The bank robbery analogy as a first approach for understanding basic concepts of synthesis, transport, and mechanism of action of hormones.

Learning endocrine physiology can be challenging. Some physiological concepts are abstract, making the process of learning more difficult for students. The comprehension of basic concepts, such as chemical hormone classification, is essential to understand the differences in synthesis, secretion, transport, and mechanism of action of hormones. To assist the students on this subject, we developed an analogy between the basic concepts of hormone synthesis, transport, and mechanism of action and a bank robbery as a first approach to engage and stimulate their learning process. In the analogy, the students are asked to help identify and characterize two bank robbery crews based on a set of evidence collected by the police. The goal is to identify the general profile of lipid- and water-soluble hormones synthesis, transport, and mechanism of action on target cells. When applying the activity, the students showed a great deal of interest in solving the crime and they seemed to understand the similarities between the analogy and the subject.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Two endocrine bank robbery crews are being searched by the police. As an endocrine system student, you have been summoned to help the police solve the robberies.

Use of Hormone Therapy in Postmenopausal Women with Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Around two-thirds of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are women, which could be related to the depletion of female sexual hormones at menopause. The replacement of these hormones with hormone therapy (HT) to possibly decrease AD risk or treat AD patients has generated conflicting results in the literature. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to systematically review the relationship between HT use in postmenopausal women with AD and the risk of developing or treating AD symptoms. DATA SOURCES: The PubMed, LILACS, Scopus, Scielo, and Web of Science databases were searched from January 1994 to December 2020 using the descriptors 'Alzheimer Disease OR Alzheimer's Disease' and 'Hormone Replacement Therapy OR Estrogen Replacement Therapy'. STUDY SELECTION: Observational and controlled clinical trials including postmenopausal women diagnosed with AD and evaluating HT efficacy were eligible for inclusion. DATA EXTRACTION: Extracted data comprise study design, covariates, inclusion criteria for sample selection, AD diagnosis criteria, biases, HT regimen, and cognitive measurement tools used. RESULTS: Overall, 25 studies were selected. Among the 14 observational studies, 8 reported an improvement in cognitive function and a decrease in AD risk, especially in younger postmenopausal women. Five observational studies did not demonstrate any association between HT and AD, and one study reported an increase in AD risk, regardless of time of HT initiation. Of the 11 controlled clinical trials included, 7 showed an amelioration in cognitive function after HT. The remaining 4 trials saw no difference between HT and control. CONCLUSION: Both observational and controlled clinical trials had methodological issues and discrepancies in inclusion criteria and HT protocols. These inconsistencies made it difficult to establish an association between HT and AD.

Is hypovitaminosis D associated with fibromyalgia? A systematic review.

CONTEXT: Recent findings have suggested a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency in fibromyalgia (FM) patients despite the lack of clinical and pathophysiological evidence. OBJECTIVE: A systematic review was conducted to examine the association between vitamin D status and FM, including the effect of vitamin D supplementation. DATA SOURCE: PubMed, LILACS, Scopus, SciELO, Cochrane, and EMBASE were searched, from January 2000 to July 2018, using the descriptors "Fibromyalgia" and "Vitamin D." STUDY SELECTION: Trials including FM patients in whom vitamin D levels were assessed were eligible for inclusion. DATA EXTRACTION: Data comprised age, gender, country, aims, bias, diagnosis criteria, cutoff point, and status of vitamin D, together with FM symptoms and vitamin D supplementation protocol. RESULTS: A total of 26 articles were selected. Most of the studies were found to present unreliable control groups and small samples. Experimental data on vitamin D supplementation indicated improvement in certain FM symptoms. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the FM population and the cause-effect relationship were inconclusive. Nevertheless, vitamin D supplementation may be considered as a co-adjuvant in FM therapy.