Our findings confirm that residence of rural area is associated with a significant lower prevalence of allergic sensitization and symptoms in school children. Several risk and protective factors related to environment and style of life could be identified in both environments.

Metastasis is a complex, multistep biological process, involving a multitude of genes and biomolecules. Despite the successful therapeutic management of breast cancer, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, that can control primary tumor growth, metastatic disease remains the greatest clinical challenge in oncology, as these methods are still not very effective in preventing relapses or in the management of breast cancer metastases. The knowledge of its mechanisms is still fragmentary and needs to be broadened in order to improve our therapeutic approach and influence on the long-term control of breast cancer progression. Despite the constant progress in understanding of breast cancer progression, it remains a major health problem around the world. Novel therapeutic modalities are being tested and developed, but the incidence and mortality rates are still frightening. In this paper, we review selected aspects of breast cancer metastasis, including the metastatic cascade and models of dissemination, tumor angiogenesis, disaggregation and migration of cells from the primary tumor, breaking the vascular wall, adaptation to a new environment, organotropism and dormant cells. The interactions between cancer cells and normal host cells contributing significantly to the metastatic cascade are highlighted, and a wide range of signaling and stimulating biomolecules and genes involved in the process are introduced.

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Congenital atrichia with papular lesions is a rare, recessively inherited form of hair loss characterized by a complete absence of all body hair shortly after birth. Mutations in the human ortholog of the mouse hairless (hr) gene have been implicated in the pathogenesis of this disorder. In this study, we screened, by direct sequence analysis, the hairless gene in a family of Polish descent and identified a novel missense mutation (C622G). The mutation alters the third of four invariant cysteins in the zinc-finger domain, which has high homology to the C-X-X-C-(X)17-C-X-X-C structure of the zinc-fingers of the GATA family of transcription factors. The human hairless gene encodes a putative transcription factor with restricted expression in the brain and skin, which is involved in the regulation of apoptosis during catagen remodeling in the hair cycle.

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Low-grade chronic inflammation (LGCI) and oxidative stress act as cooperative and synergistic partners in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of diseases. Polyphenols, including anthocyanins, are involved in regulating the inflammatory state and activating the endogenous antioxidant defenses. Anthocyanins’ effects on inflammatory markers are promising and may have the potential to exert an anti-inflammatory effect in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, translating these research findings into clinical practice would effectively contribute to the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. The present narrative review summarizes the results of clinical studies from the last 5 years in the context of the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative role of anthocyanins in both health and disease. There is evidence to indicate that anthocyanins supplementation in the regulation of pro-inflammatory markers among the healthy and chronic disease population. Although the inconsistencies between the result of randomized control trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses were also observed. Regarding anthocyanins’ effects on inflammatory markers, there is a need for long-term clinical trials allowing for the quantifiable progression of inflammation. The present review can help clinicians and other health care professionals understand the importance of anthocyanins use in patients with chronic diseases.

Objectives: Maintaining proper nutrition during pregnancy is crucial for pregnant women and especially for who have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) or who develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Material and methods: To measure differences in vitamin and mineral intakes among women with normal pregnancies, pregnant women with GDM, and pregnant women with pre-gestational T1DM; and to assess the women's dietary intakes in comparison with Polish nutritional guidelines. The analysis was conducted among 83 pregnant women (29 GDM patients, 26 T1DM patients and 28 normal pregnancy participants) from whom we collected seven-day 24-hour dietary records during the second part of their pregnancies. Results: There were no statistically significant differences observed for most of the vitamin and mineral intakes across the three groups. However, we did observe a significant difference in the vitamin C and calcium intakes between groups. The mean vitamin C and calcium intakes were significantly higher in the control group than among the diabetic patients. Insufficient dietary calcium intakes were found among 52.3% of the GDM patients and 61.6% of the T1DM participants, while only 28.6% of the normal pregnancy patients experienced a calcium deficiency. The highest incidence of inadequate intake in each of the GDM, T1DM and control groups was observed for vitamin D (100%, 100%, 100%), folate (97.7%, 100%, 100%), iron (97.7%, 100%, 100%), and iodine (97.7%, 92.4%, 85.7%), respectively. Conclusions: Diet alone may not be enough to provide adequate levels of vitamins and minerals for most micronutrients. Supplement use reduces the risk of inadequate intake for many micronutrients, but diet-related issues during pregnancy and pregnancy diagnosed with diabetes remain, and they deserve to be addressed during public health interventions.

Objectives: Pregnancy is a critical period during which environmental factors such as nutrition can affect development. Maintaining proper nutrition becomes even more significant when pregnant women have diabetes. The aim of this study was to measure changes in energy and macronutrient intakes among pregnant women and patients diagnosed either with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy, or, type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) before pregnancy, and to assess the pregnant women's dietary intakes in comparison with Polish Institute of Food and Nutrition nutritional guidelines. Material and methods: The analysis was conducted among 83 pregnant women (29 GDM patients, 26 T1DM patients and 28 normal pregnancy patients-the control group) from whom we gathered nutritional data during the second part of their pregnancies. Data on each woman's diet during pregnancy was collected is self-completed dietary records during seven consecutive 24-hour periods. Results: The mean macronutrient intake of the GDM patients was 32.1% fat, 19.5% protein, and 48.3% carbohydrates; in the T1DM group the results were 34.2%, 19.4% and 46.4% respectively; and in control group they were 31.8%, 17.6% and 50.5% respectively. This study showed that many of the pregnant women did not reach the recommended level of energy intake during pregnancy. Moreover, most of the women exceeded their fat requirements, and fat intake as a proportion of energy intakes also exceeded the guidelines in more than 60% of the women across all groups. Conclusions: The implications and possible causes of excessive fat intake during pregnancy and pregnancies complicated by diabetes are underestimated and undertreated by obstetricians and warrant further investigation, especially in association with gestational weight gain, maternal and fetal perinatal complications, and post-gestational diabetes.