Surgical Outcomes and Predictive Factors in Patients With Detrusor Underactivity Undergoing Bladder Outlet Obstruction Surgery.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of bladder outlet surgery in patients with detrusor underactivity (DU) and to identify factors associated with successful outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of men diagnosed with DU in urodynamic studies who underwent bladder outlet surgery for lower urinary tract symptoms between May 2018 and April 2023. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire, uroflowmetry (UFM), and multichannel urodynamic studies were administered.

Association between chronic prostatitis and the subsequent benign prostatic hyperplasia: a population-based national cohort study.

Purpose: To explore the association between chronic prostatitis (CP) and the subsequent development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods: Data analyzed were medical claims of Taiwan's National Health Insurance program. From 2010 to 2017, 3571 patients ≧20 years with CP diagnosed by certified urologists were enrolled.

MicroRNA-320a enhances LRWD1 expression through the AGO2/FXR1-dependent pathway to affect cell behaviors and the oxidative stress response in human testicular embryonic carcinoma cells.

Background: Testicular cancer is fairly rare but can affect fertility in adult males. Leucine-rich repeats- and WD repeat domain-containing protein 1 (LRWD1) is a sperm-specific marker that mainly affects sperm motility in reproduction. Our previous study demonstrated the impact of LRWD1 on testicular cancer development; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Therapeutic efficacy of 180-W GreenLight laser photoselective vaporization of the prostate for storage symptoms concomitant with benign prostatic obstruction and a search for outcome predictors.

Purpose: Benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) is the most common cause of lower urinary tract symptoms among men. GreenLight photoselective vaporization of the prostate (GL-PVP) using a 180-W Xcelerated performance system (XPS) laser is a well-established method for treating BPO-induced voiding symptoms. However, its therapeutic effects on storage symptoms remain unclear.

Male infertility.

Clinical infertility is the inability of a couple to conceive after 12 months of trying. Male factors are estimated to contribute to 30-50% of cases of infertility. Infertility or reduced fertility can result from testicular dysfunction, endocrinopathies, lifestyle factors (such as tobacco and obesity), congenital anatomical factors, gonadotoxic exposures and ageing, among others.

Arteriovenous malformation Map2k1 mutation affects vasculogenesis.

Somatic activating MAP2K1 mutations in endothelial cells (ECs) cause extracranial arteriovenous malformation (AVM). We previously reported the generation of a mouse line allowing inducible expression of constitutively active MAP2K1 (p.K57N) from the Rosa locus (R26) and showed, using Tg-Cdh5CreER, that EC expression of mutant MAP2K1 is sufficient for the development of vascular malformations in the brain, ear, and intestines.

The MAEL expression in mitochondria of human spermatozoa and the association with asthenozoospermia.

Purpose: The maelstrom spermatogenic transposon silencer (MAEL) function in postmeiotic germ cells remains unclear, and its protein localization in human testis and spermatozoa awaits determination. This study aims to clarify the MAEL expression in human spermatogenesis and to explore its role in sperm function.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-seven asthenozoospermic men, 40 normozoospermic controls, and three obstructive azoospermic men were enrolled.

The sufficient multidisciplinary specialists under a government-led health care system associated with the downward mortality trend of Fournier's gangrene in Taiwan.

Objectives: To explore the trends in Fournier's gangrene (FG) incidence and mortality rate in Taiwan and to investigate the contributing factors to such changes.

Methods: Between 2002 and 2016, hospitalized FG patients who underwent subsequent surgical intervention were included in this retrospective study. Incidence, outcomes, age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (ACCI), hospitalization cost, surgical timing, and the number of multidisciplinary specialists involved in the first-line management of FG in each year were collected.

The Association between Monthly, Yearly, and Lifetime Cannabis Use, and Semen Parameters in Asian-American Men.

Purpose: Medicinal and recreational cannabis use has grown exponentially, however, its effect on testicular function and spermatogenesis remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between cannabis use and semen parameters in a cohort of Asian-American men with unknown fertility.

Materials And Methods: Asian men were recruited to complete an online survey and submit a semen sample.

Site specific NMR characterization of abeta-40 oligomers cross seeded by abeta-42 oligomers.

Extracellular accumulation of β amyloid peptides of 40 (Aβ) and 42 residues (Aβ) has been considered as one of the hallmarks in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. In this work, we are able to prepare oligomeric aggregates of Aβ with uniform size and monomorphic structure. Our experimental design is to incubate Aβ peptides in reverse micelles (RMs) so that the peptides could aggregate only through a single nucleation process and the size of the oligomers is confined by the physical dimension of the reverse micelles.

Endothelial cell expression of mutant Map2k1 causes vascular malformations in mice.

Extracranial arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a congenital vascular anomaly causing disfigurement, bleeding, ulceration, and pain. Most lesions are associated with somatic MAP2K1 activating mutations in endothelial cells (ECs). The purpose of this study was to determine if EC expression of mutant activated MAP2K1 is sufficient to produce vascular malformations in mice.

Incorporating sperm DNA fragmentation index with computer-assisted semen morphokinematic parameters as a better window to male fertility.

This study aimed to assess (1) the reproducibility of three sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) assays for sperm DNA fragmentation, i.e., LensHooke R10 (R10), Halosperm G2 (G2), and BASO (BA); (2) the correlation between computer-assisted semen analyzer (CASA) morphokinematic parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI), and (3) the diagnostic value for male reproduction by combining semen morphokinematic parameters and DFI.

The fertility preservation decision-making and testicular sperm retrieval outcome in older adolescents with nonmosaic Klinefelter syndrome and azoospermia.

Background: This study aims to analyze the fertility preservation decision-making and the sperm retrieval rate (SRR) in older adolescents (age 15-19 years) with nonmosaic Klinefelter syndrome (KS) and azoospermia in a male reproductive clinic, and to determine the accumulated SRR in older adolescents by literature review.

Methods: Older adolescents with nonmosaic KS and azoospermia referred for hypogonadism and fertility concerns were enrolled. Reproductive counseling and fertility preservation options were offered to patients/parents.

Risk factors for postoperative urinary retention following elective spine surgery: a meta-analysis.

Background Context: Limited studies have investigated risk factors for postoperative urinary retention (POUR) following elective spine surgery. Furthermore, some discrepancies have been found in the results of existing observational studies.

Purpose: This study aimed to review the available literature on risk factors associated with POUR following elective spine surgery.

Kidney Stone History and Adverse Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Objective: To determine whether kidney stone history is associated with adverse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Kidney stone formers have an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease; however, whether these patients have worse cardiac outcomes is unknown.

Materials And Methods: We identified adult patients who underwent first-time PCI in Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Synthetic Derivative from 2008 to 2016 (n = 11,289) and in a nationwide database of Taiwan (NHIRD) from 2005 to 2012 (n = 155,762).

Incorporating Simplified Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index with early surgical intervention can maximize survival in high-risk Fournier's gangrene patients.

Objectives: To determine the optimal surgical timing in high-risk patients with Fournier's gangrene by the Simplified Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index.

Methods: From 1989 to 2018, 118 male patients diagnosed with Fournier's gangrene with complete medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' demographics, laboratory parameters at initial diagnosis, Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index and Simplified Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index, and the time interval from emergency room arrival to surgical intervention were collected.

The Prognostic Significance of NEK2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis and Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background/aims: Numerous studies have shown that NIMA-related kinase 2 (NEK2) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue is associated with survival and clinicopathological features; however, the evidence remains inconclusive. Thus, we aimed to further explore the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of NEK2 expression in HCC using a two-part study consisting of a retrospective cohort study and a meta-analysis.

Methods: In the cohort study, NEK2 expression in 206 HCC samples and adjacent normal liver tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Preparation of fibril nuclei of beta-amyloid peptides in reverse micelles.

We report the preparation of protofibrils from oligomeric Aβ40 aggregates, which have been incubated under spatially constrained conditions. The molecular structure of the resultant protofibrils is highly homogeneous, suggesting that the phenomenon of structural polymorphism commonly observed in Aβ40 fibrils may be largely due to multiple nucleation events.

MAEL promoter hypermethylation is associated with de-repression of LINE-1 in human hypospermatogenesis.

Study Question: Does the hypermethylation of the maelstrom spermatogenic transposon silencer (MAEL) promoter and subsequent de-repression of transposable elements represent one of the causes of spermatogenic failure in infertile men?

Summary Answer: Experimental hypermethylation of a specific region (-131 to +177) of the MAEL promoter leads to decreased expression of MAEL with increased expression of the transposable element LINE-1 (L1) and in infertile men methylation of the MAEL promoter is associated with the severity of spermatogenic failure.

What Is Known Already: MAEL induces transposon repression in the male germline and is required for mammalian meiotic progression and post-meiotic spermiogenesis. Patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), defined as no sperm in the ejaculate due to spermatogenic failure, and histopathologically proven hypospermatogenesis (HS) is not uncommon and its etiology is largely unknown.

Causes and Clinical Features of Infertile Men With Nonobstructive Azoospermia and Histopathologic Diagnosis of Hypospermatogenesis.

Objective: To analyze the causes and the clinical features of infertile men with nonobstructive azoospermia and hypospermatogenesis (HS).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 100 patients with nonobstructive azoospermia and HS and 8 patients with obstructive azoospermia and normal spermatogenesis. The severity of HS was subdivided into 3 groups (mild, moderate, and severe) based on spermatogenic score.

Primary localized tracheobronchial amyloidosis presenting with massive hemoptysis: a case report and literature review.

Primary localized tracheobronchial amyloidosis (TBA) is a rare respiratory tract dysfunction, which is a heterogeneous group of diseases involving abnormal extracellular deposition of amyloid and autologous fibrillar protein material in β-pleated sheets. A 64-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of hemoptysis. Physical examination showed decreased breath sounds in the right lung on auscultation.