Review of the relationship between C-reactive protein and exercise.

C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute phase reactant, is associated with systemic inflammation. Many studies have demonstrated that CRP levels have important prognostic implications for patients. For example, individuals with elevated CRP levels have an increased risk of cardiovascular events.

Preoperative C-reactive protein level adjusted for comorbidities and lifestyle factors predicts overall mortality in localized renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute phase reactant, is a non-specific marker of inflammation. Elevations in CRP levels are linked with trauma, infection, autoimmune disease, malignancy, and lifestyle factors, such as smoking and obesity. Previously, we noted a significant association between the preoperative CRP level, 1-year relapse-free survival, and 1-year overall relative survival in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The anatomy of medical school patenting.

Background: Although issues related to patenting by faculty at academic medical centers have been the source of much controversy, there is little systematic evidence of the growth of these activities, their distribution among academic departments, and their relationship to faculty research efforts.

Methods: We pooled data on medical school faculty, National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant activity, and patenting to examine changes in the propensity to apply for a patent during the period from 1981 through 2000 that was subsequently granted, the distribution of these activities among departments, and the relationships between patenting and variables associated with individual faculty members. These variables included sex, academic degree, years since the last academic degree was earned, patenting by departmental peers, and NIH funding history.

Scrotoschisis as a mechanism for extracorporeal testicular ectopia.

Only one case of a rare anomaly, a congenital defect in the integrity of the scrotal wall permitting egress of the testis to an ectopic extracorporeal location, has been previously reported. A second occurrence of this rare anomally is herein described with a proposed mechanism of occurrence. The condition is termed scrotoschisis.

Unsuspected intraperitoneal perforation of the urinary bladder as an iatrogenic disorder.

Perforation of the urinary bladder associated with long-term indwelling catheter drainage is a rare and lethal iatrogenic disorder. Moreover, bladder perforation can occur in a variety of surgical settings. We report here several unusual situations: one in which a fibroid uterus probably played a role in pressure necrosis of a bladder with an indwelling catheter, one in which carcinoma of the prostate and faulty catheter drainage was present, and one in which pelvic radiation therapy was followed by bladder perforation.

Forgotten kidney: asynchronous bilateral ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

A case is presented in which ureteropelvic junction obstruction developed in a kidney that had apparently been normal at the time of contralateral nephrectomy for ureteropelvic junction obstruction nine years previously. Therapeutic implications are discussed.

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis masquerading as occult malignancy.

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) can present with weight loss, anemia, leukemoid reaction, and generalized debility; there may be no signs or symptoms referable to the urinary tract. Confusion between XGP and renal adenocarcinoma is well recognized, but other malignancies can also be simulated. Case histories of patients with proved XGP whose clinical presentations suggested occult malignancies are recorded.

Ureteral obstruction from prostatic carcinoma: response to endocrine and radiation therapy.

Ureteral obstruction occurred in 10% of the patients treated for prostatic carcinoma and most often was associated with poorly differentiated tumors. The response of ureteral obstruction to different forms of therapy was evaluated. Obstruction diminished in 22 of 25 orchiectomized patients (88%) but in only 1 of 6 patients receiving estrogen or antiandrogen therapy alone (17%).

Genitourinary fungal infections.

Although fungal urinary tract infections occur less frequently than bacterial urinary tract infections their incidence has increased during the last several decades and their clinical importance to the urologist should not be underestimated. Herein the pertinent literature on fungal urinary tract infections is reviewed, with emphasis on the predisposing factors, pathogenesis, host defense mechanisms and the clinical spectrum of the disease. An approach to the evaluation of positive cultures and therapy is presented.