[Relationship between Serum Testosterone Levels and Diagnosis of Late-Onset Hypogonadism in Patients Visiting an Outpatient Clinic].

The clinical practice manual for late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) was updated in 2022. This study analyzed the total and free testosterone levels of patients who visited our specialized hypogonadism outpatient clinic and examined the characteristics of patients eligible for androgen replacement therapy (TRT), using the 2007 guidelines and the new guidelines as references. Among a total of 770 patients that visited our clinic,11.

Testosterone Therapy for Late-Onset Hypogonadism Improves Erectile Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of testosterone therapy (TTh) for late-onset hypogonadism are systematically reviewed and a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of TTh in improving erectile function is performed.

Methods: The PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify RCTs published from 2007. RCTs that assessed erectile function using the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EFD) were included in the meta-analysis.

[Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy for Prostate Ductal Carcinoma with Large Multiple Cysts Prior to Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy].

A 71-year-old man with gross hematuria and urinary retention showed a 7×8 cm polycystic mass compressing the prostate on the right ventral side on pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was 6.47 ng/ml.

Successful Ultra-Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Intrarenal Surgery for 2-Year-Old Boy with Bilateral Cystine Kidney Stones Over 2 cm.

Treatment of upper urinary tract stones measuring >2 cm in children aged <3 years is challenging. Although adult-sized instruments are usually available, in pediatric populations such instruments seem unreasonable and unfit for children with small kidneys and narrow ureters. We use ultra-miniaturized endoscopes and instruments to reduce the damage to normal tissues in pediatric patients.

[Late Relapse of Testicular Cancer at the Pelvis with Elevated AFP Levels : A Case Report].

We report a patient with seminoma which recurred as late relapse at the pelvis with elevated alphafetoprotein (AFP) levels. A 40-year-old man presented with a left testicular tumor and subsequently underwent high orchiectomy in 2006. Pathological findings showed that the tumor was a seminoma with invasion into the tunica albuginea (pT2N0M0).

Comparison of Silodosin Monotherapy vs Silodosin With Tadalafil Add-on Therapy in Patients With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of add-on therapy with the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil for patients with lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) treated with the α-adrenoceptor blocker silodosin.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 103 patients with LUTS/BPH with an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of >8 after ≥4 weeks of silodosin treatment from April 2016 through December 2016 at Kori Hospital. The patients subsequently received silodosin 4.

Preoperative Pyuria Is a Poor Prognostic Factor in Patients With Urothelial Carcinoma of the Upper Urinary Tract After Surgery.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of preoperative pyuria in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma after surgery.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated data on 157 patients with nonmetastatic upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma who had undergone surgery at our institution. The associations between clinical features and advanced pathological findings were evaluated using a logistic regression model.

RNAi targeting embryonic myosin heavy chain isoform inhibited bound thrombin-induced migration of vascular smooth muscle cells.

To investigate the effect of bound thrombin, a complex of alpha-thrombin with fibrin fragments derived from clots, on proliferation and migration of cultured rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells, cell proliferation was measured by WST-1 reagent and migration was evaluated by counting migrated cells through pores of cell culture insert (8 mum size) after 48-hour treatment with bound thrombin (10 U/ml). To examine the role of an embryonic myosin heavy chain isoform (SMemb) in these effects by bound thrombin, the cells were subsequently treated for 48 h with an siRNA expression vector (ORF-2/pSilencer) directed against the open reading frame of SMemb mRNA. SMemb and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 mRNA expressions were measured by Northern blot analysis.

RNA interference targeting embryonic myosin heavy chain isoform inhibited mRNA expressions of phenotype markers in rabbit cultured vascular smooth muscle cells.

To investigate whether the knockdown of SMemb gene expression induces phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells toward a contractile type, we constructed a siRNA targeting the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of SMemb gene (SMemb-siRNA). The SMemb-siRNA was introduced into cultured rabbit VSM cells for 48 h at 37 degrees C by the lipofection method. The mRNA expressions were estimated by comparative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Elevation of intracellular cAMP up-regulated thrombomodulin mRNA in cultured vascular endothelial cells derived from spontaneous type-II diabetes mellitus model rat.

To investigate whether antihemostatic function of vascular endothelial cells (VECs) is changed in type-II diabetic model rats, the mRNA expressions of tissue-type and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (t-PA and u-PA), thrombomodulin (TM), PA inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), and phosphodiesterases (type 3A, 3B, and 4D PDEs) were quantitated by the method of comparative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). VECs from type-II diabetic model Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats and from its normal counterpart (LETO) rats were cultured for 24 h with dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (db-cAMP) or a type-3 PDE inhibitor, cilostazol. Intracellular cAMP concentration was determined by the chemiluminescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system.

Argatroban, specific thrombin inhibitor, induced phenotype change of cultured rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells.

To investigate whether argatroban ((2R,4R)-4-methyl-1-[N(2)-((RS)-3-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-8-quinolinesulfonyl)-L-arginyl]-2-piperidinecarboxylic acid hydrate, a selective thrombin inhibitor, exerts a direct action on phenotype conversion of vascular smooth muscle cells, cultured rabbit aortic vascular smooth muscle cells were employed. Myosin heavy chain isoforms (SM1, SM2, and SMemb) mRNA expressions were evaluated by in situ hybridization and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After the cells were incubated in serum-free medium containing argatroban (10 and 50 microg/ml) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB (10 and 50 ng/ml) for 3 h, total RNA was extracted.