Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate with Virtual Basket mode: faster and better control on bleeding

Background: To compare clinical intra and early postoperative outcomes between conventional Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) and Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate using the Virtual Basket tool (VB-HoLEP) to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: This prospective randomized study enrolled consecutive patients with BPH, who were assigned to undergo either HoLEP (n = 100), or VB-HoLEP (n = 100). All patients were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively, with particular attention to catheterization time, operative time, blood loss, irrigation volume and hospital stay. We also evaluated the patients at 3 and 6 months after surgery and assessed maximum flow rate (Qmax), postvoid residual urine volume (PVR), the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the Quality of Life score (QOLS). Results: No significant differences in preoperative parameters between patients in each study arm were found. Compared to HoLEP, VB-HoLEP resulted in less hemoglobin decrease (2.54 vs. 1.12 g/dl, P = 0.03) and reduced operative time (57.33 ± 29.71 vs. 42.99 ± 18.51 min, P = 0.04). HoLEP and VB-HoLEP detrmined similar catheterization time (2.2 vs. 1.9 days, P = 0.45), irrigation volume (33.3 vs. 31.7 l, P = 0.69), and hospital stay (2.8 vs. 2.7 days, P = 0.21). During the 6-month follow-up no significant differences in IPSS, Qmax, PVR, and QOLS were demonstrated. Conclusions: HoLEP and VB-HoLEP are both efficient and safe procedures for relieving lower urinary tract symptoms. VB-HoLEP was statistically superior to HoLEP in blood loss and operative time. However, procedures did not differ significantly in catheterization time, hospital stay, and irrigation volume. No significant differences were demonstrated in QOLS, IPSS, Qmax and PVR throughout the 6-month follow-up. Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN72879639; date of registration: June 25th, 2015. Retrospectively registred

A Series of 2,4(1H,3H)-Quinazolinedione derivatives: Synthesis and biological evaluation as potential anticancer agents

A series of 6,7-disubstituted-3-{2-[4-(substituted)piperazin-1-yl]-2-oxoethyl}quinazoline- 2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives (7-34) were synthesized and their structures were elucidated on the basis of analytical and spectral (UV, IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and MS) data. These synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicities against a panel of three human cancer cell lines. According to the cytotoxicity screening results, 3-{2-[4-(4-chlorobenzyl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-oxoethyl} quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (7) presented the highest activity against HUH-7, MCF-7 and HCT-116 cell line with the IC50 values of 2.5, 6.8 and 4.9 μM, respectively. © 2016 Bentham Science Publishers

A new tool for differentiating hepatocellular cancer cells: Patterned carbon nanotube arrays

We aimed to develop a new approach to detect the invasiveness and metastatic degree of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC) based on their epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) status by using patterned carbon nanotubes (CNT) without any further surface functionalization. We used well differentiated HUH7 and poorly differentiated SNU182 cells to examine and compare their adhesive features on patterned CNTs. We found that the well differentiated HUH7 cells attached significantly more on the patterned CNTs than the poorly differentiated SNU182 cells due to the difference in epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes of these cells. Collagen coated patterned CNTs having less roughness resulted in a decrease in the number of attached cells compared to non-coated patterned surfaces indicating that surface topography playing also a vital role on the cell attachment. LDH testing indicated no adverse, or thereof toxic effect of collagen coated or non-coated patterned surfaces on the HCC cells. The results of this study clearly suggest that patterned CNT surfaces can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine the invasiveness and metastatic level of HCCs. Hence, CNTs could be considered as a promising diagnostic tool for the detection of differentiation and invasiveness of the HCC cells. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved