IMPOTENCE AND ITS NON-SURGICAL MANAGEMENT

SUMMARY Impotence is a common symptom which can cause considerable distress to both the sufferer and his partner. The use of pharmacotherapy to improve erectile function will continue to increase as safe and effective drugs are developed. However, restoring erectile function should not be the only treatment objective. It is also essential to address personal and emotional factors in the sufferer, conflicts in his relationship with his partner, and sexual problems in his partner, all of which may be instrumental in causing or maintaining the presenting impotence. We advocate a combined approach with appropriate medical treatment and sex and couple therapy     

双联抗血小板疗法预防缺血再发

本文对应用双联抗血小板聚集药在预防缺血再发方面较应用单药的优势进行了探讨.动脉粥样硬化是一种隐袭性的全身性过程,可累及多处血管床,包括脑动脉、冠状动脉和周围动脉.粥样硬化斑块破裂是血小板活化、聚集和血栓形成进程中的刺激因素之一.因为该病是沿着整个脉管系统发展的,所以对有任何一种动脉粥样硬化临床表现的患者来说,其他血管床也极易受到侵犯.不同的血管病有着共同的易患危险因素.缺血性冠心病和脑血管病是美国三大常见死亡原因中的两种.阿司匹林在心肌梗死和卒中的二级预防方面的有效性已在众多的研究中得到证实.潘生丁在降低心肌梗死、卒中和血管性死亡方面并不比阿司匹林更好,但噻氯匹定和氯吡格雷却明显优于阿司匹林.目前正在进行评估联合应用抗血小板聚集药预防缺血再发的有效性的临床研究.体外试验和临床研究均支持联合应用两种机制不同的抗血小板聚集药的理论.双联应用抗血小板聚集疗法可增强对血小板聚集和血栓形成的抑制作用.联合应用抗血小板聚集药以不同的作用机制抑制血栓形成途径中的多个位点,有可能进一步改善患者远期临床转归.＃在预防缺血再发方面,应用双联抗血小板聚集药较应用单药可能更具优势.     

Perforated colorectal neoplasms: correlation of clinical, contrast enema, and CT examinations

Results of clinical, contrast enema (CE), and computed tomographic (CT) examinations in 39 patients with perforated colorectal neoplasms were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty patients were toxemic at initial presentation, but in only four patients was the diagnosis of perforated colorectal neoplasm initially suspected clinically. CE study was performed in 22 patients and enabled the diagnosis of perforated neoplasm in 11 cases, neoplasm alone in eight, and neither neoplasm nor perforation in three. CT was performed in 38 patients and enabled the diagnosis of perforated neoplasm in 36; pericolic phlegmon but no mass lesion was evident in two. In 16 patients, CT also demonstrated metastatic disease. Because of its reliability in establishing the diagnosis and staging the extent of the inflammatory and neoplastic disease, CT is indicated in cases of suspected or proved perforated colorectal neoplasm and in cases in which CE study findings are indeterminate or suggestive of perforated neoplasm.     

Short-Ti inversion-recovery pulse sequence: analysis and initial experience in cancer imaging

Inversion recovery (IR), commonly considered a pulse sequence capable of producing T1-weighted images with excellent display of normal anatomy, is versatile: The null point and peak time provide a useful, succinct summary of the properties of IR and its capacity for producing both T1- and T2-weighted images. Shortening of the inversion time (TI) and creation of a short-TI inversion-recovery (STIR) pulse sequence increases sensitivity to malignancy and other abnormalities by making the effects of prolonged T1 and T2 on signal intensity additive and by nulling the signal from fat. The authors examined over 300 patients with various malignancies and compared STIR images with T1- and T2-weighted images obtained at 0.5 T. In 43 cases, signal-difference-to-noise ratios (SD/Ns) were calculated between tumor, fat, and muscle. In general, STIR images demonstrated tumor as a conspicuously high-intensity area in a background of muted, discernible anatomic detail. The good contrast achieved with STIR sequences between tumor and fat (SD/N = 18.1) and tumor and muscle (SD/N = 12.9) consolidated into a single image the information contained separately on T1- and T2-weighted images, which facilitates efficient detection and localization of malignancy.     

Central analgesic activity of ibuprofen. A neurophysiological study in humans.

Ibuprofen is a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis is considered to be the main mechanism of action of this substance. Recently, a central analgesic activity was described in an experimental study. In order to explore the possibility that ibuprofen induces analgesia at central level in humans, we investigated, in a double-blind design, the effects of orally-given 600 mg granular ibuprofen or placebo on nociceptive flexion reflex in normal volunteers. Ibuprofen produced a significant increase, as compared to placebo, in the threshold of the nociceptive reflex. The ratio between subjective pain threshold (Tp) and reflex threshold (Tr) was unchanged after either ibuprofen or placebo administration, indicating that Tp strictly paralleled Tr. These results indicate that ibuprofen displays a central antalgic activity in humans. Different supraspinal structures are probably involved, but the exact mechanisms are still to be clarified.     

The brain as a target for adrenocortical steroids: cognitive implications.

It is well established that a reciprocal control exists between the brain and glucocorticoid hormones. The brain regulates adrenocortical function via hypothalamic corticotrophin releasing hormone-41 (CRH-41), glucocorticoids act at specific receptors in the hippocampus, thus promoting negative feedback mechanisms. Because the hippocampus is a major site for memory processes, a role for excessive/long-lasting plasma glucocorticoid levels has been suggested in conditions of mental impairment. Major depression, Cushing's disease, and dementia of the Alzheimer type are disorders which share hyperactivity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, as well as symptoms of cognitive decline. Although the mechanisms leading to hypercortisolemia appear to be different in each case, the neuropsychological features of these three disorders accord with the hypothesis of glucocorticoid-associated brain damage. It therefore is important to find pharmacological strategies that will avert or reduce these potential consequences on brain function.     

A midface swelling in a child – A possible diagnostic dilemma

A lump on the midface of a child can pose as a diagnostic dilemma. There is a wide variety of possible differential diagnoses, ranging from simple benign conditions such as a sebaceous cyst, dermoid cyst, lipoma, neuroma and neurofibroma, to potentially devastating conditions such as odontogenic myxoma.A case of a child in which the formulation of a definite diagnosis was clinically and histologically challenging is presented.