Nomogram Using Prostate Health Index for Predicting Prostate Cancer in the Gray Zone: Prospective, Multicenter Study.

Purpose: To create a nomogram that can predict the probability of prostate cancer using prostate health index (PHI) and clinical parameters of patients. And the optimal cut-off value of PHI for prostate cancer was also assessed.

Materials And Methods: A prospective, multi-center study was conducted.

The inhibitory effects of pimozide, an antipsychotic drug, on voltage-gated K channels in rabbit coronary arterial smooth muscle cells.

Pimozide is an antipsychotic drug used to treat chronic psychosis, such as Tourette's syndrome. Despite its widespread clinical use, pimozide can cause unexpected adverse effects, including arrhythmias. However, the adverse effects of pimozide on vascular K channels have not yet been determined.

Safety of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in erectile dysfunction: an open-label phase 1 clinical trial.

Background Aims: The efficacy of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is), which are commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED), is not satisfactory in patients with denervation of the cavernous nerve due to pelvic surgeries and diabetes mellitus (DM). Pre-clinical studies using bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to treat ED have shown promising results. The authors conducted a phase 1 clinical trial with autologous BMSCs in patients with ED due to radical prostatectomy or DM.

Prostate Cancer Presenting with Pruritus and Cholestasis.

Jaundice is a rare symptom of the paraneoplastic syndrome associated with prostate cancer. We report a case of metastatic prostate cancer that presented as jaundice. There was an absence of biliary obstruction and hepatic metastasis; therefore, the paraneoplastic syndrome was suggested as the etiology of cholestasis.

Atypical antipsychotic olanzapine inhibits voltage-dependent K channels in coronary arterial smooth muscle cells.

Background: Olanzapine, an FDA-approved atypical antipsychotic, is widely used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In this study, the inhibitory effect of olanzapine on voltage-dependent K (Kv) channels in rabbit coronary arterial smooth muscle cells was investigated.

Methods: Electrophysiological recordings were performed in freshly isolated coronary arterial smooth muscle cells.

The anti-diabetic drug alogliptin induces vasorelaxation via activation of Kv channels and SERCA pumps.

In the present study, we investigated the vasorelaxant effects of alogliptin, an oral antidiabetic drug in the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor class, using phenylephrine (Phe)-induced pre-contracted aortic rings. Alogliptin induced vasorelaxation in a dose-dependent manner. Pre-treatment with the voltage-dependent K (Kv) channel inhibitor 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) significantly decreased the vasorelaxant effect of alogliptin, whereas pre-treatment with the inwardly rectifying K (Kir) channel inhibitor Ba, ATP-sensitive K (K) channel inhibitor glibenclamide, and large-conductance Ca-activated K (BK) channel inhibitor paxilline did not alter the effects of alogliptin.

The effects of tegaserod, a gastrokinetic agent, on voltage-gated K channels in rabbit coronary arterial smooth muscle cells.

Tegaserod, a gastroprokinetic agent, is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome. Despite its extensive clinical use, little is known about the effects of tegaserod on vascular ion channels, especially K channels. Therefore, we examined the effects of tegaserod on voltage-gated K (Kv) channels in rabbit coronary arterial smooth muscle cells using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique.

Establishment of NOAEL for intracavernous injections of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in rats.

Purpose: To assess the possible negative health effects of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) on fertility and early embryonic development following intracavernous injections in rats.

Materials And Methods: A total of 88 Crl:CD(SD) male and female rats were equally divided into 4 groups in a random manner: control group (normal saline), low-dose group (2×10 hBMSCs), moderate-dose group (1×10 hBMSCs), and high-dose group (2×10 hBMSCs). hBMSCs or normal saline was injected into the penis of the rats 3 times at 2-week-intervals prior to mating.

Preoperative prostate health index and %p2PSA as the significant biomarkers of postoperative pathological outcomes of prostate cancer in Korean males: A prospective multi-institutional study.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical utility of percentage of serum prostate-specific antigen (proPSA) to free PSA (%p2PSA) and the prostate health index (PHI) for predicting aggressive pathological outcomes of radical prostatectomy (RP) in Korean males.

Materials And Methods: This prospective observational multicenter study included 160 Korean males who consecutively underwent RP. The predictive utility of preoperative %p2PSA and PHI for predicting the following pathological outcomes of RP including pT3 disease, pathologic Gleason sum ≥7, and Gleason sum upgrading was investigated using multivariate and decision-curve analyses.

Hypoxic Preconditioned Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy in a Rat Model of Renal Ischemia-reperfusion Injury: Development of Optimal Protocol to Potentiate Therapeutic Efficacy.

Although previous and ongoing clinical studies have used stromal cells during renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), there is little consensus regarding the optimal protocol. We aimed to optimize the protocol for hypoxic preconditioned human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell (HP-hBMSC) therapy in a rat model of renal IRI. We determined the optimal injection route (renal arterial, renal parenchymal, and tail venous injection), dose (low-dose: 1×10, moderate-dose: 2×10, and high-dose: 4×10), and injection period (pre-, concurrent-, and post-IRI).

Diagnostic Performance of %[-2]proPSA and Prostate Health Index for Prostate Cancer: Prospective, Multi-institutional Study.

Background: We evaluated the clinical performance of [-2]proPSA (p2PSA) and its derivatives in predicting the presence and aggressiveness of prostate cancer (PCa) in Korean men.

Methods: A total of 246 men with total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) ≥ 3.5 ng/mL who underwent their first prostate biopsy were included in this prospective, multicenter, observational study.

Outcomes of patients with ureteral obstruction who achieved stent-free state following balloon dilatation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the therapeutic role of ureteral stent removal following balloon dilatation (BD) in patients with a stent implanted for unilateral ureteral obstruction and with normal contralateral renal function.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study consisted of 37 consecutive patients with unilateral ureteral obstruction whose stents were removed after BD. All patients satisfied the following criteria: normal contralateral renal function, no evidence of malignancy, and the patient was eager to obtain a stent-free state (SFS) without invasive treatment.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell therapy in a rat model of cavernous nerve injury: Preclinical study for approval.

Background Aims: Although clinical studies using stem cells to treat erectile dysfunction have been performed or are ongoing, there is little consensus on the optimal protocol. We aimed to develop a protocol optimizing human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell (hBMSC) therapy in a rat model of cavernous nerve injury.

Methods: We performed, in order, a dose-finding study, a toxicokinetic study of hBMSCs, and a study to determine the timing and number of cell injections.

Ileal Augmentation Cystoplasty Combined with Ileal Ureter Replacement After Radical Treatment for Cervical Cancer.

Background: This study reviewed the outcomes for patients who underwent simultaneous bladder and ureter reconstructive surgery using the ileum after radical treatment for cervical cancer.

Methods: The medical records of seven patients who underwent augmentation ileocystoplasty with ileal ureter replacement between September 2006 and May 2013 were reviewed. Data on indications for surgery, underlying urologic comorbidities, type of ureteral replacement, postoperative complications, and changes in renal function were obtained.

Kidney Laterality and the Safety of Hand-assisted Live Donor Nephrectomy: Review of 1000 Consecutive Cases at a Single Center.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of performing right-sided, hand-assisted, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN) and compare with the results of left-sided surgeries in both donors and recipients.

Methods: Between September 2006 and September 2013, 1000 consecutive patients underwent HALDN at our institution. Patient characteristics and the intraoperative or postoperative parameters of the donors and recipients were retrospectively evaluated.

Changes of calcific density in pediatric patients with testicular microlithiasis.

Purpose: Testicular microlithiasis (TM) is a relatively rare clinical entity of controversial significance characterized by the existence of hydroxyapatite microliths located in the seminiferous tubules. The aim of this study was to observe the natural course of changes in the calcific density of pediatric TM.

Materials And Methods: We included a total of 23 TM patients undergoing scrotal ultrasound (US) on at least two occasions from July 1997 to August 2014.

Comparative study of autologous stromal vascular fraction and adipose-derived stem cells for erectile function recovery in a rat model of cavernous nerve injury.

The abilities of intracavernous injection of autologous stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to facilitate recovery of erectile function in a rat model of cavernous nerve (CN) injury were compared. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham and control groups (intracavernous injection of phosphate-buffered saline), SVF group (intracavernous injection of SVF), and ADSC group (intracavernous injection of ADSCs). Rats in the latter three groups underwent bilateral CN injury prior to injection.

Hand-assisted laparoscopic bladder cuff excision via the same hand port as that used for nephroureterectomy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report our technique of hand-assisted laparoscopic bladder cuff excision through the same hand port as that used for nephroureterectomy and evaluate its benefits and short-term oncologic outcomes.

Materials And Methods: We included 67 consecutive patients treated by a single surgeon between June 2011 and November 2014 with hand-assisted laparoscopic bladder cuff excision through the same hand port as that used for nephroureterectomy. We retrospectively analyzed procedure-related clinical data and short-term oncologic outcomes.

Complications after polymeric and metallic ureteral stent placements including three types of fistula.

Purpose: To report complications, including three types of fistula, intractable hematuria, and pain, which can develop after polymeric ureteral stent (PUS) or metallic ureteral stent placements and to evaluate the risk factors for these adverse events.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed seven patients referred to our trauma and reconstructive subdivision for complications that presented after placement of a PUS (two patients), double-layered, coated, self-expandable, mesh metallic stent (three patients), Memokath stent (one patient), or Resonance stent (one patient). We retrospectively reviewed their medical records and accessed the predisposing factors, mechanism of injury, diagnosis, and interventional and surgical management.

Prostate-specific antigen response rate of sequential chemotherapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer: the results of real life practice.

Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate (>50% PSA decline in pretreatment PSA following chemotherapy) carries a significant survival advantage in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). We compared PSA response rates in first-, second- and third-line chemotherapy after failure of previous chemotherapy according to chemotherapeutic agents.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the oncological outcomes and PSA response rates of 384 patients with CRPC, who were treated with chemotherapy and had histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate with failure after androgen ablation therapy between 1991 and 2012, at Asan Medical Center.