Penile vascular endothelial damage, vasomotor dysfunction, and blood flow deficiency are the major causes of erectile dysfunction (ED). Current management of ED mostly depends on selective phosphodiesterase type 5- (PDE5) inhibitors, which fail for some ED patients. For Peyronie's disease-induced ED, surgical and physical therapies are used in addition to PDE5I medication, but frequently it is difficult to achieve satisfactory results. Recent studies show that the low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy can promote angiogenesis and improve blood flow to the penis, which promises to be a novel effective therapy for ED and Peyronie's disease.
Erectile Dysfunction ; therapy ; High-Energy Shock Waves ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Penile Induration ; therapy

Objective This study was designed to evaluate the effect of laparoscopic-assisted subtotal colectomy(LASC)and modified Duhamel procedure in the treatment of severe functional constipation(SFC).Methods From June 2005 to October 2007,100 cases of SFC were treated by LASC combined with modified Duhamel procedure in our institute.After freed the colon under a laparoscope,we made a small incision in the lower abdomen to perform subtotal colectomy while preserved the ileocecal region.Then a side-to-side colorectal anastomosis was conducted.Results In this study,98 cases of LASC were successively completed and 2 cases were converted to open surgery.The operation time of LASC in the 98 cases ranged from 48 to 125 min mean,(76?23)min],and the total operation time was 140-225 min mean,(170?42)min].The intraoperative blood loss was 10-160 m1 mean,(35?18)m1].In the patients,the intestinal function was recovered within 25-52 hours mean,(42?12)h] after the operation;none of them developed postoperative wound infection,anastomotic stoma,or other complications.One week after the operation,2 of the 100 patients showed mild dehydration,and 2 were diagnosed as having incomplete small bowl obstruction.All of the four were cured by conservative treatments.The other 96 patients who had no complication were discharged from the hospital in 5-11 days mean,(7.0?1.5)days] postperation.One year later,the symptoms of constipation were significantly alleviated(defecation 1-3 times/d)in 90 patients;7 cases had various degrees of diarrhea(defecation 4-6 times/d);and 3 patients showed recurrence of mild constipation(defecation 1 time/2-3 d).The gastrointestinal quality of life index(GIQOL)determined in 1 year postperation was(109?20)points,which indicated good results compared to(94?23)points before the operation(maximum:144).Eighty-three cases were satisfied with their frequency of defecation.Conclusions LASC combined with modified Duhamel procedure is an effective method for the treatment of SFC,resulting in less damage,less influence to the internal environment,and quick recovery.The procedure is worth being wildly used.

Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Polyethylene Glycols

Objective To explore the role of chromokinesin KIF4A in gastric cancer cell invasion using gastric cancer cells SGC-7901 and chromokinesin KIF4A deficient gastric cancer cells (SGC-shKIF4A).Methods Expression levels of KIF4A in controlling gastric cancer cells (SGC-shNC) and SGC-shKIF4A cells were determined by Western Blot.Invasion of gastric cancer cells were assessed using Transwell invasion assay and the number of cells passing through the matrigel was counted.Changing numbers of cortactin in SGC-7901,SGC-shNC,and SGC-shKIF4A cells were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining.Results Compared to the SGC-shNC cells,invasion ability of SGC-shKIF4A cells was increased.Compared to other cells,the numbers of cortactin in SGC-shKlF4A cells was also increased suggesting invadopodia in these cells was increased(P＜0.01).Conclusions Chromokinesin KIF4A acts as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting gastric cancer cells invasion and the results provides strong evidences for KIF4A serving as one of potent targets for gastric cancer prognostics and treatment in clinic.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the levels of secretions from the prostate and seminal vesicles and their association with the expressions of aquaporins (AQP) in the prostatic tissue and seminal vesicles of castrated rats.

METHODSWe randomly divided 18 eight-week-old male SD rats into a control, a castration, and a testosterone (T) replacement group. Four weeks after surgical castration, we detected the plasma T level and measured the volumes of the secretions and the expressions of AQPs 3, 7, and 10 - 12 in the prostate and seminal vesicles of the rats.

RESULTSThe plasma T level was significantly lower in the castrated models ([30. 98 ± 28. 84] ng/dl) than in the rats of the control ([700.78 ± 123.8] ng/dl) and T replacement groups ([688.08 ± 132. 47] ng/dl) (P <0. 05). The castration group, in comparison with the control and T replacement groups, showed remarkably reduced ratios of prostatic secretion volume / prostate weight ([11.1 ± 0.30] vs [2.32 ± 0.61] and [2.13 ± 0.56] %, P <0. 05) and seminal vesicle secretion volume / seminal vesicle weight ( [4. 78 ± 1. 97 ] vs [57. 36 ± 11. 86] and [55. 74 ± 7. 21] %, P < 0. 05). Immunohistochemistry revealed the expressions of AQPs 3 and 7 in the epithelial envelop and cytoplasm and that of AQP 11 the in endothelial envelop and cytoplasm of the prostate and seminal vesicles. Western blot exhibited significantly lower expressions of AQPs 3, 7, and 10 - 12 in the prostate and seminal vesicles of the castrated rats than in the animals of the control and T replacement groups (P <0. 05).

CONCLUSIONSignificant decreases of the secretions from the prostate and seminal vesicles may be related to the reduced expressions of AQPs 3, 7, and 10 - 12 in the prostatic tissue and seminal vesicles in castrated rats.

Animals ; Aquaporins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Orchiectomy ; Prostate ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seminal Vesicles ; metabolism ; Testosterone ; blood

Objective To study sleeping conditions and relevant factors for insomnia in the elderly people aged 60 years and over in the community of Shanghai,China.Methods A cross-sectional study on sleeping condition by questionnaire was conducted among 2789 elderly people aged 60 years and over during July to October 2005 in seven neighborhood committees of Jing'an District,Shanghai,China,with cluster sampling.Results Totally,2304 elderly people completed the study questionnaire with a response rate of 82.61%.Prevalence of insomnia was 14.84% (342/2304) in the elderly.Logistic regression analysis showed that age increasing (OR=1.02),female (OR=2.20),drinking before sleeping (OR=2.98), room light (OR=3.89),noise (OR=1.95),diabetes (OR=1.82),hypertension (OR=1.49),stroke (OR=1.65),osteoporosis (OR=1.76) and number of afflicted chronic diseases (OR=1.43) all were risk factors for insomnia in the elderly (P

Objective To explore the effects and the possible molecular mechanism of flavonoids of puerarin (PR) on chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cell line K562 and acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4 in vitro. Methods MTT assays were used to detect the inhibitory effects of cell proliferation. The apoptosis of K562 and NB4 cells was detected by flow cytometry marked with Annexin V/PI. The expression of bcr-abl, p53, bcl-2, Fas/FasL in K562 cells and JNK, PARP, bcl-2 and Caspase 3 in NB4 cells at protein level was detected by Western blot. Results PR could inhibit the proliferation of K562 and NB4 cells in a time-dose dependent manner. The expression of protein levels of bcr-abl fusion gene declined, while the p53 protein otherwise increased, and both were in a dose-dependent manner (F = 18.74, P <0.05). The application of PR had no effect on bcl-2 and Fas/FasL protein expression in K562 cells. The JNK, PARP and Caspase3 proteins were upregulated in NB4 cells, while bcl-2 was downregulated with the increasing concentrations of PR (F=42.32, P <0.05). Conclusion PR could inhibit leukemic cell proliferation, induce cell cycle block, and increase cell apoptosis through different molecular mechanisms. It suggestes that PR might potentially be a kind of broad spectrum anti-leukemia agent.

Objective To establish a time-resolved immunofluorometric assay (TRFIA) to detect seurm CⅣ(collagenⅣ). Methods The antibodies to CⅣwere coated on mircoplate and the europium-labeled monoclonal antibody of CⅣ. The luminescent enhancement system was used as enhancement solution which contained mainly 2-naphthoy trifluoroacetone. we established A sandwich time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA) was established to measure the seurm CⅣin 127 patients with hepatitis and 30 normal controls. Results The sensitivity of assay was 12. 8?g/L. The coefficient of variation for inner-batch and inter-batch were 4. 54% and 8. 06%,respectively. The recovery was 98. 6%. The serum level of CⅣwas 46. 06?22. 21?g/L in normal control,47. 25?22. 58?g/L in acute hepatitis, 129.01?53.68?g/L in mild chronic hepatitis,277. 90?92.36?g/L in moderate chronic hepatitis,413.90?162.24?g/L in serious chronic hepatitis,568. 60?210.40?g/L in liver cirrhosis. As compared to normal control,higher concentrations of CIV (P

BACKGROUND: The treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) aims at sustaining the spinal cord compression and restoring the stability of the cervical vertebrae at most.OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical characters of anterior cervical discectomy with fusion and expansive open-door laminoplasty for MCSM.METHODS: Sixty-seven patients with MCSM were divided into two groups, and treated with anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (group A) or posterior cervical expansive open-door laminoplasty (group B). All the patients were followed up for 12 months, and the range of motion of cervical vertebrae, cervical curvature index were observed,as well as the Visual Analogue Scale and Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores were condueted. Moreover, the operation time, blood loss and adverse reactions were recorded.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The loss of range of motion of the cervical vertebrae in the group B was significantly less than that in the group A (P < 0.05). (2) The cervical curvature index in the group A was significantly improved (P < 0.05), but the index had no significant change in the group B. (3) The axial systems were significantly improved in both groups, especially in the group A (P < 0.05). (4) The neurological function was significantly improved in both groups (P < 0.05), which showed no significant difference between two groups (P > 0.05). (5) The intraoperative blood loss in the group B was significantly more than that in the group A (P < 0.05). (6) The incidence of hoarseness and dysphagia in the group A was 19％. The incidence of wound infection, cerebrospinal fluid leakage and C5 nerve root palsy in the group B was 9％. (7) These results suggest that during choosing an appropriate method for MCSM,surgeons' skills and patients' situation should be considered.

【Objective】To investigate the role of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in the prevention of acute rejection in renal transplantation.【Methods】A total of 106 patients were randomized into two groups.One group received MMF (n=56),the other received azathioprine (Aza) (n=50).The time of the following study was within the first 6 months after transplantation.【Results】The rate of acute rejection of group receiving MMF was 20%,it′s lower than that of the group receiving Aza 44% (P<0.01).The recovery rate of acute rejection treated by methylprednisolone (MP),in MMF group 82% was higher than Aza group 55%.(P<0.05).Meanwhile the hepatotoxicity as well as cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection were lower in MMF group than those in Aza group.【Conclusion】MMF as a new anti-rejection drug could more effectively prevent acute rejection than Aza after renal transplantation,and has lower toxicity and side effect.