3rd International Conference on Endocrinology November 02-04, 2015 Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Romeu Mendes is a Medical Doctor resident in Public Health with a PhD in Sports Sciences. He is the leader of Diabetes emMovimento®, a community-based exercise program for patients with type 2 diabetes, and is the Portuguese representative of European Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

Obesity is an important cardiovascular risk factor for metabolic-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Although waist circumference (WC) is considered the best anthropometric obesity index there is currently no consensus regarding the optimal protocol for its measurement. We compared the associations between WC measured at two different sites (midpoint waist circumference [MWC] and umbilical waist circumference [UWC]) with other obesity and central obesity indicators on a cross-sectional study that involved 94 volunteers with type 2 diabetes (46 women and 48 men; 66.32±6.32 years of age). Body mass, fat mass (FM) and trunk fat mass (FM trunk) were assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis technique (Tanita, BC-418 MA). Body height, MWC and UWC were also assessed. Pearson’s correlations were used to evaluate the associations between each of the two WC measure sites (MWC and UWC) with FM, FM trunk and body mass index (BMI). After variable analysis (MWC 97.87±10.35 cm; UWC 101.23 ±9.18 cm; FM 37.47±8.19 %; FM trunk 40.30±8.00 %; BMI 30.09±3.77 kg/m2), UWC showed better association than MWC with FM (r=0.375, p<0.001 vs. r=0.118, p=0.256), FM trunk (r=0.482, p<0.001 vs. r=0.249, p=0.016), and BMI (r=0.848, p<0.001 vs. r=0.700, p<0.001). The UWC seems to be a better anthropometric measure than MWC to assess obesity and central obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice.

Pr. Vaillancourt obtained her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Endocrinology from the University of Montreal (Canada) followed by postdoctoral studies in Psychiatry at the McGill University (Canada), and in Neurosciences at the University of Reading (UK). She is a placentologist. Over the past ten years, her research program funded by NSERC-discovery grant has allowed demonstrating a crucial role of melatonin and its receptors in placental function. Her group has shown that melatonin is highly produced in the placenta where it protects against molecular damage and cellular dysfunction arising from oxidative stress playing a protective role in pregnancy and fetal development.

Placental trophoblasts are responsible for maternal-fetal exchanges and hormonal production. Trophoblasts are classified as extravillous trophoblasts (evTB) and as villous cytotrophoblasts (vCTB, mononucleated) that differentiate into syncytiotrophoblast (STB, multinucleated). Melatonin-synthesizing enzymes and melatonin receptors (MT1, MT2) are expressed and functional in human vCTB and STB, where they inhibit hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. However, melatonin receptors in human evTB have never been studied. This study aims to characterize the melatonin receptors in evTB and to compare their subcellular localization in all trophoblast phenotypes. Placental tissues were obtained from first and third trimester pregnancies. Primary evTB were isolated from first trimester placentas and vCTB were isolated from first and third trimester placentas. Intracellular localization of receptors was determined by fluorescent immunocytochemistry. MT1 and MT2 are expressed in vCTB and STB (1st and 3rd trimester) and evCTB (1st trimester). mRNA expression of MT1 are three-fold higher in vCTB in comparison to STB and evCTB. MT2 expression is four-fold lower in STB compared to vCTB and evCTB. In extravillous trophoblast and villous cytotrophoblast, MT1 and MT2 are intracellular located and also on the membrane. Interestingly, both MT1 and MT2 co-localize with mitochondria in term vCTB. Melatonin receptors localization on mitochondria is in accordance with data showing its protection on mitochondria. Differential expression of melatonin receptors among types of trophoblasts suggests that melatonin may act through different pathways. The current employment of melatonin in clinical-trials to treat pregnancy diseases raises the necessity of better understanding of the role of mitochondrial melatonin receptor in trophoblasts.

Pr. Vaillancourt obtained her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Endocrinology from the University of Montreal (Canada) followed by postdoctoral studies in Psychiatry at the McGill University (Canada), and in Neurosciences at the University of Reading (UK). She is a placentologist. Over the past ten years, her research program funded by NSERC-discovery grant has allowed demonstrating a crucial role of melatonin and its receptors in placental function. Her group has shown that melatonin is highly produced in the placenta where it protects against molecular damage and cellular dysfunction arising from oxidative stress playing a protective role in pregnancy and fetal development.

Selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are prescribed to up to 6.2% of pregnant women. SSRIs have been associated with adverse effects on pregnancy and fetal development. However, the action of SSRIs onthe endocrine function of the feto-placental unit has not been studied. Our objective was to characterize the effect of fluoxetine, the most commonly prescribed SSRI during pregnancy, and its active metabolite, norfluoxetine, on placental aromatase (CYP19) and feto-placental steroidogenesis. A co-culture of BeWo (human villous trophoblast-like) and H295R (human fetal-like adrenocortical) cells, which we established as a representative model of feto-placental steroidogenesis, was treated with physiologically relevant concentrations (0.3, 1 and 3μM) of fluoxetine or norfluoxetine for 24 h. Fluoxetine did not affect -human chorionic gonadotropin, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, estrone, estradiol or estriol production. Norfluoxetine concentration-dependently reduced the production of estrone up to 62% and estradiol by 70% at 3 μM. In BeWo cells, fluoxetine induced CYP19 activity by 1.6- and 2.3-fold at 1 and 3 μM, respectively, whereas norfluoxetine decreased it by 54% at3 μM. In H295R cells, fluoxetine (1 μM) and norfluoxetine (3 μM) increased CYP19 activity 1.3 and 1.4-fold, respectively. The effect of citalopram, sertraline, paroxetine and venlafaxineon CYP19 activity in BeWo cells was also determined. Paroxetine induced CYP19 activity by 1.7-and 1.9-fold at 1 and 3 μM, respectively; sertraline by 2.7-fold at 1 μM; venlafaxine and citalopram had no effect. Our results indicate that SSRIs may disrupt estrogen biosynthesis in the feto-placental unit, which could have adverse effects on pregnancy and fetal development.

Vanja Vucicevic Boras obtained PhD degree in 2004 and became specialist in oral medicine in Zagreb. She attended Postdoctoral studies at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is the Head of the Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia. She has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of repute. She is author and co-author of 6 books.

Hyposalivation i.e. dry mouth might be induced by certain systemic diseases such as Sjőgren’s syndrome, sarcoidosis, irradiation of the head and neck area due to cancer therapy. However, most frequently hyposalivation is drug-induced. There are scarce data in the published literature regarding hypothyroid disease and hyposalivation. Most of the studies reported hyposalivation in these patients. Three hundred and thirty four patient charts were randomly retrieved from the year 2014 at the Department of oral medicine in Zagreb. There were 323 women and 11 men included in this study, age range 34-79 years. Eighty six patients (25.7%) had decreased salivary flow rate (measured according to Navazesh, i.e. less than 0.4 ml in one minute). Out of 86 patients with dry mouth, 19 were hypothyroid, i.e. 22%. It seems that patients with dry mouth should be screened for thyroid disease unless they do not have other common causes for dry mouth as obtained from detailed medical history such as drug intake side-effect, Sjőgren’s syndrome, irradiation of the head and neck area. As complications from hyposalivation may cause a significant disruption in speech, eating habits, social interactions and overall well-being it is of utmost importance to recognize its manifestations in the oral cavity. Furthermore, hyposalivation may lead to increased incidence of caries, sialoadenitis, gingival disturbances and Candida infections.

Eva Rahman Kabir has completed her Ph.D. in 2010 from the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. She is the Head of the Department of Pharmacy, BRAC University, a leading private university in Bangladesh. She has published more than 14 papers in reputed journals and is involved in organizing seminars and publishing newsletters at the department, apart from the usual administrative responsibilities.\r\nThe two co-authors of the paper are Monica Sharfin Rahman and Imon Rahman, both lecturers of the Department of Pharmacy, BRAC University, Dhaka.\r\n

Endocrine disruptors is an area of research that has been going on for more than a decade, although their effects have been the most discussed topic since the 1940’s. This is due to the harmful effects of endocrine disruptors which are putting at risks the developing and low lying economic countries by creating a vulnerable situation for human health. Endocrine disruptors are one of the major toxicants that cause varieties of health complications ranging primarily from disruption of the homeostasis of the hormone system to disruption of nervous system, thus affecting a major part of human body. At present, people can get exposed to endocrine disruptors everywhere, ranging from drinking water to consumer products, drugs, foodstuffs etc. An alarming feature of the endocrine disruptors is that these groups of chemicals have a high degree of stability with low degree of degradability which helps their presence in the environment for a long period of time in their original form. Thus, the hazardous effect of endocrine disruptors lies in their exposure to the environment as waste which can serve as a major concern of public health.\r\nThis paper, based on extensive literature survey, briefly studies the progress of endocrine disruptors mainly in human to provide information concerning causative substances, mechanism of action, ubiquity of effects and their important issues. It also reviews the current knowledge of the potential impacts of endocrine disruptors on human health so that the effects can be known and remedies applied for the problem as soon as possible.\r\n

António Almeida is an Assistant Lecturer at the Nursing School of Vila Real in the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal) and a researcher in CIDESD – Research Center for Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development. He holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing and he is a PhD candidate in Sports Sciences in the field of physical activity and well-being.

It is widely accepted that diabetes mellitus due to its related complications causes an important decrease in health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study aimed to analyze the influence of gender on HRQOL in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The SF-36v2 questionnaire was administered to 95 individuals with T2D (47 women and 48 men; 66.23 ± 6.34 years old) and comparisons by gender were performed for each SF-36v2 scale (physical functioning, PF; role physical, RP; bodily pain, BP; general health, GH; vitality, VT; social functioning, SF; role emotional, RE; mental health, MH) and summary scales (physical component score, PCS; mental component score, MCS). Significant differences were observed between women and men on the scales PF (65.32 ± 21.35 vs. 78.44 ± 19.92, p = 0.003), BP (58.72 ± 29.65 vs. 75.10 ± 26.35, p = 0.005), VT (57.87 ± 23.56 vs. 70.73 ± 19,24, p = 0.004), SF (79.79 ± 20.61 vs. 88.02 ± 16.50, p = 0.034), RE (75.00 ± 23,18 vs. 85.76 ±18,35, p = 0.014), MH (65.96 ± 23.38 vs. 79.00 ± 14.04, p = 0.001), and summary scales PCS (42.93 ± 9.95 vs. 47.33 ± 9.92, p = 0.034) and MCS (51.19 ± 9.65 vs. 55.03 ± 7.46, p = 0.032). Our results suggest that women with T2D report lower values than men on most of the HRQOL scales and that special attention should be given to these women\\\\\\\'s well-being needs.