Driving abstinence is necessary after lumbar spinal fusion: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Studies on driving safety after lumbar spinal procedures are rare. Previous studies solely reported on a) driving reaction time (DRT) after lumbar nerve root blocks, b) DRT after discectomy and c) preliminary DRT findings after lumbar fusion.

Methods: DRT was assessed with a driving simulator as described before.

Initial staging examinations for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: are they appropriate?

Objectives: The presence of distant metastases affects the therapeutic regime in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This study evaluated the necessity to undertake bone scanning, chest computed tomography and abdominal ultrasonography in patients presenting with primary advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis, university setting.

Erythropoetin beta twice weekly versus standard therapy in patients with gynaecological malignancies--a randomised Austrian AGO trial.

Background: The influence of two regimens of erythropoetin beta on haemoglobin level, quality of life (QoL) and side-effects in patients with gynaecological malignancies was assessed.

Patients And Methods: A total of 119 patients during chemotherapy were randomised to either standard therapy with 10,000 IU erythropoetin beta three times a week (group A) or 20,000 IU twice a week (group B). Haemoglobin level and QoL were measured.

Comparing auditory perception and speech production outcomes: non-language specific assessment of auditory perception and speech production in children with cochlear implants.

Language-independent assessment tools evaluate the progress of children who receive a cochlear implant, allowing large pooling of data for better access to insurers and other health care professionals. One hundred and seventeen children from centres in the United Kingdom, Iran and Turkey were assessed on two measures over a five-year test interval. There is a significant improvement over time for the Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) measures.

Fetal development of the vesico-ureteric junction, and immunohistochemistry of the ends of refluxing ureters.

There is still misunderstanding about the normal fetal development of the vesico-ureteric junction (VUJ), the region that is most important for preventing VUR. There is little information on the causes of primary VUR and on the mechanisms of maturation of refluxing ureteric endings. Some studies show that the ratio of the intravesical ureteric length to diameter is obviously lower than had been assumed.

Frontal plane leg alignment and muscular activity during maximum eccentric contractions in individuals with and without patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Purpose: The role of frontal plane tibiofemoral alignment in subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is controversial and rarely discussed in the literature. As well, little research has been done on the effects of the hamstrings muscles on PFPS. The aim of the current study was to determine whether, in individuals with PFPS, frontal plane tibiofemoral alignment or muscular activity of the index knee's crossing muscles is altered during maximum eccentric leg press exercise.

Pilot study: volatile organic compounds as a diagnostic marker for head and neck tumors.

Background: In the last decade, the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) has undergone a rapid development. In this pilot study, patients with HNSCC were tested with a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry in order to establish a minimal invasive screening method.

Methods: Overall in a period of 2 years, 22 carcinoma patients were recruited for the study.

Lower urinary tract symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease.

Objective: The present study sought to investigate lower urinary tract symptoms and urodynamic and cystometric findings in Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Alzheimer disease (AD).

Methods: Included were patients with frequency, urgency, incontinence, and nocturia, without major bladder outflow obstruction. The protocol comprised physical examination, urine analysis, prostate specific antigen, 24-hours frequency of micturition, mean voided volume (MVV), free flow before instrumentation (Qmax(before)), post-void residual volume (PVR), and cystometry.

Impact of tonsillectomy on quality of life in adults with chronic tonsillitis.

Objectives: Tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures. Nevertheless there is less known about the impact of this procedure on Health-Related Quality of life (HRQOL). The two different most common used surgical techniques are "cold" (CT) and "hot" (HT) tonsillectomy.

Shock wave therapy reduces necrotic flap zones and induces VEGF expression in animal epigastric skin flap model.

The effect of extracorporeal shock wave (ESW) therapy on skin flap survival and growth factor expression was investigated in a rat model using epigastric skin flap. Treatment and control groups each contained 20 animals. ESW effectively enhanced epigastric skin flap survival by significant reduction of areas of necrotic zones.

Large-scale study of clinical impact of PSA velocity: long-term PSA kinetics as method of differentiating men with from those without prostate cancer.

Objectives: To assess the longitudinal prostate-specific antigen (PSA) changes in a screening population with or without prostate cancer during a 10-year period.

Methods: Serial PSA measurements performed during a 10-year period were evaluated in 4272 participants of a screening program who had no evidence of prostate malignancy and 528 men who eventually developed prostate cancer.

Results: Of the 4272 men with no evidence of prostate cancer, the mean total PSA level increased from 1.

Relapse after radical prostatectomy correlates with preoperative PSA velocity and tumor volume: results from a screening population.

Objectives: To evaluate, in a screening population, the impact of tumor volume and prostate volume on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) velocity (PSAV) and to find predictors of biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy. Longitudinal PSA changes in men with prostate cancer have been reported to be significantly different from those without prostate cancer.

Methods: PSAV was assessed in 102 men undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Gender specific chronological and morphometric assessment of fetal bladder wall development.

Purpose: To enhance our understanding of sonographically visible alterations in bladder wall thickness, we delineated phenotypic changes occurring in developing smooth muscle cells of the fetal and postnatal bladder with respect to gender specific differences.

Materials And Methods: Bladders of 30 male and 18 female fetuses and 4 stillborn infants were immunostained with an alpha-smooth muscle actin antibody. Morphological and morphometric assessment was performed with the assistance of an image analysis system.

Structural changes of the intravesical ureter in children with vesicoureteral reflux-does ischemia have a role?

Purpose: Previous studies have revealed structural and metabolic changes in the distal most ureter, impairing its contractile properties, and, thus, having a role in the pathogenesis of vesicoureteral reflux. Musculature and nerves are replaced by interstitial collagen, while matrix degrading enzymes are over expressed. We investigated the microvessel architecture of the ureterovesical junction to elucidate further the pathophysiology of vesicoureteral reflux.

Atherosclerosis as a risk factor for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and atherosclerosis, using colour Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) and symptom scores.

Patients, Subjects And Methods: CDUS was used to evaluate prostatic vascularity in four groups of men, comprising young healthy subjects, patients presenting with coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus, or peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). Resistive index (RI) measurements and computer-assisted quantification of colour pixel density (CPD) were used to objectively evaluate perfusion.

Health-related quality of life outcome of adult patients after otoplasty.

Prominent ears are relatively frequent. Decreased self-esteem, increased anxiety, behavioral problems and social avoidance may result from disfigurement. In modern medicine it is becoming increasingly important to measure the benefit of surgical intervention by its impact on the patient's Quality of Life (QOL).

Association of factors influencing health-related quality of life in MS.

As results regarding associative demographic and disease-specific factors on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are partially inconsistent and contradictory, we reinvestigated this question on a large Austrian MS dataset. Patients received a questionnaire covering demographic and disease-specific characteristics and the Nottingham health profile (NHP) for assessing HRQoL. In order to estimate the risk for suboptimal HRQoL, adjusted odds ratios were calculated from logistic regression models including gender, age, expanded disability status scale (EDSS), disease course, disease duration and walking ability as covariates.

Does nasal septal surgery improve quality of life?

Conclusion: In addition to functional ameliorations we have shown that septoplasty creates a long-lasting improvement in quality of life in patients with nasal septal deviation.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate whether nasal septal surgery alters patients' quality of life.

Patients And Methods: This 7-year retrospective study was undertaken in an otolaryngology center.

The neurotoxic effects of amitriptyline are mediated by apoptosis and are effectively blocked by inhibition of caspase activity.

Oral tricyclic antidepressants, widely used as adjuncts in the treatment of chronic pain, block sodium channels in vitro and nerve conduction in vivo. However, toxicity of amitriptyline has been observed after neural application. We therefore investigated the mechanism and possible prevention of amitriptyline neurotoxicity.

Tumor recurrence in the remnant urothelium of females undergoing radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: long-term results from a single center.

Purpose: We analyzed the risk factors and incidence of secondary TCC of the remnant urothelium in women following radical cystectomy for TCC of the bladder.

Materials And Methods: A total of 85 women with a mean age of 64.5 years with clinically localized TCC of the bladder underwent radical cystectomy between 1992 and 2004.

Optimizing the outcome of microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy using isosulfan blue: a prospective randomized trial.

Purpose: Varicoceles are the main cause of correctible male factor infertility. Loss of testicular volume and abnormal seminal parameters are indications for varicocelectomy. We assessed a prospective randomized trial comparing standard microsurgical varicocele repair with the microsurgical approach using isosulfan blue.

Combined PEG liposomal doxorubicin and gemcitabine are active and have acceptable toxicity in patients with platinum-refractory and -resistant ovarian cancer after previous platinum-taxane therapy: a phase II Austrian AGO study.

Objectives: Platinum resistance is a significant problem in patients with ovarian cancer. The aim of this phase II study was to define the response rates, the progression-free survival and the toxicity profile of the combination of PEG liposomal doxorubicin (L-DXR) and gemcitabine (GEM).

Material And Methods: Thirty one patients with histologically confirmed platinum-refractory or -resistant epithelial ovarian cancer were scheduled to receive 6 cycles of L-DXR 30 mg/m(2) on day 1 as well as GEM 650 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 28 days.

Lich-Gregoir reimplantation causes less discomfort than Politano-Leadbetter technique: Results of a prospective, randomized, pain scale-oriented study in a pediatric population.

Objective: There is a consensus that transvesical reimplantation is more appropriate in cases of bilateral vesicoureteral reflex (VUR). In contrast to that it is not yet clear which approach should be used in unilateral VUR. This prospective, randomized trial compared the benefits and drawbacks of the intravesical and extravesical techniques in terms of operative comorbidity.

Intrarater reliability in the ultrasound diagnosis of medial and lateral orbital wall fractures with a curved array transducer.

Purpose: The aims of the study were to document the effectiveness of ultrasound (US) in diagnosing orbital wall fractures when compared with computed tomography (CT) and to measure the intraobserver reliability of US using a curved array transducer.

Materials And Methods: From December 2003 to March 2004, 13 patients with the clinical diagnosis of an orbital trauma were investigated prospectively by CT (reference) and 2 US investigators. Both orbits were investigated.

The expression of the regulatory T cell-specific forkhead box transcription factor FoxP3 is associated with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer.

Purpose: The forkhead box transcription factor FoxP3 is specifically expressed in T cells with regulatory properties (Treg). Recently, high numbers of Treg were described to be associated with poor survival in different malignancies. The aim of the presented study was determine the prognostic effect of FoxP3 mRNA expression (reflecting the tissue content of Treg) in ovarian carcinoma and its relation with cytokines, such as IFN-gamma.