Severe hypertensive flare-up after intravitreal injection of ranibizumab for retinal venous branch occlusion.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins are involved in the regulation of angiogenesis. Systemic adverse effects of some anti-VEGF include hypertension, proteinuria and cardiovascular complications which could involve lower systemic VEGF levels. However, the question regarding intravitreal administration of anti-VEGF remains controversial given that the patients receiving these drugs are often elderly and present cardiac risk factors such as arterial hypertension or atrial fibrillation.

Obesity induces limited changes to systemic and local immune profiles in treatment-naive human clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Understanding the effects of obesity on the immune profile of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients is critical, given the rising use of immunotherapies to treat advanced disease and recent reports of differential cancer immunotherapy outcomes with obesity. Here, we evaluated multiple immune parameters at the genetic, soluble protein, and cellular levels in peripheral blood and renal tumors from treatment-naive clear cell RCC (ccRCC) subjects (n = 69), to better understand the effects of host obesity (Body Mass Index "BMI" ≥ 30 kg/m2) in the absence of immunotherapy. Tumor-free donors (n = 38) with or without obesity were used as controls.

Obesity as defined by waist circumference but not body mass index is associated with higher renal mass complexity.

Objectives: Obesity, typically defined as a body mass index (BMI)≥30kg/m, is an established risk factor for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) but is paradoxically linked to less advanced disease at diagnosis and improved outcomes. However, BMI has inherent flaws, and alternate obesity-defining metrics that emphasize abdominal fat are available. We investigated 3 obesity-defining metrics, to better examine the associations of abdominal fat vs.

Prevalence and bother of patient-reported lower urinary tract symptoms in the muscular dystrophies.

Introduction: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and the less severe Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are characterized by progressive muscle weakness and eventual loss of ambulation, and result from mutations in the dystrophin gene. Dystrophin is essential for skeletal muscle functioning but its role in smooth muscle function is not as well established. In a retrospective review, our group previously demonstrated that roughly half of these patients have at least one documented urologic diagnosis, most commonly being lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and nephrolithiasis.

Measuring and Predicting Patient Dissatisfaction after Anterior Urethroplasty Using Patient Reported Outcomes Measures.

Purpose: Subjective measures of success after urethroplasty have become increasingly valuable in postoperative monitoring. We examined patient reported satisfaction following anterior urethroplasty using objective measures as a proxy for success.

Materials And Methods: Men 18 years old or older with urethral strictures undergoing urethroplasty were prospectively enrolled in a longitudinal, multi-institutional urethroplasty outcomes database.

Functional Conservation in the SIAMESE-RELATED Family of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitors in Land Plants.

The best-characterized members of the plant-specific SIAMESE-RELATED (SMR) family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors regulate the transition from the mitotic cell cycle to endoreplication, also known as endoreduplication, an altered version of the cell cycle in which DNA is replicated without cell division. Some other family members are implicated in cell cycle responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the functions of most SMRs remain unknown, and the specific cyclin-dependent kinase complexes inhibited by SMRs are unclear.

Urologic and gastrointestinal symptoms in the dystroglycanopathies.

Objective: To determine the frequency of urologic and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in a cohort of individuals with dystroglycanopathy compared with healthy household controls.

Methods: Participants in a North American dystroglycanopathy natural history study (NCT00313677) and other members of their households completed a questionnaire modified from validated instruments and clinical criteria. Urologic and GI symptom frequency, effect on patient life, and medications taken for these symptoms were assessed.

Lower urinary tract pain and anterior urethral stricture disease: prevalence and effects of urethral reconstruction.

Purpose: Anterior urethral stricture disease most commonly presents as urinary obstruction. Lower urinary tract pain is not commonly reported as a presenting symptom. We prospectively characterized lower urinary tract pain in association with urethral stricture disease and assessed the effects of urethroplasty on this pain.