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Cellular Communication Network Factor 2 (CCN2) is a matricellular protein implicated in cell communication and microenvironmental signaling. Overexpression of CCN2 has been documented in various cardiovascular pathologies, wherein it may exert either deleterious or protective effects depending on the pathological context, thereby suggesting that its role in the cardiovascular system is not yet fully elucidated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Ccn2 gene deletion on the progression of acute cardiac injury induced by doxorubicin (DOX), a widely utilized chemotherapeutic agent. To this end, we employed conditional knockout (KO) mice for the Ccn2 gene (CCN2-KO), which were administered DOX and compared to DOX-treated wild-type (WT) control mice. Our findings demonstrated that the ablation of CCN2 ameliorated DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction, as evidenced by improvements in ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) of the left ventricle. Furthermore, DOX-treated CCN2-KO mice exhibited a significant reduction in the gene expression and activation of oxidative stress markers (Hmox1 and Nfe2l2/NRF2) relative to DOX-treated WT controls. Additionally, the deletion of Ccn2 markedly attenuated DOX-induced cardiac fibrosis. Collectively, these results suggest that CCN2 plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of DOX-mediated cardiotoxicity by modulating oxidative stress and fibrotic pathways. These findings provide a novel avenue for future investigations to explore the therapeutic potential of targeting CCN2 in the prevention of DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several dietary approaches have been used to induce remission in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), yielding varied results. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus databases up to May 2024 to identify studies including dietary interventions for EoE used as monotherapy. Summary estimates with 95% CIs for achieving <15 eosinophils/HPF were calculated for each approach. Fixed or random effects models were used depending on heterogeneity (I2); publication bias risks were assessed using funnel plot analyses. Subgroup analyses results were compared using meta-regression. Results: Forty-three studies with 2825 patients were included in quantitative summaries. The overall rate of histologic remission was 60.6% (95% CI, 54.6–66.5%). Effectiveness rates were 94.5% (95% CI, 92.3–96.4%) for elemental diets, 63.9% (95% CI, 58.5–69.2%) for six-food elimination diets, 54.7% (95% CI, 45.7–63.6%) for four-food elimination diets, 44.3% (95% CI, 36.1–52.8%) for two-food elimination diets, 46.4% (95% CI, 40–52.9%) for one-food elimination diets, and 39.5% (95% CI, 30.3–49.2%) for allergy testing-directed food elimination diets. Overall, superior efficacy was noted in children than in adults and in retrospective compared to prospective studies. Conclusion: Diet therapy remains an effective therapeutic asset for pediatric and adult patients with EoE, with increasing efficacy noted as the levels of dietary restriction increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevalence keeps increasing worldwide. The management of these patients usually requires renal replacement therapy (RRT). However, the complexity of patients' profiles comprises a great challenge to overcome. During the last decades, CKD units have been developed to offer multidisciplinary and coordinated attention to patients, helping in the decision‐making of the RRT. Nevertheless, there is a huge variability in the performance and organization of care practice, implying an existing necessity to homogenize the RRT modality chosen. We propose a test composed of two parts: one to be completed by the medical staff (to evaluate contraindications for the different RRT techniques) and another by the patient or nursing staff (to consider patients' preferences). In this sense, it would be possible to have a common and useful tool to complement patient education in RRT, as well as sharing decision‐making in the ACKD units taking into account patient preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Caloric restriction (CR) improves insulin sensitivity and is one of the dietetic strategies most commonly used to enlarge life and to prevent aging-induced cardiovascular alterations. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible beneficial effects of caloric restriction (CR) preventing the aging-induced insulin resistance in the heart of male Wistar rats.Methods and Results: Three experimental groups were used: 3 months old rats (3m), 24 months old rats (24m) and 24 months old rats subjected to 20% CR during their three last months of life (24m-CR). After sacrifice hearts were mounted in a perfusion system (Langendorff) and heart function in basal conditions and in response to accumulative doses of insulin (10-9-10-7 M), in the presence or absence of Wortmannin (10-6 M), was recorded. CR did not attenuate the aging-induced decrease in coronary artery vasodilation in response to insulin administration, but it prevented the aging-induced downregulation of cardiac contractility (dp/dt) through activation of the PI3K/Akt intracellular pathway. Insulin stimulated in a greater extent the PI3K/Akt pathway vs the activation of the MAPK pathway and increased the protein expression of IR, GLUT-4 and eNOS in the hearts of 3m and 24m-CR rats, but not in the hearts of 24m rats. Furthermore, CR prevented the aging induced increase in endothelin-1 protein expression in myocardial tissue.Conclusion: In conclusion CR partially improves cardiac insulin sensitivity and prevents the aging induced decrease in myocardial contractility in response to insulin administration through activation of PI3K/Akt pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cellular communication network factor 2 (CCN2/CTGF) has been traditionally described as a mediator of the fibrotic responses induced by other factors including the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). However, several studies have defined a direct role of CCN2 acting as a growth factor inducing oxidative and proinflammatory responses. The presence of CCN2 and TGF-β together in the cellular context has been described as a requisite to induce a persistent fibrotic response, but the precise mechanisms implicated in this relation are not described yet. Considering the main role of TGF-β receptors (TβR) in the TGF-β pathway activation, our aim was to investigate the effects of CCN2 in the regulation of TβRI and TβRII levels in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). While no differences were observed in TβRI levels, an increase in TβRII expression at both gene and protein level were found 48 h after stimulation with the C-terminal fragment of CCN2 (CCN2(IV)). Cell pretreatment with a TβRI inhibitor did not modify TβRII increment induced by CCN2(VI), demonstrating a TGF-β-independent response. Secondly, CCN2(IV) rapidly activated the SMAD pathway in VSMCs, this being crucial in the upregulation of TβRII since the preincubation with an SMAD3 inhibitor prevented it. Similarly, pretreatment with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor erlotinib abolished TβRII upregulation, indicating the participation of this receptor in the observed responses. Our findings suggest a direct role of CCN2 maintaining the TGF-β pathway activation by increasing TβRII expression in an EGFR-SMAD dependent manner activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sex education is essential for an accurate approach of sexuality in adolescents, being more effective when it is carried out at early ages. This study aimed to estimate the sexual health knowledge and the information in this regard perceived by adolescents, as well as where it came from., Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was performed in students from two public high schools in Castilla-La Mancha who were surveyed about sexual knowledge. Comparisons were made by using the Student's t test or Mann Whitney U test, the Chi-square test (or Fisher's exact test) depending on the variables., Results: 248 students were included (68.1% from Madridejos and 31.9% from Herencia) with a mean age of 14.67±1.1 years. The 47.2% were women. Only 4.8% of the participants affirm to talk about sexuality with their parents. The 56% declared had consumed pornographic content, with a mean first access age of 12.8±1 years. Significant statistically differences were found between the information received in schools and in the familiar surroundings, being alcohol and drug intake, sexually transmitted infections (STI), and contraceptive methods more frequently treated at the educational centers. A 25% of the surveyed students who reported having performed sexual relations stated not having used condom. Approximately, half of the participants did not perceive a high risk of getting STIs (HIV, herpes and chlamydia) in the case of having sex without condom., Conclusions: There is a lack of sexual knowledge in adolescents, perceiving a noteworthy heterogeneity in the offered information depending on it is received in high school or in familiar surroundings.

Aortic aneurysms (AAs) are a major public health challenge, featured by a progressive impairs in aortic wall integrity that drives to aortic dilation and, in end stage, to its rupture. Despite important advances in the surgical treatment of aortic aneurysms, there is currently no pharmacological intervention that prevents their development, reduces their expansion, or avoids their rupture. In addition to classic risk factors such age or gender, several heritable connective tissue disorders have been associated with AA developing, highlighting the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes alterations in the developing of AA. In this sense, we have recently demonstrated that global deletion of the cellular communicating network factor 2 (CCN2), previously known as connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) due to its role in the extracellular matrix formation, predisposes to early and lethal AAs development after Angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion in mice. Here, we detail the protocol to induce and detect AAs generation in inducible global CCN2 knockout mice after Ang II infusion which allow the characterization of CCN role in AA development and may help to the development of pharmacological target for AA treatment., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.)

Objective: The study of the evolution of certain biomarkers in patients with persistent detection of SARS-CoV-2 could determine the profile of the pathology that these patients may suffer. The objective of this study was to describe the evolution of different laboratory markers in patients with persistent detection of SARS-CoV-2, and determining these parameters were into reference values., Methods: Patients were divided into two groups: the control group (G0) included patients with a positive direct test for SARS-CoV-2 followed by 2 negative, while the problem group (G1) included patients with at least 3 consecutive positive tests. The time between consecutive samples was five to twenty days, and only patients with negative serology were included. Demographic data, comorbidities, symptoms, radiology and hospitalization were collected, as well as data from analytic and blood gases. The comparison between the study groups was realized using the t-student and U Mann-Whitney test for quantitative variables, and the χ2 test for qualitative variables. Results with p<0.05 were taken as significant., Results: Ninety patients were included, thirty-eight in G0 and fifty-two in G1. D-dimer decreased 10.20 times more in G0 patients, and normal levels of this parameter at t1 were 1.46 times more frequent in these patients. The percentage of lymphocytes increased sixteen times more in G0, and the normal values in t1 were 10.40 times more common in these patients. C-reactive protein decreased significantly in both groups, and lactate increased more in G1 patients., Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that some biomarkers evolve differently in patients with persistent detection of SARS-CoV-2, which may have significant clinical impact. This information could help to determine the main organs or systems affected, allowing to anticipate socio-sanitary measures to prevent or compensate these alterations., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Objective: During lasts years, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have boomed up, as well as their related- harmful behaviours. Parallel, time and quality of sleep has reduced along current society, which implies negatively in health in medium and long-terms. The present study aims to evaluate the association between lifestyle habits and quality of sleep of a subpopulation of young students., Methods: An observational transversal study has been performed in Certificate of Medium and Higher Education from a High school of Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real, Spain), who filled up a survey related to their lifestyle habits and the use of ICTs. Furthermore, the survey also included several variables related to quality of sleep by using Pittsburgh test. Bivariate comparisons using student test or Mann-Whitney U test, or Chi-square or exact test depending on the variable were performed. Afterwards, logistic regression was also done., Results: The study sample were 286 students (43.4% women) were included being 22.2±7.3 years old on average. 99.7% of them owned mobile phone, using it 42 hours per week. Average total score of Pittsburgh test was 6.4±3.5, being higher in women (7.36±3.8) than in men (5.62±3.1). Moreover, 51.7% of surveyed students suffered from sleep disorders, being associated to several risk factors, such us using mobile phone while lying and without light (OR=2.04; CI95% [1.12-3.73]), using mobile phone in the middle of the night (OR=1.9; CI95% [1.06-3.42]) and drinking and smoking (OR=2.28; CI95% [1.14-4.55]). On the other hand, practising sports was defined as protector factor (OR=0.43; CI95% [0.26-0.72])., Conclusions: More than half of surveyed suffer from sleep disorders, mainly derived from the inadequate use of ICTs, showing differences between genders., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.