1 1943 201 EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR IN HEALING DIABETIC FOOT ULCERS: FROM GENE EXPRESSION TO TISSUE HEALING AND SYSTEMIC BIOMARKER CIRCULATION. LOWER-EXTREMITY DIABETIC ULCERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 80% OF ANNUAL WORLDWIDE NONTRAUMATIC AMPUTATIONS. EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR (EGF) REDUCTION IS ONE OF THE MOLECULAR PILLARS OF DIABETIC ULCER CHRONICITY, THUS EGF ADMINISTRATION MAY BE CONSIDERED A TYPE OF REPLACEMENT THERAPY. TOPICAL EGF AD-MINISTRATION TO IMPROVE AND SPEED WOUND HEALING BEGAN IN 1989 ON BURN PATIENTS AS PART OF AN ACUTE-HEALING THERAPY. FURTHER CLINICAL STUDIES BASED ON TOPICALLY ADMINISTERING EGF TO DIFFERENT CHRONIC WOUNDS RESULTED IN DISAPPOINTING OUT-COMES. AN ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE ON UNSUCCESSFUL CLINICAL TRIALS IDENTIFI ED A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING: (I) MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR FOUNDATIONS OF WOUND CHRONICITY AND (II) THE PHAR-MACODYNAMIC REQUISITES GOVERNING EGF INTERACTION WITH ITS RECEPTOR TO PROMOTE CELL RESPONSE. YET, EGF INTRA- AND PERILE-SIONAL INFI LTRATION WERE SHOWN TO CIRCUMVENT THE PHARMACODY-NAMIC LIMITATIONS OF TOPICAL APPLICATION. SINCE THE FI RST STUDIES, THE FOLLOWING DECADES OF BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH ON EGF THERAPY FOR PROBLEM WOUNDS HAVE SHED LIGHT ON POTENTIAL USES OF GROWTH FACTORS IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. EGF'S MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS AT BOTH LOCAL AND SYSTEMIC LEVELS ARE DIVERSE: (1) DOWNREGULATION OF GENES ENCODING INFL AMMATION MEDIATORS AND INCREASED EXPRESSION OF GENES INVOLVED IN CELL PROLIFERATION, ANGIOGENESIS AND MATRIX SECRETION; (2) EGF IN-TERVENTION POSITIVELY IMPACTS BOTH MESENCHYMAL AND EPITHELIAL CELLS, REDUCING INFL AMMATION AND STIMULATING THE RECRUITMENT OF PRECURSOR CIRCULATING CELLS THAT PROMOTE THE FORMATION OF NEW BLOOD VESSELS; (3) AT THE SUBCELLULAR LEVEL, UPREGULATION OF THE EGF RECEPTOR WITH SUBSEQUENT INTRACELLULAR TRAFFI CKING, INCLUD-ING MITOCHONDRIAL ALLOCATION ALONG WITH RESTORED MORPHOLOGY OF MULTIPLE ORGANELLES; AND (4) LOCAL EGF INFI LTRATION RESULTING IN A SYSTEMIC, ORGANISMAL REPERCUSSION, THUS CONTRIBUTING TO ATTENUATION OF CIRCULATING INFL AMMATORY AND CATABOLIC REAC-TANTS, RESTORED REDUCTION-OXIDATION BALANCE, AND DECREASED TOXIC GLYCATION PRODUCTS AND SOLUBLE APOPTOGENIC EFFECTORS. IT IS LIKELY THAT EGF TREATMENT MAY REARRANGE CRITICAL EPIGENETIC DRIVERS OF DIABETIC METABOLIC MEMORY. KEYWORDS EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR, DIABETES, DIABETES COMPLICATIONS, WOUND HEALING, DIABETIC FOOT, AMPUTATION, ULCER, CUBA. 2020 2 6742 46 WHITHER THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS (AND SCOLIOGENY) OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS? ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), IT STILL LACKS AN AGREED THEORY OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS. ONE PROBLEM MAY BE THAT AIS RESULTS NOT FROM ONE CAUSE, BUT SEVERAL THAT INTERACT WITH VARIOUS GENETIC PREDISPOSING FACTORS. THERE IS A VIEW THERE ARE TWO OTHER PATHOGENIC PROCESSES FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS NAMELY, INITIATING (OR INDUCING), AND THOSE THAT CAUSE CURVE PROGRESSION. TWIN STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS OF FAMILY AGGREGATION HAVE REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS, THAT PLACE AIS AMONG OTHER COMMON DISEASE OR COMPLEX TRAITS WITH A HIGH HERITABILITY INTERPRETED BY THE GENETIC VARIANT HYPOTHESIS OF DISEASE. WE SUMMARIZE ETIOPATHOGENETIC KNOWLEDGE OF AIS AS THEORIES OF PATHOGENESIS INCLUDING RECENT MULTIPLE CONCEPTS, AND BLOOD TESTS FOR AIS BASED ON PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS AND GENETIC VARIANTS THAT SIGNIFY DISEASE RISK. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER FOR AIS, RESEARCH WHICH HOLDS PROMISE. LIKE BRAIN RESEARCH, MOST AIS WORKERS FOCUS ON THEIR OWN CORNER AND THERE IS A NEED FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH EFFORT. EPIGENETICS, A RELATIVELY RECENT FIELD, EVALUATES FACTORS CONCERNED WITH GENE EXPRESSION IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT, DISEASE, NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) INCLUDING ADIPOSITY, AFTER A SLOW START, HAS EXPLODED IN THE LAST DECADE. NOT SO FOR AIS RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE, EXCEPT FOR MONOZYGOTIC TWIN STUDIES, THERE ARE ONLY SPORADIC REPORTS TO SUGGEST THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE AT WORK IN ETIOLOGY. HERE, WE EXAMINE EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS AS THEY MAY RELATE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NORMAL LIFE HISTORY PHASES AND AIS PATHOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH AIS IS NOT REGARDED AS AN NCD, LIKE THEM, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHOLE ORGANISM METABOLIC PHENOMENA, INCLUDING LOWER BODY MASS INDEX, LOWER CIRCULATING LEPTIN LEVELS AND OTHER SYSTEMIC DISORDERS. SOME EPIGENETIC RESEARCH APPLIED TO SILVER-RUSSELL SYNDROME AND ADIPOSITY IS EXAMINED, FROM WHICH SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONSIDERATION OF AIS EPIGENETIC RESEARCH, CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL. THE WORD SCOLIOGENY IS SUGGESTED TO INCLUDE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOMECHANISM. 2012 3 6743 48 WHITHER THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS (AND SCOLIOGENY) OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS? INCORPORATING PRESENTATIONS ON SCOLIOGENY AT THE 2012 IRSSD AND SRS MEETINGS. THIS PAPER AIMS TO INTEGRATE INTO CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF AIS CAUSATION, ETIOPATHOGENETIC INFORMATION PRESENTED AT TWO MEETINGS DURING 2012 NAMELY, THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY OF SPINAL DEFORMITIES (IRSSD) AND THE SCOLIOSIS RESEARCH SOCIETY (SRS). THE ULTIMATE HOPE IS TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OR PROGRESSION OF THE SPINAL DEFORMITY OF AIS WITH NON-INVASIVE TREATMENT, POSSIBLY MEDICAL. THIS MIGHT BE ATTAINED BY PERSONALISED POLYMECHANISTIC PREVENTIVE THERAPY TARGETING THE APPROPRIATE ETIOLOGY AND/OR ETIOPATHOGENETIC PATHWAYS, TO AVOID FUSION AND MAINTAIN SPINAL MOBILITY. ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), IT STILL LACKS AN AGREED THEORY OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS. ONE PROBLEM MAY BE THAT AIS RESULTS NOT FROM ONE CAUSE, BUT SEVERAL THAT INTERACT WITH VARIOUS GENETIC PREDISPOSING FACTORS. THERE IS A VIEW THERE ARE TWO OTHER PATHOGENIC PROCESSES FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS NAMELY, INITIATING (OR INDUCING), AND THOSE THAT CAUSE CURVE PROGRESSION. TWIN STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS OF FAMILY AGGREGATION HAVE REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS, THAT PLACE AIS AMONG OTHER COMMON DISEASE OR COMPLEX TRAITS WITH A HIGH HERITABILITY INTERPRETED BY THE GENETIC VARIANT HYPOTHESIS OF DISEASE. WE SUMMARIZE ETIOPATHOGENETIC KNOWLEDGE OF AIS AS THEORIES OF PATHOGENESIS INCLUDING RECENT MULTIPLE CONCEPTS, AND BLOOD TESTS FOR AIS BASED ON PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS AND GENETIC VARIANTS THAT SIGNIFY DISEASE RISK. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER FOR AIS, RESEARCH WHICH HOLDS PROMISE. LIKE BRAIN RESEARCH, MOST AIS WORKERS FOCUS ON THEIR OWN CORNER AND THERE IS A NEED FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH EFFORT. EPIGENETICS, A RELATIVELY RECENT FIELD, EVALUATES FACTORS CONCERNED WITH GENE EXPRESSION IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT, DISEASE, NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) INCLUDING ADIPOSITY, AFTER A SLOW START, HAS EXPLODED IN THE LAST DECADE. NOT SO FOR AIS RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE, EXCEPT FOR MONOZYGOTIC TWIN STUDIES, THERE ARE ONLY SPORADIC REPORTS TO SUGGEST THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE AT WORK IN ETIOLOGY. HERE, WE EXAMINE EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS AS THEY MAY RELATE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NORMAL LIFE HISTORY PHASES AND AIS PATHOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH AIS IS NOT REGARDED AS AN NCD, LIKE THEM, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHOLE ORGANISM METABOLIC PHENOMENA, INCLUDING LOWER BODY MASS INDEX, LOWER CIRCULATING LEPTIN LEVELS AND OTHER SYSTEMIC DISORDERS. SOME EPIGENETIC RESEARCH APPLIED TO SILVER-RUSSELL SYNDROME AND ADIPOSITY IS EXAMINED, FROM WHICH SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONSIDERATION OF AIS EPIGENETIC RESEARCH, CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL. THE WORD SCOLIOGENY IS SUGGESTED TO INCLUDE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOMECHANISM. 2013 4 1737 38 EARLY DETECTION OF ACCELERATED AGING AND CELLULAR DECLINE (AACD): A CONSENSUS STATEMENT. THE CELLULAR HALLMARKS OF ACCELERATED AGING AND THEIR CLINICAL EXPRESSION MAY BE GROUPED USING THE TERMS 'ACCELERATED AGING AND CELLULAR DECLINE' (AACD) AND/OR 'AGE-ASSOCIATED CELLULAR DECLINE'. THIS CONSTRUCT IS DESIGNED TO CAPTURE THE BIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND PREDISPOSING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGE-RELATED CONDITIONS. BY CLASSIFYING RISK FACTORS, EARLY INDICATORS, AND CLINICAL DIFFERENTIATORS OF AACD THROUGH EXPERT CONSENSUS, THIS STUDY AIMED TO IDENTIFY THE SIGNS, SYMPTOMS, AND MARKERS INDICATIVE OF AACD. IN DOING SO, THIS WORK PAVES THE WAY FOR FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AACD CONCEPT IN THE CLINICAL AND RESEARCH SETTINGS. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PANEL OF EXPERTS WITH CLINICAL AND RESEARCH EXPERTISE WAS SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN A VIRTUAL WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS AACD. A MODIFIED NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO ESTABLISH CONSENSUS AMONG THE GROUP. AN EXTENDED GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS CRITICALLY REVIEWED AN EARLY DRAFT OF THE MANUSCRIPT, AND THEIR FEEDBACK WAS THEN INCORPORATED INTO THE MODEL. EXPERTS IDENTIFIED 13 FACTORS PREDISPOSING TO OR CLINICALLY MANIFESTING AACD. AMONG THESE, CHRONIC DISEASES, OBESITY, AND UNFAVORABLE GENETIC BACKGROUND WERE CONSIDERED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT. THERE WAS A CONSENSUS THAT A GRADUAL AND NONSPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT OFTEN CHARACTERIZES AACD, MAKING ITS CLINICAL DETECTION POTENTIALLY CHALLENGING. IN ADDITION, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS MIGHT HAVE MULTIFACTORIAL CAUSES AND OVERLAPPING ORIGINS, SUCH AS GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PREDISPOSITIONS. AS A RESULT, AN INITIAL CHECKLIST WAS OUTLINED, LISTING CLINICAL FACTORS OF SPECIAL RELEVANCE (E.G., FATIGUE, LOW QUALITY OF SLEEP, AND LOW MOOD) TO REPRESENT EARLY MANIFESTATIONS OF THE ORGANISM'S EXHAUSTION, WHICH ARE ALSO FREQUENTLY NEGLECTED IN THE CLINICAL SETTING. DIFFERENTIATING AACD FROM OTHER CONDITIONS IS ESSENTIAL. THE USE OF A COMBINATION OF BIOMARKERS WAS PROPOSED AS A VIABLE METHOD IN A TWO-STEP PROCESS OF DIFFERENTIATION: 1) IDENTIFICATION OF EARLY AACD CLINICAL INDICATORS, FOLLOWED BY 2) SYMPTOM AND BIOMARKER CONFIRMATION WITH A FOCUS ON SYSTEM DOMAINS (TO BE POTENTIALLY TARGETED BY FUTURE SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS). ALTHOUGH THE AACD CONSTRUCT IS NOT YET READY FOR ROUTINE USE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, ITS OPERATIONALIZATION MAY SUPPORT THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF AGE-RELATED CONDITIONS (WHEN THIS MIGHT STILL BE AMENABLE TO REVERSION) AND ALSO ENCOURAGE PREVENTATIVE INTERVENTIONS. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED TO ESTABLISH SPECIFIC BIOMARKERS THAT CONFIRM INDEPENDENT RISK FACTORS FOR AACD AND PROVIDE A MORE DEFINITIVE STRUCTURE TO THE CONCEPT OF AACD (AND AGE-ASSOCIATED CELLULAR DECLINE). 2021 5 2900 35 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 6 6406 34 THE SEARCH FOR RELIABLE BIOMARKERS OF DISEASE IN MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL INTOLERANCES. WHILST FACING A WORLDWIDE FAST INCREASE OF FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL ALLERGIES, THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY IS ALSO CONFRONTED WITH ANOTHER INHOMOGENEOUS GROUP OF ENVIRONMENT-ASSOCIATED DISABLING CONDITIONS, INCLUDING MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY (MCS), FIBROMYALGIA, CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, ELECTRIC HYPERSENSITIVITY, AMALGAM DISEASE AND OTHERS. THESE SHARE THE FEATURES OF POLY-SYMPTOMATIC MULTI-ORGAN CUTANEOUS AND SYSTEMIC MANIFESTATIONS, WITH POSTULATED INHERITED/ACQUIRED IMPAIRED METABOLISM OF CHEMICAL/PHYSICAL/NUTRITIONAL XENOBIOTICS, TRIGGERING ADVERSE REACTIONS AT EXPOSURE LEVELS FAR BELOW TOXICOLOGICALLY-RELEVANT VALUES, OFTEN IN THE ABSENCE OF CLEAR-CUT ALLERGOLOGIC AND/OR IMMUNOLOGIC INVOLVEMENT. DUE TO THE LACK OF PROVEN PATHOGENIC MECHANISMS GENERATING MEASURABLE DISEASE BIOMARKERS, THESE ENVIRONMENTAL HYPERSENSITIVITIES ARE GENERALLY IGNORED BY SANITARY AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS, AS PSYCHOGENIC OR "MEDICALLY UNEXPLAINED SYMPTOMS". THE UNCONTROLLED APPLICATION OF DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT PROTOCOLS NOT CORRESPONDING TO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF VALIDATION, SAFETY, AND CLINICAL EFFICACY, TO A STEADILY INCREASING NUMBER OF PATIENTS DEMANDING ASSISTANCE, OCCURS IN MANY COUNTRIES IN THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES. HERE WE REVISE AVAILABLE INFORMATION SUPPORTING THE ORGANIC NATURE OF THESE CLINICAL CONDITIONS. FOLLOWING INTENSE RESEARCH ON GENE POLYMORPHISMS OF PHASE I/II DETOXIFICATION ENZYME GENES, SO FAR STATISTICALLY INCONCLUSIVE, EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC FACTORS ARE UNDER INVESTIGATION, IN PARTICULAR FREE RADICAL/ANTIOXIDANT HOMEOSTASIS DISTURBANCES. THE FINDING OF RELEVANT ALTERATIONS OF CATALASE, GLUTATHIONE-TRANSFERASE AND PEROXIDASE DETOXIFYING ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATING WITH CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF MCS, HAS RECENTLY REGISTERED SOME PROGRESS TOWARDS THE IDENTIFICATION OF RELIABLE BIOMARKERS OF DISEASE ONSET, PROGRESSION, AND TREATMENT OUTCOMES. 2011 7 3901 35 LEAD (PB) AND NEURODEVELOPMENT: A REVIEW ON EXPOSURE AND BIOMARKERS OF EFFECT (BDNF, HDL) AND SUSCEPTIBILITY. LEAD (PB) IS A UBIQUITOUS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANT AND A POTENT TOXIC COMPOUND. HUMANS ARE EXPOSED TO PB THROUGH INHALATION, INGESTION, AND SKIN CONTACT VIA FOOD, WATER, TOBACCO SMOKE, AIR, DUST, AND SOIL. PB ACCUMULATES IN BONES, BRAIN, LIVER AND KIDNEY. FETAL EXPOSURE OCCURS VIA TRANSPLACENTAL TRANSMISSION. THE MOST CRITICAL HEALTH EFFECTS ARE DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXICITY IN INFANTS AND CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS AND NEPHROTOXICITY IN ADULTS. PB EXPOSURE HAS BEEN STEADILY DECREASING OVER THE PAST DECADES, BUT THERE ARE FEW RECENT EXPOSURE DATA FROM THE GENERAL EUROPEAN POPULATION; MOREOVER, NO SAFE PB LIMIT HAS BEEN SET. SENSITIVE BIOMARKERS OF EXPOSURE, EFFECT AND SUSCEPTIBILITY, THAT RELIABLY AND TIMELY INDICATE PB-ASSOCIATED TOXICITY ARE REQUIRED TO ASSESS HUMAN EXPOSURE-HEALTH RELATIONSHIPS IN A SITUATION OF LOW TO MODERATE EXPOSURE. THEREFORE, A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW BASED ON PUBMED ENTRIES PUBLISHED BEFORE JULY 2019 THAT ADDRESSED PB EXPOSURE AND BIOMARKERS OF EFFECT AND SUSCEPTIBILITY, NEURODEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, AND TRANSCRIPTOMICS WAS CONDUCTED. FINALLY INCLUDED WERE 58 ORIGINAL PAPERS ON PB EXPOSURE AND 17 STUDIES ON BIOMARKERS. THE BIOMARKERS THAT ARE LINKED TO PB EXPOSURE AND NEURODEVELOPMENT WERE GROUPED INTO EFFECT BIOMARKERS (SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) AND SERUM/SALIVA CORTISOL), SUSCEPTIBILITY MARKERS (EPIGENETIC MARKERS AND GENE SEQUENCE VARIANTS) AND OTHER BIOMARKERS (SERUM HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (HDL), MATERNAL IRON (FE) AND CALCIUM (CA) STATUS). SERUM BDNF AND PLASMA HDL ARE POTENTIAL CANDIDATES TO BE FURTHER VALIDATED AS EFFECT MARKERS FOR ROUTINE USE IN HBM STUDIES OF PB, COMPLEMENTED BY MARKERS OF FE AND CA STATUS TO ALSO ADDRESS NUTRITIONAL INTERACTIONS RELATED TO NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. FOR SEVERAL MARKERS, A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PB-INDUCED NEURODEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY IS LIKELY. RESULTS ON BDNF ARE DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO ADVERSE OUTCOME PATHWAY (AOP) 13 ("CHRONIC BINDING OF ANTAGONIST TO N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE RECEPTORS (NMDARS) DURING BRAIN DEVELOPMENT INDUCES IMPAIRMENT OF LEARNING AND MEMORY ABILITIES") OF THE AOP-WIKI. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO VALIDATE SENSITIVE, RELIABLE, AND TIMELY EFFECT BIOMARKERS, ESPECIALLY FOR LOW TO MODERATE PB EXPOSURE SCENARIOS. 2021 8 108 24 A REVIEW OF THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF MELATONIN IN PESTICIDE-INDUCED TOXICITY. PESTICIDES ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT CHEMICALS USED IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR. HOWEVER, THEIR EXTENSIVE USE HAS POLLUTED THE ENVIRONMENT AND INCREASED HUMAN VULNERABILITY TO VARIOUS CHRONIC DISEASES. PESTICIDE EXPOSURE CAUSES GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. AREAS COVERED: THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON THE LITERATURE STUDIES CURRENTLY REPORTED ON PESTICIDE-INDUCED TOXICITY AND THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF MELATONIN. SCIENTIFIC DATABASES SUCH AS PUBMED, SCOPUS AND WEB OF SCIENCE WERE SEARCHED USING KEYWORDS 'PESTICIDE' AND 'MELATONIN' UP TO JANUARY 2016. FULL LENGTH ARTICLES RELATED TO ANIMAL AND HUMAN EXPOSURE WERE RETRIEVED. A TOTAL NUMBER OF 181 RECORDS WERE OBTAINED, AND AFTER EXCLUDING THE DUPLICATES, 97 PAPERS WERE FURTHER SCREENED ON THE BASIS OF RELEVANCE TO THE TOPIC. EXPERT OPINION: MELATONIN AS A BROAD-SPECTRUM ANTIOXIDANT IS ABLE TO PENETRATE CELLULAR COMPARTMENTS SPECIFICALLY THE MITOCHONDRIA. IT IS A POTENT FREE RADICAL SCAVENGER WITH LOW TOXICITY AND DESIRABLE SOLUBILITY IN ORGANIC AND AQUEOUS PHASES. WE ARE OF THE OPINION THAT MELATONIN IS A PROMISING AGENT IN MINIMIZING ORGAN INJURIES INDUCED BY PESTICIDES. 2017 9 3850 21 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 10 3934 46 LIVER TUMOR INDUCTION. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF NODULAR LIVER LESIONS IN RODENTS FOLLOWING THE ADMINISTRATION OF TEST AGENTS RAISES SEVERAL QUESTIONS WHICH COULD BE PLACED IN ONE OF TWO GENERAL CATEGORIES: DIAGNOSTIC AND INTERPRETATIONAL. FROM A DIAGNOSTIC POINT OF VIEW, THE PROPER CLASSIFICATION OF LIVER TUMORS INTO A BENIGN AND MALIGNANT CATEGORY HAS TO BE BASED ON THE DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN THE MORPHOLOGY AND THE BIOLOGIC BEHAVIOR OF THE LESIONS. THEREFORE, EXTREME CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN TO SEPARATE THE MALIGNANT TUMORS FROM THE BENIGN AND THE BENIGN NEOPLASIA FROM THE HYPERPLASIA. THE SUBSTITUTION OF THE TERM "NEOPLASTIC NODULE" FOR HYPERPLASTIC NODULE IN RATS IS MISLEADING. MOST OF THESE NODULES, WHEN INDUCED UNDER SPECIAL EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS, MAY REGRESS OR REMODEL AND THUS THEY ARE NOT NEOPLASTIC IN NATURE. CHRONIC CARCINOGENICITY BIOASSAYS SHOULD INCLUDE "STOP" TYPE OF TREATMENT LEAVING ENOUGH OF THE OBSERVATIONAL TIME TO ESTABLISH THE FATE OF INDUCED NODULAR LESIONS. THE INDUCTION OF HISTOCHEMICALLY CHANGED FOCI CAN SERVE ONLY AS AN INDICATION OF POTENTIAL HEPATOCARCINOGENICITY AND SHOULD NOT BE EQUATED WITH THE INDUCTION OF BONA FIDE CANCER. THE BIOLOGIC INTERPRETATION OF NODULAR LIVER LESIONS, ESPECIALLY IN MICE, NEEDS FURTHER SCRUTINY BECAUSE THESE LESIONS HAVE A TENDENCY TO DEVELOP SPONTANEOUSLY WITH HIGH INCIDENCE IN SOME STRAINS. THIS CHARACTERISTIC THEN RAISES THE QUESTION AS TO THE MECHANISM BY WHICH VARIOUS AGENTS AUGMENT AND/OR ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH TUMORS. IS THIS ACTION PRIMARILY PROMOTING OR INITIATING IN NATURE OR DOES IT REPRESENT THE INDUCTION OF TUMORS DE NOVO? THE ANSWER TO THIS DILEMMA MAY HAVE A DECISIVE BEARING ON CARCINOGENIC RISK ASSESSMENT AND THE TYPE OF REGULATORY ACTION, SINCE THE PROMOTING AGENTS POSSESS A THRESHOLD EFFECT AND THE PROMOTED CHANGES MAY REGRESS FOLLOWING WITHDRAWAL OF TREATMENT. THE INTERPRETATION OF HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BY THE FACT THAT SEVERAL FACTORS, SUCH AS SEX HORMONAL ENVIRONMENT, INCREASED MITOTIC ACTIVITY FOLLOWING AN EXCESSIVE LOSS OF PARENCHYMAL CELLS, DEGREE OF CALORIC INTAKE, ENZYMATIC COMPLEMENT, AND ANIMALS' AGE AT THE TIME OF THE EXPOSURE TO A TEST AGENT, MAY INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF LIVER TUMOR DEVELOPMENT BY MODULATING "INITIATION" AND/OR "PROMOTION" OF CARCINOGENESIS. BROAD FLUCTUATION IN THE HISTORIC INCIDENCE OF LIVER TUMORS FURTHER COMPOUNDS THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROPER BIOASSAY INTERPRETATION. THE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED EXPERIMENTS MAY HAVE THE OBJECTIVE TO EXPLORE PREDOMINANTLY THE INITIATING OR PROMOTING EFFECTS OF THE AGENT. SUCH PROTOCOLS SHOULD BE USED WHENEVER NECESSARY TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THESE TWO MECHANISMS OF ACTION. IN THE CAUCASIANS, THE "SPONTANEOUS" DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRIMARY HEPATOCELLULAR TUMORS IS RARE. THE MAJORITY OF THESE TUMORS ARE MALIGNANT AND RAPIDLY FATAL. ACCORDING TO SOME HUMAN PATHOLOGISTS, THE BENIGN VARIETY OF LIVER TUMORS IS RARE AND IT DOES NOT REPRESENT NECESSARILY A PREMALIGNANT STAGE IN TUMOR DEVELOPMENT. CARCINOMA OF THE LIVER MAY OCCUR IN INFANCY, ESPECIALLY IN MALES BEFORE THE AGE OF 2 YEARS. THIS SUGGESTS A GENETIC CAUSATION OR CARCINOGENIC EXPOSURE IN UTERO. ONE OF THE GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCES THE INCIDENCE OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA IN HUMANS IS EXPOSURE TO AFLATOXIN B(1) WHICH IS APPARENTLY POTENTIATED BY CONCURRENT LIVER CIRRHOSIS. BECAUSE MANY MORE AGENTS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE HEPATOCARCINOGENIC IN MICE AND RATS THAN IN MEN, A QUESTION ARISES AS TO THE DIRECT RELEVANCE OF RODENT STUDIES TO HUMANS. A BALANCED ASSESSMENT OF THE CARCINOGENICITY OF THE AGENT COULD ONLY BE REACHED IN CONSIDERING BOTH THE PHARMACOKINETICS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALIGNANT NEOPLASIA IN OTHER ORGANS. IN THE CASE OF POSITIVE CARCINOGENICITY ASSESSMENT, THE OUTCOME OF THE MUTAGENICITY BIOASSAYS CAN SUGGEST GENIC (GENOTOXIC) OR PARAGENIC (EPIGENETIC) MODE OF ACTION IN MAMMALIAN SYSTEMS. 1982 11 837 46 CHEMICALLY INDUCED RENAL TUBULE TUMORS IN THE LABORATORY RAT AND MOUSE: REVIEW OF THE NCI/NTP DATABASE AND CATEGORIZATION OF RENAL CARCINOGENS BASED ON MECHANISTIC INFORMATION. THE INCIDENCE OF RENAL TUBULE CARCINOGENESIS IN MALE AND FEMALE RATS OR MICE WITH 69 CHEMICALS FROM THE 513 BIOASSAYS CONDUCTED TO DATE BY THE NCI/NTP HAS BEEN COLLATED, THE CHEMICALS CATEGORIZED, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARCINOGENESIS AND RENAL TUBULE HYPERPLASIA AND EXACERBATION OF THE SPONTANEOUS, AGE-RELATED RODENT DISEASE CHRONIC PROGRESSIVE NEPHROPATHY (CPN) EXAMINED. WHERE INFORMATION ON MECHANISM OR MODE OF ACTION EXISTS, THE CHEMICALS HAVE BEEN CATEGORIZED BASED ON THEIR ABILITY TO DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY INTERACT WITH RENAL DNA, OR ON THEIR ACTIVITY VIA EPIGENETIC PATHWAYS INVOLVING EITHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT CYTOTOXICITY WITH REGENERATIVE HYPERPLASIA, OR EXACERBATION OF CPN. NINE CHEMICALS WERE IDENTIFIED AS DIRECTLY INTERACTING WITH DNA, WITH SIX OF THESE PRODUCING RENAL TUBULE TUMORS AT HIGH INCIDENCE IN RATS OF BOTH SEXES, AND IN SOME CASES ALSO IN MICE. OCHRATOXIN A WAS THE MOST POTENT COMPOUND IN THIS GROUP, PRODUCING A HIGH TUMOR INCIDENCE AT VERY LOW DOSES, OFTEN WITH METASTASIS. THREE CHEMICALS WERE DISCUSSED IN THE CONTEXT OF INDIRECT DNA DAMAGE MEDIATED BY AN OXIDATIVE FREE RADICAL MECHANISM, ONE OF THESE BEING FROM THE NTP DATABASE. A THIRD CATEGORY INCLUDED FOUR CHEMICALS THAT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE DNA DAMAGE FOLLOWING CONJUGATION WITH GLUTATHIONE AND SUBSEQUENT ENZYMATIC ACTIVATION TO A REACTIVE SPECIES, USUALLY A THIOL-CONTAINING ENTITY. TWO CHEMICALS WERE ALLOCATED INTO THE CATEGORY INVOLVING A DIRECT CYTOTOXIC ACTION ON THE RENAL TUBULE FOLLOWED BY SUSTAINED COMPENSATORY CELL PROLIFERATION, WHILE NINE WERE INCLUDED IN A GROUP WHERE THE CELL LOSS AND SUSTAINED INCREASE IN RENAL TUBULE CELL TURNOVER WERE DEPENDENT ON LYSOSOMAL ACCUMULATION OF THE MALE RAT-SPECIFIC PROTEIN, ALPHA2MU-GLOBULIN. IN A SIXTH CATEGORY, MORPHOLOGIC EVIDENCE ON TWO CHEMICALS INDICATED THAT THE RENAL TUMORS WERE A CONSEQUENCE OF EXACERBATED CPN. FOR THE REMAINING CHEMICALS, THERE WERE NO PERTINENT DATA ENABLING ASSIGNMENT TO A MECHANISTIC CATEGORY. ACCORDINGLY, THESE CHEMICALS, ACTING THROUGH AN AS YET UNKNOWN MECHANISM, WERE GROUPED AS EITHER BEING ASSOCIATED WITH AN ENHANCEMENT OF CPN (CATEGORY 7, 16 CHEMICALS), OR NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED CPN (CATEGORY 8, 4 CHEMICALS). A NINTH CATEGORY DEALT WITH 11 CHEMICALS THAT WERE REGARDED AS PRODUCING INCREASES IN RENAL TUBULE TUMORS THAT DID NOT REACH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. A 10TH CATEGORY DISCUSSED 6 CHEMICALS THAT INDUCED RENAL TUMORS IN MICE BUT NOT IN RATS, PLUS 8 CHEMICALS THAT PRODUCED A LOW INCIDENCE OF RENAL TUBULE TUMORS IN MICE THAT DID NOT REACH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. AS MORE MECHANISTIC DATA ARE GENERATED, SOME CHEMICALS WILL INEVITABLY BE PLACED IN DIFFERENT GROUPS, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM CATEGORIES 7 AND 8. A LARGE NUMBER OF CHEMICALS IN THE SERIES EXACERBATED CPN, BUT THOSE IN CATEGORY 7 ESPECIALLY MAY BE CANDIDATES FOR INCLUSION IN CATEGORY 6 WHEN FURTHER INFORMATION IS GLEANED FROM THE RELEVANT NTP STUDIES. ALSO, NEW DATA ON SPECIFIC CHEMICALS WILL PROBABLY EXPAND CATEGORY 5 AS CYTOTOXICITY AND CELL REGENERATION ARE IDENTIFIED AS OBLIGATORY STEPS IN RENAL CARCINOGENESIS IN MORE CASES. ADDITIONAL CONFIRMATORY OUTCOMES ARISING FROM THIS REVIEW ARE THAT METASTASES FROM RENAL TUBULE TUMORS, WHILE ENCOUNTERED WITH CHEMICALS CAUSING DNA DAMAGE, ARE RARE WITH THOSE ACTING THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC PATHWAY, WITH THE EXCEPTION BEING FUMONISIN B1; THAT MALE RATS AND MICE ARE GENERALLY MORE SUSCEPTIBLE THAN FEMALE RATS AND MICE TO CHEMICAL INDUCTION OF RENAL TUBULE TUMORS; AND THAT A BACKGROUND OF ATYPICAL TUBULE HYPERPLASIA IS A USEFUL INDICATOR REFLECTING A CHEMICALLY ASSOCIATED RENAL TUBULE TUMOR RESPONSE. WITH RESPECT TO RENAL TUBULE TUMORS AND HUMAN RISK ASSESSMENT, CHEMICALS IN CATEGORIES 1 AND 2, AND POSSIBLY 3, WOULD CURRENTLY BE JUDGED BY LINEAR DEFAULT METHODS; CHEMICALS IN CATEGORY 4 (AND PROBABLY SOME IN CATEGORY 3) AS EXHIBITING A THRESHOLD OF ACTIVITY WARRANTING THE BENCHMARK APPROACH; AND THOSE IN CATEGORIES 5 AND 6 AS REPRESENTING MECHANISMS THAT HAVE NO RELEVANCE FOR EXTRAPOLATION TO HUMANS. 2004 12 3304 36 HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS CHANGE DNA METHYLATION LEVELS IN HUMAN IVM OOCYTES. STUDY QUESTION: WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS ON DNA METHYLATION OF HUMAN OOCYTES? SUMMARY ANSWER: HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS ALTERED DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF PEG3 AND ADIPONECTIN IN HUMAN IN VITRO MATURATION OOCYTES. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: MATERNAL DIABETES HAS A DETRIMENTAL INFLUENCE ON OOCYTE QUALITY INCLUDING EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, AS SHOWN IN NON-HUMAN MAMMALIAN SPECIES. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: IMMATURE METAPHASE I (MI) STAGE OOCYTES OF GOOD QUALITY WERE RETRIEVED FROM PATIENTS WHO HAD NORMAL OVARIAN POTENTIAL AND WHO UNDERWENT ICSI IN THE REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE CENTER OF PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL OF ZHENGZHOU UNIVERSITY. MI OOCYTES WERE CULTURED IN MEDIUM WITH DIFFERENT GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS (CONTROL, 10 MM AND 15 MM) IN VITRO AND 48 H LATER, OOCYTES WITH FIRST POLAR BODY EXTRUSION WERE COLLECTED TO CHECK THE DNA METHYLATION LEVELS. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: MI OOCYTES UNDERWENT IN VITRO MATURATION (IVM) AT 37 DEGREES C WITH 5% MIXED GAS FOR 48 H. THEN THE MATURE OOCYTES WERE TREATED WITH BISULFITE BUFFER. TARGET SEQUENCES WERE AMPLIFIED USING NESTED OR HALF-NESTED PCR AND THE DNA METHYLATION STATUS WAS TESTED USING COMBINED BISULFITE RESTRICTION ANALYSIS (COBRA) AND BISULFITE SEQUENCING (BS). MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE FIRST POLAR BODY EXTRUSION RATE. COMPARED TO CONTROLS, THE DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF PEG3 IN HUMAN IVM OOCYTES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN 10 MM (P < 0.001) AND 15 MM (P < 0.001) CONCENTRATIONS OF GLUCOSE. BUT THE DNA METHYLATION LEVEL OF H19 WAS NOT AFFECTED BY HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS IN HUMAN IVM OOCYTES. WE ALSO FOUND THAT THERE WAS A DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION LEVELS IN THE PROMOTER OF ADIPONECTIN IN HUMAN IVM OOCYTES BETWEEN CONTROLS AND OOCYTES EXPOSED TO 10 MM GLUCOSE (P = 0.028). LARGE SCALE DATA: N/A. LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION: IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER THE ALTERATIONS ARE BENEFICIAL OR NOT FOR THE EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT AND OFFSPRING HEALTH. THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS ON THE WHOLE PROCESS OF OOCYTE MATURATION ARE STILL NOT ELUCIDATED. ANOTHER ISSUE IS THAT THE NUMBER OF OOCYTES USED IN THIS STUDY WAS LIMITED. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-GLUCOSE CONCENTRATION ON DNA METHYLATION OF HUMAN OOCYTES HAVE BEEN ELUCIDATED. OUR RESULT INDICATES THAT IN HUMANS, THE HIGH RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES IN OFFSPRING FROM DIABETIC MOTHERS MAY ORIGINATE FROM ABNORMAL DNA MODIFICATIONS IN OOCYTES. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): THIS WORK WAS SUPPORTED BY THE FUND OF NATIONAL NATURAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION OF CHINA (81401198) AND DOCTOR FOUNDATION OF QINGDAO AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY (1116008).THE AUTHORS DECLARE THAT THERE ARE NO POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RELEVANT TO THIS ARTICLE. 2018 13 5039 32 PHARMACOGENETICS OF CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT. OBJECTIVE: THE EXPERIENCE OF CHRONIC PAIN IS ONE OF THE COMMONEST REASONS INDIVIDUALS SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION, MAKING THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN A MAJOR ISSUE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE. DRUG METABOLISM AND RESPONSES ARE AFFECTED BY MANY FACTORS, WITH GENETIC VARIATIONS OFFERING ONLY A PARTIAL EXPLANATION OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S RESPONSE. THERE IS A PAUCITY OF EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF PHARMACOGENETIC TESTING IN THE CONTEXT OF PAIN MANAGEMENT. DESIGN AND METHODS: WE REVIEWED THE LITERATURE BETWEEN 2000 AND 2013, AND REFERENCES CITED THEREIN, USING VARIOUS KEYWORDS RELATED TO PAIN MANAGEMENT, PHARMACOLOGY AND PHARMACOGENETICS. RESULTS: OPIOIDS CONTINUE TO BE THE MAINSTAY OF CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT. SEVERAL NON-OPIOID BASED THERAPIES, SUCH AS TREATMENT WITH CANNABINOIDS, GENE THERAPY AND EPIGENETIC-BASED APPROACHES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR THESE PATIENTS. ADJUVANT THERAPIES WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS, BENZODIAZEPINES OR ANTICONVULSANTS CAN ALSO BE USEFUL IN MANAGING PAIN. CURRENTLY, LABORATORY MONITORING OF PAIN MANAGEMENT PATIENTS, IF PERFORMED, IS LARGELY THROUGH URINE DRUG MEASUREMENTS. CONCLUSIONS: DRUG HALF-LIFE CALCULATIONS CAN BE USED AS FUNCTIONAL MARKERS OF THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF PHARMACOGENETICS AND DRUG-DRUG INTERACTIONS. ASSESSMENT OF HALF-LIFE AND THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS MAY BE MORE USEFUL THAN GENETIC TESTING IN PREVENTING ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS TO PAIN MEDICATIONS, WHILE ENSURING EFFECTIVE ANALGESIA. DEFINITIVE, MASS SPECTROMETRY-BASED METHODS, CAPABLE OF MEASURING PARENT DRUG AND METABOLITE LEVELS, ARE THE MOST USEFUL ASSAYS FOR THIS PURPOSE. URINE DRUG MEASUREMENTS DO NOT NECESSARILY CORRELATE WITH SERUM DRUG CONCENTRATIONS OR THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS. THEREFORE, THEY ARE LIMITED IN THEIR USE IN MONITORING EFFICACY AND TOXICITY. 2014 14 1887 48 ENDOMETRIAL RECEPTIVITY IN WOMEN OF ADVANCED AGE: AN UNDERRATED FACTOR IN INFERTILITY. BACKGROUND: MODERN LIFESTYLE HAS LED TO AN INCREASE IN THE AGE AT CONCEPTION. ADVANCED AGE IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL RISK FACTORS FOR FEMALE-RELATED INFERTILITY. IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT MATERNAL AGE POSITIVELY CORRELATES WITH THE DETERIORATION OF OOCYTE QUALITY AND CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES IN OOCYTES AND EMBRYOS. THE EFFECT OF AGE ON ENDOMETRIAL FUNCTION MAY BE AN EQUALLY IMPORTANT FACTOR INFLUENCING IMPLANTATION RATE, PREGNANCY RATE, AND OVERALL FEMALE FERTILITY. HOWEVER, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW PUBLISHED STUDIES ON THIS TOPIC, SUGGESTING THAT THIS AREA HAS BEEN UNDER-EXPLORED. IMPROVING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF ENDOMETRIAL AGING FROM THE BIOLOGICAL (CELLULAR, MOLECULAR, HISTOLOGICAL) AND CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES WOULD BROADEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISKS OF AGE-RELATED FEMALE INFERTILITY. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS NARRATIVE REVIEW IS TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE EXISTING LITERATURE ON ENDOMETRIAL AGING WITH A FOCUS ON SYNTHESIZING THE EVIDENCE FOR THE IMPACT OF ENDOMETRIAL AGING ON CONCEPTION AND PREGNANCY SUCCESS. THIS WOULD PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO EXISTING GAPS IN THE CLINICAL APPLICATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS AND PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENT OPTIONS IN THIS FIELD. SEARCH METHODS: THE REVIEW WAS PREPARED USING PUBMED (MEDLINE) UNTIL FEBRUARY 2023 WITH THE KEYWORDS SUCH AS 'ENDOMETRIAL AGING', 'RECEPTIVITY', 'DECIDUALIZATION', 'HORMONE', 'SENESCENCE', 'CELLULAR', 'MOLECULAR', 'METHYLATION', 'BIOLOGICAL AGE', 'EPIGENETIC', 'OOCYTE RECIPIENT', 'OOCYTE DONATION', 'EMBRYO TRANSFER', AND 'PREGNANCY RATE'. ARTICLES IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH WERE EXCLUDED. OUTCOMES: IN THE AGING ENDOMETRIUM, ALTERATIONS OCCUR AT THE MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND HISTOLOGICAL LEVELS SUGGESTING THAT AGING HAS A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON ENDOMETRIAL BIOLOGY AND MAY IMPAIR ENDOMETRIAL RECEPTIVITY. ADDITIONALLY, ADVANCED AGE INFLUENCES CELLULAR SENESCENCE, WHICH PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE DURING THE INITIAL PHASE OF IMPLANTATION AND IS A MAJOR OBSTACLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUITABLE SENOLYTIC AGENTS FOR ENDOMETRIAL AGING. AGING IS ALSO ACCOUNTABLE FOR CHRONIC CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMAGING, WHICH EVENTUALLY CAN LEAD TO INCREASED PRO-INFLAMMATION AND TISSUE FIBROSIS. FURTHERMORE, ADVANCED AGE INFLUENCES EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN THE ENDOMETRIUM, THUS ALTERING THE RELATION BETWEEN ITS EPIGENETIC AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. THE STUDIES IN OOCYTE DONATION CYCLES TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF AGE ON ENDOMETRIAL RECEPTIVITY WITH RESPECT TO THE RATES OF IMPLANTATION, CLINICAL PREGNANCY, MISCARRIAGE, AND LIVE BIRTH HAVE REVEALED CONTRADICTORY INFERENCES INDICATING THE NEED FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ON THE MECHANISMS AND CORRESPONDING CAUSAL EFFECTS OF WOMEN'S AGE ON ENDOMETRIAL RECEPTIVITY. WIDER IMPLICATIONS: INCREASING AGE CAN BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR FEMALE INFERTILITY AND IVF FAILURES. BASED ON THE COMPLIED OBSERVATIONS AND SYNTHESIZED CONCLUSIONS IN THIS REVIEW, ADVANCED AGE HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON ENDOMETRIAL FUNCTIONING. THIS INFORMATION CAN PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH FOCUSING ON MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF AGE-RELATED CELLULAR SENESCENCE, CELLULAR COMPOSITION, AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC CHANGES IN RELATION TO ENDOMETRIAL AGING. ADDITIONALLY, FURTHER PROSPECTIVE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO EXPLORE NEWLY EMERGING THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS, SUCH AS THE SENOLYTIC AGENTS THAT CAN TARGET ENDOMETRIAL AGING WITHOUT AFFECTING DECIDUALIZATION. MOREOVER, CLINICAL TRIAL PROTOCOLS, FOCUSING ON OOCYTE DONATION CYCLES, WOULD BE BENEFICIAL IN UNDERSTANDING THE DIRECT CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF ENDOMETRIAL AGING ON PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. 2023 15 244 41 ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), ENVIRONMENT, EXPOSOME AND EPIGENETICS: A MOLECULAR PERSPECTIVE OF POSTNATAL NORMAL SPINAL GROWTH AND THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF AIS WITH CONSIDERATION OF A NETWORK APPROACH AND POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS FOR MEDICAL THERAPY. GENETIC FACTORS ARE BELIEVED TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE ETIOLOGY OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS). DISCORDANT FINDINGS FOR MONOZYGOTIC (MZ) TWINS WITH AIS SHOW THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INCLUDING DIFFERENT INTRAUTERINE ENVIRONMENTS ARE IMPORTANT IN ETIOLOGY, BUT WHAT THESE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS MAY BE IS UNKNOWN. RECENT EVIDENCE FOR COMMON CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES SUGGESTS EPIGENETIC DIFFERENCES MAY UNDERLIE MZ TWIN DISCORDANCE, AND BE THE LINK BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND PHENOTYPIC DIFFERENCES. DNA METHYLATION IS ONE IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OPERATING AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN GENOME AND ENVIRONMENT TO REGULATE PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. THE WORD EXPOSOME REFERS TO THE TOTALITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES FROM CONCEPTION ONWARDS, COMPRISING FACTORS IN EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS. THE WORD EXPOSOME IS USED HERE ALSO IN RELATION TO PHYSIOLOGIC AND ETIOPATHOGENETIC FACTORS THAT AFFECT NORMAL SPINAL GROWTH AND MAY INDUCE THE DEFORMITY OF AIS. IN NORMAL POSTNATAL SPINAL GROWTH WE PROPOSE A NEW TERM AND CONCEPT, PHYSIOLOGIC GROWTH-PLATE EXPOSOME FOR THE NORMAL PROCESSES PARTICULARLY OF THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT MAY HAVE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS ON GROWTH PLATES OF VERTEBRAE. IN AIS, WE PROPOSE A NEW TERM AND CONCEPT PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC SCOLIOGENIC EXPOSOME FOR THE ABNORMAL PROCESSES IN MOLECULAR PATHWAYS PARTICULARLY OF THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT CURRENTLY EXPRESSED AS ETIOPATHOGENETIC HYPOTHESES; THESE ARE SUGGESTED TO HAVE DEFORMING EFFECTS ON THE GROWTH PLATES OF VERTEBRAE AT CELL, TISSUE, STRUCTURE AND/OR ORGAN LEVELS THAT ARE CONSIDERED TO BE EPIGENETIC. NEW RESEARCH IS REQUIRED FOR CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION IN AIS SUBJECTS AND VERTEBRAL GROWTH PLATES EXCISED AT SURGERY. IN ADDITION, CONSIDERATION IS NEEDED FOR A POSSIBLE NETWORK APPROACH TO ETIOPATHOGENESIS BY CONSTRUCTING AIS DISEASOMES. THESE APPROACHES MAY LEAD THROUGH SCREENING, GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, BIOCHEMICAL, METABOLIC PHENOTYPES AND PHARMACOGENOMIC RESEARCH TO IDENTIFY SUSCEPTIBLE INDIVIDUALS AT RISK AND MODULATE ABNORMAL MOLECULAR PATHWAYS OF AIS. THE POTENTIAL OF EPIGENETIC-BASED MEDICAL THERAPY FOR AIS CANNOT BE ASSESSED AT PRESENT, AND MUST AWAIT NEW RESEARCH DERIVED FROM THE EVALUATION OF EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS OF SPINAL GROWTH IN HEALTH AND DEFORMITY. THE TENETS OUTLINED HERE FOR AIS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER MUSCULOSKELETAL GROWTH DISORDERS INCLUDING INFANTILE AND JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS. 2011 16 3839 33 IPSC-DERIVED NEURAL PRECURSOR CELLS: POTENTIAL FOR CELL TRANSPLANTATION THERAPY IN SPINAL CORD INJURY. A NUMBER OF STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT TRANSPLANTATION OF NEURAL PRECURSOR CELLS (NPCS) PROMOTES FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY (SCI). HOWEVER, THE NPCS HAD BEEN MOSTLY HARVESTED FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS OR FETAL TISSUE, RAISING THE ETHICAL CONCERN. YAMANAKA AND HIS COLLEAGUES ESTABLISHED INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS (IPSCS) WHICH COULD BE GENERATED FROM SOMATIC CELLS, AND THIS INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT HAS MADE RAPID PROGRESSION IN THE FIELD OF SCI REGENERATION. WE AND OTHER GROUPS SUCCEEDED IN PRODUCING NPCS FROM IPSCS, AND DEMONSTRATED BENEFICIAL EFFECTS AFTER TRANSPLANTATION FOR ANIMAL MODELS OF SCI. IN PARTICULAR, EFFICACY OF HUMAN IPSC-NPCS IN NON-HUMAN PRIMATE SCI MODELS FOSTERED MOMENTUM OF CLINICAL APPLICATION FOR SCI PATIENTS. AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER, ARTIFICIAL INDUCTION METHODS IN IPSC TECHNOLOGY CREATED ALTERNATIVE ISSUES INCLUDING GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES, AND TUMORIGENICITY AFTER TRANSPLANTATION. TO OVERCOME THESE PROBLEMS, IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO SELECT ORIGINS OF SOMATIC CELLS, USE INTEGRATION-FREE SYSTEM DURING TRANSFECTION OF REPROGRAMMING FACTORS, AND THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF IPSC-NPCS WITH RESPECT TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT. MOREOVER, SINCE MOST OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON SUBACUTE PHASE OF SCI, ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFECTIVE NPC TRANSPLANTATION SHOULD BE EVALUATED FOR CHRONIC PHASE HEREAFTER. OUR GROUP IS CURRENTLY PREPARING CLINICAL-GRADE HUMAN IPSC-NPCS, AND WILL MOVE FORWARD TOWARD CLINICAL STUDY FOR SUBACUTE SCI PATIENTS SOON IN THE NEAR FUTURE. 2018 17 5113 22 POPULATION-LEVEL IMPACTS OF PESTICIDE-INDUCED CHRONIC EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUALS DEPEND MORE ON ECOLOGY THAN TOXICOLOGY. THE CURRENT METHOD FOR ASSESSING LONG-TERM RISK OF PESTICIDES TO MAMMALS IN THE EU IS BASED ON THE INDIVIDUAL RATHER THAN THE POPULATION-LEVEL AND LACKS ECOLOGICAL REALISM. HENCE THERE IS LITTLE POSSIBILITY FOR REGULATORY AUTHORITIES TO INCREASE ECOLOGICAL REALISM AND UNDERSTANDING OF RISKS AT THE POPULATION-LEVEL. HERE WE DEMONSTRATE HOW, USING ABM MODELLING, ASSESSMENTS AT THE POPULATION-LEVEL CAN BE OBTAINED EVEN FOR A PESTICIDE WITH COMPLEX LONG-TERM EFFECTS SUCH AS EPIGENETIC TRANSMISSION OF REPRODUCTIVE DEPRESSION. BY OBJECTIVELY FITTING NONLINEAR MODELS TO THE SIMULATION OUTPUTS IT WAS POSSIBLE TO COMPARE POPULATION DEPRESSION AND RECOVERY RATES FOR A RANGE OF SCENARIOS IN WHICH TOXICITY AND EXPOSURE FACTORS WERE VARIED. THE SYSTEM WAS DIFFERENTIALLY SENSITIVE TO THE VARIOUS FACTORS, BUT VOLE ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR WERE AT LEAST AS IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF POPULATION-LEVEL EFFECTS AS TOXICOLOGY. THIS EMPHASISES THE NEED FOR GREATER FOCUS ON ANIMAL ECOLOGY IN RISK ASSESSMENTS. 2009 18 5450 30 REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY OF COMBINED EFFECTS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS ON HUMAN REPRODUCTION. CONFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL, GENETIC, AND LIFESTYLE VARIABLES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERIORATION OF HUMAN FECUNDITY. ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS OR ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS (EDCS) MAY BE FOUND IN A VARIETY OF FOODS, WATER, AIR, BEVERAGES, AND TOBACCO SMOKE. IT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS THAT A WIDE RANGE OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION. HOWEVER, EVIDENCE ON THE REPRODUCTIVE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN EXPOSURE TO ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS IS SPARSE AND/OR CONFLICTING IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. THE COMBINED TOXICOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IS A PRACTICAL METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE HAZARDS OF COCKTAILS OF CHEMICALS, CO-EXISTING IN THE ENVIRONMENT. THE CURRENT REVIEW PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF STUDIES EMPHASIZING THE COMBINED TOXICITY OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS ON HUMAN REPRODUCTION. ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER TO DISRUPT THE DIFFERENT ENDOCRINE AXES, RESULTING IN SEVERE GONADAL DYSFUNCTIONS. TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC EFFECTS HAVE ALSO BEEN INDUCED IN GERM CELLS, MOSTLY THROUGH DNA METHYLATION AND EPIMUTATIONS. SIMILARLY, AFTER ACUTE OR CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS COMBINATIONS, INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS (OS), ELEVATED ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY, DISRUPTED REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE, AND REDUCED STEROIDOGENESIS ARE OFTEN REPORTED CONSEQUENCES. THE ARTICLE ALSO DISCUSSES THE CONCENTRATION ADDITION (CA) AND INDEPENDENT ACTION (IA) PREDICTION MODELS, WHICH REVEAL THE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS SYNERGISTIC ACTIONS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS MIXTURES. MORE CRUCIALLY, THIS EVIDENCE-BASED STUDY ADDRESSES THE RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND INFORMATION GAPS, AS WELL AS PARTICULARLY PRESENTS THE FUTURE RESEARCH VIEWS ON COMBINED ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS TOXICITY ON HUMAN REPRODUCTION. 2023 19 835 34 CHEMICAL CARCINOGEN MECHANISMS OF ACTION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TESTING METHODOLOGY. CHEMICAL CARCINOGENS ARE OF TWO DISTINCT TYPES, DNA-REACTIVE AND EPIGENETIC. TESTING METHODOLOGY CAN BE DIRECTED TOWARD DETECTING EFFECTS OF BOTH TYPES OF CARCINOGEN. CARCINOGENS OF THE DNA-REACTIVE TYPE ARE DEFINED BY THE FORMATION OF COVALENTLY BOUND DNA ADDUCTS. THESE CHEMICALS HAVE STRUCTURES THAT YIELD ELECTROPHILIC REACTANTS EITHER DIRECTLY OR AFTER BIOACTIVATION. THESE AGENTS CAUSE GENOMIC ALTERATION IN THE STRUCTURE OR FUNCTION OF DNA IN THE TARGET CELL. IN ADDITION, THESE COMPOUNDS CAN EXERT OTHER CELLULAR AND TISSUE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS, SUCH AS CELL PROLIFERATION AND GROWTH PROMOTION. CARCINOGENS OF THE EPIGENETIC (PARAGENETIC) TYPE, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT REACT WITH DNA, BUT RATHER DISPLAY CELLULAR EFFECTS SUCH AS NEOPLASM GROWTH PROMOTION, CYTOTOXICITY, INHIBITION OF TISSUE GROWTH REGULATION, PEROXISOME PROLIFERATION, ENDOCRINE MODIFICATION, IMMUNOSUPPRESSION AND/OR SUSTAINED TISSUE ISCHEMIA THAT CAN BE THE BASIS FOR INCREASES IN NEOPLASIA. THEIR CHEMICAL STRUCTURE IS SUCH THAT THEY DO NOT GIVE RISE TO A REACTIVE ELECTROPHILE. THE TESTING METHODOLOGIES TO IDENTIFY EITHER TYPE FOLLOW A DECISION POINT APPROACH DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL CARCINOGENICITY AND YIELD MECHANISTIC INFORMATION ON THE PRODUCTION OF EFFECTS THAT UNDERLIE CARCINOGENICITY. IT HAS 5 STAGES FOCUSING ON THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, DNA-REACTIVITY, EPIGENETIC EFFECTS, LIMITED BIOASSAYS AND FINALLY THE APPLICATION OF THE ACCELERATED BIOASSAY (ABA). ABA REQUIRES 40 WEEKS AND APPLIES THE USE OF SENSITIVE MARKERS FOR INDUCTION OF NEOPLASIA IN COMPARISON TO POSITIVE CONTROL COMPOUNDS FOR IMPORTANT ORGANS IN HUMAN CARCINOGENESIS. IT ENABLES DATA ACQUISITION OF THE ENTIRE CARCINOGENIC PROCESS DIRECTED TOWARD DEVELOPING MECHANISTIC INFORMATION. THE ABA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REPLACE THE CHRONIC BIOASSAY IN RODENTS IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES AND CAN SERVE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO A CHRONIC BIOASSAY IN A SECOND SPECIES. 1996 20 3881 39 KETOGENIC DIETS AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: A SCOPING REVIEW OF NEUROLOGICAL OUTCOMES FROM NUTRITIONAL KETOSIS IN ANIMAL STUDIES. OBJECTIVES: KETOGENIC DIETS HAVE REPORTED EFFICACY FOR NEUROLOGICAL DYSFUNCTIONS; HOWEVER, THERE ARE LIMITED PUBLISHED HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH NUTRITIONAL KETOSIS PRODUCES THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE ANIMAL MODELS THAT REPORT VARIATIONS IN NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTION BY CHANGING FROM A STANDARD ANIMAL DIET TO A KETOGENIC DIET, SYNTHESISE THESE INTO BROAD THEMES, AND COMPARE THESE WITH MECHANISMS REPORTED AS TARGETS IN PAIN NEUROSCIENCE TO INFORM HUMAN CHRONIC PAIN TRIALS. METHODS: AN ELECTRONIC SEARCH OF SEVEN DATABASES WAS CONDUCTED IN JULY 2020. TWO INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS SCREENED STUDIES FOR ELIGIBILITY, AND DESCRIPTIVE OUTCOMES RELATING TO NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTION WERE EXTRACTED FOR A THEMATIC ANALYSIS, THEN SYNTHESISED INTO BROAD THEMES. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 170 STUDIES FROM EIGHTEEN DIFFERENT DISEASE MODELS WERE IDENTIFIED AND GROUPED INTO FOURTEEN BROAD THEMES: ALTERATIONS IN CELLULAR ENERGETICS AND METABOLISM, BIOCHEMICAL, CORTICAL EXCITABILITY, EPIGENETIC REGULATION, MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION, NEUROINFLAMMATION, NEUROPLASTICITY, NEUROPROTECTION, NEUROTRANSMITTER FUNCTION, NOCICEPTION, REDOX BALANCE, SIGNALLING PATHWAYS, SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION AND VASCULAR SUPPLY. DISCUSSION: THE MECHANISMS PRESENTED CENTRED AROUND THE REDUCTION OF INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS AS WELL AS A REDUCTION IN NERVOUS SYSTEM EXCITABILITY. GIVEN THE MULTIPLE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS PRESENTED, IT IS LIKELY THAT MANY OF THESE ARE INVOLVED SYNERGISTICALLY AND UNDERGO ADAPTIVE PROCESSES WITHIN THE HUMAN BODY, AND CONTROLLED ANIMAL MODELS THAT LIMIT THE INVESTIGATION TO A PARTICULAR PATHWAY IN ISOLATION MAY REACH DIFFERING CONCLUSIONS. ATTENTION IS REQUIRED WHEN TRANSLATING THIS INFORMATION TO HUMAN CHRONIC PAIN POPULATIONS OWING TO THE LIMITATIONS OUTLINED FROM THE ANIMAL RESEARCH. 2022