Recent technological development of penile prosthesis: a literature review.

Background And Objective: In contemporary Urology, the gold standard for treatment of erectile dysfunction refractory to medical therapy has been implantation with a penile prosthesis. The past 40 years has witnessed evolutions in technology and surgical techniques, which have led to increased patient satisfaction rates and decreased complication and infection rates. This review is an update to a prior review article that evaluates these advancements in the context of patient satisfaction and different rates of complications following surgeries.

Small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and coronary artery calcification in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Aims: Elevated small dense LDL cholesterol (sd-LDL-C) increases atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Although coronary artery calcification (CAC) is widely used for predicting CVD events, few studies have examined the relationship between sd-LDL-C and CAC.

Methods And Results: This study included 4672 individuals with directly measured baseline sd-LDL-C and CAC from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis [mean (standard deviation) age: 61.

Clomiphene Citrate in the Management of Infertility in Oligospermic Obese Men with Hypogonadism: Retrospective Pilot Study.

Obesity is a significant risk factor for hypogonadism and infertility that is further associated with reduced semen quality. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of clomiphene citrate (CC), prescribed for treating infertility, on serum testosterone and semen parameters, particularly in oligospermic obese hypogonadal men. : A retrospective analysis of data related to men ( = 53) who underwent CC treatment for infertility and hypogonadism (testosterone < 300 ng/dL) was performed.

Do Minimally Invasive Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Treatments Preserve Sexual Function? A Contemporary Review of the Literature.

Purpose Of Review: The aim of this study is to compare the sexual function outcomes related to minimally invasive surgical therapies (MISTs) (UroLift, Rezum™, Aquablation, prostate artery embolization, and iTind for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Recent Findings: Clinical trials and retrospective data evaluating MISTs for BPH have demonstrated improved or stable sexual function outcomes when compared to sham control or transurethral resection of the prostate. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and following treatments using patient-reported outcome measures.

Penile reconstruction: An up-to-date review of the literature.

Objective: : To review the literature on adult penile reconstruction due to Peyronie's disease, trauma and cosmesis, while emphasising specific surgical techniques and procedures such as phalloplasty, radial forearm free flap reconstruction, and penile transplant.

Methods: : A comprehensive review of the literature for the years 1992-2020 of the PubMed and SpringerLink databases was performed to identify articles on penile reconstruction. Search terms included 'penile reconstruction', 'penile trauma', 'phalloplasty', 'penile transplant', and 'treatment of Peyronie's'.

Hyperthyroidism as an Underlying Cause of Premature Ejaculation.

Introduction: Hormonal imbalances have been associated with various sexual dysfunction disorders. In particular, the connection of hyperthyroidism has been discovered to correlate to premature ejaculation (PE) but has yet to been thoroughly elucidated. As one of the most frequently self-reported sexual dysfunctions, it is imperative for health care professionals to evaluate possible underlying conditions in regard to treatment options for individuals with PE.

The Pursuit and Advancement of Knowledge as a Justification for the Use of Animals in Research.

It is commonly said that animal research is sometimes ethically appropriate because it can lead to knowledge, irrespective of benefits this knowledge might bring to humans or animals. Proponents of this view, which I call the "knowledge justification," have been unclear about what they mean by the term "knowledge." They also omit from the justification other features of animal research that are intimately connected with the pursuit and advancement of knowledge.

The Moral Status of Human-Animal Chimeras with Human Brain Cells.

While there is not unanimity (across time or cultures), almost all who read this commentary will think that both they and a toddler have a moral status higher than that of a rat. For instance, they will think that a third party who has to choose whom to save from death should choose them over the rat, and the toddler over the rat. But what is it about humans that gives us this greater moral status? This question is particularly pressing when considering that scientists have begun creating human-animal chimeras with brains composed partly or wholly of human cells.

Russell and Burch's 3Rs then and now: the need for clarity in definition and purpose.

Russell and Burch's The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique was first published in 1959. A Special Edition containing the original text was reissued in 1992, after its ideas had gained widespread interest in the scientific community. In the Principles, Russell and Burch proposed a new applied science that would improve the treatment of laboratory animals while advancing the quality of science in studies that use animals.

The promise and peril of the pharmacological enhancer Modafinil.

The neuro-enhancement Modafinil promises to dramatically increase users' waking hours without much sacrifice to clarity of thought and without serious side effects (inducing addiction). For Modafinil to be advantageous, its usage must enable access to goods that themselves improve the quality of one's life. I draw attention to a variety of conditions that must be met for an experience, activity or object to improve the quality of one's life, such as positional, relational, and saturation conditions, as well as it's being good for its own sake.

Bortezomib in the rapid reduction of high sustained antibody titers in disorders treated with therapeutic protein: lessons learned from Pompe disease.

Purpose: High sustained antibody titers complicate many disorders treated with a therapeutic protein, including those treated with enzyme replacement therapy, such as Pompe disease. Although enzyme replacement therapy with alglucosidase alfa (Myozyme) in Pompe disease has improved the prognosis of this otherwise lethal disorder, patients who develop high sustained antibody titers to alglucosidase alfa enter a prolonged phase of clinical decline resulting in death despite continued enzyme replacement therapy. Clinically effective immune-tolerance induction strategies have yet to be described in the setting of an entrenched immune response characterized by high sustained antibody titers, wherein antibody-producing plasma cells play an especially prominent role.

Complete maternal isodisomy of chromosome 8 in an individual with an early-onset ileal carcinoid tumor.

Uniparental disomy (UPD) is a condition in which diploid individuals possess a chromosome pair from a single parent. In some instances, UPD causes an abnormal phenotype due to imprinting effects, reduction to homozygosity at recessive disease loci, or trisomy mosaicism. Here we report the first account of an individual with apparently nonmosaic complete maternal isodisomy of chromosome 8.

Type 2 diabetes: evidence for linkage on chromosome 20 in 716 Finnish affected sib pairs.

We are conducting a genome scan at an average resolution of 10 centimorgans (cM) for type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes in 716 affected sib pairs from 477 Finnish families. To date, our best evidence for linkage is on chromosome 20 with potentially separable peaks located on both the long and short arms. The unweighted multipoint maximum logarithm of odds score (MLS) was 3.

A large sample of finnish diabetic sib-pairs reveals no evidence for a non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus susceptibility locus at 2qter.

In the first reported positive result from a genome scan for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), Hanis et al. found significant evidence of linkage for NIDDM on chromosome 2q37 and named the putative disease locus NIDDM1 (Hanis et al. 1996.

Methods for precise sizing, automated binning of alleles, and reduction of error rates in large-scale genotyping using fluorescently labeled dinucleotide markers. FUSION (Finland-U.S. Investigation of NIDDM Genetics) Study Group.

Large-scale genotyping is required to generate dense identity-by-descent maps to map genes for human complex disease. In some studies the number of genotypes needed can approach or even exceed 1 million. Generally, linkage and linkage disequilibrium analyses depend on clear allele identification and subsequent allele frequency estimation.

Localization of microtubules containing posttranslationally modified tubulin in cochlear epithelial cells during development.

In the adult gerbil inner ear, hair cell microtubules contain predominantly tyrosinated tubulin while supporting cell microtubules contain almost exclusively other isoforms. This cell-type specific segregation of tubulin isoforms is unusual, and in this respect the sensory and supporting cells in this sensory organ differ from other cells observed both in vivo and in vitro. Thus, we hypothesized there must be a shift in the presence and location of tubulin isoforms during development, directly associated with the onset of specialized functions of the cells.