N,N-dimethylacetamide targets neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease in in-vitro and ex-vivo models.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic degenerative brain disorder with no clear pathogenesis or effective cure, accounting for 60-80% of cases of dementia. In recent years, the importance of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of AD and other neurodegenerative disorders has come into focus. Previously, we made the serendipitous discovery that the widely used drug excipient N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) attenuates endotoxin-induced inflammatory responses in vivo.

A comparative propensity score-matched analysis of perioperative outcomes of intracorporeal vs extracorporeal urinary diversion after robot-assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Objective: To compare the perioperative outcomes of intracorporeal (ICUD) vs extracorporeal urinary diversion (ECUD) after robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the prospectively maintained International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC) database. A total of 972 patients from 28 institutions who underwent RARC were included.

Ten-Year Oncologic Outcomes Following Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy: Results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Purpose: Radical cystectomy is the gold standard for nonmetastatic muscle invasive bladder cancer and for refractory nonmuscle invasive disease. Compared to open radical cystectomy, robot-assisted radical cystectomy has been shown to provide comparable early oncologic outcomes and improved perioperative outcomes. However, there is a paucity of data on long-term oncologic outcomes and concerns about a higher incidence of local recurrence after robot-assisted radical cystectomy.

Acute pulmonary hemorrhage associated with metastatic testicular choriocarcinoma in a 46-year-old incarcerated male.

Pure testicular choriocarcinoma is a rare histological subtype of germ cell tumor (GCT) and typically presents with distant metastases and aggressive features leading to a generally poor prognosis. Unique to choriocarcinoma among GCT histological subtypes is the propensity of spontaneous hemorrhage into metastatic lesions. We report a case of pure testicular choriocarcinoma in a 46-year-old male with postoperative acute pulmonary hemorrhage secondary to tumor invasion of the lungs, and the subsequent management of his disease with a discussion of relevant literature.

A rare case of renal vein thrombosis secondary to pyelonephritis.

Renal vein thrombosis (RVT) is most often an implication of nephrotic syndrome. Pyelonephritis has been associated at a much lower rate, with the incidence of causation being extremely rare. In our case, a 35-year-old female patient presented with right-sided -positive acute pyelonephritis complicated by perinephric abscess and renal vein thrombosis.

Development of a patient and institutional-based model for estimation of operative times for robot-assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Objectives: To design a methodology to predict operative times for robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) based on variation in institutional, patient, and disease characteristics to help in operating room scheduling and quality control.

Patients And Methods: The model included preoperative variables and therefore can be used for prediction of surgical times: institutional volume, age, gender, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, history of prior surgery and radiation, clinical stage, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, type, technique of diversion, and the extent of lymph node dissection. A conditional inference tree method was used to fit a binary decision tree predicting operative time.

Synthesis of N-1', N-3'-disubstituted spirohydantoins and their anticonvulsant activities in pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Herein we report the synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of a library of eighteen new compounds that are structural mimics of phenytoin. These class of compounds contain a N-1', N-3'-disubstituted spirohydantoin scaffold, where the N-1' and N-3' positions are modified with an alkyl group or aryl group. Of the eighteen compounds synthesized and tested, compound 5c showed the best anticonvulsant activity.

International Robotic Radical Cystectomy Consortium: A way forward.

Robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is an emerging operative alternative to open surgery for the management of invasive bladder cancer. Studies from single institutions provide limited data due to the small number of patients. In order to better understand the related outcomes, a world-wide consortium was established in 2006 of patients undergoing RARC, called the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC).

Efficacy of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) in advanced bladder cancer: results from the International Radical Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC).

Objective: To characterise the surgical feasibility and outcomes of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) for pathological T4 bladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective evaluation of a prospectively maintained International Radical Cystectomy Consortium database was conducted for 1118 patients who underwent RARC between 2003 and 2012. We dichotomised patients based on pathological stage (≤pT3 vs pT4) and evaluated demographic, operative and pathological variables in relation to morbidity and mortality.

Impact of surgeon and volume on extended lymphadenectomy at the time of robot-assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC).

Unlabelled: WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Lymph node dissection and it's extend during robot-assisted radical cystectomy varies based on surgeon related factors. This study reports outcomes of robot-assisted extended lymphadenectomy based on surgeon experience in both academic and private practice settings.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of, and predictors for, extended lymph node dissection (LND) in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) for bladder cancer, as extended LND is critical for the treatment of bladder cancer but the role of minimally invasive surgery for extended LND has not been well-defined in a multi-institutional setting.

Complications after robot-assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Background: Complication reporting is highly variable and nonstandardized. Therefore, it is imperative to determine the surgical outcomes of major oncologic procedures.

Objective: To describe the complications after robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) using a standardized and validated reporting methodology.

Does previous robot-assisted radical prostatectomy experience affect outcomes at robot-assisted radical cystectomy? Results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of previous robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) case volume on the outcomes of robot-assisted radical cystectomy. Little is known regarding the effect of previous robotic surgical experience on the implementation and execution of robot-assisted radical cystectomy.

Methods: Using the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium database, 496 patients were identified who had undergone robot-assisted radical cystectomy by 21 surgeons at 14 institutions from 2003 to 2009.

Lymphadenectomy at the time of robot-assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of, and predictors for, lymphadenectomy in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) for bladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: Utilizing the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC) database, 527 patients were identified who underwent RARC at 15 institutions from 2003 to 2009. After stratification by age group, sex, pathological T stage, nodal status, sequential case number, institutional volume and surgeon volume, logistic regression was used to correlate variables to the likelihood of undergoing lymphadenectomy (defined as ≥ 10 nodes removed).

Surgical margin status after robot assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Purpose: Positive surgical margins at radical cystectomy confer a poor prognosis. We evaluated the incidence and predictors of positive surgical margins in patients who underwent robot assisted radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.

Materials And Methods: Using the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium database we identified 513 patients who underwent robot assisted radical cystectomy, as done by a total of 22 surgeons at 15 institutions from 2003 to 2009.

The learning curve of robot-assisted radical cystectomy: results from the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium.

Background: Robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) has evolved as a minimally invasive alternative to open radical cystectomy for patients with invasive bladder cancer.

Objective: We sought to define the learning curve for RARC by evaluating results from a multicenter, contemporary, consecutive series of patients who underwent this procedure.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Utilizing the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium database, a prospectively maintained and institutional review board-approved database, we identified 496 patients who underwent RARC by 21 surgeons at 14 institutions from 2003 to 2009.

Pairing elevation of [cyclic GMP] with inhibition of PKA produces long-term depression of glutamate release from isolated rat hippocampal presynaptic terminals.

Data suggest both presynaptic and postsynaptic changes contribute to activity-dependent long-term synaptic plasticity. We have shown that pairing elevation of intracellular [cyclic GMP], using the type V phosphodiesterase inhibitor zaprinast, with inhibition of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), is sufficient to elicit chemical long-term depression (CLTD) of synaptic transmission at Schaffer collateral-CA1 and mossy fibre-CA3 synapses in rat hippocampus. CLTD does not require synaptic activity, and selective postsynaptic drug injections do not affect it, suggesting it is presynaptically induced and expressed.

Oxidative stress-induced calcium signalling in Aspergillus nidulans.

The effects of oxidative stress on levels of calcium ion (Ca(2+)) in Aspergillus nidulans were measured using strains expressing aequorin in the cytoplasm (Aeq(cyt)) and mitochondria (Aeq(mt)). When oxidative stress was induced by exposure to 10-mM H(2)O(2), the mitochondrial calcium response (Ca(mt)(2+)) was greater than the change in cytoplasmic calcium (Ca(c)(2+)). The Ca(mt)(2+) response to H(2)O(2) was dose dependent, while the increase in [Ca(c)(2+)] did not change with increasing H(2)O(2).