Browsing by Subject "Clinical applications"

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    Does the anogenital distance change across pregnancy?
    (Elsevier, 2020-05-25) Sánchez Ferrer, María Luisa; Arense Gonzalo, Julián Jesús; Prieto Sánchez, María Teresa; Alfosea-Marhuenda, Emilia; Gómez-Carrascosa, Inmaculada; Iniesta, Miguel A.; Mendiola Olivares, Jaime; Torres Cantero, Alberto Manuel; Ciencias Sociosanitarias; Facultad de Farmacia
    Research question: Does the length of the anogenital distance (AGD), an anthropometric biomarker of fetal androgen exposure, change across pregnancy? It has been suggested that AGD remains stable during adulthood with no changes across the menstrual cycle. No studies, however, have been carried out during pregnancy, during which women are exposed to important hormonal and anthropometric variations. Design: A cohort study of 186 singleton pregnant women recruited in the first trimester of pregnancy. Measurements from the anterior clitoral surface to the upper verge of the anus (AGDAC), and from the posterior fourchette to the upper verge of the anus (AGDAF) and body mass index (BMI) were obtained in each trimester. Generalized linear model for repeated measures was carried out to assess differences in AGDs and BMI across the three trimesters of the pregnancy. Results: In crude analyses, AGDAC was progressively and significantly longer as the pregnancy developed (first trimester: 87.69 ± 13.14mm; second trimester: 89.69 ± 13.47mm; third trimester: 91.95 ± 13.25 mm; P < 0.001), whereas AGDAF did not significantly change throughout pregnancy (first trimester: 28.37 ± 6.94 mm; second trimester: 28.09 ± 7.66 mm; third trimester: 28.94 ± 6.7 mm). In the multivariable mixed-effect models for fixed effect (trimester) and time-covariate (BMI), AGDs did not show significant associations with trimesters of pregnancy when BMI was included in the model. Conclusions: Our results suggest that AGDAF and AGDAC, when adjusted by BMI, do not change throughout gestation despite maternal anthropometric variations during pregnancy. AGDAF may be a meaningful measurement at any time during pregnancy without considering BMI. Therefore, maternal AGDAF may be used as a prenatal biomarker of the mother's in-uteru hormonal exposure even during pregnancy.
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    Liquid biopsy of circulating tumor cells: From isolation, enrichment, and genome sequencing to clinical applications
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Histología e Histopatología, 2025) Tan Keqin; Zhu Hong; Ma Xuelei; Biología Celular e Histología
    Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), shed from primary tumors into the bloodstream, play a crucial role in metastasis and hold great potential in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. Conventional CTC detection using epithelial biomarkers like epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) for immunocapture overlooks mesenchymal-like CTCs with high metastatic potential, spurring the development of non-immunocapture technologies that use biophysical traits for enrichment. Innovations in microfluidic platforms and multi-parametric sorting improve isolation efficiency and address related challenges. Breakthroughs in single-cell genomic and transcriptomic sequencing enable in-depth molecular characterization of CTCs. Clinically, CTC enumeration and molecular profiling are emerging as real-time tools for assessing therapeutic response and predicting outcomes, especially in metastatic breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. This review focuses on CTC isolation, enrichment techniques, their applications in different tumors, downstream analysis progress, and potential in precision medicine
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    Optical memory effect of excised cataractous human crystalline lenses
    (Optica Publishing Group, 2023-02-01) Paniagua Diaz, Alba M.; Simón, Dulce M.; Martínez, Carmen; Moreno, Elena; Rodríguez Ródenas, Alba; Yago, Inés; Marín Sánchez, José María; Artal, Pablo; Oftalmología, Optometría, Otorrinolaringología y Anatomía Patológica
    Cataracts increase the amount of scattered light in the crystalline lens producing low-contrast retinal images and causing vision impairment. The Optical Memory Effect is a wave correlation of coherent fields, which can enable imaging through scattering media. In this work, we characterize the scattering properties of excised human crystalline lenses by measuring their optical memory effect and other objective scattering parameters, finding the relationship between them. This work has the potential to help fundus imaging techniques through cataracts as well as the non-invasive correction of vision through cataracts.