Pelvic organ prolapse management in female kidney transplant recipients.

Purpose: Pelvic organ prolapse in female postmenopausal kidney transplant recipients may be complicated by adverse events affecting graft function. We describe our experience with pelvic reconstructive surgery in renal transplant recipients.

Materials And Methods: Pelvic reconstructive surgery was done in 16 female renal transplant recipients with pelvic organ prolapse with or without stress urinary incontinence.

Impact of hand-assisted laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy on donor's quality of life, emotional, and social state.

Background: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become the preferred method for live kidney donation in many centers. Herein we have reported on donor-related quality of life (QoL) and social state after laparoscopic hand-assisted nephrectomy (HALDN) for living kidney donation.

Patients And Methods: Between December, 2003 and May, 2008, we performed 48 HALDN.

[Obesity as a risk factor for prostate cancer: role for adipocytokines and involvement of tyrosine kinase pathway].

Purpose: Obesity is considered to be a risk factor for prostate cancer. Mitogenic actions of leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone in a variety of cancer cell types have been identified. We have investigated the proliferative effects of leptin on human prostate cancer cells and assessed the role of tyrosine kinase signalling in mediating these actions.

Laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy: analysis of the existing literature.

Context: Laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy (LLDN) has achieved a permanent place in renal transplantation and in some centers has replaced open donor nephrectomy as the standard technique.

Objective: To evaluate the published literature regarding the relative results and complications of open LLDN and the hybrid technique of hand-assisted LLDN.

Evidence Acquisition: A systematic review of the literature was performed, searching PubMed and Web of Science.

Male-to-female transsexualism: technique, results and 3-year follow-up in 50 patients.

Aim: To evaluate the functional and cosmetic results of male-to-female gender-transforming surgery.

Patients And Methods: Between May 2001 and April 2008 we performed 50 male-to-female gender-transforming surgeries. All patients had been cross-dressing, living as women, and receiving estrogen and progesterone for at least 12 months, which was sufficient for breast development and atrophy of the testes and prostate to occur.

Management of localized prostate cancer by retropubic radical prostatectomy in patients after renal transplantation.

Background: The study aimed to report our experience with retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP) for treatment of localized prostate cancer in renal transplant recipients (RTR).

Methods: Data of 16 RTR who had an RRP between 2001 and 2007 were retrospectively analysed and compared to the data of 294 non-transplanted patients who were operated for RRP during the same period. Diagnostic work-up consisted of digital rectal examination, serum prostate specific antigene levels, as well as Transrectal Ultrasonography (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy.

Apical leptin induces chloride secretion by intestinal epithelial cells and in a rat model of acute chemotherapy-induced colitis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether luminal leptin alters ion transport properties of the intestinal epithelium under acute inflammatory conditions. Monolayers of human intestinal T(84) epithelial cells and a rat model of chemotherapy-induced enterocolitis were used. Cells were treated with leptin and mounted in Ussing chambers to measure basal and secretagogue-induced changes in transepithelial short-circuit current (I(sc)).

Early and late graft function after laparoscopic hand-assisted donor nephrectomy for living kidney transplantation: comparison with open donor nephrectomy.

Background And Purpose: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become the procedure of choice for living kidney transplantation in many centers. We report on our experience with laparoscopic hand-assisted donor nephrectomy, in particular concerning graft function compared with open donor nephrectomy.

Materials And Methods: Between 1995 and March 2007, 72 patients with end-stage renal disease have received kidney transplantation from living donors.

Resveratrol attenuates 6-hydroxydopamine-induced oxidative damage and dopamine depletion in rat model of Parkinson's disease.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the neuroprotective effects of resveratrol (RES) on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) in rats. PD is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder in which the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is strongly implicated. RES, a polyphenolic antioxidant compound enriched in grapes, has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions and thus was tested for its beneficial effects using 6-OHDA-induced PD rat model.

Laparoscopic vs open retropubic intrafascial nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy: surgical and functional outcomes in 300 patients.

Objective: To evaluate the surgical and functional outcomes in nerve-sparing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (nsLRP) and retropubic nsRP (nsRRP).

Patients And Methods: Between January 2005 and November 2007, 150 nsLRP and 150 nsRRP were performed at our clinic. Demographic data, variables before and after surgery, and outcomes, were compared.

Concomitant endothelin-1 overexpression in lung transplant donors and recipients predicts primary graft dysfunction.

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) causes significant morbidity following lung transplantation (LTX). Mortality is high in PGD and therapeutic strategies are limited. To investigate whether endothelin-1 (ET-1) that mediates increased vascular permeability and edema formation in lung grafts can predict PGD, ET-1 mRNA expression was examined in lung tissue biopsies of 105 donors and recipients obtained shortly before LTX.

Hand-assisted laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy versus open surgery: evaluation of surgical trauma and late graft function in 82 patients.

Objective: We evaluated and quantified surgical trauma and late graft function in cases of hand-assisted laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy (HALLDN) versus open living-donor nephrectom (OLDN).

Methods: This study is a retrospective nonrandomized single-center analysis. Between 1995 and January 2008, 82 patients with end-stage renal disease received kidney transplantations from living donors.

[Current value of laparoscopy for renal transplantation].

Laparoscopic techniques have not only become increasingly more important for patients on dialysis or after kidney transplantation, they also represent the operative standard procedures as almost all patients additionally suffer from concomitant diseases and do carry a higher operative risk. Therefore, these patients will derive special benefits from minimally invasive procedures offering lower morbidity and quick recovery. In centers with expertise in minimally invasive procedures, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has already replaced open live donor nephrectomy as the standard procedure.

Laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty: technique and results in 105 patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the postoperative and functional results of the laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty (LDP).

Patients And Methods: Between May 2000 and April 2008, we performed in our department 105 LDP. All patients presented an ureteropelvic junction obstruction with dilatation of renal calyx system with an enlarged renal pelvis.

Sesamin attenuates behavioral, biochemical and histological alterations induced by reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rats.

Restoration of blood flow to an ischemic brain region is associated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with consequent reperfusion injury. ROS cause lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and DNA damage, all of which are deleterious to cells. So diminishing the production of free radicals and scavenging them may be a successful therapeutic strategy for the protection of brain tissue in cerebral stroke.

Recurrence of renal cell carcinoma in a renal allograft after partial transplant nephrectomy: a case report.

Treatment options for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a renal allograft include radical nephrectomy or nephron-sparing surgery (NSS). We report the case of local recurrence of an RCC in kidney allograft. Five years after previously undergoing NSS, a recurrent lesion was diagnosed in the upper pole of the kidney graft in a 74-year-old patient during routine duplex ultrasonography.

Current treatment paradigms of superior sulcus tumours.

Pancoast or superior pulmonary sulcus tumours are a rare subset of non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs) which occur with an incidence of less than 5% of all lung cancers. Today, induction chemoradiation followed by surgical resection has become the established standard treatment approach for patients with sulcus superior tumours in the absence of other contraindications. This review focusses on the historical change of the treatment strategy, the evolution of surgical and multimodality management of this disease and the most recent published clinical outcome data of patients suffering from superior pulmonary sulcus carcinoma.

Reduction of lipoxidative load by secretory phospholipase A2 inhibition protects against neurovascular injury following experimental stroke in rat.

Background: In animal models, ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury triggers membrane lipid degradation and accumulation of lipoxidative exacerbations in neurovascular unit, leading to blood brain barrier (BBB) damage and neurologic deficits. In this study, we investigated whether impeding membrane lipid breakdown by inhibiting secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) activity reduces BBB leakage, leading to neuroprotection and functional recovery.

Methods: Focal cerebral IR injury was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult male rats.

Effects of Pycnogenol and vitamin E on cognitive deficits and oxidative damage induced by intracerebroventricular streptozotocin in rats.

Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the progression of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Considerable attention has been focused on increasing the internal antioxidant defenses in response to AD. This study was designed to examine and compare the pretreatment effects of Pycnogenol (PYC) and vitamin E (Vit E) on cognitive deficits and oxidative damage in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of intracerebroventricular streptozotocin (ICV-STZ)-infused rats.

Metformin attenuated the autoimmune disease of the central nervous system in animal models of multiple sclerosis.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the CNS. Metformin is the most widely used drug for diabetes and mediates its action via activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). We provide evidence that metformin attenuates the induction of EAE by restricting the infiltration of mononuclear cells into the CNS, down-regulating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-17, and inducible NO synthase (iNOS)), cell adhesion molecules, matrix metalloproteinase 9, and chemokine (RANTES).

Surgical outcomes of fluorescence-guided laparoscopic partial nephrectomy using 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX.

Background: To evaluate the clinical performance of photodynamic diagnostic (PDD) after oral administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) for assessment of tumor type and surgical margins in laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective, non-randomized single-center study. A total of 77 patients with a renal mass < 4 cm diameter underwent laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN).

The Na+/K+-ATPase is the Achilles heel of multi-drug-resistant cancer cells.

We recently reported that over-expressed Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha subunits are new important anti-cancer targets. Cardiotonic steroids are the natural ligands of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and thus potentially potent anti-cancer agents with a novel mechanism of action. We report here that the hemi-synthetic cardenolide 19-hydroxy-2''oxovoruscharin is impressively active in cancer cells expressing diverse forms of multi-drug resistance (MDR) either conferred by the over-expression of selected drug-transporter proteins or induced by a range of chemotherapeutic agents.

Amelioration of cognitive deficits and neurodegeneration by curcumin in rat model of sporadic dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT).

Recent evidence indicates that curcumin (CUR), the principal curcuminoid of turmeric, exhibits antioxidant potential and protects the brain against various oxidative stressors. The aim of the present study was to examine the modulating impacts of CUR against cognitive deficits and oxidative damage in intracerebroventricular-streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) infused rats. Rats were injected bilaterally with ICV-STZ (3 mg/kg), while sham rats received the same volume of vehicle and then supplemented with CUR (80 mg/kg) for three weeks.

Combined cervicothoracic approaches for complex mediastinal masses.

Tumors or masses occurring in the cervicothoracic region show a broad variety in their histologic origin. Accordingly, the indication for surgical resection varies, and especially in malignant lesions, surgery frequently is part of a multimodality treatment. Adequate access is important for any operation in a critical region such as the cervicothoracic junction.