OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the associations of plasma carotenoid, retinol, tocopherol, and vitamin C concentrations and risk of breast cancer.
DESIGN: In a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, 1502 female incident breast cancer cases were included, with an oversampling of premenopausal (n = 582) and estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) cases (n = 462). Controls (n = 1502) were individually matched to cases by using incidence density sampling. Prediagnostic samples were analyzed for α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, retinol, α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and vitamin C. Breast cancer risk was computed according to hormone receptor status and age at diagnosis (proxy for menopausal status) by using conditional logistic regression and was further stratified by smoking status, alcohol consumption, and body mass index (BMI). All statistical tests were 2-sided.
RESULTS: In quintile 5 compared with quintile 1, α-carotene (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.98) and β-carotene (OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.65) were inversely associated with risk of ER- breast tumors. The other analytes were not statistically associated with ER- breast cancer. For estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) tumors, no statistically significant associations were found. The test for heterogeneity between ER- and ER+ tumors was statistically significant only for β-carotene (P-heterogeneity = 0.03). A higher risk of breast cancer was found for retinol in relation to ER-/progesterone receptor-negative tumors (OR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.20, 4.67; P-heterogeneity with ER+/progesterone receptor positive = 0.06). We observed no statistically significant interaction between smoking, alcohol, or BMI and all investigated plasma analytes (based on tertile distribution).
CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that higher concentrations of plasma β-carotene and α-carotene are associated with lower breast cancer risk of ER- tumors.
METHODOLOGY: After collection and purification of caprine islets with Euro-Ficoll density gradients, islets were considered for viability and functionality procedures with DTZ (dithizone) staining and GSIST (glucose-stimulated insulin secretion test) subsequently. Batches of islet were selected for immunostaining and study through confocal microscopy and flow cytometry.
RESULTS: Histological sections of caprine pancreatic islets showed that α-cells were segregated at the periphery of β-cells. In caprine islets, α- and δ-cells remarkably were intermingled with β-cells in the mantle. Such cytoarchitecture was observed in all examined caprine pancreatic islets and was also reported for the islets of other ruminants. In both small and large caprine islets (< 150 and > 150 μm in diameter, respectively), the majority of β-cells were positioned at the core and α-cells were arranged at the mantle, while some single α-cells were also observed in the islet center. We evaluated the content of β-, α-, and δ-cells by confocal microscopy (n = 35, mean ± SD; 38.01 ± 9.50%, 30.33 ± 10.11%, 2.25 ± 1.10%, respectively) and flow cytometry (n = 9, mean ± SD; 37.52 ± 9.74%, 31.72 ± 4.92%, 2.70 ± 2.81%, respectively). Our findings indicate that the caprine islets are heterogeneous in cell composition. The difference could be attributed to species-specific interaction between endocrine cells and blood.
CONCLUSIONS: Comparative studies of islet architecture may lead to better understanding of islet structure and cell type population arrangement. These results suggest the use of caprine islets as an addition to the supply of islets for diabetes research.
METHODS: From March 2010 until June 2015, 16 patients with HOCM underwent surgical correction of obstruction. The mean age was 51 years old (range, 32-72 years). All were symptomatic being New York Heart Association (NYHA) class 3 (n = 4) or 4 (n = 12). All had systolic anterior motion at echocardiogram with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). Intraventricular gradient preoperatively was 73.5 mmHg (range, 50-120 mmHg). All patients underwent a double-stage procedure: first septal resection through (i) the aortic valve and (ii) the detached anterior leaflet (AL) of the mitral valve and at second, mitral valve repair by (i) reducing PL height (leaflet resection or artificial neochordae) (ii) increasing AL height with pericardial patch.
RESULTS: There was no in-hospital or late death. All patients were Class 1 NYHA at latest follow-up. Control echocardiography showed no MR, mean rest intraventricular gradient was 15 mmHg (range, 9-18 mmHg).
CONCLUSIONS: Our good mid-term results support the concept that HOCM is not only a septal disease and that the mitral valve pathology is a key component that should be addressed. For most patients, the ideal surgical treatment should consist in a two-step procedure. It is even necessary to be studied whether treating the mitral valve alone could not suffice.