No abstract available.
Humans ; Male* ; Penile Prosthesis*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Male* ; Penile Prosthesis*

No abstract available.
Erectile Dysfunction* ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory* ; Male

PURPOSE: Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced during the degradation of hemoglobin to heme (iron protoporphyrin) and present in various tissues including brain. CO is believed to activate soluble guanylate cyclase to exert its action on the smooth muscles. the effects of CO and its relationships to adrenergic or cholinergic mechanisms were studied using the isolated rabbit corpus cavernosal strips, and the effects of CO and NO were further investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using adult New Zealand rabbits, the corpus cavernosal strip was carefully prepared from rabbit penis and suspended in an 10ml organ bath containing Tyrode solution. When a stable tension level of the strip had been attained, drugs were added to the organ bath the change of motility of the strip was recorded on a computerized polygraph. RESULTS: The NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and CO caused a dosedependent relaxation of the cavernosal strip of the rabbit penis. Pretreatment of SNP and CO had no effect on contraction induced by adrenergic drugs and the effects of SNP and CO was not affected by atropine. The relaxation effects of SNP were inhibited by NO scavenger pyrogallol, inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase 1H-[1,2,4] oxadiazolo[4,3-a] quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) and methylene blue. The relaxation effects of CO were significantly inhibited by ODQ and methylene blue. the relaxation effects by acetylcholine were inhibited by NO synthase inhibitor L-nitroarginine methyl ester (NAME) and deendothelialization, but not affected by zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP), the heme oxidase inhibitor. On the immunostaining of heme oxidase (HO) in corpus cavernosal smooth muscle strip, the positive staining for HO was observed in the perivascular nerve fibers. CONCLUSIONS: The relaxation effect of NO was confirmed, and CO exerts an endothelium dependent relaxing effect on the cavernosal strip of the rabbit penis similar to NO. This action is seem to be mediated by soluble guanylate cyclase, and the actions of CO is also mediated by similar guanylate cyclase system.
Acetylcholine ; Adrenergic Agents ; Adult ; Atropine ; Baths ; Brain ; Carbon Monoxide* ; Carbon* ; Endothelium ; Guanylate Cyclase ; Heme ; Humans ; Male ; Methylene Blue ; Muscle, Smooth ; Nerve Fibers ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Nitroprusside ; Oxidoreductases ; Penis ; Pyrogallol ; Rabbits ; Relaxation ; Tissue Donors ; Zinc

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature* ; Nephroma, Mesoblastic* ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal*

PURPOSE: Androgen plays an important role during penile development and is essential for a normal libido in the male, but its role in the regulation of the androgen receptor and maintenance of erectile response has been controversial. We investigated the effect of androgen on apoptosis, proliferation of the penile erectile tissue and androgen receptor after castration and temporary androgen replacement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male adult Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups; sham-operation, castration, and androgen replacement after castration. Androgens (testosterone, DHT) were administrated for 7 days at week 1, 2, 3, and 4 after castration. The weight of whole body and corpus cavernosum and serum testosterone concentration were measured. Androgen receptor expression, percentage of proliferating cells incorporating Ki-67(proliferative index) and percentage of apoptotic cells assessed by morphological analysis(apoptotic index, TUNEL) were analyzed in the penile erectile tissue. RESULTS: Castration induced a significant decrease in serum testosterone concentration from day 1 and a progressive decrease in the corpus cavernosal weight from day 14. Androgen receptor expression decreased after androgen depletion and was restored with androgen replacement. The proliferative and apoptotic index varied as follows after castration and androgen replacement: a significant increase was noted for apoptotic index with a decrease in the proliferative index and androgen receptor expression after castration. Replacement of testosterone propionate and DHT after castration decreased the apoptotic index with an increase in the proliferative index and the expression rate of androgen receptor. CONCLUSIONS: The penile erectile tissue of the adult rat was affected by the androgen milieu via the androgen receptor as seen by either cellular apoptosis or proliferation. Therefore, androgens such as testosterone and DHT play a direct role in the erectile function of the rat at the level of the penile erectile tissue.
Adult* ; Androgens ; Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Castration ; Humans ; Libido ; Male ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Androgen* ; Testosterone ; Testosterone Propionate

PURPOSE: Prostate tumor volume calculated after surgery using pathologic tissue has been shown to be an independent risk factor for biochemical recurrence. Nonetheless, prostate size varies among individuals, regardless of the presence or absence of cancer. We assumed to be lower margin positive rate in the surgical operation, when the prostate volume is larger and the tumor lesion is same. Thus, we defined the tumor-prostate ratio in the ratio of tumor volume to prostate volume. In order to compensate the prostate tumor volume, the effect of tumor-prostate ratio on biochemical recurrence was examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 251 patients who underwent open retropubic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer in a single hospital. We analyzed the effects of tumor volume and tumor-prostate ratio, as well as the effects of known risk factors for biochemical recurrence, on the duration of disease-free survival. RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, the risk factors that significantly impacted disease-free survival time were found to be a prostate-specific antigen level ≥10 ng/mL, a tumor volume ≥5 mL, tumor-prostate ratio ≥10%, tumor capsular invasion, lymph node invasion, positive surgical margins, and seminal vesicle invasion. In the multivariate analysis performed to evaluate the risk factors found to be significant in the univariate analysis, positive surgical margins (hazard ratio=3.066) and a tumor density ≥10% (hazard ratio=1.991) were shown to be significant risk factors for biochemical recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor-prostate ratio, rather than tumor volume, should be regarded as a significant risk factor for biochemical recurrence.
Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatectomy* ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Recurrence* ; Risk Factors ; Seminal Vesicles ; Tumor Burden

Many physiologic studies have been carried out to identify the neurotransmitters involved in regulating the motility of the smooth muscle in the vas deferens, but the transmitter of a nonadrenergic and non-cholinergic inhibitory nerves has not been clearly identified. We investigated the role of nitric oxide in response to sympathetic motor activity in the rat vas deferens. 1. Nitroprusside and L-NAME had neither contractile nor relaxing effects directly. On the stabilized muscle strips of rat vas deferens, norepinephrine induced a phasic contraction for 10 seconds followed by the sustained tonic contraction. The phasic contraction of norepinephrine was increased by the pretreatment of nitroprusside(p>0.05) and decreased by LNAME(p<0.01). This tonic contraction was decreased dose-dependently by the pretreatment of nitroprusside(p<0.01), and increased by L-NAME(p<0.01). On the muscle strips of rat vas deferens, submaximally precontracted with norepinephrine, nitroprusside potentiated the contraction, followed by the delayed, sustained relaxation, which was blocked by L-NAME. 2. On the muscle strips of rat vas deferens, electrical field stimulation induced an initial phasic contraction for 2-3 seconds, followed by the tonic contraction, which was blocked by L-NAME dose-dependently. The phasic contraction of electrical field stimulation was increased by the pretreatment of nitroprusside(p>0.05) and decreased by L-NAME(p<0.01). This tonic contraction was decreased by the pretreatment of nitroprusside dose-dependently(p<0.01), and increased by L-NAME(.p<0.01). With these results, nitric oxide has the excitatory effect at the phasic contraction, and the inhibitory effect at the tonic contraction in response to sympathetic motor activity in the rat vas deferens partially.
Animals ; Motor Activity* ; Muscle, Smooth ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester ; Nitric Oxide* ; Nitroprusside ; Norepinephrine ; Rats* ; Relaxation ; Vas Deferens*

Many physiologic studies have been carried out to identify the neurotransmitters involved in regulating the motility of the smooth muscle in the vas deferens, but the transmitter of a nonadrenergic and non-cholinergic inhibitory nerves has not been clearly identified. We investigated the role of nitric oxide in response to sympathetic motor activity in the rat vas deferens. 1. Nitroprusside and L-NAME had neither contractile nor relaxing effects directly. On the stabilized muscle strips of rat vas deferens, norepinephrine induced a phasic contraction for 10 seconds followed by the sustained tonic contraction. The phasic contraction of norepinephrine was increased by the pretreatment of nitroprusside(p>0.05) and decreased by LNAME(p<0.01). This tonic contraction was decreased dose-dependently by the pretreatment of nitroprusside(p<0.01), and increased by L-NAME(p<0.01). On the muscle strips of rat vas deferens, submaximally precontracted with norepinephrine, nitroprusside potentiated the contraction, followed by the delayed, sustained relaxation, which was blocked by L-NAME. 2. On the muscle strips of rat vas deferens, electrical field stimulation induced an initial phasic contraction for 2-3 seconds, followed by the tonic contraction, which was blocked by L-NAME dose-dependently. The phasic contraction of electrical field stimulation was increased by the pretreatment of nitroprusside(p>0.05) and decreased by L-NAME(p<0.01). This tonic contraction was decreased by the pretreatment of nitroprusside dose-dependently(p<0.01), and increased by L-NAME(.p<0.01). With these results, nitric oxide has the excitatory effect at the phasic contraction, and the inhibitory effect at the tonic contraction in response to sympathetic motor activity in the rat vas deferens partially.
Animals ; Motor Activity* ; Muscle, Smooth ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester ; Nitric Oxide* ; Nitroprusside ; Norepinephrine ; Rats* ; Relaxation ; Vas Deferens*

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic