Photoselective Vaporesection of the Prostate with a Front-firing Lithium Triborate Laser: Surgical Technique and Experience After 215 Procedures.

Backgroud: Although photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) is considered one of the most promising alternatives to transurethral radical prostatectomy, a longer operative time, an unsatisfactory tissue removal rate, and the absence of postoperative pathology samples remain the main criticisms for this procedure.

Objective: To describe the novel technique of photoselective vaporesection of the prostate (PVRP) with a front-firing lithium triborate (LBO) laser and to report our initial experience.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a prospective study of 215 patients undergoing PVRP between November 2011 and March 2013.

Testosterone regulates keratin 33B expression in rat penis growth through androgen receptor signaling.

Androgen therapy is the mainstay of treatment for the hypogonadotropic hypogonadal micropenis because it obviously enhances penis growth in prepubescent microphallic patients. However, the molecular mechanisms of androgen treatment leading to penis growth are still largely unknown. To clarify this well-known phenomenon, we successfully generated a castrated male Sprague Dawley rat model at puberty followed by testosterone administration.

Downregulation of mTOR by lentivirus inhibits prostate cancer cell growth.

Prostate cancer, one of the most lethal forms of urinary system cancer, remains resistant to currently available treatments. Therefore, novel mechanism and target-based approaches are needed for the management of this neoplasm. PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation correlates with human prostate cancer progression and metastasis.

Relationships among androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism, sex hormones and penile length in Han adult men from China: a cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to investigate the correlations among androgen receptor (AR) CAG repeat polymorphism, sex hormones and penile length in healthy Chinese young adult men. Two hundred and fifty-three healthy men (aged 22.8 ± 3.

Prostate-targeted mTOR-shRNA inhibit prostate cancer cell growth in human tumor xenografts.

Objective: To construct a recombinant lentivirus vector driven by the PSMA promoter carrying mTOR-shRNA, and to obtain the effect on the mTOR gene silencing in human prostate cancer xenografts.

Methods: The complimentary oligos of small interference RNA (siRNA) with hairpin structures targeting the mTOR gene and a negative control were synthesized, then ligated with pLV-PSMA-promoter vector and sequenced. The recombinant vectors were then transfected with viral packaging mix into 293T cells, viral supernatant was harvested to determine the titer.

Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate: a modified enucleation technique and initial results.

Purpose: Although holmium laser enucleation of the prostate has been proven to be an excellent technique for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, it has not been widely applied due to technical difficulties and longer operative time. We modified the current technique of enucleation and present our initial experience.

Materials And Methods: A total of 189 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia underwent prostatectomy with our modified technique for holmium laser enucleation of the prostate.

Deprival of testicular innervation induces apoptosis of Leydig cells via caspase-8-dependent signaling: a novel survival pathway revealed.

Leydig cells are the primary source of testosterone in adult males. Recently, a growing body of evidence has shown that testicular innervation functions as a major regulator in Leydig cell steroidogenesis. The question then arises whether this novel regulatory pathway also plays an important role in other biological behaviors of this cell type.

Peptidergic not monoaminergic fibers profusely innervate the young adult human testis.

Numerous studies have reported that intratesticular nerves exert important regulatory effects on the functions of the male gonad; however, as yet little is known about their distribution in the young adult human testis. The purpose of this study was to explore whether peptidergic and adrenergic nerves occur in the male gonad of this age, and, if present, to depict their distribution further. Thirty testes were collected from 15 reproductively healthy donors aged 21-32 years.

[Expression of Bax and Bcl-2 gene in rat testis tissues induced by testicular denervation].

Objective: To detect the changes of the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 gene in the denervated testis, and to explore the possible mechanisms underlying the apoptosis of germ cells induced by testicular denervation at the genetic translation level.

Methods: Eighteen mature SD rats (350-375 g) were equally divided into 3 groups: a sham operation group( SO) , a superior spermatic nerve group (SSN) and an inferior spermatic nerve group (ISN) , and the latter two received bilateral surgical removal of the superior spermatic nerve and the inferior spermatic nerve, respectively. The animals were killed I month after the operation.

[Apoptosis in male germ cells induced by testicular denervation].

Objective: To evaluate the role of spermatic nerves in the regulation of spermatogenesis.

Methods: Fifty-four mature SD male rats (350-375 g) were randomized into a sham operation group (SO) and three experiment groups, and the latter underwent bilateral surgical removal of the superior spermatic nerve (SSN) or/and the inferior spermatic nerve (ISN). The animals were killed 1 month and 2 months after the operation.