Effects of Two Different Dosages of Sildenafil on Patients With Erectile Dysfunction.

To investigate the effects of two different dosages of sildenafil on patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), a total of 3,674 patients with ED were recruited to answer questionnaires designed specifically for this study. There were 977 patients in the 50 mg group and there were 2,697 patients in the 100 mg group. Both 50 mg and 100 mg of sildenafil therapy increased the ED patients' average monthly frequency of sexual intercourse, improved erectile function state in self-assessment, and elevated sexual satisfaction and enjoyment.

High Risk of Lateral Nodal Metastasis in Lateral Solitary Solid Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

We explored the relationship between ultrasonic intra-thyroidal location and neck node metastasis pattern in solitary solid papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Data on 186 patients were retrospectively reviewed. The association between several characteristics and neck node metastasis pattern were analyzed.

Limbus Vertebra on Bone Scintigraphy in a Pediatric Patient.

Limbus vertebra involving the anterosuperior corner of a vertebral body is usually seen in adult patients, and it generally does not cause symptoms. An 8-year-old girl experienced lower back pain. Bone SPECT images revealed significantly increased tracer activity in the region of the anterior L4 vertebral body, which was shown on MRI to be a limbus vertebra.

Incidence of adverse cutaneous drug reactions in 22,866 Chinese inpatients: a prospective study.

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are common. However, no prospective study assessing cutaneous ADRs is available for Chinese populations. This study aimed to assess the incidence, manifestations, causative drugs, and other factors related to cutaneous ADRs.

Diffuse Hepatic FDG Activity From Nonmalignant Etiologies.

Diffuse increased ¹⁸F-FDG activity is commonly caused by malignant involvement. We describe here cases of diffuse, uniformly increased ¹⁸F-FDG activity due to nonmalignant illnesses in 2 patients: one had parvovirus B19 infection, whereas the other had porphyria, a heme synthesis disorder.

Serum CA 19-9 as a good prognostic biomarker in patients with bladder cancer.

Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is the second leading malignant tumors of the genitourinary system. CA 19-9 has served as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for pancreatic carcinoma for years. In recent year, although a few studies have evaluated the roles of CA 19-9 in BC, the results are conflicting and the number of the patients studied is very small.

FDG PET/CT appearance of tumor thrombus of ovarian vessels masquerading as retroperitoneal fibrosis.

A 23-year-old woman with recurrent uterine endometrial stromal sarcoma underwent FDG PET/CT, which showed pelvic recurrence and multiple pulmonary metastases. In addition, increased activity in a vertical soft tissue mass along the left ureter was noted, which appears similar to retroperitoneal fibrosis on PET/CT images. However, pathological examination demonstrated that the elevated FDG activity in this mass was a result of tumor thrombus from endometrial stromal sarcoma in the left ovarian arteries and veins.

¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT features and correlations with histopathologic characteristics in sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma.

Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF) is a clinicopathologically distinct variant of fibrosarcoma that is capable of recurrence and metastasis. Awareness of imaging features and histopathologic characteristics will be helpful for differential diagnosis from other common tumors. Here, we report a case of SEF metastasizing to the pancreas as a solitary mass mimicking primary pancreatic cancer, and summarize the reported cases with FDG PET/CT from the literature (n=4).

Is the change of integrin α(v)β(3) expression in the infarcted myocardium related to the clinical outcome?

Two adult male patients with myocardial infarction underwent Ga-BNOTA-PRGD2 (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid [RGD]) PET/CT scans. The initial images that were acquired within 1 week after the cardiac event showed RGD retention in the infarcted regions in both patients. At follow-up Ga-BNOTA-PRGD2 PET/CT scans, RGD uptake was again noticed in the infracted region in the patient who was still had symptoms.

Age-related prevalence and met need for correctable and uncorrectable near vision impairment in a multi-country study.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence, potential determinants, and proportion of met need for near vision impairment (NVI) correctable with refraction approximately 2 years after initial examination of a multi-country cohort.

Design: Population-based, prospective cohort study.

Participants: People aged ≥35 years examined at baseline in semi-rural (Shunyi) and urban (Guangzhou) sites in China; rural sites in Nepal (Kaski), India (Madurai), and Niger (Dosso); a semi-urban site (Durban) in South Africa; and an urban site (Los Angeles) in the United States.

Likelihood ratio-based differentiation of nodular Hashimoto thyroiditis and papillary thyroid carcinoma in patients with sonographically evident diffuse hashimoto thyroiditis: preliminary study.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of sonography for discriminating nodular Hashimoto thyroiditis from papillary thyroid carcinoma in patients with sonographically evident diffuse Hashimoto thyroiditis.

Methods: This study included 20 patients with 24 surgically confirmed Hashimoto thyroiditis nodules and 40 patients with 40 papillary thyroid carcinoma nodules; all had sonographically evident diffuse Hashimoto thyroiditis. A retrospective review of the sonograms was performed, and significant benign and malignant sonographic features were selected by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Association between γ-glutamyltransferase and prehypertension.

Researchers have identified an association between baseline γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and prehypertension. However, data from China are limited. A cross-sectional study was performed among 2,205 subjects from Heilongjiang Province in China.

Detection of recurrent pancreatic primitive neuroectodermal tumor by tc-99m hydrazinonicotinyl-tyr3-octreotide scan.

A 24-year-old asymptomatic female with a history of exophytic primitive neuroectodermal tumor in the uncinate process of the pancreas was evaluated by Tc-99m hydrazinonicotinyl-Tyr3-octreotide (HYNIC-TOC) imaging as a part of the routine check-up. The images revealed focally increased activity in the head of the pancreas, indicating possible recurrent tumor. However, the results of all examinations considered, especially because of negative results from anatomic imaging, the finding from the HYNIC-TOC scan was regarded as likely false positive, and no new actions were taken.

Unexpected primary osseous lymphoma as the cause of lactic acidosis in a patient suffering from pancreatitis.

A 45-year-old man was admitted due to acute pancreatitis. A severe lactic acidosis was found. Following active therapy, the signs and symptoms from pancreatitis was improved, but acidosis was exacerbated.

Microarray analysis of gene expression profile of multidrug resistance in pancreatic cancer.

Background: Chemotherapy is the most frequently adopted adjuvant therapy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but the development of drug resistance reduces its effectiveness. Clarification of the mechanism of multidrug resistance (MDR) development in PDAC is needed to improve the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy. This study was aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of MDR of PDAC and to identify genes associated with MDR development.

Biological comparison of ovarian cancer resistant cell lines to cisplatin and Taxol by two different administrations.

Drug resistance is one of the major obstacles to chemotherapy of ovarian cancer. Studies with cell lines can serve as an initial screen for agents that might modulate drug resistance. To establish more appropriate models of drug resistance and explore whether the differences exist in the different drug resistant sublines selected by different treatments, we induced SKOV3 cell line using cisplatin (CDDP) and Taxol over a period of 16 months by the pulse (SKOV3/CDDP-P and SKOV3/Taxol-P) and intermittent incremental (SKOV3/CDDP-80 and SKOV3/Taxol-25) method, respectively.

[Extended transsphenoidal operation for giant and invasive pituitary adenomas].

Objective: To evaluate the possibility of extended transsphenoidal approach for removing the giant and invasive pituitary adenomas.

Methods: The clinical data of 64 cases with giant and invasive pituitary adenoma treated by extended transsphenoidal approach were studied retrospectively.

Results: Among 64 patients, 51 had total resection and 13 had subtotal resection.

[Effect of gui xin tong on sorbitol and nerve conduction velocity in diabetic rats].

Objective: To investigate the effect of Gui Xin Tong(GXT) on sorbitol and nerve conduction velocity in diabetic rats.

Method: The model rats suffering from diabetes were induced by STZ, and blood sugar levels above 16 mmol/L were chosen for observation. The rats were divided into GXT group, AG group and control group.