FSH may interact with its receptors in hepatocytes and reduce LDLR levels, which subsequently attenuates the endocytosis of LDL-C, resulting in an elevated circulating LDL-C level.

Perimenopausal women are prone to the highest prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms. Sexual problems and muscle/joint pain are noticeable symptoms in postmenopausal women. Further studies are required to verify the influences of level of education, place of residence, and other factors on menopausal symptoms in Chinese women.

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There was decreased expression of fibulin-5 and LOXL1 in the uterosacral ligaments of patients with pelvic organ prolapse, while the elastin expression was equivalent, which may suggest the possibility of defects in elastic fiber remodeling in the postpartum period and contribute to POP.

Pyrethroids are a class of widely used insecticides. Female animal studies suggested that pyrethroid exposure impaired ovarian function, which resulted in similar symptoms of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). However, it is still unknown whether this association applies to women. In this case-control study, a total of 172 POI patients and 247 control women were recruited in Zhejiang, China. The urinary concentrations of metabolites of pyrethroids, 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) and 4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic acid (4-F-3-PBA), as well as the serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) were determined. The associations of pyrethroid metabolites with POI and POI-related hormones were accessed using unconditional logistic regression. Higher urinary levels of 3-PBA were significantly associated with increased risk of POI [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.344, 95% CI: 1.193-4.607 for the highest vs lowest quartile of 3-PBA, p = 0.013]. Stratified analyses showed that each log increase in urinary 3-PBA concentration was significantly associated with an induction in odds of 51.0% being in the highest quartile of FSH and 28.6% being in the highest quartile of LH levels, whereas a 25.9% reduction in odds of being in the highest quartile of AMH levels (All p for trend <0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first case-control study to report an association of pyrethroid exposure with increased risk of POI in women.

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Arecoline is a major alkaloid of areca nuts which are widely chewed by southeast Asian and it manifests various toxic effects in different organs of human and animals. In this work, mature mice were treated by vitamins C plus E, arecoline, or both daily for four weeks. The results showed that arecoline significantly increased the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and significantly decreased the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the liver tissues. Additionally, the body weight, testis weight, sperm counts, motility and normal sperms also were significantly decreased. The supplement of vitamins C and E can bring the activities of ALP and GPT to normal levels and partially restore the sperm counts compared to the arecoline-treated group but have no other positive effects. In conclusion, the vitamins C and E partially attenuated the arecoline-induced hepatotoxiciy but basically had on protective effects against the arecoline-induced testicular toxicity.

No abstract