PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate urinary nerve growth factor (NGF) as a biomarker of treatment efficacy and recurrence in overactive bladder (OAB) patients. METHODS: We enrolled 189 OAB subjects who visited our outpatient clinic from February 2010 to February 2015. All subjects with OAB received antimuscarinic treatment. A 3-day voiding diary and questionnaire were collected from each patient. Urinary levels of NGF were evaluated at baseline, the beginning of antimuscarinic treatment, and the end of antimuscarinic treatment. Urinary NGF was normalized to urine creatinine (Cr). Between-group comparisons of baseline characteristics were made using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to predict responses to anticholinergic treatment and recurrence. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test with the Bonferroni correction was used for intragroup comparisons. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the utility of this biomarker. RESULTS: Urinary levels of NGF/Cr tended to decrease in patients who responded to treatment (n=62), but this was not significant (P=0.260). Urinary NGF levels were higher at baseline in patients who did not experience recurrence than in those who did (P=0.047). In those who did not experience recurrence (n=29), urinary NGF/Cr decreased at the end of treatment compared to baseline, and this reduction was maintained at 12 weeks after the end of treatment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Urinary NGF is a potential biomarker for predicting the outcome of antimuscarinic treatment in OAB patients. This may provide useful information when deciding to stop antimuscarinic treatment in responders.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Biomarkers ; Creatinine ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Nerve Growth Factor* ; Recurrence ; ROC Curve ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: A total of 219 subjects were enrolled and divided into 2 groups: OAB subjects (n=189) and controls without OAB symptoms (n=30). Three-day voiding diaries and questionnaires were collected, and urinary levels of nerve growth factor (NGF), prostaglandin E2, and adenosine triphosphate were measured and normalized to urine creatinine (Cr). Baseline characteristics and urinary levels of markers were analyzed. A receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic performance of urinary markers. Urinary levels of markers according to subgroup and pathogenesis of OAB were evaluated. Correlation analyses were used to analyze the relationship between urinary levels of markers and voiding diary parameters and questionnaires. RESULTS: There was no difference between the 2 groups with regards to age, sex ratio, or urine Cr (P>0.05). The urinary levels of NGF/Cr were higher in OAB subjects than in controls (P < 0.001). Urinary NGF/Cr was a sensitive biomarker for discriminating OAB patients (area under the curve=0.741; 95% confidence interval, 0.62–0.79; P=0.001) in the ROC curve. The urinary levels of NGF/Cr were significantly higher in OAB subjects than in controls regardless of subgroup or pathogenesis. Correlation analysis demonstrated urinary urgency was significantly related to urinary NGF/Cr level (correlation coefficient, 0.156). Limitations include a relatively wide variation of urinary markers. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary NGF is a potential biomarker that could serve as a basis for adjunct diagnosis of OAB.
Adenosine Triphosphate* ; Adenosine* ; Biomarkers* ; Creatinine ; Diagnosis* ; Dinoprostone* ; Humans ; Nerve Growth Factor* ; ROC Curve ; Sex Ratio ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive*

S-methyl-(L)-methionine (SMM), also known as vitamin U, is commercially available as skin care cosmetic products for its wound healing and photoprotective effects. However, the low skin permeation expected of SMM due to its hydrophilic nature with a log P value of −3.3, has not been thoroughly addressed. The purpose of this study thus was to evaluate the effect of skin permeation enhancers on the skin permeation/deposition of SMM. Among the enhancers tested for the in vitro skin permeation and deposition of SMM, oleic acid showed the most significant enhancing effect. Moreover, the combination of oleic acid and ethanol further enhanced in vitro permeation and deposition of SMM through hairless mouse skin. Furthermore, the combination of oleic acid and ethanol significantly increased the in vivo deposition of SMM in the epidermis/dermis for 12 hr, which was high enough to exert a therapeutic effect. Therefore, based on the in vitro and in vivo studies, the combination of oleic acid and ethanol was shown to be effective in improving the topical skin delivery of SMM, which may be applied in the cosmetic production process for SMM.
Animals ; Ethanol ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Mice ; Mice, Hairless ; Oleic Acid ; Skin Care ; Skin* ; Vitamin U ; Wound Healing

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Herpes Zoster* ; Urinary Retention*

No abstract available.
Burkholderia cepacia* ; Skin*

Large cell carcinoma with a rhabdoid phenotype is very rare. We report the case of a 53-year-old man who presented with multiple nodules on the scalp, face, and trunk. A skin biopsy revealed large cell carcinoma with a rhabdoid phenotype throughout the dermis. Tumor cells had abundant cytoplasm, eccentric nuclei, and prominent nucleoli and did not adhere to each other. Immunohistochemical tests showed positive reactions for vimentin, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), and thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and weakly focal reactions for pan-CK, CK7, and p63. Imaging studies and a percutaneous lung biopsy were performed and the results were consistent with a large cell lung carcinoma with a rhabdoid phenotype. Based on these clinical and histopathological findings, we concluded that his condition was a cutaneous metastasis from a large cell lung carcinoma with a rhabdoid phenotype, which occurs very rarely.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Large Cell ; Cytoplasm ; Dermis ; Humans ; Lung* ; Middle Aged ; Mucin-1 ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Phenotype* ; Rhabdoid Tumor ; Scalp ; Skin ; Thyroid Gland ; Vimentin

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography is an important diagnostic tool for many aspects of clinical medicine. It is a non-invasive method of examination that provides high-resolution images in real time. However, some dermatologists may be anxious about the efficacy of ultrasonography. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and to assess the utility of diagnostic ultrasonography for subcutaneous benign lesions. METHODS: The study included 96 patients with subcutaneous benign lesions who underwent ultrasonography and then received a pathologic diagnosis after biopsy or surgery at our hospital from July 2010 to December 2012. This study evaluated the number of cases in which the preoperative diagnosis after ultrasonography or just after physical examination agreed to the pathologic diagnosis. RESULTS: Ultrasonography significantly increased the diagnostic yield of subcutaneous benign lesions (after physical examination, 54.2%; after ultrasonography, 84.4%; p<0.001). The sensitivity for the diagnosis of lipoma (after physical examination, 70%; after ultrasonography, 92.5%; p<0.001) and the specificity for the diagnosis of epidermal cyst (after physical examination, 84.1%; after ultrasonography, 94.2%; p<0.001) significantly increased after ultrasonography. The sensitivity for the diagnosis of epidermal cyst and pilomatricoma also tended to increase after ultrasonography. CONCLUSION: The study results suggested that ultrasonography is useful for diagnosis and/or preoperative examination of subcutaneous benign lesions.
Biopsy ; Clinical Medicine ; Epidermal Cyst ; Humans ; Lipoma ; Physical Examination ; Pilomatrixoma ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Statistics as Topic

Pseudoaneurysm is extremely rare complication after ankle arthroscopy with standard anteromedial and anterolateral portals. We report a case of a pseudoaneurysm of the anterior tibial artery detected at 3 months after ankle arthroscopy in a 16-year-old male. He had sustained painful swelling of his right ankle after the arthroscopic surgery, and referred to our hospital with an MRI checked postoperatively. We failed to make the diagnosis of pseudoaneurysm with the postoperative MRI, thus the patient underwent another arthroscopy which revealed massive hemarthrosis within the joint. The diagnosis was confirmed with an angiography, and the vascular lesion was ligated.
Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Animals ; Ankle ; Arthroscopy ; Hemarthrosis ; Humans ; Joints ; Male ; Tibial Arteries

Syringomas are common benign adnexal tumors, probably of the eccrine origin. They are more common in women and usually found around the eyelids. An exclusively acral site of the lesions is very rare. We present a case of acral syringomas in a 44 year-old woman, involving only the dorsum of the fingers of both hands. It is important to include syringomas in the clinical differential diagnosis of papular lesions of the hands.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Eczema ; Eyelids ; Female ; Fingers ; Hand ; Humans ; Syringoma