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Archives of Toxicology May 2024Indoor air pollution is becoming a rising public health problem and is largely resulting from the burning of solid fuels and heating in households. Burning these fuels... (Review)
Review
Indoor air pollution is becoming a rising public health problem and is largely resulting from the burning of solid fuels and heating in households. Burning these fuels produces harmful compounds, such as particulate matter regarded as a major health risk, particularly affecting the onset and exacerbation of respiratory diseases. As exposure to polluted indoor air can cause DNA damage including DNA sd breaks as well as chromosomal damage, in this paper, we aim to provide an overview of the impact of indoor air pollution on DNA damage and genome stability by reviewing the scientific papers that have used the comet, micronucleus, and γ-H2AX assays. These methods are valuable tools in human biomonitoring and for studying the mechanisms of action of various pollutants, and are readily used for the assessment of primary DNA damage and genome instability induced by air pollutants by measuring different aspects of DNA and chromosomal damage. Based on our search, in selected studies (in vitro, animal models, and human biomonitoring), we found generally higher levels of DNA strand breaks and chromosomal damage due to indoor air pollutants compared to matched control or unexposed groups. In summary, our systematic review reveals the importance of the comet, micronucleus, and γ-H2AX assays as sensitive tools for the evaluation of DNA and genome damaging potential of different indoor air pollutants. Additionally, research in this particular direction is warranted since little is still known about the level of indoor air pollution in households or public buildings and its impact on genetic material. Future studies should focus on research investigating the possible impact of indoor air pollutants in complex mixtures on the genome and relate pollutants to possible health outcomes.
PubMed: 38805047
DOI: 10.1007/s00204-024-03785-4 -
European Urology Focus Sep 2023For nonazoospermic infertile men with elevated sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), it is unclear whether the use of testicular sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection... (Review)
Review
Does Testicular Sperm Improve Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Outcomes for Nonazoospermic Infertile Men with Elevated Sperm DNA Fragmentation? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
CONTEXT
For nonazoospermic infertile men with elevated sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), it is unclear whether the use of testicular sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may offer advantages over ejaculated sperm.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether ICSI outcomes (fertilisation rate, pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, and live birth rate) are better with testicular sperm than with ejaculated sperm for men with elevated SDF.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
We searched the Cochrane Central, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases (1946-2023) in February 2023 for relevant human comparative studies according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
Out of 2032 records, nine studies (more than 536 participants, mean age range 33-40.5 yr for males and 30.1-37.9 yr for females) were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled estimates demonstrated that the pregnancy rate was significantly higher with testicular than with ejaculated sperm according to a sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA)/sperm chromatin integrity test (SCIT) (odds ratio [OR] 2.51; p = 0.001) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assays (OR 3.65; p = 0.005). The live birth rate was significantly higher according to SCSA/SCIT (OR 2.59; p = 0.005). There were no significant differences in the fertilisation rate or miscarriage rate.
CONCLUSIONS
Although significant improvements in pregnancy and live birth rates were observed with testicular sperm, the strength of findings is limited by availability and quality of evidence, both of which undermine recommendations for clinical practice. Standardised randomised controlled trials are needed to definitively determine whether the use of testicular sperm improves ISCI outcomes for men with high SDF. Until such evidence exists, ICSI after testicular sperm extraction or aspiration should not be routinely performed.
PATIENT SUMMARY
Our review showed that for infertile men with a high level of DNA damage in their sperm, use of sperm extracted from the testicles may give better results than ejaculated sperm for a particular IVF (in vitro fertilisation) technique. However, there is a lack of high-quality data.
PubMed: 37709593
DOI: 10.1016/j.euf.2023.08.008 -
Complementary Therapies in Clinical... Feb 2024Breast cancer (BC) patients commonly face stress that causes severe psychological and physiological problems. The main objective of the review was to confirm the effect... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
PURPOSE
Breast cancer (BC) patients commonly face stress that causes severe psychological and physiological problems. The main objective of the review was to confirm the effect of interventions on breast cancer patients' perceived stress, and the secondary objective was to explore the impact of interventions on anxiety, depression, and inflammatory markers.
METHODS
A systematic and comprehensive search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported interventions' effects on perceived stress in breast cancer patients was performed in nine databases.
RESULTS
Twenty-four RCTs, including 1887 participants, met the inclusion criteria, summarizing six categories for the intervention group: mindfulness and yoga, exercise, cognitive-behavioral stress management, self-regulation, relaxation training, and acupuncture. Compared with usual care or other types of care, mindfulness and yoga had excellent effects against perceived stress, anxiety, and depression; self-regulation could reduce perceived stress and anxiety; exercise could reduce perceived stress; acupuncture could reduce the level of depression; mindfulness could improve the TNF-α level, and yoga can reduce the level of salivary cortisol and DNA damage.
CONCLUSION
This systematic review indicated that nondrug interventions, such as mindfulness and yoga, effectively reduce perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. Rigorous studies with large sample sizes are needed to address the limitations of small sample sizes and shortcomings in methodology in this area.
Topics: Humans; Female; Depression; Breast Neoplasms; Anxiety; Mindfulness; Stress, Psychological; Quality of Life
PubMed: 38159534
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2023.101803 -
Environmental Research Nov 2023Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging non-invasive method used in cancer treatment. In PTT, near-infrared laser light is absorbed by a chromophore and converted into... (Review)
Review
Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging non-invasive method used in cancer treatment. In PTT, near-infrared laser light is absorbed by a chromophore and converted into heat within the tumor tissue. PTT for cancer usually combines a variety of interactive plasmonic nanomaterials with laser irradiation. PTT enjoys PT agents with high conversion efficiency to convert light into heat to destroy malignant tissue. In this review, published studies concerned with the use of nanoparticles (NPs) in PTT were collected by a systematic and comprehensive search of PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus databases. Gold, silver and iron NPs were the most frequent choice in PTT. The use of surface modified NPs allowed selective delivery and led to a precise controlled increase in the local temperature. The presence of NPs during PTT can increase the reactive generation of oxygen species, damage the DNA and mitochondria, leading to cancer cell death mainly via apoptosis. Many studies recently used core-shell metal NPs, and the effects of the polymer coating or ligands targeted to specific cellular receptors in order to increase PTT efficiency were often reported. The effective parameters (NP type, size, concentration, coated polymers or attached ligands, exposure conditions, cell line or type, and cell death mechanisms) were investigated individually. With the advances in chemical synthesis technology, NPs with different shapes, sizes, and coatings can be prepared with desirable properties, to achieve multimodal cancer treatment with precision and specificity.
PubMed: 37487920
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116526 -
Environmental Research Dec 2023Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers with oxidative stress markers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are intentionally produced persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are resistant to environmental degradation. Previous in-vitro and in-vivo studies have shown that POPs can induce oxidative stress, which is linked to neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. However, findings in epidemiological studies are inconsistent and an evidence synthesis study is lacking to summarize the existing literature and explore research gaps.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the effects of PFAS, PCBs, OCPs, and PBDEs, on oxidative stress biomarkers in epidemiological studies.
METHODS
A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL to identify all published studies related to POPs and oxidative stress up to December 7, 2022. We included human observational studies reporting at least one exposure to POPs and an oxidative stress biomarker of interest. Random-effects meta-analyses on standardized regression coefficients and effect direction plots with one-tailed sign tests were used for quantitative synthesis.
RESULTS
We identified 33 studies on OCPs, 35 on PCBs, 49 on PFAS, and 12 on PBDEs. Meta-analyses revealed significant positive associations of α-HCH with protein carbonyls (0.035 [0.017, 0.054]) and of 4'4-DDE with malondialdehyde (0.121 [0.056, 0.187]), as well as a significant negative association between 2'4-DDE and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (-0.042 [-0.079, -0.004]), all β [95%CI]. Sign tests showed a significant positive association between PCBs and malondialdehyde (p = 0.03). Additionally, we found significant negative associations of OCPs with acetylcholine esterase (p = 0.02) and paraoxonase-1 (p = 0.03). However, there were inconsistent associations of OCPs with superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase.
CONCLUSIONS
Higher levels of OCPs were associated with increased levels of oxidative stress through increased pro-oxidant biomarkers involving protein oxidation, DNA damage, and lipid peroxidation, as well as decreased TAC. These findings have the potential to reveal the underlying mechanisms of POPs toxicity.
Topics: Humans; Antioxidants; Biomarkers; Environmental Pollutants; Fluorocarbons; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; Malondialdehyde; Oxidative Stress; Pesticides; Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PubMed: 37813138
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117308 -
The Science of the Total Environment May 2024Ambient particulate matter (PM) has been recognized as inducing oxidative stress, which could contribute to mitochondrial damage and dysfunction. However, studies... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Ambient particulate matter (PM) has been recognized as inducing oxidative stress, which could contribute to mitochondrial damage and dysfunction. However, studies investigating the association between ambient PM and mitochondria, particularly mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN), have yielded inconsistent results.
METHODS
We conducted comprehensive literature searches to identify observational studies published before July 17, 2023, examining the association between ambient PM exposure and mtDNA-CN. Meta-analysis using random effects model was employed to calculate the pooled effect estimates for general individual exposures, as well as for prenatal exposure with specific trimester. Additionally, the quality and level of evidence for each exposure-outcome pair was evaluated.
RESULTS
A total of 10 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The results indicated that general individual exposure to PM (β = -0.084, 95 % CI: -0.521, 0.353; I = 93 %) and PM (β = 0.035, 95 % CI: -0.129, 0.199; I = 95 %) did not significantly affect mtDNA-CN. Prenatal exposure to PM (β = 0.023, 95 % CI: -0.087, 0.133; I = 0 %) and PM (β = 0.006, 95 % CI: -0.135; 0.147; I = 51 %) were also not significantly associated with mtDNA-CN in offspring. The level of evidence for each tested exposure-outcome pair was assessed as "inadequate."
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that there is an "inadequate" strength of evidence for the association between general individual or prenatal exposure to ambient PM and mtDNA-CN. Future research necessitates studies with more rigorous design, enhanced control of confounding factors, and improved measures of exposure to substantiate our findings.
Topics: Female; Pregnancy; Humans; Particulate Matter; DNA, Mitochondrial; Air Pollution; DNA Copy Number Variations; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Mitochondria; Environmental Exposure; Air Pollutants
PubMed: 38442762
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171423 -
The Saudi Dental Journal Feb 2024This systematic review aimed to help further elucidate the following question: are endodontics sealers able to induce DNA damage in vitro or in vivo? (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
This systematic review aimed to help further elucidate the following question: are endodontics sealers able to induce DNA damage in vitro or in vivo?
METHODS
This study was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement 2020 criteria. A total of 23 studies were carefully selected by the authors.
RESULTS
Regarding the general characteristics, most studies evaluated, on average, 3-5 types of sealers (resin epoxy, salicylate, salicylate + MTA, zinc oxide-eugenol, bioceramic products, calcium hydroxide), performing comparisons between them. Our results demonstrate that endodontic sealers may be a genotoxic agent since most studies demonstrated positive findings, with the resin-based ones being the most potentially genotoxic.
CONCLUSION
The type of genotoxicity assay, material evaluated, and dilution concentration levels influenced the outcome. This study clarifies whether and to what extent endodontic sealers are capable of inducing DNA injury in oral tissues.
PubMed: 38420001
DOI: 10.1016/j.sdentj.2023.11.019 -
International Archives of Occupational... Oct 2023Nowadays, hair dye products are widely used for aesthetic purposes, in which it generates chemical exposure to customers and, mainly, hairdressers. The aim of this... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Nowadays, hair dye products are widely used for aesthetic purposes, in which it generates chemical exposure to customers and, mainly, hairdressers. The aim of this systematic review was designed to elucidate the following question: are hair dye products able to induce DNA damage in hairdressers?
METHODS
Studies were included in our analyses if they met the following criteria: (1) studies measuring genetic damage in vivo; (2) studies published in English; (3) studies that provided data clearly presented in scientific standards.
RESULTS
Full manuscripts from 13 studies were carefully selected in this setting. Our results demonstrate that hair dye products may contain chemical agents able to induce DNA strand breaks or chromosome damage since the majority of studies demonstrated positive findings for genotoxicity. A total of 7 studies (out of 13) had strong or moderate rates in the quality assessment. The type of genotoxicity assay and sample selection criteria time influenced the outcome.
CONCLUSION
In summary, our results reveal that hairdressers are occupationally exposed to genotoxic agents. Such findings are very important for protecting these professionals who are continuously exposed to chemicals for long periods.
Topics: Humans; Hair Dyes; DNA Damage
PubMed: 37486377
DOI: 10.1007/s00420-023-01999-0 -
Journal of Molecular Medicine (Berlin,... Apr 2024Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disease of the mouth. It is characterised by the appearance of painful ulcers in the oral... (Review)
Review
Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disease of the mouth. It is characterised by the appearance of painful ulcers in the oral mucosa. RAS is believed to be a multifactorial disease with genetic predisposition, environmental factors and alterations in the immune system. Oxidative stress, caused by an imbalance between free radicals and the antioxidant system, also appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of RAS. Several risk factors, such as smoking, iron and vitamin deficiency and anxiety, may contribute to the development of the disease. Understanding the underlying mechanisms may help in the prevention and treatment of RAS. We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases for articles on oxidative stress in patients with RAS from 2000 to 2023. Studies analysing oxidant and antioxidant levels in the blood and saliva of RAS patients and healthy controls were selected. Of 170 potentially eligible articles, 24 met the inclusion criteria: 11 studies on blood samples, 6 on salivary samples and 7 on both blood and salivary samples. Multiple oxidative and antioxidant markers were assessed in blood and saliva samples. Overall, statistically significant differences were found between RAS patients and healthy controls for most markers. In addition, increased oxidative DNA damage was observed in patients with RAS. Patients with RAS show elevated levels of oxidative stress compared to healthy controls, with a significant increase in oxidative markers and a significant decrease in antioxidant defences in saliva and blood samples.
Topics: Humans; Stomatitis, Aphthous; Antioxidants; Oxidative Stress; Iron
PubMed: 38376817
DOI: 10.1007/s00109-024-02434-8 -
Frontiers in Medicine 2024Essential oils from various plants have diverse therapeutic properties and are researched extensively. They have applications in medicine, aromatherapy, microbiology,... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Essential oils from various plants have diverse therapeutic properties and are researched extensively. They have applications in medicine, aromatherapy, microbiology, agriculture, livestock, and the food industry, benefiting the population.
METHODS
This systematic review followed the PRISMA verification protocol. The study focused on the anti-inflammatory effects, nutraceutical properties, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of essential oils in lemon, orange, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. We also looked at their presence in the diet, their effect, their mechanism of action on health, and the most important active compounds. The search was conducted in the PubMed database for the last 12 years of publications, including , , and online cell model tests.
RESULTS
Essential oils have been shown to have multiple health benefits, primarily due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. The mechanism of action of cinnamon oil alters bacterial membranes, modifies lipid profiles, and inhibits cell division, giving a potential benefit in protection against colitis. On the other hand, a significant improvement was observed in the diastolic pressure of patients with metabolic syndrome when supplementing them with cumin essential oil. The antimicrobial properties of coriander essential oil, especially its application in seafood like tilapia, demonstrate efficacy in improving health and resistance to bacterial infections. Cumin essential oil treats inflammation. Parsley essential oil is an antioxidant. Orange peel oil is antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and pro-oxidative. Lemon essential oil affects mouse intestinal microbiota. Thyme essential oil protects the colon against damage and DNA methylation. Carnosic acid in rosemary oil can reduce prostate cancer cell viability by modifying the endoplasmic reticulum function.
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Essential oils have many therapeutic and antiparasitic properties. They are beneficial to human health in many ways. However, to understand their potential benefits, more research is needed regarding essential oils such as coriander, parsley, rosemary, cumin, and thyme. These research gaps are relevant since they restrict understanding of the possible benefits of these crucial oils for health-related contexts.
PubMed: 38435393
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1337785