Safety and feasibility of fat injection therapy with adipose-derived stem cells in a rabbit hypoglossal nerve paralysis model: A pilot study.

Objective: The aim of this study is to establish a unilateral tongue atrophy model by cutting the hypoglossal nerve and to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a fat injection of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to restore swallowing function.

Methods: A total of 12 rabbits were randomized to three groups; the ADSCs+fat group (n=4), the fat group (n=4) and the control group (n=4). All rabbits were treated with denervation of the left hypoglossal nerve and their conditions including body weight and food intake were checked during follow-up periods (8 weeks).

Precise estimation of renal vascular dominant regions using spatially aware fully convolutional networks, tensor-cut and Voronoi diagrams.

This paper presents a new approach for precisely estimating the renal vascular dominant region using a Voronoi diagram. To provide computer-assisted diagnostics for the pre-surgical simulation of partial nephrectomy surgery, we must obtain information on the renal arteries and the renal vascular dominant regions. We propose a fully automatic segmentation method that combines a neural network and tensor-based graph-cut methods to precisely extract the kidney and renal arteries.

The role of capsaicin-sensitive C-fiber afferent pathways in the control of micturition in spinal-intact and spinal cord-injured mice.

We examined bladder and urethral sphincter activity in mice with or without spinal cord injury (SCI) after C-fiber afferent desensitization induced by capsaicin pretreatment and changes in electrophysiological properties of mouse bladder afferent neurons 4 wk after SCI. Female C57BL/6N mice were divided into four groups: ) spinal intact (SI)-control, ) SI-capsaicin pretreatment (Cap), ) SCI-control, and ) SCI-Cap groups. Continuous cystometry and external urethral sphincter (EUS)-electromyogram (EMG) were conducted under an awake condition.

Immunization of A4galt-deficient mice with glycosphingolipids from renal cell cancers resulted in the generation of anti-sulfoglycolipid monoclonal antibodies.

In this study, we immunized Gb3/CD77 synthase gene (A4galt) knockout (KO) mice with glycosphingolipids (GSLs) extracted from 3 renal cell cancer (RCC) cell lines to raise monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reactive with globo-series GSLs specifically expressed in RCCs. Although a number of mAbs reactive with globo-series GSLs were generated, they reacted with both RCC cell lines and normal kidney cells. When we analyzed recognized antigens by mAbs that were specifically reactive with RCC, but not with normal kidney cells at least on the cell surface, many of them turned out to be reactive with sulfoglycolipids.

Urinary human L-FABP is a potential biomarker to predict COX-inhibitor-induced renal injury.

Background/aim: A strong demand exists for the development of sensitive biomarkers in the nephrology field. We propose urinary human L-type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) as an earlier biomarker to detect the outcome of chronic renal injury induced by cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors using human L-FABP transgenic mice.

Methods: After consuming a low-sodium diet for 2 weeks, transgenic mice were administered meloxicam or celecoxib with the low-sodium diet.

Renal L-type fatty acid--binding protein in acute ischemic injury.

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) bind unsaturated fatty acids and lipid peroxidation products during tissue injury from hypoxia. We evaluated the potential role of L-type FABP (L-FABP) as a biomarker of renal ischemia in both human kidney transplant patients and animal models. Urinary L-FABP levels were measured in the first urine produced from 12 living-related kidney transplant patients immediately after reperfusion of their transplanted organs, and intravital video analysis of peritubular capillary blood flow was performed simultaneously.

Defining overactive bladder as hypersensitivity.

Overactive bladder (OAB), according to the International Continence Society (ICS) definition, is a symptom syndrome, with urgency as the cornerstone symptom. However, the word 'urgency' and its definition continue to be the subject of much debate and confusion. It is generally difficult for patients to differentiate urgency from normal urge, particularly when the desire to void is strong.

Laparoscopic pyeloplasty using endoscopic GIA stapler for ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

Purpose: We applied laparoscopic pyeloplasty in 10 patients with ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction. To evaluate the efficiency and safety of this procedure using an endoscopic GIA stapler, the clinical outcomes and our procedures are presented.

Patients And Methods: From August 1996 to March 2003, eight female and two male patients with a mean age of 22.