Study of the efficacy of Korean Red Ginseng in the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Aim: To examine the treatment efficacy of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) in impotent men with erectile dysfunction (ED). Methods: A total of 60 patients presenting mild or mild to moderate ED were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which the efficacies of KRG and a placebo were compared. the patients received either 1 000 mg (3 times daily) of KRG or a placebo. Results: the five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) score after the treatment was significantly higher in the KRG group compared with that before the treatment (from 16.4 +/- 2.9 to 21.0 +/- 6.3, P 0.05). in the KRG group, 20 patients (66.6%), reported improved erection, significant in the global efficacy question (P 0.05). Conclusion: Our data show that KRG can be an effective alternative to the invasive approaches for treating male ED.Univ São Paulo, Div Urol Clin, Sector Sexual Med, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Discipline Urol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Discipline Urol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

SÍNDROME DE MUNCHAUSEN RELACIONADA À CALCULOSE URINÁRIA NÃO METABÓLICA: UM RELATO DE CASO

The term Munchausen Syndrome (MS) was first described in 1951 by Asher to characterize individuals who intentionally produce signs and symptoms of a disease. People with this syndrome pretend to be sick and tend to look for treatment, without secondary gain, in different health services. A report of an 18-year-old woman in renal lithiasis research is reported and, at the end of the investigation, it was concluded that the "stones" were not of renal origin. The MS is rare and promotes massive health care spending, with unnecessary and costly examinations, exposing patients to iatrogenics. An underdiagnosed disease with little knowledge of health professionals. Key-words: Munchausen Syndrome; Urinary calculosis; Iatrogeny.O termo Síndrome de Munchausen (SM) foi descrito pela primeira vez em 1951 por Asher para caracterizar indivíduos que intencionalmente produzem sinais e sintomas de uma doença. Indivíduos com esta síndrome fingem que estão doentes e tendem a procurar tratamento, sem ganho secundário, em diferentes serviços de saúde. Descreve-se um relato de uma jovem de 18 anos em investigação de litíase renal em que ao final da investigação constatou que os “cálculos” não eram de origem renal. A SM é rara e promove gastos vultosos ao sistema de saúde, com exames desnecessários e onerosos, expondo os pacientes a iatrogenias. Uma doença subdiagnosticada e de pouco conhecimento dos profissionais de saúde. Palavras-chave: Síndrome de Munchausen; Calculose urinária; Iatrogenia

Intracavernous injection in the treatment of erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy: an observational study

CONTEXT: Despite the recent improvements in performing radical retropubic prostatectomy that have led to a considerable decrease in the complication rate, erectile dysfunction still represents a major problem. Moreover, less invasive treatment options that are emerging for erectile dysfunction have not shown satisfactory results in managing these patients. OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and side effects of self-injection therapy in the treatment of men who had become impotent after undergoing radical prostatectomy due to prostate cancer, over a study period of 96 months. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: University Referral Center. PARTICIPANTS: 168 patients with erectile dysfunction, aged 43 to 78 years old, who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy due to localized prostate cancer. PROCEDURES: The patients were treated with self-injection therapy using papaverine, phentolamine and prostaglandin E1, at home. RESULTS: This study showed an acceptable 94.6% success rate, with no life-threatening complications. In addition to this, our series presented a 13.1% cure rate with this therapy. CONCLUSION: Self-injection therapy with papaverine, phentolamine and prostaglandin E1 is effective and safe in the treatment of erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy.CONTEXTO: Apesar do recente avanço técnico na realização da prostatectomia radical retropúbica, que levou a queda no índice de complicações, a disfunção erétil ainda é um problema importante. Além disso, as novas opções (menos invasivas) de tratamento da disfunção erétil não mostram resultados satisfatórios nesse grupo de pacientes. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a eficácia e efeitos colaterais da auto-injeção no tratamento da disfunção erétil causada pela prostatectomia radical, durante 96 meses. TIPO DE ESTUDO: Estudo observacional. LOCAL: Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)/Escola Paulista de Medicina. PARTICIPANTES: 168 pacientes com disfunção erétil, entre 43 e 78 anos, submetidos a prostatectomia radical retropúbica, devido a câncer localizado da próstata. PROCEDIMENTOS: Os pacientes foram tratados com auto-injeção utilizando a associação de papaverina, fentolamina e prostaglandina E1 em casa. RESULTADOS: O índice de sucesso foi de 94,6% com complicações bastante discretas. Além disso, tivemos um índice de cura de 13,1% nesse estudo. CONCLUSÕES: A auto-injeção com papaverina, fentolamina e prostaglandina E1 é eficaz e segura no tratamento da disfunção erétil causada pela prostatectomia radical.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Urology DepartmentUNIFESP, EPM, Urology DepartmentSciEL

Acute scrotum

O escroto agudo, caracterizado pela presença de dor local intensa, edema e alteração da consistência das estruturas da bolsa testicular, constitui uma urgência urológica e corresponde a 0,5% dos atendimentos nos serviços de emergência. As causas mais freqüentes de escroto agudo são os processos inflamatórios locais (orquiepididimites) e vasculares isquêmicos (torção testicular), cujo diagnóstico diferencial nem sempre é feito de forma simples. Nesse sentido, dois exames podem evidenciar as alterações locais, incluindo o fluxo sanguíneo: o ultrassom Doppler e a cintilografia escrotal. A ultrassonografia com Doppler do escroto constitui exame pouco invasivo, de custo acessível, alta disponibilidade, rápida execução e elevada sensibilidade (cerca de 90%) e especificidade (99%). Por outro lado, a cintilografia escrotal permite definir com precisão a irrigação dos testículos, porém demanda maior tempo e não é disponível na maioria dos serviços. Quando com esses recursos propedêuticos o diagnóstico final permanece incerto, a exploração cirúrgica é indicada e deve ser realizada sem demora, de modo a permitir a preservação testicular nos casos de torção do cordão.Acute scrotum always represents a clinical emergency and is seen in 0,5% of patients attending acute care units. The main cause of acute scrotum are inflammatory conditions of the testis or epididymis and testicular torsion. Based on clinical evaluation the differential diagnosis between these two conditions can be challenging. In order to proper evaluate patients with acute scrotum we can resort to Doppler ultrasound or scrotal scintigraphy that have the ability to depict local anomalies or decreased blood flow. The Doppler ultrasound is a less invasive test, performed quickly and with low costs, easily available and with a high sensitivity (around 90%) and specificity (about 99%). On the other hand scrotal scintigraphy allows for precise depiction of testicular blood irrigation but is a slow procedure and less available in the clinical setting. When the proper diagnosis can not be made safely with the aforementioned tests, immediate surgical exploration must be performed in order to avoid definitive testicular loss associated to spermatic cord torsion

Usando smartphones para medir a variaçáo do índice de refração da gasolina com diferentes concentrações de etanol

The present work, characterized as a Junior Scientific Initiation (ICJ), allowed high school students to have the first contact with scientific knowledge SI. It is mainly characterized by an interdisciplinary project between Chemistry and Physics. The research presents a new methodology that reconciles the variation of ethanol concentration in gasoline with the variation of refraction indices of the media through the use of a bequer and a PVC Pipe, and taking several pictures with smartphones (for each concentration). The refraction index is determined by the size of the diameters of the real part of the tube (outside the Bequer) and the part that is immersed in the solution. In the experimental work, from the analysis of pure gasoline samples with different pre-defined concentrations of ethanol, values of different refraction indexes were obtained, and when plotting the data, it was possible to observe a behavior not Linear. In addition to this mathematical behavior, the experiment allows, from the data, to analyze factors such as molar refraction.O presente trabalho, caracterizado como uma Iniciação Cientifica Júnior (ICJ), permitiu que estudantes do Ensino Médio tivessem um primeiro contato com o conhecimento científico. Caracteriza-se, principalmente, por ser um projeto interdisciplinar entre a Química e a Física. A pesquisa realizada apresenta uma nova metodologia que concilia a variação da concentração de etanol na gasolina com a variação dos índices de refração dos meios através do uso de um béquer e um cano, e tirando diversas fotos com smartphones (para cada concentração). O índice de refração é determinado através do tamanho dos diâmetros da parte real do tubo (fora do béquer) e da parte que está mergulhada na solução. Na realização do trabalho experimental, a partir da análise de amostras de gasolina pura com diferentes concentrações de etanol pré-definidas, foram obtidos valores de diferentes índices de refração e, ao plotar os dados, foi possível observar um comportamento não linear. Além desse comportamento matemático, o experimento permite, a partir dos dados, analisar  a refração molar

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. METHODS: Patients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: REGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo