Trials have examined on the benefits of vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women.
This review aimed to evaluate whether oral vitamin D supplements, when given to pregnant women with gestational ...diabetes mellitus (GDM), would improve maternal and neonatal outcomes, compared with no treatment or placebo.
We performed a systematic review following Cochrane methodology, and randomized trials were included where pregnant women with GDM received vitamin D supplementation versus placebo/no treatment or vitamin D and calcium versus placebo/no treatment. Primary outcomes were preeclampsia, preterm birth, cesarean delivery, gestational hypertension, and adverse events related to vitamin D supplementation. The search strategies were applied to the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS, and CENTRAL. Similar outcomes in at least two trials were plotted using Review Manager 5.3 software. The quality of evidence was generated according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE).
The total of 1224 references were identified, eleven trials were potentially eligible, and six were included in this review (totaling 456 women). The meta-analysis of frequency of cesarean deliveries did not show significant differences between groups, none of the trials evaluated the remaining primary outcomes. For secondary outcomes, our results suggest that vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women with GDM may reduce newborn complications such as hyperbilirubinemia, polyhydramnios (RR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.68; RR: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.89; respectively), and the need for maternal or infant hospitalization (RR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.98; RR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.69). However, the evidence was of low or very low quality.
We did not find moderate or high quality evidence indicating that vitamin D supplementation, when compared with placebo, improves glucose metabolism, adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes related to GDM in pregnant women.
Mitochondria are key intracellular organelles involved not only in the metabolic state of the cell, but also in several cellular functions, such as proliferation, Calcium signaling, and lipid ...trafficking. Indeed, these organelles are characterized by continuous events of fission and fusion which contribute to the dynamic plasticity of their network, also strongly influenced by mitochondrial contacts with other subcellular organelles. Nevertheless, mitochondria release a major amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside eukaryotic cells, which are reported to mediate a plethora of both physiological and pathological cellular functions, such as growth and proliferation, regulation of autophagy, apoptosis, and metastasis. Therefore, targeting mitochondrial ROS could be a promising strategy to overcome and hinder the development of diseases such as cancer, where malignant cells, possessing a higher amount of ROS with respect to healthy ones, could be specifically targeted by therapeutic treatments. In this review, we collected the ultimate findings on the blended interplay among mitochondrial shaping, mitochondrial ROS, and several signaling pathways, in order to contribute to the dissection of intracellular molecular mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of eukaryotic cells, possibly improving future therapeutic approaches.
Vitamin D has several metabolic functions and possible reproductive functions. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Brazilian women of reproductive age, and to ...evaluate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D concentrations and infertility causes.
This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated data from a private Brazilian assisted reproduction center that were collected between January 1 and May 5, 2012. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured and compared for infertile and fertile women. Concentrations of 25(OH)D that were < 20 ng/mL were defined as deficiency and concentrations of 21-30 ng/mL were defined as hypovitaminosis D.
Among the 369 evaluated women, 81.1% exhibited hypovitaminosis D and 32.0% exhibited deficiency. The infertile and control patients did not exhibit any significant differences in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (30.2% vs. 35%, respectively; p = 0.33) or in the mean 25(OH)D concentrations (24.3 ± 7.9 ng/mL vs. 23.8 ± 8.7 ng/mL, respectively; p = 0.51). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the mean 25(OH)D concentrations among subgroups of patients with single infertility factors, or between these subgroups and the control group.
A high proportion of Brazilian women of reproductive age exhibited vitamin D deficiency, regardless of their fertility status. Thus, it may be useful to evaluate this population for vitamin D deficiency, although future studies are needed to determine whether this deficiency might affect the outcomes of treatments for infertility.
This study verified the diagnostic accuracy of the nutritional status classified by the international height and BMI references of the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO/2007), International ...Obesity Task Force (IOTF/2012) and MULT (2023). The data pool was composed by 22 737 subjects aged five to 16 years from the Santos and Porto Alegre surveys. A correlation matrix between the z-scores of the BMI references and the skinfold measurements was calculated through the Pearson correlation coefficient (r), and the subject’s nutritional status was classified according to the international growth references. The accuracy for diagnosing obesity was performed separately by sex and using the 95th percentile of the triceps and subscapular skinfold sum, while Lin’s concordance coefficient, Bland–Altman method and the Cohen’s Kappa coefficient (Kappa) were used to verify the concordance and reliability among the BMI references. The correlation matrix showed a high positive correlation among the BMI z-scores (r ≥ 0·99) and among the skinfold measurements (r ≥ 0·86). The prevalence of stunting was higher when applying the MULT reference (3·4 %) compared with the WHO reference (2·3 %). The Bland–Altman plots showed the lowest critical difference (CD) between the height references of WHO and MULT (CD = 0·22). Among the BMI references, the WHO obesity percentile presented lower performance than MULT for boys, presenting a lower +LR value (WHO = 6·99/MULT 18 years = 10·99; 19 years = 8·99; 20 years = 8·09) for the same −LR values (0·04). Therefore, MULT reference holds promise as a valuable tool for diagnosing childhood obesity, particularly when considering sex differences. This enhances its suitability for assessing the nutritional status of Brazilian schoolchildren.
Bioelectrical impedance is one of the most used clinical techniques to assess body composition; however, it is necessary that the available predictive equations are valid for the evaluated subjects. ...This study aimed to develop and cross-validate equations for fat-free mass (FFM) and lean soft tissue mass (LSTM) by bioelectrical impedance for Brazilian women, in addition to test the validity of other available equations.
Cross-sectional study with 222 women aged 20-59 years, randomly divided into two groups: development and cross-validation. The standard technique for assessing fat mass, FFM and LSTM was dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Paired t test, multiple regression, and Bland-Altman plots were used to test the validity of the proposed models, as well as to perform cross-validation of the models.
The equations derived in this study were: FFM = 16.284 + 0.442 × (Height
/Resistance) - 0.13 × age + 0.302 × Weight - 0.121 × Waist Circumference; r
= 0.86; SEE = 2.32 kg; and LSTM = 14.732 + 0.427 × (Height
/Resistance) - 0.125 × age + 0.291 × Weight - 0.115 × Waist Circumference; r
= 0.92; SEE = 2.29 kg. In addition, the new equation for FFM showed better agreement when compared to another equation developed for a Brazilian population.
The newly developed equations provide a valid FFM and LSTM estimation and are recommended for Brazilian women with similar characteristics.
In-band Network Telemetry (INT) is gaining traction as an advanced network monitoring approach. Despite a few recent initiatives to orchestrate the collection of in-band network statistics, ...state-of-the-art approaches fall short when it comes to efficiently collect telemetry items while subjected to real-world constraints. In this letter, we propose Probe Planning for In-Band Network Telemetry (P 2 INT) to coordinate how probing packets are generated and routed to ensure that all links are covered so that the required in-band network telemetry data is collected. We theoretically formalize the problem as a Integer Linear Programming model and propose an efficient mathematical programming-based heuristic to solve it. Our results show that P 2 INT outperforms the closest contender by a factor of up to 6x concerning the number of probing cycles generated.
The number of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantations has increased over recent years as a result of population growth, increasing life expectancy, adoption of guidelines, and ...better access to healthcare. Transvenous lead extraction (TLE), as a part of an overall lead management strategy, has also been increasing, not only as a consequence of this growth, but also because of increasing rates of infection, lead failure, awareness of indications for lead management, and development of extraction tools. Clinical research is essential for understanding efficacy and risks of TLE, which has important implications regarding decision-making and therapeutic strategies in patients who are candidates for this procedure. Data on TLE have mainly come from retrospective series, with variable reporting of endpoints. Recently, the ELECTRa registry conducted by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), has reported the largest prospective experience on lead extraction published to date in 3555 patients recruited from 19 European countries. There remain unresolved issues, which is a strong incentive for conducting further specifically-designed clinical trials to answer important questions in this area. In addition to clinical studies, national registries are potentially useful for evaluating epidemiology of TLE as well as for quality control and understanding resource implications. Standardization of definitions and reporting of parameters are paramount in order to analyse, compare, and pool data for scientific purposes. Expert consensus statements on lead extraction have been published by the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) in 2009 and 2017, and by EHRA in 2012. Experience from the ELECTRa registry has been valuable for identifying challenges faced with conducting scientific studies in this field, and provides a framework for future endeavours.
This writing group has been commissioned by EHRA to provide recommendations for designing scientific studies, reports and registries relating to lead extraction.
The field of mitochondrial ion channels has undergone a rapid development during the last three decades, due to the molecular identification of some of the channels residing in the outer and inner ...membranes. Relevant information about the function of these channels in physiological and pathological settings was gained thanks to genetic models for a few, mitochondria‐specific channels. However, many ion channels have multiple localizations within the cell, hampering a clear‐cut determination of their function by pharmacological means. The present review summarizes our current knowledge about the ins and outs of mitochondrial ion channels, with special focus on the channels that have received much attention in recent years, namely, the voltage‐dependent anion channels, the permeability transition pore (also called mitochondrial megachannel), the mitochondrial calcium uniporter and some of the inner membrane‐located potassium channels. In addition, possible strategies to overcome the difficulties of specifically targeting mitochondrial channels versus their counterparts active in other membranes are discussed, as well as the possibilities of modulating channel function by small peptides that compete for binding with protein interacting partners. Altogether, these promising tools along with large‐scale chemical screenings set up to identify new, specific channel modulators will hopefully allow us to pinpoint the actual function of most mitochondrial ion channels in the near future and to pharmacologically affect important pathologies in which they are involved, such as neurodegeneration, ischaemic damage and cancer.
Linked Articles
This article is part of a themed section on Mitochondrial Pharmacology: Featured Mechanisms and Approaches for Therapy Translation. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.22/issuetoc
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