Anorectal and sexual functions after preoperative radiotherapy and full-thickness local excision of rectal cancer.

Aims: Local excision with preoperative radiotherapy may be considered as alternative management to abdominal surgery alone for small cT2-3N0 tumours. However, little is known about anorectal and sexual functions after local excision with preoperative radiotherapy. Evaluation of this issue was a secondary aim of our previously published prospective multicentre study.

Acceptance of a 5-mm distal bowel resection margin for rectal cancer: is it safe?

Aim: Acceptance of a short distal bowel margin results in a higher rate of anterior resection but may compromise oncological safety. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of a 5-mm distal margin.

Method: A retrospective analysis was carried out of 412 consecutive patients with rectal cancer treated with anterior resection with a negative circumferential resection margin.

The hemolysis kinetics of psoriatic red blood cells.

Psoriasis has been reported to be associated with several red blood cell (RBC) membrane alterations including: a membrane fluidity decrease, a significant elevation of Na(+)-K(+)and quantitative changes of erythrocyte membrane proteins that may indicate red cell cytoskeleton impairment. The aim of the present study was to analyse the hemolytic behaviour of psoriatic RBCs. The osmotic behaviour of RBCs was examined by analysing the kinetics of hemolysis.

Influence of the retinoid acitretin on erythrocyte microrheology in vitro.

Objective: To determine in vitro changes in the microrheology of red blood cells (RBCs) treated with acitretin (Ro 10-1670).

Volunteers And Methods: Venous blood samples were obtained from 27 healthy donors. Washed erythrocytes (5 x 10(6) cells/ml) were incubated for 30 min at 37 degrees C in solutions of low (25 ng/ml) and high (400 ng/ml) acitretin concentration.

Interactions of porphyrin covalently attached to poly(methacrylic acid) with liposomal membranes.

The interactions between the 5-(4-acryloyloxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tritolylporphyrin covalently attached to poly(methacrylic acid) chain (PMA-Po) and phosphatidylcholine liposomes in aqueous solution at different pH values were studied. The binding constants (K(b)) for the liposome- PMA-Po in solutions in the pH range from 6.5 to 9.