Is quantitative diffusion-weighted MRI a valuable technique for the detection of changes in kidneys after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy?

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability and the reliability of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the changes of kidneys occurring after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) treatment for renal stones. Materials and Methods A total of 32 patients who underwent ESWL treatment for renal stone disease between June and December 2011 were enrolled in this prospective study. Color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) and DWI were performed before and within 24 hours after ESWL. DWI was obtained with b factors of 0, 500 and 1000 s/mm2 at 1.5 T MRI. Each of Resistive index (RI) and ADC values were calculated from the three regions of renal upper, middle and lower zones for both of the affected and contralateral kidneys. Paired sample t test was used for statistical analyses. Results After ESWL, the treated kidneys had statistically significant lower ADC values in all different regions compared with previous renal images. The best discriminative parameter was signal intensity with a b value of 1000 s/mm2. The changes of DWI after ESWL were noteworthy in the middle of the treated kidney (p<0.01). There were no significant difference between RI values in all regions of treated and contralateral kidneys before and after treatment with ESWL (p>0.05). Conclusion DWI is a valuable technique enables the detection of changes in DWI after ESWL treatment that may provide useful information in prediction of renal damage by shock waves, even CDUS is normal

Erectile dysfunction in patients with Parkinson disease Parki̇nson hastalarinda ci̇nsel i̇şeslev bozukluǧu

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a disorder in which a male is not able to provide and/or maintain enough erection during sexual intercourse for duration of at least 6 months. Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder which is clinically identified with motor symptoms, tremor, rigidity and bradikinesia occurring after loss of approximately 70% of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and it gives response to dopamin replacement treatment. Materials and Methods: Severities of Parkinson disease and ED were measured using UPDRS (Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale) scoring and IIEF-5 scoring, respectively. The patients were evaluated by Beck's Depression Scale and those patients who were in depression and who had comorbidities (i.e. cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases and Diabetes Mellitus) that might causes ED were excluded from study. Thirty (30) patients with Parkinson disease who were 55-78 (mean: 65.26±6.06) years old were included into study. Pearson's test of correlation analysis was used for statistical evaluation. A p<0.05 was regarded to be statistically significant. Results: UPDRS scores and IIEF-5 scores were between 40 and 65 (mean: 50.86±8.93) and between 7 and 17 (mean: 11.06±3.16), respectively. There was no statistically significant correlation between age and IIEF-5 scores (p: 0.17). There was also no statistically significant correlation between age and severity of Parkinson disease (p: 0.19). It was found that there was a statistically significant correlation between severity of Parkinson disease and severity of ED (p<0.0001). Conclusion: ED is an important problem which causes worsening in quality of life in patients with Parkinson disease. Our study confirmed that as severity of disease in patients with Parkinson disease was increased, severity of ED was also increased and quality of life was worsened

Can lemon juice be an alternative to potassium citrate in the treatment of urinary calcium stones in patients with hypocitraturia? A prospective randomized study.

To investigate that lemon juice could be an alternative to potassium citrate in the treatment of urinary calcium stones in patients with hypocitraturia, 30 patients with hypocitraturic urinary calcium stones were enrolled into study. The patients were divided into three groups equally. Exactly 60 mEq/day fresh lemon juice (85 cc/day) and potassium citrate (60 mEq/day) were given to the patients of first and second group, respectively. Dietary recommendations were made for the third group. Blood and 24-h urine tests were performed before treatment and repeated 3 months later. The differences between demographic datas of groups were not significant. There was no significant difference between values of blood tests performed before and after treatment in all groups. Statistically significant differences were found between pre- and post-treatment urine values in each group. Although there was no significant difference between pre-treatment citrate levels of the groups. A significant difference was found between post-treatment citrate levels of the groups. There was 2.5-, 3.5- and 0.8-fold increase in urinary citrate level of lemon juice, potassium citrate and dietary recommendation groups, respectively. Urinary calcium level was decreased only in lemon juice and potassium citrate groups after treatment. While there was no significant difference between pre- and post-treatment urinary oxalate levels in all groups, a significant decrease in urinary uric acid levels was determined in all groups. We suggest that lemon juice can be an alternative in the treatment of urinary calcium stones in patients with hypocitraturia. Additionally, dietary recommendations can increase effectiveness of the treatment

A rarely seen testis tumor; carcinoid tumor: Case report

Carcinoid tumor of the testis accounts for less than 1% of all testicular neoplasms and can be a primary pure carcinoid or it can be seen either as a mixed tumor with teratoma or as a metastasis of carcinoid tumor originating from another site. A 45 years old male patient complaining of an aching mass in left testis for one year applied to our outpatient clinic. An inguinal orchiectomy was performed after diagnosis of tumor was made. During pathologic examination, there was no teratomatous or any other germ cell tumour component and also no intratubular germ-cell neoplasia was detected within neighbouring testicular tissue. Immunohistochemically, the tumour was pancytokeratin (+), PLAP (-), NSE (+), chromogranin (+) and synaptophysin (+) with a Ki-67 proliferative index of 1-2 %

Quantification of PSA mRNA levels in peripheral blood of patients with localized prostate adenocarcinoma before, during, and after radical prostatectomy by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).

To evaluate the clinical value of detected prostate-specific antigen (PSA) mRNA expression levels in circulating cells in patients with prostate cancer by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and to determine the effect of surgical manipulation on hematogenous dissemination