Isolation of anaerobic organisms from kidney in serious renal infections.

We have studied 45 patients who underwent nephrectomy owing to unilateral renal sepsis for anaerobic and aerobic bacterial growth in the urine and kidney. Anaerobic organisms were recovered from 11 patients: 10 had positive kidney cultures, and only 1 had positive kidney and urine cultures. There was a distinct relationship between anaerobic infection of the kidney and urinary tract obstruction; 44 per cent of the obstructed kidneys yielded anaerobic organisms versus only 11 per cent of the unobstructed kidneys.

Kidney damage in recurrent renal lithiasis. A survey of 175 cases with clinicopathological observations.

We evaluated the degree of kidney damage in 175 patients treated by nephrectomy for recurrent renal stones. Renal histopathological lesions of the removed kidneys were graded and correlated to clinical and operative findings. Nonexcreting kidneys on intravenous pyelography or small atrophic kidneys with poor contrast excretion showing advanced hydronephrosis and pyelonephritic scarring intraoperatively corresponding to kidneys with advanced parenchymatous destruction histopathologically.

The response of the juxtaglomerular apparatus to stimuli effecting renin or erythropoietin release in canine renal allografts.

The functioning canine renal allograft produces plasma renin activity (PRA) and erythropoietin (ESF) activity and can maintain normal blood pressure and normal erythropoiesis. Moreover, in response to various provocative stimuli it can: (i) increase plasma renin activity in response to low sodium intake; (ii) suppress PRA in response to high sodium intake; (iii) produce increased serum erythropoietin in response to hypoxia. The granulation activity of the juxtaglomerular apparatus correlates best with the degree of graft rejection and with the PRA in groups manipulated by changing sodium balance.

Antiprostatic effects of a nitrogen mustard of estriol.

The chemical ester of a nitrogen mustard with estriol was tested for its antiprostatic effects in dogs and rats. The E33-mustard was shown to interfere with the uptake of labeled estriol in the dog prostate and by the ventral prostate of the rat; and to increase the uptake of the radioactivity associated with testosterone in the dog prostate. The weights of the ventral and dorsolateral prostates of the rat were significantly reduced following the administration of E3-mustard for 2 days.

Prostatic effects of a nonsteroidal antiandrogen.

The possible mechanisms for the antiprostatic effects of a nonsteroidal antiandrogen, SCH 13521 (4'-nitro-3'-trifluoromethylisobutyranilide), were investigated in rats and dogs. The influence of administered SCH 13521 on the deposition of the radioactivity associated with labeled testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and estriol (E-3) in the prostate and other tissues of the dog, and rat was determined in short term experiments. SCH 13521 definitely interfered with the localization of the radioactivity of these steroids in the prostate and indicated a competitive situation between SCH 13521 and the steroids.

Prognosis of bladder carcinoma in patients treated with cystectomy.

Prognostic criteria for bladder tumors are the stage and grade of the tumor in the present series of 82 patients, in which all patients received the same treatment. These criteria are related and the combined evaluation increases the prognostic accuracy for the disease. In addition, the diameter and not the number of bladder tumors on primary diagnosis is an important prognostic sign.

Potential test systems for drugs against prostatic cancer.

A number of chemotherapeutic agents have been tested in two systems which could be useful as models in the search for effective drugs for cancer of the prostate. One system involved the effects of the administered drugs on rat prostatic 5 alpha-reductase and arginase activities. Since both enzymic systems are androgen dependent and essential for prostatic function and anatomy, the effectiveness of a drug in these systems could be indicative of its value in the treatment of prostatic cancer.

Direct effect of prostaglandins in renal function and renin release in the presence of renal ischemia in the dog.

Prostaglandins PGE-1 or PGA-1 (0.5 to 1 mug per min) were infused into the stenosed renal artery of anesthetized hypertensive dogs. Increased urine volume, sodium and potassium excretion, and p-aminohippurate clearance were found during the prostaglandin infusion period in the infused kidney as compared to the control periods before infusion.

Comparison and significance of respiration and glycolysis of prostatic tissue from various species.

The respiration and glycolysis of prostatic tissue from baboons, rhesus monkeys, dogs and rats were compared to the respiration and glycolysis in human prostatic tissue. All the primate prostates had a high glycolytic ability and a low respiration in contrast to the rat and dog prostate. Treatment of baboons with drugs clinically effective against prostatic cancer did not change the prostatic metabolism despite a marked prostatic atrophy.

Changes of renal ATPase enzymes in different types of kidney preservation.

After 24-hr storage of canine kidneys with extracellular or intracellular (Ursol) solutions, the cortical and medullary renal ATPase enzymes (total Na+ + K+ and Mg-ATPase, Na+ + K+ -ATPase, and Mg-ATPase) were examined. It was found that storage with extracellular solution decreased all cortical enzymes. This was not the case with intracellular solution or in kidneys cooled and stored without any solution.

Morphological responses of benign human prostatic hypertrophic tissue to chemotherapeutic agents in an in vitro culture system.

The in vitro maintenance of hypertrophic tissue with fluid containing cytotoxic drugs showed more degenerative changes in prostatic epithelium and stroma of the tissue compared with concurrently cultured aliquots of control tissue. It is suggested that theses morphological changes can be related with functional activity of the tissue. The mechanism of such an action is at present unsettled, but an interference on known enzymatic systems regulating prostatic growth seems likely.

Tumor antigen and acid phosphatase isoenzyme in prostatic cancer.

Plasma and prostatic fluid from man, dog, and baboon were measured for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) by a radioimmunoassay technique. No CEA was detected in plasma, prostatic fluid, or seminal fluid in 12 dogs and three baboons. Elevated CEA (less than 2.