Inosine attenuates spontaneous activity in the rat neurogenic bladder through an A pathway.

Neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) is among the most challenging complications of spinal cord injury (SCI). A recent report by us demonstrated an improvement in NDO in SCI rats following chronic systemic treatment with the purine nucleoside inosine. The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action of inosine underlying improvement of NDO.

Inosine Improves Neurogenic Detrusor Overactivity following Spinal Cord Injury.

Neurogenic detrusor overactivity and the associated loss of bladder control are among the most challenging complications of spinal cord injury (SCI). Anticholinergic agents are the mainstay for medical treatment of detrusor overactivity. However, their use is limited by significant side effects such that a search for new treatments is warranted.

Acellular bi-layer silk fibroin scaffolds support functional tissue regeneration in a rat model of onlay esophagoplasty.

Surgical management of long-gap esophageal defects with autologous gastrointestinal tissues is frequently associated with adverse complications including organ dysmotility, dysphagia, and donor site morbidity. In order to develop alternative graft options, bi-layer silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds were investigated for their potential to support functional tissue regeneration in a rodent model of esophageal repair. Onlay esophagoplasty was performed with SF matrices (N = 40) in adult rats for up to 2 m of implantation.

Chronic bacterial seminal vesiculitis as a potential disease entity in men with chronic prostatitis.

Objectives: To investigate bacterial infection in the seminal vesicles by bacteriological examination and radionuclide imaging in men with chronic prostatitis.

Methods: The study included 50 patients with chronic prostatitis who showed hot uptake in seminal vesicles on Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging and eight patients who did not show hot uptake. The evaluation included the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index and four-glass test.

In vitro evaluation of bi-layer silk fibroin scaffolds for gastrointestinal tissue engineering.

Silk fibroin scaffolds were investigated for their ability to support attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of human gastrointestinal epithelial and smooth muscle cell lines in order to ascertain their potential for tissue engineering. A bi-layer silk fibroin matrix composed of a porous silk fibroin foam annealed to a homogeneous silk fibroin film was evaluated in parallel with small intestinal submucosa scaffolds. AlamarBlue analysis revealed that silk fibroin scaffolds supported significantly higher levels of small intestinal smooth muscle cell, colon smooth muscle cell, and esophageal smooth muscle cell attachment in comparison to small intestinal submucosa.

The use of bi-layer silk fibroin scaffolds and small intestinal submucosa matrices to support bladder tissue regeneration in a rat model of spinal cord injury.

Adverse side-effects associated with enterocystoplasty for neurogenic bladder reconstruction have spawned the need for the development of alternative graft substitutes. Bi-layer silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds and small intestinal submucosa (SIS) matrices were investigated for their ability to support bladder tissue regeneration and function in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Bladder augmentation was performed with each scaffold configuration in SCI animals for 10 wk of implantation and compared to non-augmented control groups (normal and SCI alone).

Acellular bi-layer silk fibroin scaffolds support tissue regeneration in a rabbit model of onlay urethroplasty.

Acellular scaffolds derived from Bombyx mori silk fibroin were investigated for their ability to support functional tissue regeneration in a rabbit model of urethra repair. A bi-layer silk fibroin matrix was fabricated by a solvent-casting/salt leaching process in combination with silk fibroin film casting to generate porous foams buttressed by homogeneous silk fibroin films. Ventral onlay urethroplasty was performed with silk fibroin grafts (Group 1, N = 4) (Width × Length, 1 × 2 cm(2)) in adult male rabbits for 3 m of implantation.

Bladder tissue regeneration using acellular bi-layer silk scaffolds in a large animal model of augmentation cystoplasty.

Acellular scaffolds derived from Bombyx mori silk fibroin were investigated for their ability to support functional tissue regeneration in a porcine model of augmentation cystoplasty. Two bi-layer matrix configurations were fabricated by solvent-casting/salt leaching either alone (Group 1) or in combination with silk film casting (Group 2) to yield porous foams buttressed by heterogeneous surface pore occlusions or homogenous silk films, respectively. Bladder augmentation was performed with each scaffold group (6 × 6 cm(2)) in juvenile Yorkshire swine for 3 m of implantation.

The impact of discrete modes of spinal cord injury on bladder muscle contractility.

Background: Prior studies have compared the effect of spinal cord injury elicited using distinct approaches on motor and visceral function. However, the impact of such discrete modes of injury specifically on bladder muscle contractility has not been explored in detail. The goal of this study is to compare the impact of complete spinal cord transection versus clip compression at thoracic vertebra eight (T8) on bladder muscle contractility.

The performance of silk scaffolds in a rat model of augmentation cystoplasty.

The diverse processing plasticity of silk-based biomaterials offers a versatile platform for understanding the impact of structural and mechanical matrix properties on bladder regenerative processes. Three distinct groups of 3-D matrices were fabricated from aqueous solutions of Bombyx mori silk fibroin either by a gel spinning technique (GS1 and GS2 groups) or a solvent-casting/salt-leaching method in combination with silk film casting (FF group). SEM analyses revealed that GS1 matrices consisted of smooth, compact multi-laminates of parallel-oriented silk fibers while GS2 scaffolds were composed of porous (pore size range, 5-50 μm) lamellar-like sheets buttressed by a dense outer layer.

Evaluation of silk biomaterials in combination with extracellular matrix coatings for bladder tissue engineering with primary and pluripotent cells.

Silk-based biomaterials in combination with extracellular matrix (ECM) coatings were assessed as templates for cell-seeded bladder tissue engineering approaches. Two structurally diverse groups of silk scaffolds were produced by a gel spinning process and consisted of either smooth, compact multi-laminates (Group 1) or rough, porous lamellar-like sheets (Group 2). Scaffolds alone or coated with collagen types I or IV or fibronectin were assessed independently for their ability to support attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of primary cell lines including human bladder smooth muscle cells (SMC) and urothelial cells as well as pluripotent cell populations, such as murine embryonic stem cells (ESC) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

Optimal timing to evaluate prediagnostic baseline erectile function in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

Introduction: Accurate assessment of prediagnostic baseline erectile function (EF) is crucial when evaluating postoperative changes of EF in patients undergoing bilateral nerve sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RLRP). Because score domains of the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) can be affected by factors such as recall intervals and psychological stress or discomfort due to cancer diagnosis and treatment, it is important to assess the prediagnostic baseline EF at appropriate times.

Aim: To determine optimal timing to evaluate prediagnostic baseline EF in patients undergoing bilateral nerve sparing RLRP.

Extensive systemic sarcoidosis with testicular involvement mimicking metastatic testicular cancer.

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic, multisystem disease that rarely involves the genitourinary tract. Here we present an unusual case of testicular sarcoidosis with extensive lymphadenopathy that mimicked a metastatic testicular tumor. A 27-year-old male presented with a palpable right testicular mass accompanied by multiple palpable inguinal lymph nodes.

Quantitative proteomics identifies a beta-catenin network as an element of the signaling response to Frizzled-8 protein-related antiproliferative factor.

Antiproliferative factor (APF), a Frizzled-8 protein-related sialoglycopeptide involved in the pathogenesis of interstitial cystitis, potently inhibits proliferation of normal urothelial cells as well as certain cancer cells. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the growth-inhibitory effect of APF, we performed stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture analysis of T24 bladder cancer cells treated with and without APF. Among over 2000 proteins identified, 54 were significantly up-regulated and 48 were down-regulated by APF treatment.

Warm sitz bath: are there benefits after transurethral resection of the prostate?

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of warm water sitz baths in patients who have undergone transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) owing to lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed the records of 1,783 patients who had undergone TURP between 2001 and 2009. In the warm water sitz bath group, patients were instructed to sit in a tub containing lukewarm water at 40-45℃ for 10 minutes each time.

Does performance of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy within 2 weeks of prostate biopsy affect the outcome?

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) performed within either 2 or 4 weeks of prostate biopsy is associated with surgical difficulty or immediate postoperative outcome.

Methods: Of the 121 patients that underwent RALP at our institution, 104 patients were prospectively included. Patients were sequentially divided into three groups: first patient in group A (interval from biopsy to RALP: 2 weeks), second patient in group B (2-4 weeks), third patient in group C (more than 4 weeks), fourth patient in group A, and so on.

Accuracy of methods for urinary detection in women with stress urinary incontinence.

Purpose: We assessed the accuracy of urinary detection by visualization compared with a method using the urethral channel of a transurethral, three-channel urodynamic catheter.

Materials And Methods: This was a case series of 52 patients presenting with stress urinary incontinence over 2 years. Patients underwent video-urodynamic studies in both the supine and the erect positions by use of two techniques for measuring leak point pressure (LPP) by one examiner.

A mouse model of cavernous nerve injury-induced erectile dysfunction: functional and morphological characterization of the corpus cavernosum.

Introduction: With the advent of genetically engineered mice, it seems important to develop a mouse model of cavernous nerve injury (CNI).

Aim: To establish a mouse model of CNI induced either by nerve crushing or by neurectomy and to evaluate time-dependent derangements in penile hemodynamics in vivo and subsequent histologic alterations in the cavernous tissue.

Methods: Twelve-week-old C57BL/6J mice were divided into 4 groups (N=36 per group): control, sham operation, bilateral cavernous nerve crush, and bilateral cavernous neurectomy group.

Leiomyosarcoma arising from the blind end of a bifid renal pelvis.

Sarcoma of the kidney is a rare condition. Leiomyosarcoma is the most common of the kidney sarcomas. Renal leiomyosarcoma usually originates from the smooth muscle layers of the kidney, for example, the renal capsule and renal vessels.