Systematic review and network meta-analysis of re-intervention rates of new surgical interventions for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Objective: To assess the re-intervention rates of new surgical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) interventions, as the clinical durability of new surgical interventions for BPH is not widely known.

Methods: A critical review of new surgical BPH therapies namely 'UroLift®', 'Aquablation', 'Rezum', 'prostatic artery embolisation (PAE)' and 'temporary implantable nitinol device (iTIND)' was performed on PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase databases between May 2010 and December 2022 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. All relevant articles were reviewed, and the risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane risk assessment tool and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

A review of the objective cognitive function measurements in males receiving hormonal therapy for prostate cancer.

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PC) is more common in the older population and the use of hormonal therapy in PC can increase medical frailty and cognitive decline. This narrative review examines the impact of androgen deprivation therapies (ADTs) and next-generational hormonal therapies (NGHT) on cognitive function outcomes amongst patients with hormone-sensitive or castrate-resistant PC.

Materials And Methods: Six electronic databases were searched from January 2000 to June 2022 for quantitative studies to evaluate the impacts of hormonal therapies (ADT, combined androgen blockade, and NGHT) on cognitive functions in men with PC.

Aortic valve leaflet disruption techniques in transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

With continued technological advancement and technical improvement of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), it has become a desirable treatment option for aortic valve stenosis. Its minimally invasive approach compared to surgical aortic valve replacement offers the treatment to a broader patient population, mainly non-surgical candidates. A feared complication of TAVR is the occlusion of coronary artery ostium by the native aortic valve leaflet due to its displacement by the expanded transcatheter valve.

Can malleable penile prosthesis implantation improve voiding dysfunction in men with concurrent erectile dysfunction and buried penis?

Purpose: A buried penis causes voiding dysfunction and limits penetrative sexual intercourse. This pilot study evaluates the urinary outcomes in men with buried penis following insertion of malleable penile implants.

Materials And Methods: Men with buried penis and co-existing urinary problems and erectile dysfunction underwent malleable penile prosthesis implantation were reviewed in a prospective ethics approved database.

Use of the Hypotension Prediction Index During Cardiac Surgery.

Objective: The hypotension prediction index (HPI) is a novel parameter developed by Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, CA) that is obtained through an algorithm based on arterial pressure waveform characteristics. Past studies have demonstrated its accuracy in predicting hypotensive events in noncardiac surgeries. The authors aimed to evaluate the use of the HPI in cardiac surgeries requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Transanal total mesorectal excision the Gold Coast experience: learning curve and comparison to traditional technique.

Background: Laparoscopic and open techniques in rectal cancer are well-published, however, technical challenges remain for mid to low rectal cancer resections in the narrow pelvis. Transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) has been pioneered to potentially circumvent these challenges. The aims of this study were to evaluate the learning curve associated with our first cases of taTME as well as compare outcomes to that of conventionally performed rectal resections.

Do Illuminated Foot Pedals Improve the Speed and Accuracy of Pedal Activation During Endoscopic Procedures?

Purpose: Endourologic procedures such as percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) employ the use of foot pedals in low-light operating room (OR) settings. These pedals can be especially difficult to locate or distinguish when several pedals are present during a single operation. Improper instrument activation in the OR has led to serious complications ranging from unintentional electrocautery to patient burns and even an intraoperative explosion.

In Vitro Sonothrombolysis Enhancement by Transiently Stable Microbubbles Produced by a Flow-Focusing Microfluidic Device.

Therapeutic approaches that enhance thrombolysis by combining recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA), ultrasound, and/or microbubbles (MBs) are known as sonothrombolysis techniques. To date, sonothrombolysis approaches have primarily utilized commercially available MB formulations (or derivatives thereof) with diameters in the range 1-4 µm and circulation lifetimes between 5 and 15 min. The present study evaluated the in vitro sonothrombolysis efficacy of large diameter MBs (d  ≥ 10 µm) with much shorter lifetimes that were produced on demand and in close proximity to the blood clot using a flow-focusing microfluidic device.

Battle against RNA oxidation: molecular mechanisms for reducing oxidized RNA to protect cells.

Oxidation is probably the most common type of damage that occurs in cellular RNA. Oxidized RNA may be dysfunctional and is implicated in the pathogenesis of age-related human diseases. Cellular mechanisms controlling oxidized RNA have begun to be revealed.

Comparing ERCC1 protein expression, mRNA levels, and genotype in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck treated with concurrent chemoradiation stratified by HPV status.

Background: Previous studies examining excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) have not compared methods of ERCC1 testing nor been stratified by human papillomavirus (HPV) status.

Methods: ERCC1 protein expression, mRNA, and genotype were retrospectively evaluated from pretreatment biopsies in 55 patients with SCCHN treated with chemoradiation.

Results: In all, 50% of patients had high ERCC1 protein expression, 28.

Validation of lysyl oxidase as a prognostic marker for metastasis and survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Radiation Therapy Oncology Group trial 90-03.

Purpose: To validate lysyl oxidase (LOX), a hypoxia-related protein, as a marker for metastasis in an independent head and neck cancer (HNC) patient group enrolled onto a prospective trial.

Patients And Methods: We performed traditional immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and automated quantitative analysis (AQUA) for LOX expression in 66 HNC patients from one institution. We also performed AQUA staining for LOX in 306 of 1,113 patients treated on a phase III trial comparing four radiation fractionation schedules in locally advanced HNC (RTOG 90-03).

Low allele frequency of MLH1 D132H in American colorectal and endometrial cancer patients.

Purpose: Hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer is caused by mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes, predominantly MLH1 and MSH2. Classic MLH1 mutations cause an approximately 20-fold increase in colorectal cancer susceptibility. Recently, we identified a hypomorphic allele, MLH1 D132H , which impairs, but does not completely eliminate the function of MLH1 in tumor suppression.

The MLH1 D132H variant is associated with susceptibility to sporadic colorectal cancer.

Most susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) is not accounted for by known risk factors. Because MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6 mutations underlie high-penetrance CRC susceptibility in hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC), we hypothesized that attenuated alleles might also underlie susceptibility to sporadic CRC. We looked for gene variants associated with HNPCC in Israeli probands with familial CRC unstratified with respect to the microsatellite instability (MSI) phenotype.

Foxm1b transcription factor is essential for development of hepatocellular carcinomas and is negatively regulated by the p19ARF tumor suppressor.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Here, we provide evidence that the Forkhead Box (Fox) m1b (Foxm1b or Foxm1) transcription factor is essential for the development of HCC. Conditionally deleted Foxm1b mouse hepatocytes fail to proliferate and are highly resistant to developing HCC in response to a Diethylnitrosamine (DEN)/Phenobarbital (PB) liver tumor-induction protocol.

Foxf1 haploinsufficiency reduces Notch-2 signaling during mouse lung development.

The forkhead box (Fox) f1 transcription factor is expressed in the mouse splanchnic (visceral) mesoderm, which contributes to development of the liver, gallbladder, lung, and intestinal tract. Pulmonary hemorrhage and peripheral microvascular defects were found in approximately half of the newborn Foxf1(+/-) mice, which expressed low levels of lung Foxf1 mRNA [low-Foxf1(+/-) mice]. Microvascular development was normal in the surviving newborn high-Foxf1(+/-) mice, which compensated for pulmonary Foxf1 haploinsufficiency and expressed wild-type Foxf1 levels.

The forkhead box F1 transcription factor is expressed in brain and head mesenchyme during mouse embryonic development.

The forkhead box f1 (Foxf1) transcription factor is expressed in septum transversum mesenchyme and splanchnic (visceral) mesoderm, which give rise to mesenchymal cells of gut-derived organs such as liver, gall bladder, lung, stomach, and intestine. Foxf1 -/- embryos die in utero and haploinsufficiency of the Foxf1 gene resulted in a variety of developmental abnormalities of the lung, gall bladder, esophagus, and trachea and caused defects in liver and lung repair. In this study, we used Foxf1 +/- mouse embryos containing the beta-Galactosidase (beta-Gal) gene knocked into the Foxf1 locus to examine whether Foxf1 is expressed in the developing brain and head region.

Foxf1 +/- mice exhibit defective stellate cell activation and abnormal liver regeneration following CCl4 injury.

Previous studies have shown that haploinsufficiency of the splanchnic and septum transversum mesoderm Forkhead Box (Fox) f1 transcriptional factor caused defects in lung and gallbladder development and that Foxf1 heterozygous (+/-) mice exhibited defective lung repair in response to injury. In this study, we show that Foxf1 is expressed in hepatic stellate cells in developing and adult liver, suggesting that a subset of stellate cells originates from septum transversum mesenchyme during mouse embryonic development. Because liver regeneration requires a transient differentiation of stellate cells into myofibroblasts, which secrete type I collagen into the extracellular matrix, we examined Foxf1 +/- liver repair following carbon tetrachloride injury, a known model for stellate cell activation.

Wild-type levels of the mouse Forkhead Box f1 gene are essential for lung repair.

The Forkhead Box (Fox) family of transcription factors plays important roles in regulating expression of genes involved in cellular proliferation and differentiation. In a previous study, we showed that newborn foxf1(+/-) mice with diminished Foxf1 levels exhibited abnormal formation of pulmonary alveoli and capillaries and died postnatally. Interestingly, surviving newborn foxf1(+/-) mice exhibited increased pulmonary Foxf1 levels and normal adult lung morphology, suggesting that wild-type Foxf1 levels are required for lung development and function.

Haploinsufficiency of the mouse Forkhead Box f1 gene causes defects in gall bladder development.

The forkhead box f1 (Foxf1) transcription factor is expressed in the visceral (splanchnic) mesoderm, which is involved in mesenchymal-epithelial signaling required for development of organs derived from foregut endoderm such as lung, liver, gall bladder, and pancreas. Our previous studies demonstrated that haploinsufficiency of the Foxf1 gene caused pulmonary abnormalities with perinatal lethality from lung hemorrhage in a subset of Foxf1+/- newborn mice. During mouse embryonic development, the liver and biliary primordium emerges from the foregut endoderm, invades the septum transversum mesenchyme, and receives inductive signaling originating from both the septum transversum and cardiac mesenchyme.