Efficacy of Anticholinergics for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome in Young and Middle-Aged Patients: A Single-Blinded, Prospective, Multi-Center Study

Purpose Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) exhibits variable lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of LUTS and the efficacy of an anticholinergic agent in young and middle-aged CP/CPPS patients. Methods Ninety-six men with CP/CPPS were randomly assigned in a single-blind fashion and received either ciprofloxacin (group 1, 49 patients) or ciprofloxacin and solifenacin (5 mg/day; group 2, 47 patients) for 8 weeks. The National Institutes of Health chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI), the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) were used to grade the patients' symptoms and the quality of life impact at the start of the study, and at 4 and 8 weeks from the initiation of the study. Results There was no significant difference between groups 1 and 2 with respect to age, duration of disease, or sub-domains of the IPSS, NIH-CPSI, or IIEF-5 at baseline. Of these patients, 67.4% had LUTS. Statistically significant differences were determined via the NIH-CPSI for total score and the pain and urinary domain scores. Statistically significant differences were determined via the IPSS for total score and the storage domain score. The total score of the IIEF-5 increased, but the change was not significant. There was no statistically significant difference in residual urine. Conclusions Many CP/CPPS patients had LUTS. Solifenacin in CP/CPPS demonstrated improvements in the NIH-CPSI and the IPSS total score and storage score. Storage factors significantly improved via the NIH-CPSI and IPSS assessments in the solifenacin treatment group

Assessment of Allergic Rhinitis Websites in Korea

Objectives. The internet has become an important source of medical information and a great amount of information related to allergic rhinitis (AR) is available on the internet. However, the quality of this information is still a matter of debate. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the AR-related information on Korean websites. Methods. The key word "allergic rhinitis" was entered into 4 popular search engines, and this led to identifying 40 websites. After being categorized according to authorship, the informational value of these websites was evaluated using 4 different assessment tools such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, the DISCERN questionnaire, the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) 2008 Update and the Health On the Net (HON) code. Results. The 40 websites containing AR-related information were categorized according to their authorship as Western physician: 20, Oriental physician: 14, commercial: 1, and others: 5. The mean citation frequencies of the JAMA benchmarks and the ARIA 2008 Update concepts was 1.23 out of 4 and 4.33 out of 8, respectively, while the mean DISCERN score was 1.92 out of 5. When the websites were evaluated based on the type of authorship, the mean citation frequencies of the AMA 2008 Update concepts were Western physician: 5.35, Oriental physician: 2.64. Additionally, three websites authored by Western physicians and 13 authored by Oriental physicians contained unreliable information. Among these 16 websites, only 3 websites met the requirements for the HON code "Justification". Conclusion. AR-related information available on Korean websites is of variable quality and not all of the information provided is justifiable. Thus, performing surveillance of the medical information on these websites is necessary. Furthermore, common criteria that can be used to evaluate the websites created by both Western and Oriental physicians are also needed.Bousquet J, 2008, ALLERGY, V63, P8*HLTH NET FDN, 2006, HLTH NET COD COND VESILVA LVE, 2005, BRAZILIAN J OTHORHIN, V71, P590Park HW, 2004, J KOREAN MED SCI, V19, P364Winker MA, 2000, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V283, P1600Charnock D, 1999, J EPIDEMIOL COMMUN H, V53, P105Silberg WM, 1997, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V277, P1244

Impact of Parenchymal Tuberculosis Sequelae on Mediastinal Lymph Node Staging in Patients with Lung Cancer

Because tuberculous (TB) involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes (LN) could cause false positive results in nodal staging of lung cancer, we examined the accuracy of nodal staging in lung cancer patients with radiographic sequelae of healed TB. A total of 54 lung cancer patients with radiographic TB sequelae in the lung parenchyma ipsilateral to the resected lung, who had undergone at least ipsilateral 4- and 7-lymph node dissection after both chest computed tomography (CT) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/CT were included for the analysis. The median age of 54 subjects was 66 yr and 48 were males. Calcified nodules and fibrotic changes were the most common forms of healed parenchymal pulmonary TB. Enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (short diameter > 1 cm) were identified in 21 patients and positive mediastinal lymph nodes were identified using FDG-PET/CT in 19 patients. The overall sensitivity and specificity for mediastinal node metastasis were 60.0% and 69.2% with CT and 46.7% and 69.2% with FDG-PET/CT, respectively. In conclusion, the accuracy of nodal staging using CT or FDG-PET/CT might be low in lung cancer patients with parenchymal TB sequelae, because of inactive TB lymph nodes without viable TB bacilli

Successful Endourologic Management of Lower Pole Moiety Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction in a Partially Duplicated Collecting System

We present two cases of symptomatic lower pole moiety ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in a partially duplicated collecting system that were successfully treated with minimally invasive endourologic procedures. In the first case, we performed retrograde endopyelotomy with the Acucise® ureteral cutting balloon device, and in the latter case, we performed percutaneous nephrolithotomy and antegrade endopyelotomy because of the presence of multiple renal stones. Subsequent intravenous pyelography confirmed marked resolution of the obstruction, and both patients remained asymptomatic during 1 year of follow-up

Therapeutic Effects of Holmium-166 Chitosan Complex in Rat Brain Tumor Model

This study examined the effectiveness of Holmium-166 (Ho-166) chitosan complex therapy for a malignant glioma. Cultured C6 glioma cells (100,000 in 5 µl) were injected into the caudate/putamen of 200 - 250 gram Wistar rats. Five days later, a Ho-166 chitosan complex was injected into the same site of the glioma injection. Four injection doses were administered: the control group received PBS 10 µl, group 1 received an injection of 100 µCi (10 µl), group 2 received an injection of 50 µCi (5 µl), and group 3 received an injection of 10 µCi (1 µl). The average tumor volume for each group was 1.385 mm3 for the control group, 0.036 mm3 for group 1, 0.104 mm3 for group 2, and 0.111 mm3 for group 3. Compared with the control group, the size of the tumors in groups 1, 2 and 3 was reduced by an average of 97.4%, 92.5% and 91.9%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve of group 2 was the longest, followed by groups 3, group 1 and the control. The mean survival was 22.8, 59, 60, and 44.6 days for the control group and groups 3, 2 and 1, respectively. H-E staining revealed that group 2 yielded the best results in the destruction of the malignant glioma. TUNEL staining and immunohistochemical studies indicated apoptotic features. The Ho-166 chitosan complex proved to be effective in destroying the malignant glioma

Plasma etching and surface characteristics depending on the crystallinity of the BaTiO3 thin film

Due to its high dielectric constant (κ), the BaTiO3 (BTO) thin film has significant potential as a next-generation dielectric material for metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Hence, the evaluation of the BTO thin film etching process is required for such nanoscale device applications. Herein, the etching characteristics and surface properties are examined according to the crystallinity of the BTO thin film. The results demonstrate that the etching rate is low in the high-crystallinity thin film, and the surface residues are much lower than in the low-crystallinity thin film. In particular, the accelerated Cl radicals in the plasma are shown to penetrate more easily into the low-crystallinity thin film than the high-crystallinity thin film. After the etching process, the surface roughness is significantly lower in the high-crystallinity thin film than in the low-crystallinity thin film. This result is expected to provide useful information for the process design of high-performance electronic devices

Discovery of a novel allelic variant of CYP2C8, CYP2C8∗11, in asian populations and its clinical effect on the rosiglitazone disposition

ABSTRACT: The objectives of this study were to identify the genetic variants of CYP2C8, analyze CYP2C8 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and characterize their functional consequences in the CYP2C8 substrate drug rosiglitazone in humans. The direct full sequencing of CYP2C8 genomic DNA was performed in a Korean population (n ‫؍‬ 50). A total of 17 CYP2C8 variants including a novel coding variant (E274Stop) were identified. The novel CYP2C8 E274Stop variant was assigned as CYP2C8*11 by the Human Cytochrome P450 (CYP) Allele Nomenclature Committee. Seventeen SNPs were used to characterize linkage disequilibrium, haplotype structures, and haplotype tagging SNPs. Genotyping for CYP2C8*11 in an extended set of Koreans (n ‫؍‬ 400), whites (n ‫؍‬ 100), Han Chinese (n ‫؍‬ 348), Vietnamese (n ‫؍‬ 100), and African Americans (n ‫؍‬ 93) was performed by a newly developed pyrosequencing method. The frequency of CYP2C8*11 was 0.3% in Koreans, 1% in Vietnamese, and 0.14% in Chinese. However, none of the whites or African Americans contained the CYP2C8*11 allele. Subjects with CYP2C8*1/*11 exhibited higher plasma concentration-time profiles of rosiglitazone than those of nine control subjects carrying CYP2C8*1/*1. The area under the concentrationtime curve and peak plasma concentration of rosiglitazone in individuals carrying CYP2C8*1/*11 (n ‫؍‬ 5) were 54 and 34% higher than the mean values observed in the control subjects carrying CYP2C8*1/*1 (P ‫؍‬ 0.015 and P ‫؍‬ 0.025, respectively). In summary, this is the first report to characterize the allele frequency and haplotype distribution of CYP2C8 in a Korean population, and it provides functional analysis of a new variant CYP2C8*11. Our findings suggest that individuals carrying CYP2C8*11, a null allele found in Asians only, may have lower activity for metabolizing CYP2C8 substrate drugs

Atopy May Be an Important Determinant of Subepithelial Fibrosis in Subjects with Asymptomatic Airway Hyperresponsiveness

The bronchial pathology of asymptomatic airway hyperreponsiveness (AHR) subjects is not well understood, and the role of atopy in the development of airway remodeling is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether atopy is associated with airway remodeling in asymptomatic AHR subjects. Five groups, i.e., atopic or non-atopic subjects with asymptomatic AHR, atopic or non-atopic healthy controls, and subjects with mild atopic asthma, were evaluated by bronchoscopic biopsy. By electron microscopy, mean reticular basement membrane (RBM) thicknesses were 4.3±1.7 µm, 3.4±1.8 µm, 2.5±1.5 µm, 2.6±1.1 µm, and 2.3±1.2 µm in the mild atopic asthma, atopic and non-atopic asymptomatic AHR, atopic and non-atopic control groups, respectively (p=0.002). RBM thicknesses were significantly higher in the mild atopic asthma group and in the atopic asymptomatic AHR group than in the other three groups (p=0.048). No significant difference in RBM thickness was observed between the atopic asymptomatic AHR group and the mild atopic asthma group (p>0.05), nor between non-atopic asymptomatic AHR group and the two control groups (p>0.05). By light microscopy, subepithelial layer thicknesses between the groups showed the same results. These findings suggest that RBM thickening occurs in subjects with atopic asymptomatic AHR, and that atopy plays an important role in airway remodeling

Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Promotes Vascular Calcification via SMAD1/5/8 Phosphorylation

Vascular calcification, a pathologic response to defective calcium and phosphate homeostasis, is strongly associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. In this study, we have observed that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) is upregulated and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex phosphorylation is increased in calcifying vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and in calcified vessels of patients with atherosclerosis, suggesting that PDK4 plays an important role in vascular calcification. Both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of PDK4 ameliorated the calcification in phosphate-treated VSMCs and aortic rings and in vitamin D3-treated mice. PDK4 augmented the osteogenic differentiation of VSMCs by phosphorylating SMAD1/5/8 via direct interaction, which enhances BMP2 signaling. Furthermore, increased expression of PDK4 in phosphate-treated VSMCs induced mitochondrial dysfunction followed by apoptosis. Taken together, our results show that upregulation of PDK4 promotes vascular calcification by increasing osteogenic markers with no adverse effect on bone formation, demonstrating that PDK4 is a therapeutic target for vascular calcification