Sleep management can play an important role in the management of Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in women, says research done by Dr Malini Laloraya, Scientist G, Female Reproduction and Metabolic Syndromes Laboratory, Division of Molecular Reproduction, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram.
She spoke on “Science towards Healthy woman: a critical step to reproductive empowerment for sustainable development,” at a plenary session during the 108th Indian Science Congress here today. Prof. (Dr.) Premendu P. Mathur, Vice Chancellor, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, chaired the plenary session on the theme “Advances in Endocrine and Cancer Biology.”
Dr. Laloraya said that women’s health is key to sustainable development. A women’s health during her life affects her role in the society and access to education. The emphasiscurrently is on maternal health and infectious diseases of women. There is a need to address the budding epidemic of non-communicable diseases of women.
Implantation failure and Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) are non-communicable disease which affects women of reproductive age and results in infertility. PCOS is an endocrine disorder characterized by irregular and inconsistent menstrual blood flow, increased blood levels of androgens polycystic ovaries due to irregular menstruation or non-release of eggs from the ovary during the menstrual cycle.
In addition to the classical neuroendocrine alteration, insulinresistance is also suggested to play a crucial role in its pathogenesis. PCOS is classified as a metabolic syndrome and aptly called a disorder where ‘endocrinology meets diabetes’. The global prevalence of PCOS is 2-12%, and alarmingly India stands at a whopping 22% making it the PCOS capital of the world.
Dr. Laloraya said changing lifestyle and environmental scenario are a major contributor to the increased disease burden. The late consequences of the impact of PCOS areincreased infertility, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Comorbidities associated with PCOS like sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea, depression are thought to involve in disruption of circadian system.
She discussed her findings on misalignment of the circadian system in PCOS. The circadian clock (sleep-wake cycle of 24 hours) executes its function through clock genes which interact with each other and form auto regulatory positive and negative feedback loops. “Our findings reveal a decrease in core clock genes and upregulation of the genes involved in the negative feedback loop. The functional impact of the alteration of clock genes on hyperandrogenism (increased blood levels of androgens) is a key aspect of PCOS pathogenesis.”
The findings establish that an impaired circadian clock hinders peripheral steroid metabolism in PCOS women. “Our work suggests the need to include sleep management in PCOS women as an important therapeutic strategy for PCOS women. It also emphasizes the need to create government policy on night shift work,” she said.
Dr Shahid Umar, Professor and Vice Chair of Research, Department of Surgery, University of Kansas Medical Center, spoke on “Microbes as Drivers of Chronic Inflammation: The Link to Cancer.”
He said, colorectal cancer (CRC) develops near microbial communities which are physically separated from immune cells by an epithelial barrier. Pro-tumor Inflammation is an emerging area of cancer research. When inflammation is unregulated within the tumor’s microenvironment, it can become chronic, creating conditions which can help cancer grow and thrive.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a multifactorial disorder that conceptually occurs as a result of altered immune responses to commensal and/or pathogenic gut microbes in individuals most susceptible to the disease. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at elevated risk of CRC Owing to the relationship between inflammation and tumor, harnessing inflammation appears to be an important approach for a more efficient anti-cancer treatment. “Thus, we provide an update on the association of the gut microbiome with the therapeutic response to immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, cancer surgery, and more, while also contextualizing possible synergistic strategies with the microbiome for tackling CAC or other challenging tumors,” he said. Dr. Shahid Umar also provided insights on contemporary methods that target the microbiotaand the current progression of findings being translated from “bench to bedside.”
Prof Suresh Yenugu, Professor, Department of Animal Biology, University of Hyderabad, spoke on “Identification and functional characterization of Uroplakins in the male reproductive tract.”
He said, Uroplakins (UPKs) form physical and chemical barriers in the bladder and other urinary tract tissues.
Earlier, Dr. Shraddha Shirbhate from RTMNU’s Department of Physics welcomed the guests.
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