL, GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC EFFECTS (DUE TO HEREDITY AND UNEVEN GENE DOSING LOCATED IN THE X AND Y CHROMOSOMES) THAT CAN INFLUENCE THESE DIFFERENCES BY SEX. FINALLY, THROUGH CASES OF HORMONAL THERAPY CLINICAL TRIALS, A DRUG FOR WOMEN'S INHIBITED SEXUAL DESIRE AND A CONTRACEPTIVE FOR MEN, GENDER BIAS AND STEREOTYPES ARE SHOWN TO INFLUENCE A POTENTIAL GENERATION OF INEQUALITIES, ESPECIALLY IN ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS TO THE DETRIMENT OF WOMEN. IN CONCLUSION, HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FREQUENTLY ATTRIBUTE PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS TO WOMEN'S EMOTIONALITY, INFLUENCING THEIR GREATER PRESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMATIC DRUGS. WHETHER THE SAME REASON INFLUENCES THE LOWER PRESCRIPTION OF THERAPEUTIC DRUGS IN WOMEN THAN IN MEN SHOULD BE ANALYZED. THERE ARE BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS TO CONSIDER DUE TO THEIR INFLUENCE ON A GREATER PHARMACOLOGICAL TOXICITY IN WOMEN. CLINICAL TRIALS SHOULD IMPROVE ACCORDING TO THE GENDER RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE FOOD AND DRUGS ADMINISTRATION. 2020 11 6878 31 [REGIONAL EXPERIENCE OF A COMPREHENSIVE DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE ADOLESCENTS' HEALTH STATUS WITH POST-COVID-19 SYNDROME DURING AFTERCARE IN A SANATORIUM]. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SANATORIUM-RESORT THERAPY IMPACT ON CHILDREN WITH POST-COVID-19 SYNDROME OF VARIOUS SEVERITY, AS WELL AS TO REVEAL ASSOCIATION OF ITS SEVERITY WITH FAMILY HISTORY DATA AND GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS OF ALPHA-1-ANTITRYPSIN-SERPIN-1 COMPLEX. MATERIAL AND METHODS: THIS 2-WEEK RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY INVOLVED 42 ADOLESCENTS AFTER NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION (COVID-19). THE FIRST GROUP INCLUDED 28 (67%) PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 13.1+/-0.8 YEARS) AFTER MILD COVID-19 (WITHOUT CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS PNEUMONIA), THE SECOND GROUP - 14 (33%) PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 14.5+/-0.1.2 YEARS) AFTER MODERATE OR SEVERE DISEASE (WITH CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS PNEUMONIA). A COMPLEX OF PROCEDURES, ACCORDING TO THE APPROVED STANDARD, WAS PRESCRIBED FOR ALL PATIENTS ADMITTED AFTER OUTPATIENT AND HOSPITAL TREATMENT TO THE PULMONOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE CHILDREN'S SANATORIUM IN ORDER TO AFTERCARE. THE CERTAIN FOLLOW-UP PARAMETERS WERE EVALUATED: SYMPTOMS SEVERITY, LIFE QUALITY, RESPIRATORY FUNCTION AND RESPIRATORY GASES, AS WELL AS FAMILY MEDICAL HISTORY AND ALPHA-1-ANTITRYPSIN-SERPIN-1 COMPLEX. RESULTS: PATIENTS AFTER MODERATE AND SEVERE COVID-19 HAD INITIALLY LOWER AND LESS DYNAMIC GROWTH OF INTEGRAL LIFE QUALITY INDEX, MORE TORPID FOLLOW-UP RATES OF SPIROMETRY, PULSE OXIMETRY AND EXHALED GASES. ADDITIONALLY, THE HIGHER INCIDENCE DEGREE OF ADVERSE FAMILY MEDICAL HISTORY ASSOCIATED WITH RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE GROUP AFTER NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION. MOREOVER, RELATIVELY MORE DEFICIENT ALPHA-1-ANTITRYPSIN AND MORE FREQUENT HETEROZYGOUS POLYMORPHISM TYPE OF SERPIN-1 WERE FOUND IN THE GROUP AFTER SEVERE NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION. CONCLUSION: THE REVEALED COMPLEX OF EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC FACTORS MAY INDICATE VARIOUS RISK AND DEVELOPMENT PHENOTYPES OF BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES. 2023 12 5085 37 PILOT STUDY OF ABSOLUTE TELOMERE LENGTHS IN PRETERM INFANTS. BACKGROUND: ANNUALLY, APPROXIMATELY 15 MILLION BABIES ARE BORN PRETERM (<37 WEEKS GESTATIONAL AGE) GLOBALLY. IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU) ENVIRONMENT, INFANTS ARE EXPOSED TO REPEATED STRESSFUL OR PAINFUL PROCEDURES AS PART OF ROUTINE LIFESAVING CARE. THESE PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO AN INCREASED RISK OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. TELOMERE LENGTH HAS BEEN NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE LIFE EXPERIENCES IN STUDIES OF ADULTS. OBJECTIVES: THIS PILOT STUDY AIMED TO DESCRIBE TELOMERE LENGTH IN A SAMPLE OF PRETERM INFANTS AT NICU DISCHARGE AND EXAMINE ANY ASSOCIATIONS WITH PAIN, FEEDING METHOD, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT. METHODS: THIS DESCRIPTIVE PILOT STUDY SAMPLE INCLUDES BASELINE ABSOLUTE TELOMERE LENGTH (ATL) OF 36 PRETERM INFANTS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO DISCHARGE. QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS USED TO DETERMINE ATL. INFANT DEMOGRAPHICS, PAIN/STRESS, TYPE OF FEEDING, ANTIBIOTIC USE, NEURODEVELOPMENT, AND BUCCAL SWAB DATA WERE COLLECTED. DESCRIPTIVE DATA ANALYSIS WAS USED TO DESCRIBE THE TELOMERE LENGTH USING GRAPHS. RESULTS: AMONG OUR PRETERM INFANT SAMPLES, THE MEAN ATL WAS FAR GREATER THAN THE AVERAGE ADULT TELOMERE LENGTH. ALTHOUGH NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN ATL AND PAIN, FEEDING METHOD, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT, A TREND BETWEEN SEX WAS NOTED WHERE MALE TELOMERE LENGTHS WERE SHORTER THAN FEMALES AS THEY AGED. DISCUSSION: THIS IS ONE OF FEW STUDIES TO EVALUATE PRETERM INFANT TELOMERE LENGTH. ALTHOUGH OTHER RESEARCHERS HAVE USED RELATIVE TELOMERE LENGTH, WE USED THE MORE ACCURATE ATL. WE FOUND NONSIGNIFICANT SHORTER TELOMERE LENGTHS AMONG MALES. ADDITIONAL LARGE-SCALE, LONGITUDINAL STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO BETTER IDENTIFY THE PREDICTORS OF TELOMERE LENGTH AT THE TIME OF DISCHARGE FROM NICU. 2021 13 2734 40 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE MEASURES AND PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN WITH EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER. PURPOSE: THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AN INDICATOR FOR MOLECULAR AGING, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED POSSIBLE ASSOCIATIONS OF DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) AGE OR AGE ACCELERATION (AA) WITH SYMPTOM BURDEN IN INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TREATED FOR CANCER. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE ASSOCIATION OF DNAM AGE OR AA WITH PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL (PN) SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, PAIN, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS OVER A 2-YEAR PERIOD. METHODS: WE MEASURED PN SYMPTOMS USING RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS AND DNAM LEVELS BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450K BEADCHIP (N = 72). DNAM AGE WAS CALCULATED BY THE HORVATH, GRIM, AND HANNUM-BASED INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC AGE ESTIMATIONS. AA WAS DEFINED BY THE RESIDUAL REGRESSING ESTIMATED EPIGENETIC AGE ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. MIXED REGRESSION MODELS WERE FITTED FOR AA AND CHANGES IN AA TO STUDY THE ASSOCIATION OVER TIME. SEPARATE LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS AND A MIXED-EFFECTS MODEL WERE FITTED FOR AA AT EACH TIME POINT. RESULTS: HORVATH-AA, GRIM-AA, AND EXTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED OVER TIME, WHILE INTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA DID NOT EXHIBIT ANY TEMPORAL CHANGES. INCREASED AA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY AND FATIGUE, AS WELL AS WORSE COGNITIVE MEMORY, ADJUSTING FOR RACE, BMI, INCOME, CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION THERAPY, AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. INCREASED DNAM AGE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY OVER 2 YEARS. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST DNAM AGE AND AA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH PN SYMPTOMS OVER THE COURSE OF CANCER TREATMENT AND SURVIVORSHIP. SOME PN SYMPTOMS MAY BE AMENABLE TO PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TO EPIGENETIC CLOCKS THAT INFLUENCE AGING-ASSOCIATED PROCESSES. 2022 14 5904 42 T677T METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS INCREASED PREVALENCE IN A SUBGROUP OF INFERTILE PATIENTS WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS. BACKGROUND: APPROXIMATELY 10% (190 MILLION) OF WOMEN WORLDWIDE ARE AFFECTED BY ENDOMETRIOSIS, ECTOPIC DEPOSITS OF ENDOMETRIAL TISSUE THAT CREATE A MAJOR SOURCE OF PAIN THAT AFFECTS LIFESTYLE AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION. THE PATHOGENESIS OF ENDOMETRIOSIS IS AN ESTROGEN-DEPENDENT INFLAMMATORY PROCESS, INFLUENCED/CATALYZED BY OXIDATIVE STRESS AND CONSEQUENTLY DEFECTIVE METHYLATION, WITH BIOCHEMICAL FEATURES CENTERED AROUND THE FOLATE AND ONE-CARBON CYCLES. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER A LINK COULD BE FOUND BETWEEN THE TWO MAJOR METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (MTHFR SNPS), C.677C>T AND C.1298A>C, INVOLVED IN METHYLATION PROCESS/EPIGENETIC MARKING FAILURES, AND ENDOMETRIOSIS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: WE STUDIED A POPULATION OF 158 PATIENTS IN A GROUP OF >1500 REFERRED FOR TREATMENT OF INFERTILITY. ALL THE PATIENTS HAD EXPERIENCED >2 FAILED ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY CYCLES AND/OR >2 MISCARRIAGES, A CLASSICAL COHORT FOR INVESTIGATION IN OUR GROUP. PATIENTS WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS HAD AT LEAST STAGE 2+ DISEASE CONFIRMED BY LAPAROSCOPY. RESULTS: THE PREVALENCE OF THE HOMOZYGOUS C.677C>T ISOFORM IS DOUBLED IN THE ENDOMETRIOSIS GROUP, 21.5% VERSUS 10.2% IN THE NON-ENDOMETRIOSIS GROUP (P > 0.01). SYMMETRICALLY, THE PERCENTAGE OF PATIENTS IN THE ENDOMETRIOSIS GROUP WITH THE WILD TYPE MTHFR SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY ONE-HALF (8.2%-17.2%) IN THE NON-ENDOMETRIOSIS GROUP (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: DETERMINATION OF MTHFR C.677C>T SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED IN PATIENTS WITH HARMFUL ENDOMETRIOSIS AFFECTING THEIR FERTILITY. AS FOLATES METABOLISM IS IMPAIRED IN THESE MTHFR SNPS CARRIER PATIENTS, CO-TREATMENT WITH 5-METHYL FOLATE MAY CONSTITUTE A SUCCESSFUL (CO)-TREATMENT MODALITY. 2022 15 5517 41 RISK FACTOR ASSESSMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN NORTH KERALA. OBJECTIVE: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE; IT LEADS TO DISABLING AND PAINFUL CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS. ITS ONSET MAY BE DELAYED OR EVEN PREVENTED BY MODIFYING THE RISK FACTORS INVOLVED. MANY GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF RA. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CASE-CONTROL STUDY WERE TO ASSESS VARIOUS RISK FACTORS IN OUR POPULATION AND TO COMPARE THE SAME WITH AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED CONTROLS. METHODS: WE STUDIED 118 CASES WITH RA DIAGNOSED USING THE EULAR CRITERIA. IN TOTAL, 581 AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED CONTROLS WERE SELECTED. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAS ADMINISTERED A SEPARATE QUESTIONNAIRE REGARDING THEIR RISK FACTORS (KNOWN RISK FACTORS WERE STUDIED). THE IMPLICATED DIETARY FACTORS WERE INCORPORATED IN A FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE (FFQ) AND ADMINISTERED TO BOTH CASES AND CONTROLS. COMPARISON WAS MADE BETWEEN THOSE WHO CONSUME AN ITEM AT A PARTICULAR FREQUENCY, WHO CONSUME LESS, AND WHO CONSUME NOTHING AT ALL. AMONG THOSE WHO CONSUME, EACH GROUP WAS RE-COMPARED. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED USING STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES (IBM CORP.; ARMONK, NY, USA). RESULTS: THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP FOR FAMILY HISTORY, PERIODONTITIS, HISTORY OF CHIKUNGUNYA, AND SUN EXPOSURE (P<0.05). ASSOCIATION WITH VARIOUS FOOD ITEMS WAS STUDIED USING THE FFQ, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP WAS INCONSISTENT, PROBABLY DUE TO CONSUMPTION OF MODIFIED DIET BY THE PERSONS WITH RA. ALSO, A MAJORITY OF CASES WERE FEMALES AND NONSMOKERS FOR ASSESSING AN ASSOCIATION WITH SMOKING HABITS. CONCLUSION: IN OUR POPULATION, PREVIOUS INFECTIONS (E.G., CHIKUNGUNYA AND POOR ORAL HYGIENE WITH PERIODONTITIS) WERE THE PROMINENTLY OBSERVED RISK FACTORS. ALSO, SMOKING WAS LESS COMMON AMONG WOMEN, AND PROBABLY CONTRIBUTED LESS, AS MAJORITY OF CASES WERE FEMALES. FOR DIETARY PATTERN ASSOCIATION, A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY MAY BE NEEDED. 2018 16 6598 32 TWINSUK: THE UK ADULT TWIN REGISTRY UPDATE. TWINSUK IS THE LARGEST COHORT OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING ADULT TWINS IN THE UK. THE REGISTRY COMPRISES OVER 14,000 VOLUNTEER TWINS (14,838 INCLUDING MIXED, SINGLE AND TRIPLETS); IT IS PREDOMINANTLY FEMALE (82%) AND MIDDLE-AGED (MEAN AGE 59). IN ADDITION, OVER 1800 PARENTS AND SIBLINGS OF TWINS ARE REGISTERED VOLUNTEERS. DURING THE LAST 27 YEARS, TWINSUK HAS COLLECTED NUMEROUS QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES, PHYSICAL/COGNITIVE MEASURES AND BIOLOGICAL MEASURES ON OVER 8500 SUBJECTS. DATA WERE COLLECTED ALONGSIDE FOUR COMPREHENSIVE PHENOTYPING CLINICAL VISITS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TWIN RESEARCH AND GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON. SUCH COLLECTION METHODS HAVE RESULTED IN VERY DETAILED LONGITUDINAL CLINICAL, BIOCHEMICAL, BEHAVIORAL, DIETARY AND SOCIOECONOMIC COHORT CHARACTERIZATION; IT PROVIDES A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PLATFORM FOR THE STUDY OF COMPLEX DISEASE DURING THE ADULT LIFE COURSE, INCLUDING THE PROCESS OF HEALTHY AGING. THE MAJOR STRENGTH OF TWINSUK IS THE AVAILABILITY OF SEVERAL 'OMIC' TECHNOLOGIES FOR A RANGE OF SAMPLE TYPES FROM PARTICIPANTS, WHICH INCLUDES GENOMEWIDE SCANS OF SINGLE-NUCLEOTIDE VARIANTS, NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING, METABOLOMIC PROFILES, MICROBIOMICS, EXOME SEQUENCING, EPIGENETIC MARKERS, GENE EXPRESSION ARRAYS, RNA SEQUENCING AND TELOMERE LENGTH MEASURES. TWINSUK FACILITATES AND ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES SHARING THE 'TWINSUK' RESOURCE WITH THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY - INTERESTED RESEARCHERS MAY REQUEST DATA VIA THE TWINSUK WEBSITE (HTTP://TWINSUK.AC.UK/RESOURCES-FOR-RESEARCHERS/ACCESS-OUR-DATA/) FOR THEIR OWN USE OR FUTURE COLLABORATION WITH THE STUDY TEAM. IN ADDITION, FURTHER COHORT DATA COLLECTION IS PLANNED VIA THE WELLCOME OPEN RESEARCH GATEWAY (HTTPS://WELLCOMEOPENRESEARCH.ORG/GATEWAYS). THE CURRENT ARTICLE PRESENTS AN UP-TO-DATE REPORT ON THE APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES, NEW STUDY PROCEDURES IN THE COHORT AND FUTURE DIRECTION OF TWINSUK. 2019 17 1746 35 EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY, PUBERTAL TIMING, AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADULTHOOD. BACKGROUND: GIVEN ASSOCIATIONS LINKING EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY, PUBERTAL TIMING, AND BIOLOGICAL AGING, WE EXAMINED THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE TRAUMA ON ADULT BIOLOGICAL AGING (VIA AGE OF MENARCHE). METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (N = 183). PATH MODELS EVALUATED WHETHER EARLY LIFE TRAUMA PREDICTED EARLY PUBERTAL TIMING AND THEREBY, ADULT EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (INDEXED VIA FOUR EPIGENETIC CLOCKS: HORVATH DNAM AGE, HANNUM DNAM AGE, DNAM PHENOAGE, AND DNAM GRIMAGE). SECONDARY ANALYSES EXPLORED THE EFFECTS OF TYPE OF TRAUMA (ABUSE AND NEGLECT) AND ADULT CHRONIC STRESS STATUS (CAREGIVER OF CHILD WITH AUTISM AND NON-CAREGIVER). RESULTS: EARLY LIFE TRAUMA AND EARLIER AGE AT MENARCHE INDEPENDENTLY PREDICTED ACCELERATED AGING BASED ON ONE OF THE FOUR EPIGENETIC CLOCKS, DNAM GRIMAGE, THOUGH EARLY LIFE TRAUMA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH AGE OF MENARCHE. CHILDHOOD ABUSE, BUT NOT NEGLECT, PREDICTED FASTER EPIGENETIC AGING; RESULTS DID NOT DIFFER BY CHRONIC STRESS STATUS. CONCLUSIONS: EARLY TRAUMA AND EARLY MENARCHE APPEAR TO EXERT INDEPENDENT EFFECTS ON DNAM GRIMAGE, WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE THE STRONGEST EPIGENETIC PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY RISK. THIS STUDY IDENTIFIES A POTENTIAL CORRELATE OR DETERMINANT OF ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING-MENARCHEAL AGE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD ADDRESS THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY BY USING RACIALLY DIVERSE SAMPLES. 2021 18 3850 35 IS GENDER A FACTOR AFFECTING LONG-TERM HETEROTOPIC OSSIFICATION INCIDENCE AFTER SINGLE-LEVEL CERVICAL DISC ARTHROPLASTY? BACKGROUND: CERVICAL DISC DISEASES HAVE BEEN TREATED BY CERVICAL DISC ARTHROPLASTY (CDA). NEVERTHELESS, SOME PATIENTS WILL EXPERIENCE A MOBILITY FAILURE IN THEIR CERVICAL PROSTHESES OVER TIME BECAUSE OF HETEROTOPIC OSSIFICATION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF GENDER IN LONG-TERM OUTCOMES AFTER CDA. METHODS: A RETROSPECTIVE, SINGLE-CENTER STUDY OF PATIENTS WHO UNDERWENT SINGLE-LEVEL CDA WITH A BRYAN CERVICAL DISC PROSTHESIS WAS PERFORMED, INCLUDING A NARRATIVE REVIEW ABOUT GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BOTH STRUCTURAL AND BIOMECHANICAL FEATURES OF THE CERVICAL SPINE. RESULTS: STUDY PATIENTS (14 MEN, 30 WOMEN) HAD AN AVERAGE FOLLOW-UP OF 9.8 +/- 3.2 YEARS. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EMERGED BETWEEN GENDERS FOR SPECIFIC ITEMS IN NECK DISABILITY INDEX PREOPERATIVE EVALUATION, WITH WOMEN REPORTING WORSE PAIN SCORES (P = 0.05). AFTER STRATIFICATION BY AGE, WE FOUND A HIGHER PREOPERATIVE OVERALL NECK DISABILITY INDEX SCORE FOR FEMALE PATIENTS <36 YEARS OF AGE (P = 0.03). IN AN INTERGENDER, BODY MASS INDEX-SPECIFIC COMPARISON, WE ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN NECK DISABILITY INDEX PREOPERATIVE SCORE WITH NORMAL-WEIGHT MALE PATIENTS FARING WORSE THAN OVERWEIGHT MALE PATIENTS (P = 0.05). AT A RADIOLOGICAL LEVEL, WE FOUND A TENDENCY TOWARD A HIGHER HETEROTOPIC OSSIFICATION INCIDENCE IN MALE PATIENTS (62% IN MEN, 17% IN WOMEN, P = 0.06). THE FEMALE CERVICAL SPINE HAS DISTINCTIVE FEATURES, INCLUDING BONE STRUCTURE, MUSCULAR ACTION, SOFT TISSUE RESPONSE, AND GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC RESPONSE TO OSTEOARTHRITIS. CONCLUSIONS: THE INCIDENCE OF MOBILITY FAILURE IN OUR SERIES OF SINGLE-LEVEL CDA WAS LOWER IN FEMALE PATIENTS. SEVERAL GENDER-SPECIFIC FACTORS BOTH IN STATIC AND IN DYNAMIC FEATURES MAY PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SPINAL PATHOLOGY AND CDA LONG-TERM RADIOLOGICAL OUTCOME. 2022 19 642 42 BIOMARKERS OF PARTICULATE MATTER EXPOSURE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: IN RECENT YEARS, AMBIENT PARTICULATE MATTER (PM) EXPOSURE HAS BEEN STRONGLY LINKED WITH HEALTH EFFECTS. ELEVATED LEVELS OF PM IN POLLUTED AIR HAVE BEEN CORRELATED WITH THE ONSET AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE BIOMARKERS THAT COULD REFLECT THE EFFECTS OF PM EXPOSURE IN PATIENTS WITH COPD. METHODS: WE PERFORMED A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF STUDIES PUBLISHED ON BIOMARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH PM EXPOSURE IN PATIENTS WITH COPD BETWEEN JANUARY 01, 2012 AND JUNE 30, 2022 IN PUBMED/MEDLINE, EMBASE, AND COCHRANE DATABASES. STUDIES THAT INCLUDED DATA ON BIOMARKERS WITH COPD EXPOSED PM WERE ELIGIBLE FOR INCLUSION. BIOMARKERS WERE CLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS ACCORDING TO THEIR MECHANISMS. RESULTS: OF THE 105 STUDIES IDENTIFIED, 22 WERE INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY. NEARLY 50 BIOMARKERS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED IN THE STUDIES INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW, AND THE MOST STUDIED IN RELATION TO PM ARE SEVERAL INTERLEUKINS. VARIOUS MECHANISMS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY WHICH PM INDUCES AND AGGRAVATES COPD. SIX STUDIES RELATED TO OXIDATIVE STRESS, ONE RELATED TO DIRECT EFFECT OF INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEMS, 16 ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC REGULATION OF INFLAMMATION, AND TWO RELATED TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF PHYSIOLOGY AND SUSCEPTIBILITY WERE FOUND. BIOMARKERS RELATED TO THESE MECHANISMS WERE DETECTED IN SERUM, SPUTUM, URINE, EXHALED BREATH CONCENTRATION (EBC), AND SHOWED VARIOUS CORRELATIONS WITH PM IN COPD. CONCLUSIONS: VARIOUS BIOMARKERS HAVE SHOWN POTENTIAL IN PREDICTING THE EXTENT OF PM EXPOSURE IN COPD PATIENTS. FUTURE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO ESTABLISH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REGULATION TO REDUCE AIRBORNE PM, WHICH COULD BE USED TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESPIRATORY DISEASES. 2023 20 5395 33 REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE IN OLDER ADULTS WITH HIGH SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE. PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS HAVE BEEN LINKED WITH ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT WHETHER PSYCHOSOCIAL RESILIENCE FACTORS (EG, SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE) MIGHT REDUCE EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. IN THIS STUDY, WE TESTED IF OLDER ADULTS WHO EXPERIENCE HIGH LEVELS OF PURPOSE MIGHT SHOW REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. WE EVALUATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PURPOSE AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AS MEASURED BY 13 DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) "EPIGENETIC CLOCKS" ASSESSED IN 1 572 OLDER ADULTS FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY (MEAN AGE 70 YEARS). WE QUANTIFIED THE TOTAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PURPOSE AND DNAM AGE ACCELERATION AS WELL AS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THAT TOTAL ASSOCIATION MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, CHRONIC DISEASE, OTHER PSYCHOSOCIAL VARIABLES (EG, POSITIVE AFFECT), AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS (HEAVY DRINKING, SMOKING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND BODY MASS INDEX [BMI]). PURPOSE IN LIFE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION ACROSS 4 "SECOND-GENERATION" DNAM CLOCKS OPTIMIZED FOR PREDICTING HEALTH AND LONGEVITY (FALSE DISCOVERY RATE [FDR] Q < 0.0001: PHENOAGE, GRIMAGE, ZHANG EPIGENETIC MORTALITY INDEX; FDR Q < 0.05: DUNEDINPOAM). THESE ASSOCIATIONS WERE INDEPENDENT OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY ATTENUATED AFTER ADJUSTING FOR HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS (DRINKING, SMOKING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND BMI). PURPOSE SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION WITH 9 "FIRST-GENERATION" DNAM EPIGENETIC CLOCKS TRAINED ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. OLDER ADULTS WITH GREATER PURPOSE IN LIFE SHOW "YOUNGER" DNAM EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. THESE RESULTS MAY BE DUE IN PART TO ASSOCIATED DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS. RESULTS SUGGEST NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION BY ENHANCING PURPOSE AND ITS BEHAVIORAL SEQUELAE IN LATE ADULTHOOD. 2023