Objective: To immunolocate c-kit-positive interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs, known to be responsible for pacemaker activity in human ureters, coordinating ureteric motility) in the intramural ureter of patients with different grades of vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR), to assess the ureteric histology and correlate these findings with manometric patterns.
Patients And Methods: The VU junction (VUJ) represents the boundary between the low-pressure of the upper and high pressure of the lower urinary tract, protecting the upper tract from VUR using active and passive antireflux mechanisms. The contraction of the longitudinal muscle coat of the VUJ possibly functions as an 'active' antireflux system, but previous manometric findings on refluxing ureteric units (RUs) have shown altered patterns.
Home Healthc Nurse
March 2007
Across the United States, spanning urban, suburban, and rural areas, racial and ethnic minority populations are growing faster than White English-speaking populations. Increasingly, healthcare professionals are providing care to patients from diverse cultures with traditions and beliefs that may be unfamiliar and with health practices that may conflict with western medicine. How can home care and hospice professionals navigate this new terrain and communicate effectively across cultural boundaries? One agency's journey toward cultural competency may provide a road map for others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMinerva Pediatr
February 2007
Aim: Recent reports have shown an altered density of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) and peripherin immunoreactive nerve fibres in uretopelvic junction obstruction. The aim was to investigate ICCs immunoexpression and ureteral innervation in primary obstructive megaureter (POM).
Methods: Eight specimens of POM were obtained during tailoring.
Background/purpose: Different studies have evaluated testicular hormonal dysfunction in adolescent varicocele but with variable results. Recently, inhibin B has been proposed as a marker for spermatogenesis and Sertoli cell function. The aim of the present study was to study in a homogeneous cohort of adolescents inhibin B and other hormones to detect whether untreated varicocele may be associated with any modifications of these factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Testicular damage after torsion has been attributed to many mechanisms, of which one is lipid peroxidation of the plasma membrane, which could cause the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family. These proteins are of vital importance for signal transduction pathways and 2 of them, extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-jun N-terminal kinase, participate in the pathogenesis of testicular ischemia. We investigated whether lipid peroxidation may trigger mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in testicular ischemia-reperfusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPelvic floor malformations are congenital defects in the pelvic and perineal area, which are derived from a defective development of the cloaca membrane, the uro-rectal septum, the mesonephric and para-mesonephric ducts and the urogenital sinus. These are complex anomalies with a profound emotional impact on parents. The prenatal diagnosis is possible favoring the prenatal counseling for the parents and expediting the post-natal evaluation and management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe microbial toxin okadaic acid (OA) specifically inhibits PPP-type ser/thr protein phosphatases. OA is an established tumor promoter with numerous cellular effects that include p53-mediated cell cycle arrest. In T51B rat liver epithelial cells, a model useful for tumor promotion studies, p53 activation is induced by tumor-promoting (low nanomolar) concentrations of OA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: To highlight the ultrasonographic features of prenatal torsion of the testis in utero (IUTT) at presentation, the neonatal management and the histological findings postorchiectomy or biopsy.
Methods: Seven newborns underwent emergency exploration for IUTT. All patients underwent a sonography and real-time color Doppler ultrasound study of the scrotum before any surgical procedure.
We have investigated the Rac-dependent mechanism of KCNH2 channel stimulation by thyroid hormone in a rat pituitary cell line, GH(4)C(1), with the patch-clamp technique. Here we present physiological evidence for the protein serine/threonine phosphatase, PP5, as an effector of Rac GTPase signaling. We also propose and test a specific molecular mechanism for PP5 stimulation by Rac-GTP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Phimosis is a common condition in the pediatric age. Circumcision has been the technique of choice for the surgical correction of this condition. As an alternative to circumcision different techniques of preputioplasty have been described in the last years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Constipation is one of the major sequelae in patients after correction of anorectal anomalies (ARAs). The aim of the present work has been to assess the colonic transit time, using radioisotope scintigraphy, in patients operated for ARA and experiencing constipation in the follow-up. The results were compared with transit time from children with true functional constipation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImproved survival because of advances in neonatal care has resulted in an increased number of infants at risk for chronic lung disease. Even though the etiology of lung injury is multifactorial, recent animal and clinical data indicate that pulmonary damage depends in large part on the ventilatory strategies used. Ventilator-associated lung injury was believed to result from the use of high pressure, thus, the term barotraumas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: A few studies have taken into account the diaphragmatic function in patients successfully treated for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Monodimensional sonography has been reported to be useful in assessing the diaphragmatic motility. Aim of the present study was to investigate, in a long-term follow-up, the diaphragmatic function after CDH repair.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) 3/MAPK1 (also known as ERK1/ERK2) plays an important role in the signal transduction pathways. To our knowledge, however, its role in the development of testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury has not yet been investigated. Therefore, we studied the pattern of MAPK3/MAPK1 activation in a experimental model of testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: To identify factors predisposing to abnormal left ventricular geometry and mechanics in 52 patients after successful repair of aortic coarctation.
Methods And Results: We evaluated left ventricular remodelling, systolic midwall mechanics, and isthmic gradient by echo-Doppler, systemic blood pressure at rest/exercise and by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and the aortic arch by magnetic resonance imaging. Echocardiographic findings were compared with those of 142 controls.
Objectives: To investigate the immunoexpression of aquaporin-1 (AQP-1), a major transmembrane water channel, in high-grade varicocele testes, which are known to imply an unbalanced transmembrane water flow, in both tubular and extratubular compartments.
Methods: Light microscopy and AQP-1 immunohistologic examination were carried out on incisional testicular biopsies from 20 adolescent boys, aged 13 to 18 years, with grade 2 or 3 idiopathic varicocele. Testicular tissue from 4 autopsied subjects of matched age were also investigated as parallel controls.
Radiat Prot Dosimetry
February 2005
The radiometric monitoring of tap waters has been carried out, in Northern Italy, since late the 1980s as part of the activities headed by the National Surveillance Network on environmental radioactivity. Measurements were accomplished by gamma spectrometry over large samples of water that were drained in a single place and concentrated by ion exchange resin treatment. More recently a regular, periodical monitoring was started using liquid scintillation measurements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTestis torsion is a surgical emergency that lead to permanent gonad damage. The damage has been ascribed to mechanisms of ischemia-reperfusion similar to other tissues. The mechanisms involved are different, but the lipid peroxidation of plasma membrane, caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated particularly during reperfusion, is one of the most accredited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe solution structure of contryphan-Vn, a cyclic peptide with a double cysteine S-S bridge and containing a D-tryptophan extracted from the venom of the cone snail Conus ventricosus, has been determined by NMR spectroscopy using a variety of homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR methods and restrained molecular dynamics simulations. The main conformational features of backbone contryphan-Vn are a type IV beta-turn from Gly 1 to Lys 6 and a type I beta-turn from Lys 6 to Cys 9. As already found in other contryphans, one of the two prolines--the Pro4--is mainly in the cis conformation while Pro7 is trans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Both aquaporin (AQP) 1 and the stem-cell factor/C-kit system seem to have a definite role in testis function, but very few studies have been reported in humans, especially in the paediatric age group. With the present study we wanted to investigate the expression of these proteins to better delineate their role in normal and pathologic testes.
Methods: Immunohistology using AQP 1 and C-kit antibodies was performed on paraffin sections of open-testicular biopsies from 32 undescended testes.
The effect of physical training on the natural history of varicocele has received little attention. The aim of the present pilot study was to evaluate the prevalence of idiopathic varicocele in young athletes, in the attempt to find a correlation between the training workload and the clinical grade of varicocele. We evaluated 150 adolescents with an age of 10-16 yr (median age: 13 yr).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImproved survival from advances in neonatal care has resulted in an increased number of infants at risk for chronic lung disease (CLD). Recently, it was reported that inflammatory mediators such as interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and IL-8 are present in higher concentrations in lung lavage from babies who develop CLD. Previously, we found that melatonin reduced the rises in proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha) and nitrite/nitrate levels in the serum of preterm newborns with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: Cytokines are inflammatory mediators found in the circulation after surgery. Newborns have less protection against oxidation and are very susceptible to free radical oxidative damage. Melatonin has been reported recently to reduce oxidative stress in neonates with sepsis, asphyxia, and respiratory distress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been reported to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of sepsis and liver dysfunction. In particular, neonates are at risk for sepsis and have less protection against oxidation. Melatonin has been reported to reduce the oxidative stress status in neonates with sepsis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Med Chir
January 2004
Neonatal adrenal abscess is an extremely rare condition. 32 cases, 4 bilateral, have been described in the world literature. We treated successfully other two bilateral cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF