Catheter burden following urogynecologic surgery.

Background: Data on the experience that women who undergo urogynecologic surgery have with postoperative catheterization are severely limited. As the importance of our patients' perioperative experience becomes more valued, assessment of the burden of postoperative catheterization, which has not yet been performed, is increasingly needed.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare catheter burden in women who self-selected use of an indwelling Foley catheter vs clean intermittent self-catheterization for voiding dysfunction after reconstructive pelvic surgery.

RASopathies are associated with a distinct personality profile.

Personality is a complex, yet partially heritable, trait. Although some Mendelian diseases like Williams-Beuren syndrome are associated with a particular personality profile, studies have failed to assign the personality features to a single gene or pathway. As a family of monogenic disorders caused by mutations in the Ras/MAPK pathway known to influence social behavior, RASopathies are likely to provide insight into the genetic basis of personality.

Health Literacy in Women Presenting to a Urogynecology Practice.

Objective: Health literacy (HL) is the degree to which an individual can obtain, process, and communicate basic health information to make appropriate health decisions. Understanding HL of patients can improve outcomes. Thus, we evaluated HL in women with pelvic floor disorders and investigated its relationship to patient demographics, reading level, and cognition.

Caspase-1 deficiency decreases atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-null mice.

Background: Caspase-1 is a cysteine protease that contributes to mammalian immunity through proteolytic activation of the proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18.

Methods: To determine if caspase-1 deficiency can protect apolipoprotein E-null (Apoe(-/-)) mice from atherosclerosis, gender-matched, paired-littermate Apoe(-/-) mice with (Casp1(+/+)Apoe(-/-)) or without (Casp1(-/-)Apoe(-/-)) a functional caspase-1 (Casp1) gene were fed either a low fat diet for 26 weeks, or a saturated fat and cholesterol-enriched diet for 8 weeks. Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were determined and atherosclerosis was quantified in the aortic sinus and aortic arch.

Deficiency of invariant V alpha 14 natural killer T cells decreases atherosclerosis in LDL receptor null mice.

Aims: CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) cells function by regulating numerous immune responses during innate and adaptive immunity. Depletion of all populations of CD1d-dependent NKT cells has been shown by several groups to reduce atherosclerosis in two different mouse models of the disease. In this study, we determined if removal of a single (V alpha 14) NKT cell population protects mice from the disease.