Protective effects of dantrolene and methylprednisolone against spinal cord injury-induced early oxidative damage in rabbit bladder: A comparative experimental study

Conclusions. Dantrolene and MP may have potential benefits against oxidative damage in the bladder after SCIs because of their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In particular, the combined use of DNT and MP at different doses can be considered a treatment strategy

Impact of positive surgical margin on biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy in locally advanced prostate cancer

This study aimed to determine the effect of surgical margin positivity on biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). The medical records of all patients with locally advanced PCa that underwent RRP were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics, digital rectal examination findings, prostate biopsy Gleason score, prostate volume, pre- and post-treatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, definitive pathology Gleason score, surgical margin status, seminal vesicle invasion, perineural invasion, absence or presence of BCR, and the time to BCR were analyzed. The study included 130 patients. The final pathologic examination showed that seven (5.4%) patients had T3a disease and 123 (94.6%) had T3b disease. In all, 93 (71.5%) patients had a positive surgical margin [SM(+)], whereas 37 (28.5%) patients had a negative surgical margin [SM(-)]. Among the seven patients with pT3a disease, four (57.1%) had SM(+), whereas 89 (72.4%) of the 123 patients with pT3b disease had SM(-). BCR occurred in 11.8% (11 of 93) of patients with SM(+) and in 45.9% (17 of 37) of those with SM(-) (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SM(+) was the only significant predictor of BCR following RRP (relative risk, 0.163; 95% confidence interval (0.062-0.433); p < 0.001). SM(+) in RRP specimens is not always indicative of BCR in patients with locally advanced PCa. RRP should be considered an effective treatment choice for selected patients with locally advanced PCa, despite the associated high SM(+) rate. Copyright (C) 2016, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC

Evaluation of the Side Effect Profile of Intracavitary Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Treatment in Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer

Objective:To reveal the association of side effect profiles seen in patients receiving intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treatment with patient age and possible changes over time due to the use of different BCG strains.Materials and Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of all patients who received BCG for NMIBC in our hospital between January 2013 and December 2017. Investigated parameters included patients’ demographics, treatment dates, local and systemic side effects (dysuria, hematuria, cystitis, headache, arthralgia/myalgia, chills, fever, fatigue, epididymo-orchitis, renal abscess, pneumonia, hepatitis, and sepsis), need for hospitalization and antituberculous therapy, discontinuation of therapy, and doses received.Results:The study included 89 patients (84 male, 5 female) with a mean age of 67.4±10.2 years. The most common side effects were dysuria (41.6%), chills (31.5%), hematuria (30.3%), fever (29.2%), cystitis (24.7%), and fatigue (23.6%). Ten patients (11.2%) were hospitalized due to treatment-related side effects. Ten patients discontinued treatment due to side effects. Sixty-two patients (69.7%) experienced at least 1 local or systemic side effect. There was no significant difference between patients younger and older than 70 years in terms of side effect rates (69.8% vs 69.4%, p=0.576). In addition, a significant difference was not observed in complication rates when we compared treatment before and after 2016 (65.3% vs 75%, p=0.322).Conclusion:Intracavitary BCG can be the treatment of choice in NMIBC even in patients at an advanced age. The absence of a significant change in complication rates over the years despite changing strains may be evidence that strains have a similar side effect profile

Does neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio demonstrate deterioration in renal function?

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue worldwide, which leads to end-stage renal failure and cardiovascular events. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a surrogate marker of inflammation and has been widely studied in malignancies, hypertension, heart diseases, and vascular diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate if NLR represents renal reserve and function after partial or radical nephrectomy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study consists of patients who had undergone radical/partial nephrectomy in our hospital and/or who admitted to urology and nephrology clinics as an outpatient. Patients were divided into four groups: Group 1 (n =  46): Healthy controls; Group 2 (n =  50): Patients who had undergone unilateral partial nephrectomy; Group 3 (n =  46): Patients who had gone unilateral nephrectomy; Group 4 (n =  82): Patients who had CKD. Results: The mean NLR of each group was as follows: Group 1: 2.14 ± 0.73; Group 2: 3.52 ± 3.74; Group 3: 3.64 ± 3.52, and Group 4: 3.53 ± 2.30. NLR was lower in Group 1 compared to other groups but statistically significant difference was observed only between Group 1 (control) and Group 4 (CKD), 2.14 ± 0.73 versus 3.53 ± 2.30 (p = .005). In non-parametric correlation analysis NLR was found negatively correlated with GFR and positively correlated CKD stage (p = .028 for both correlations). Conclusions: The NLR may constitute a practical predictor of CKD besides Cr in patients who had undergone partial or radical nephrectomy

Determinación de los polimorfismos rs2058265, rs6464214 y rs7456421 de la proteína cinasa 2 que interactúan con el homeodominio en pacientes con cálculos renales

Objetivo: Investigar si el polimorfismo de la proteína cinasa 2 que interactúa con el homeodominio (HIPK2) está asociado con la formación de cálculos renales en una población turca. Método: Se inscribieron en el estudio 129 pacientes con nefrolitiasis cálcica y 67 sujetos control sanos, emparejados por sexo y edad. Las muestras de sangre se recogieron en tubos con EDTA. El ADN de los pacientes se extrajo mediante un sistema de aislamiento de ADN automatizado QIAsymphony®. Se aplicó la prueba χ2 en las comparaciones entre los grupos de pacientes y control con respecto a las diferencias de las frecuencias genotípicas y alélicas. Resultados: No se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos en términos de incidencia de polimorfismo de nucleótido simple (PNS) en alelo simple y alelo doble en las regiones rs2058265 y rs6464214 (p = 0.13 y 0.37, respectivamente). La incidencia de PNS en alelos dobles en pacientes con nefrolitiasis en rs7456421 fue menor que en el grupo control, con una diferencia estadísticamente significativa (p = 0.001). Conclusiones: Las distribuciones de genotipo y alelo de los tres polimorfismos (rs2058265, rs6464214 y rs745642 en HIPK2) no se asociaron con un mayor riesgo de cálculos renales en esta población turca

Prediction of stone-free status after single-session retrograde intrarenal surgery for renal stones

Objective: To determine the possible factors effecting stone-free status (SFS) after single-session retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) for renal stones

Is There a Threshold of Body Mass Index for to Predict Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy Success?

Aim: We aimed to determine the impact of BMI (body mass index) on extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) success. Material and Method: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of all patients who underwent SWL for single renal stone smaller than 1.5 cm. Patient demographics, height, weight and stone characteristics were recorded. Stone free (SF) patients and patients with residual stone (RS) were compared according to BMI, mean HU (Hounsfield unit), stone size and number and duration of shock waves. Results: A total of 100 patients with an average age of 48.17 +/- 1.58 years and an average stone size of 9.54 +/- 1.61 mm were included the study. Overall SWL success was 69 % such 31 patients had RS. SF status achieved in 85%, 57.1%, 58.1% and 78.6% of patients with renal stones in upper, middle, lower calyces and renal pelvis, respectively. Mean BMI and mean stone sizes were found significantly different between SF and RS groups, 25.3 +/- 3.5 kg/m(2) versus 30 +/- 3.4 kg/m(2), 8.7 +/- 1.3 mm versus 9.7 +/- 1.6 mm, respectively (p< 0.001). The best cut-off value, which was found according to Youden's index, for BMI for a successful SWL was 26.75 kg/m(2). Discussion: These preliminary results may lead further studies with large patient numbers to determine a threshold of BMI for to predict SWL success

Potential role of melastatin-related transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M gene expression in the pathogenesis of urinary bladder cancer

Urinary bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract. Ion channels and calcium homeostasis are involved in almost all basic cellular mechanisms. The transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M (TRPM) takes its name from the melastatin protein, which is classified as potential tumor suppressor. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous studies in the literature investigating the role of these ion channels in bladder cancer. The present study aimed to determine whether bladder cancer is associated with mRNA expression levels of TRPM ion channel genes, and whether there is the potential to conduct further studies to establish novel treatment modalities. The present study included a total of 47 subjects, of whom 40 were bladder cancer patients and 7 were controls. Following the histopathological evaluation for bladder carcinoma, the mRNA and protein expression of TRPM were examined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry in tumor and normal tissues, in order to determine whether there is a difference in the expression of these channels in tumor and normal tissues. Immunoreactivity for TRPM2, TRPM4, TRPM7 and TRPM8 was observed in epithelial bladder cells in the two groups. RT-qPCR revealed a significant increase in TRPM7 expression in bladder cancer tissue compared to the controls (healthy bladder tissue), whereas no differences in TRPM2 or TRPM4 expression levels were observed. There were significant reductions in the expression levels of TRPM5 and TRPM8 in bladder cancer tissues. In the present study, the effects of TRP ion channels on the formation of bladder cancer was investigated. This study is instructive for TRPM2, TRPM4, TRPM5, TRPM7 and TRPM8 and their therapeutic role in bladder cancer. The results support the fact that these gens can be novel targets and can also be tested for during the treatment of bladder cancer