Rehabilitation and the single cell.

Cellular damage triggers rapid resealing of the plasma membrane and repair of the cortical cytoskeleton. Plasma membrane resealing results from calcium-dependent fusion of membranous organelles and the plasma membrane at the site of the damage. Cortical cytoskeletal repair results from local assembly of actin filaments (F-actin), myosin-2 and microtubules into an array that closes around the original wound site.

Intracellular trafficking of plasmids for gene therapy: mechanisms of cytoplasmic movement and nuclear import.

Under physiologically relevant conditions, the levels of non-viral gene transfer are low at best. The reason for this is that many barriers exist for the efficient transfer of genes to cells, even before any gene expression can occur. While many transfection strategies focus on DNA condensation and overcoming the plasma membrane, events associated with the intracellular trafficking of the DNA complexes have not been as extensively studied.

Renal artery embolization: clinical indications and experience from over 100 cases.

Objective: To review current indications and techniques for renal artery embolization (RAE) and more specifically to review cases of RAE before nephrectomy for treating patients with a large renal mass.

Patients And Methods: All RAEs done at our institution between May 1993 and December 2005 were reviewed. Patients were identified using a database assembled by the Division of Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology.

Effect of combination therapy with enalapril and the TGF-beta antagonist 1D11 in unilateral ureteral obstruction.

In unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), the kidney is characterized by increased fibrosis and apoptosis. Both transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and ANG II have been implicated, and ANG II may mediate its effects through TGF-beta. Previous studies demonstrated amelioration of renal damage when either TGF-beta or ANG II has been individually targeted.

Metaproteomics approach to study the functionality of the microbiota in the human infant gastrointestinal tract.

A metaproteomics approach comprising two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (mass spectrometry) was applied to the largely uncultured infant fecal microbiota for the first time. The fecal microbial metaproteome profiles changed over time, and one protein spot contained a peptide sequence that showed high similarity to those of bifidobacterial transaldolases.

Proteomic analysis of log to stationary growth phase Lactobacillus plantarum cells and a 2-DE database.

Lactobacillus plantarum is part of the natural microbiota of many food fermentations as well as the human gastro-intestinal tract. The cytosolic fraction of the proteome of L. plantarum WCFS1, whose genome has been sequenced, was studied.

Renal cell carcinoma sub-typing by histopathology and fluorescence in situ hybridization on a needle-biopsy specimen.

Objective: To determine the subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) on needle-core biopsies of renal masses using histopathology and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and to evaluate the use of interphase FISH to augment the accuracy of needle-core biopsies.

Patients And Methods: Histology correlates with prognosis in RCC but, historically, biopsies are inaccurate for histological subtype. As histological subtypes of RCC have distinct cytogenetic abnormalities (loss of 3p in clear cell, trisomy 7 or 17 in papillary and widespread chromosomal losses in chromophobe), we hypothesized that FISH would improve the accuracy of biopsies.

Diagnosis of renal tumors on needle biopsy specimens by histological and molecular analysis.

Purpose: We diagnosed the subtypes of renal cell carcinoma on needle core biopsies using a combination of histopathology and a molecular diagnostic algorithm.

Materials And Methods: Core biopsies were taken of renal tumors following nephrectomy. RNA was extracted and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed for 4 gene products to differentiate among renal cell carcinoma subtypes.

Edward Loughborough Keyes: an early twentieth century leader in urology.

Purpose: Edward Loughborough Keyes was a renowned urologist, decorated war hero, prolific writer and beloved professor. Having served as president of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, the American Urological Association, the International Urological Society and the Clinical Urological Association, Keyes in large part steered the course of urology during the early twentieth century.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed letters, original publications and historical records pertaining to Doctor Keyes found in the New York Hospital archives, the American Urological Association historical record, the medical literature and the popular press.

An assessment of deprivation as a factor in the delays in presentation, diagnosis and treatment in patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

This study explores the relationship between deprivation and patient and professional delays in presentation and treatment of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The cohort comprised 559 consecutive previously untreated patients presenting to the Regional Maxillofacial Unit, Liverpool from 1 January 1992 to 31 December 2002. All had primary surgery.

Renovascular hypertension.

Renovascular hypertension is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. Interest in identifying patients with renal artery stenosis has been stimulated recently by advances in three areas. First, is the realization that not only can renal artery stenosis cause renovascular hypertension, but it can also lead to progressive renal failure (ischemic nephropathy) caused by progression of disease, usually atherosclerotic in nature.

Long-Term Experience With 5-alpha-Reductase Inhibitors.

Finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, dramatically suppresses the production of dihydrotestosterone in men; thus, attention has turned to this agent for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). A number of randomized clinical trials have studied finasteride's effects on prostate size, BPH symptoms, flow rate, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Although the decrease in symptoms with finasteride therapy has been modest compared with more invasive treatments, its use has resulted in sustained reductions in prostatic volume and PSA level with minimal adverse effects.

Long-Term Experience with 5-alpha-Reductase Inhibitors.

Finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, dramatically suppresses the production of dihydrotestosterone in men; thus, attention has turned to this agent for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). A number of randomized clinical trials have studied finasteride's effects on prostate size, BPH symptoms, flow rate, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Although the decrease in symptoms with finasteride therapy has been modest compared with more invasive treatments, its use has resulted in sustained reductions in prostatic volume and PSA level with minimal adverse effects.

The proximal neurovascular plate and the tri-zonal neural architecture around the prostate gland: importance in the athermal robotic technique of nerve-sparing prostatectomy.

Objective: To review the neural architecture around the prostate gland, as it is relevant for nerve-sparing robotic prostatectomy, including in particular the anatomy of the proximal neurovascular tissue, the neurovascular bundle (NVB), and accessory neural pathways (ANPs).

Materials And Methods: The aims of this study were achieved in collaboration between the Cornell Institute of Robotic Surgery, New York, NY, USA and the Institute of Urology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. The broad steps were: (i) anatomical studies of 10 fresh and two fixed male cadavers; and (ii) collection of videotape and still image data from 200 men undergoing radical prostatectomy by the athermal robotic technique at the Cornell Institute.

Changes over time in addiction security index problem dimensions among cocaine abusers1 treated in community settings.

Clinical trials have yielded evidence for the efficacy of treatment for cocaine dependence but are limited in their ability to generalize their results to those attending community treatment programs for drug dependence. This study aimed to determine whether 223 cocaine-dependent males attending one of three different residential community treatment centers in Miami-Dade County, Florida exhibited change in Addiction Severity Index (ASI) problem dimensions similar to those participating in clinical trials. Results of repeated-measures analysis of variance yielded evidence for reductions over time in six of seven ASI dimensions.

Angiotensin receptor blockade decreases fibrosis and fibroblast expression in a rat model of unilateral ureteral obstruction.

Purpose: Unilateral ureteral obstruction is characterized by histopathological changes including interstitial fibrosis, fibroblast specific protein expression, tubular atrophy and apoptosis, and macrophage infiltration. Angiotensin II has been implicated in some of these changes. We examined the effect of angiotensin blockade on markers of renal injury, including fibroblast specific protein expression, fibrosis, apoptosis and macrophage infiltration.

A questionnaire survey of current UK practice for adjuvant radiotherapy following surgery for oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

A postal questionnaire was sent to 281 members of the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (BAHNO) to survey, which patients should receive adjuvant radiotherapy following primary surgery for oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (O&OSCC). Two hundred and one clinicians were involved in decision making for adjuvant radiotherapy in O&OSCC, of which, 132 (66%) responded. Apart from general agreement that patients with involved margins or extracapsular spread (ECS) should have adjuvant radiotherapy and that in patients with small tumours with clear margins and no neck metastasis, radiotherapy should be avoided, opinion was divided.

Potential probiotic Lactobacillus strains from fermented sausages: Further investigations on their probiotic properties.

A rational selection of probiotic microorganisms is an important challenge and requires the definition of fundamental information about the physiology and genetics of candidate strains. In this study, selected Lactobacillus (Lact.) strains already characterized in a previous study for their capability to resist low pH and to grow in conditions simulating the intestinal environment, were further investigated to explore their probiotic properties, such as the adhesion capability to intestinal human Caco-2 cell lines and their growth behaviour in the presence of various prebiotic carbohydrates.

Timing and presentation of recurrent oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and awareness in the outpatient clinic.

The aim of this study was to assess the timing of outpatient review appointments in relation to tumour recurrence. A retrospective review of 278 consecutive previously untreated patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) between 1995 and 1999 was performed. Information on the time of recurrence, site, presentation, treatment and outcome was collected.

Artisanal and experimental Pecorino Siciliano cheese: microbial dynamics during manufacture assessed by culturing and PCR-DGGE analyses.

Traditional artisanal Pecorino Siciliano (PS) cheeses, and two experimental PS cheeses were manufactured using either raw or pasteurised ewes' milk with the addition of starter cultures. The bacterial diversity and dynamics of the different cheese types were evaluated both by culturing and characterisation of isolates, and a culture-independent approach based on the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. Following cultivation, artisanal and experimental cheese types showed similar microbial counts, and isolates belonging to Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Enterococcus faecalis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were identified by phenotypic characterisation and comparison of the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the 16S rRNA gene to that of reference species.

A microbial world within us.

The microbial world within us includes a vast array of gastrointestinal (GI) tract communities that play an important role in health and disease. Significant progress has been made in recent years in describing the intestinal microbial composition based on the application of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-based approaches. These were not only instrumental in providing a phylogenetic framework of the more than 1000 different intestinal species but also illustrated the temporal and spatial diversity of the microbial GI tract composition that is host-specific and affected by the genotype.

The influence of allogenic blood transfusion in patients having free-flap primary surgery for oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

The influence of perioperative blood transfusion in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma remains uncertain. It is believed that blood transfusion downregulates the immune system and may have an influence on cancer recurrence and survival. In all, 559 consecutive patients undergoing primary surgery for oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma between 1992 and 2002 were included in this study.

Inhibitors of 5alpha-reductase in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The description of 5alpha-reductase deficiency in male pseudohermaphroditism, characterization of type-1 and type-2 isoenzymes of 5alpha-reductase, and development of 4-aza steroid competitive inhibitors of 5alpha-reductase were milestones in the development of 5alpha-reductase inhibitors, a class of drugs approved for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Stromal and epithelial hyperplasia in the region of the prostate that surrounds the urethra begins in the fourth decade of life and by the sixth decade, the prevalence is 50%. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a frequent cause of lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary tract infection, and acute urinary retention requiring surgical intervention.

Promoter methylation of P16, RARbeta, E-cadherin, cyclin A1 and cytoglobin in oral cancer: quantitative evaluation using pyrosequencing.

Methylation profiling of cancer tissues has identified this mechanism as an important component of carcinogenesis. Epigenetic silencing of tumour suppressor genes through promoter methylation has been investigated by a variety of means, the most recent of which is pyrosequencing. We have investigated quantitative methylation status in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Victor Fray Marshall: twentieth century renaissance urologist.

Purpose: Victor Fray Marshall (1913 to 2001) contributed to advancements in a variety of fields within urology, including incontinence, oncology, stone disease and pediatrics.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed historical records from the New York Hospital archives as well as the original publications of Marshall. Personal experiences of former residents and others were recounted.