Effect of tadalafil 5mg daily treatment on the ejaculatory times, lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile function in patients with erectile dysfunction

ABSTRACT Objective To investigate the effect of a 5mg daily tadalafil treatment on the ejaculation time, erectile function and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with erectile dysfunction. Materials and Methods A total of 60 patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction were retrospectively evaluated using the international index of erectile function questionnaire-5 (IIEF-5), intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and international prostate symptoms scores (IPSS). After the patients were treated with 5mg tadalafil once a day for three months, their erection, ejaculation and LUTS were assessed again. The fasting levels of blood glucose, total testosterone, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol were measured. The independent-samples t-test was used to compare the pre- and post-treatment scores of the patients. Results The mean age of the 60 participants was 50.4±7.9 and the mean baseline serum total testosterone, total cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar were 444.6±178.6ng dL-1, 188.7±29.6mg/dL-1,104 (80-360) mg dL-1, respectively. The mean baseline scores were 2.2±1.4 min for IELT, 9.5±3.7 for IIEF-5 and 14.1±4.5 for IPSS. Following the three-month daily 5mg tadalafil treatment, the scores were found to be 3.4±1.9 min, 16.1±4.7, and 10.4±3.8 for IELT, IIEF and IPSS, respectively. When the baseline and post-treatment scores were compared, a statistically significant increase was observed in the IELTs and IIEF-5 values whereas there was a significant decrease in IPSS (p<0.01). Conclusion A daily dose of 5mg tadalafil can be safely used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and LUTS, that prolongs the ejaculatory latency time

Comparison of conjunctival graft thickness after primary and recurrent pterygium surgery: Anterior segment optical coherence tomography study

Objective: The objective of the following study is to compare the conjunctival graft thickness measured with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) after primary and recurrent pterygium excision. Design: Prospective, interventional and comparative study. Participants: A total of 20 eyes of 20 patients with primary pterygium (primary group) and 20 eyes of 20 patients with recurrent pterygium (recurrent group) were enrolled. Materials and Methods: All patients underwent pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft transplantation. Conjunctival graft thickness was measured at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after surgery using the Visante-OCT (Carl-Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA, USA). Main outcome measure was the mean conjunctival thickness determined as the mean of three measurements at 1, 2 and 3 mm posterior to the scleral spur. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in age, sex, or laterality between the groups. Mean thickness of the graft in primary and recurrent groups, respectively, was 430 ± 127 μm and 461 ± 178 μm at 1 week after surgery (P = 0.587), 114 ± 19 μm and 162 ± 48 μm at 1 month after surgery (P = 0.001) and 109 ± 15 μm and 107 ± 18 μm at 3 months after surgery (P = 0.726). Conclusion: The findings revealed that conjunctival thickness after primary or recurrent pterygium excision was greatest at 1 week after surgery and continued to decrease for up to 3 months. Mean graft thickness differed significantly between the two groups only at 1 month after surgery

Effect of Fluorometholone/Tetrahydrozoline Fixed Combination on Conjunctival Autograft Morphology after Primary Pterygium Excision

Purpose. To evaluate the effect of a fluorometholone/tetrahydrozoline fixed combination on conjunctival graft morphology after primary pterygium excision. Methods. The patients who underwent pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft transplantation were randomized into three groups based on postoperative medications as the fluorometholone/tetrahydrozoline group, fluorometholone group, and dexamethasone group. Conjunctival graft thickness was measured with anterior segment optical coherence tomography. The conjunctival graft hyperemia was evaluated using a high definition external camera. Results. The mean graft thickness was significantly lower in the fluorometholone/tetrahydrozoline group compared with fluorometholone and dexamethasone groups at 2 weeks (P=0.002 and P=0.012, resp.) and at 1 month after surgery (P=0.003 and P=0.013, resp.). The conjunctival hyperemia score was significantly lower in the fluorometholone/tetrahydrozoline group compared with fluorometholone and dexamethasone groups at 2 weeks (P=0.000 and P=0.000, resp.) and at 1 month (P=0.039 and P=0.040, resp.). The graft thickness and conjunctival hyperemia score were similar among the groups at 1 week and 3 months (P>0.05). Conclusion. The findings of the present study revealed that treatment with the fluorometholone/tetrahydrozoline fixed combination may be helpful to decrease graft edema and to achieve better cosmetic appearance at 2 weeks and 1 month after pterygium excision

Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Keratoconus in a Turkish Population

Purpose:The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of occurrence of obesity and high risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a keratoconus population with that of a control group.Methods:This prospective, case-controlled multicenter study was performed on patients with keratoconus and age- and gender-matched control subjects. One hundred forty-six patients were included in each group, and the Berlin Questionnaire was used for classifying patients as having a high risk or low risk of developing OSA. The patients' demographic and clinical characteristics were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and with the (2) test for categorical variables.Results:The keratoconus (85 male/61 female) and control (79 male/67 female) groups' median ages were 25 (8-65) and 24 (9-60) years, respectively. Of the 146 patients in each group, 11 (7.5%) patients were determined to be at a high risk of developing OSA in the keratoconus group, and 8 (5.5%) patients were determined to be at a high risk of developing OSA in the control group. There was no significant difference between the groups (P = 0.477). The keratoconus and control groups' median body mass index values were found to be within normal ranges of 23.2 and 23.4, respectively.Conclusions:In this study, the mean body mass index value of the keratoconus group was determined to be within normal limits. In a Turkish population, the ratio of a high risk of developing OSA was not found to be significantly different between the keratoconus and control groups

Photorefractive keratectomy in the correction of astigmatism using Schwind Amaris 750s laser

AIM: To evaluate the results of three photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) procedures in the treatment of astigmatism.METHODS: In this retrospective comparative case series, 89 eyes of 50 patients who underwent PRK treatment for astigmatism were enrolled. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on the PRK procedure: Group 1: PRK without mitomycin-C (MMC) application, Group 2: PRK with MMC application, and Group 3: Trans-Photorefractive Keratectomy (T-PRK). The efficacy, safety, predictability, and complications of treatment were assessed at 1, 3 and 6 months after the treatment.RESULTS: At postoperative 6 months, the percentage of postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) of 20/20 or better was 55.6% (20 eyes) in group 1, 75% (15 eyes) in group 2, and 75.8% (25 eyes) in group 3 (P=0.144). The percentage of postoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of unchanged or gained ≥1 lines was 80.6% (29 eyes) in group 1, 70% (14 eyes) in group 2, and 90.9% (30 eyes) in group 3 (P=0.151). The percentage of postoperative BCVA of lost ≥2 lines was 11.1% (4 eyes) in group 1, 20% (4 eyes) in group 2, and 6.1% (2 eyes) in group 3. The mean manifest refractive spherical equivalent (MRSE) and mean cylindrical refraction were not significantly different among the each groups (P>0.05). At postoperative 6 months, the percentage of MRSE of within ±0.50 D was 100% (36 eyes) in Group 1, 100% (20 eyes) in Group 2, and 93.9% (31 eyes) in Group 3. At the each follow-up period, there was no significant difference in number of eyes with haze and mean haze score(P>0.05).CONCLUSION: The study showed that PRK without MMC, PRK with MMC and T-PRK appears to have similar effectiveness, safety and predictability in the treatment of astigmatism. The incidence of haze was also similar between the three groups

Human olfactory stem cells for injured facial nerve reconstruction in a rat model

Background. The purpose of this study was to show the efficacy of olfactory stem cells for injured facial nerve reconstruction in a rat model

In Vivo Tissue-Engineered Allogenic Trachea Transplantation in Rabbits: A Preliminary Report

Conventional tracheal reconstruction techniques are not successful at restoring functional units in situations with extensive damage involving more than half the length of the trachea. For the first time, we investigated in vivo tissue-engineered trachea regeneration from a decellularized cadaveric trachea matrix with seeded adult adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and investigated the integration of the matrix into the recipient tracheal side. For the procedure, 1.8-cm grafts were prepared from 3.5-cm tracheas of three donor rabbits. Then, tracheal grafts were rendered nonimmunogenic using a decellularization technique. MSCs isolated from recipient rabbit adipose tissue were cultured and marked before being seeded in the decellularized matrix. A total of 1.8 cm of the recipient tracheas was replaced with either a decellularized tracheal matrix (group 1) or tracheal matrix-seeded MSCs (group 2). Rabbits survived 17 +/- 2 days in the first group, and the causes of death were separation in the anastomosis region, airway obstruction, and infection. In the second group, animals were sacrificed on the 30th, 60th, and 90th days of follow-up. Histopathological analysis revealed the integration of MSCs seeded-decellularized cadaveric tracheas to the recipient tracheal sides and increased angiogenesis. The MSCs were traced by fluorescence microscopy in the ciliated epithelium, under the epithelium, and in the cartilage of the integrated new trachea. Tracheas generated by autologous cells and tissue-engineering techniques will be a great source for the treatment of life-threatening tracheal injuries after the completion of related studies