Prostheto-ureteral fistula: a rare complication after aortic graft surgery.

Prostheto-ureteral fistula after aortic graft surgery is a potentially life-threatening, rare pathology. We report the successful treatment of a prostheto-ureteral fistula that caused hematuria with hemorrhagic shock in two patients by explantation of aortic prosthetic grafts and implantation of a silver-bonded prosthetic graft (Intergard S, Intervascular). These cases show that this surgical procedure is effective, and that straightforward diagnostic procedures are necessary to initiate correct therapeutic approach without delay.

p53 autoantibodies from patients with colorectal cancer recognize common epitopes in the N- or C-terminus of p53.

Patients with various solid tumors develop antibodies against the growth suppressor protein p53. The percentage of positive sera for patients with colon cancer varied over a wide range, which might be due to the different methods or the different antigens, which were used for the detection of p53 autoantibodies. We analyzed sera from patients with diagnosed colon cancer by ELISA using native p53 from a tumor cell line as well as by Western blotting with full-length or C- or N-terminal fragments of p53.

Embolic cerebral ischemia in carotid surgery: a model for human embolic stroke?

Background: If carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a clinical model of embolic stroke, then it should be possible to determine the relevance of embolus size and of the total quantity of embolic material (embolus load) for ischemic stroke.

Material/methods: Thirty-one patients underwent a total of 33 CEAs. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was performed on the day before and after CEA.