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Background: Cannabis is a plant that possesses psychoactive properties and contains approximately 500 active substances, including more than 100 cannabinoids. THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (Cannabidiol) are the best known. Cannabinoids are used to treat a number of disorders. Aim of the study: Learn about medical students' knowledge of medicinal cannabinoids. Material and methods: A total of 240 medical students from the University of Technology and Humanities in Radom were surveyed. In this study, the method of diagnostic interviewing used was auditory interviewing. The author's questionnaire was used as the research tool. IBM SPSS Statistics package version 26 performed statistical analysis of key descriptive statistics. Student's t-test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Spearman's rho test, ANOVA, and post hoc Tukey test were applied. Results: The average level of knowledge about the application of medicinal cannabinoids was 44.24, deviating by +/- 4.40. The students of medical programs have a knowledge significantly larger than physical therapy students, whereas nursing students are not different in this respect from either medicine or physical therapy students. Conclusions: Medical students do not have sufficient knowledge about the application of medicinal cannabinoids. The introduction of this subject matter to undergraduate programs seems reasonable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Oncological patients, subject to strong emotions, may find it difficult to critically evaluate the information they receive on the effectiveness of the treatment offered, and therefore are susceptible to alternative methods, often abandoning the therapy recommended by a physician. The aim of this study was to analyze the way information is communicated to cancer patients by people promoting an alternative therapy, the use of intravenous infusions of vitamin C. Material and methods. The research technique consisted of structured individual interviews conducted with Jerzy Zięba M.Eng. -- author of the books: Hidden Therapies "What a doctor won't tell you" part. 1 and 2, and with Dr Agnieszka Jagiełło-Gruszfeld -- a clinician from the Warsaw Oncology Centre. The study was expanded by a review of the scientific literature on vitamin C therapy and factors influencing the behavior of patients with diagnosed cancer, including the sources of information they use. Results. There is a significant disproportion in the assessment of the effectiveness of vitamin C treatment made by people promoting alternative medicine and clinicians. Visible differences relate to the level of objectivity, legibility, as well as the frequency of information provided about unconventional cancer treatment methods. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate the need to increase the availability of information provided directly by physicians about the dangers of inappropriate treatments for cancer patients. In diagnostic and treatment procedures it is important to be aware of the consequences of a specific method and the quality of the conversation between the physician and the patient about alternative therapies, as it may determine the patient's decision to choose a treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estrogens belong to a group of sex hormones, which have been shown to act in multidirectional way. Estrogenic effects are mediated by two types of intracellular receptors: estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2). There are two basic mechanisms of estrogen action: 1) classical-genomic, in which the ligand-receptor complex acts as a transcriptional factor and 2) a nongenomic one, which is still not fully understood, but has been seen to lead to distinct biological effects, depending on tissue and ligand type. It is postulated that nongenomic effects may be associated with membrane signaling and the presence of classical nuclear receptors within the cell membrane. Estrogens act in a multidirectional way also within cell organelles. It is assumed that there is a mechanism which manages the migration of ESR into the mitochondrial membrane, wherein the exogenous estrogen affect the morphology of mitochondria. Estrogen, through its receptor, can directly modulate mitochondrial gene expression. Moreover, by regulating the level of reactive oxygen species, estrogens affect the biology of mitochondria. The considerations presented in this paper indicate the pleiotropic effects of estrogens, which represent a multidirectional pathway of signal transduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and 2 (ESR2) play an important role in regulating fertility in the human reproductive system. Polymorphisms of these receptor genes have been implicated in male infertility in both Chinese and Caucasian populations. However, studies have produced inconsistent results. Spermatozoa defects that result in conception deficiencies could be related to estrogens, their receptors, or genes involved in estrogen-related pathways. This study aims to explore the potential association between the ESR1 and the ESR2 polymorphisms in relation to semen parameters of Caucasian males as well as fertilization success. A total of 116 males were included in this study. Forty couples underwent conventional in vitro fertilization, while 76 couples were treated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Standard semen analyses were performed according to the World Health Organization criteria. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms were used to determine genotype and allele distributions. A strong association between the ESR1 rs2234693 recognized by PvuII enzyme, genotype/allele distribution and fertilization success was shown. The T allele occurrence was significantly lower in the case of fertilization failure (p = 0.02). Additionally, the TT genotype was absent in the same group (p=0.02). In the case of the remaining analyzed polymorphisms, little to no interdependence of genotype/allele distribution and fertilization success was noted. Apart from ESR1 rs2234693, the study failed to demonstrate that fertilization success was associated with the selected polymorphisms. In most cases, we did not discover a relationship between both estrogen receptors polymorphisms and sperm function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and 2 (ESR2) play an important role in regulating fertility in the human reproductive system. Polymorphisms of these receptor genes have been implicated in male infertility in both Chinese and Caucasian populations. However, studies have produced inconsistent results. Spermatozoa defects that result in conception deficiencies could be related to estrogens, their receptors, or genes involved in estrogen-related pathways. This study aims to explore the potential association between the ESR1 and the ESR2 polymorphisms in relation to semen parameters of Caucasian males as well as fertilization success. A total of 116 males were included in this study. Forty couples underwent conventional in vitro fertilization, while 76 couples were treated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Standard semen analyses were performed according to the World Health Organization criteria. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms were used to determine genotype and allele distributions. A strong association between the ESR1 rs2234693 recognized by PvuII enzyme, genotype/allele distribution and fertilization success was shown. The T allele occurrence was significantly lower in the case of fertilization failure (p = 0.02). Additionally, the TT genotype was absent in the same group (p=0.02). In the case of the remaining analyzed polymorphisms, little to no interdependence of genotype/allele distribution and fertilization success was noted. Apart from ESR1 rs2234693, the study failed to demonstrate that fertilization success was associated with the selected polymorphisms. In most cases, we did not discover a relationship between both estrogen receptors polymorphisms and sperm function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]