Changes in lower urinary tract function in children with hyperactive urinary bladder treated with combined therapy

Low clinical efficacy of M-cholinolytics remains a serious problem in conservative therapy of hyperactive bladder (HB). To improve treatment outcomes, combined therapy (pikamilon plus driptan) was tried in 22 boys and 25 girls aged 7 to 14 years. The children were examined with uroflowmetry, cystometry. The response to the treatment was found to depend on mean effective capacity of the urinary bladder. Duration ofurodynamic correction has a negative colleration with this capacity. Urodynamic investigations performed in different periods of therapy show that improvement of lower urinary tract function is pathogenetically important for treatment of children with urologic pathology running in the presence of hyperactive urinary bladder.     

Occult pancreaticobiliary reflux in gallbladder cancer and benign gallbladder diseases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It was proposed that occult pancreaticobiliary reflux (OPBR) was associated with precancerous mucosal changes in the gallbladder, hence the importance of this disorder. There are no published reports investigating the incidence of OPBR in patients operated on for the entire spectrum of benign gallbladder diseases and gallbladder cancer. Our aim was to determine the incidence of OPBR and measure the levels of active pancreatic enzymes (amylase and lipase) in gallbladder bile of patients undergoing cholecystectomy for benign and malignant gallbladder diseases. METHODS: One hundred eight patients with normal pancreaticobiliary junction evidenced by operative cholangiography were included in the study. RESULTS: According to gallbladder bile amylase and lipase levels, 84.2% and 89% patients respectively had OPBR. OPBR was present in all gallbladder cancer patients; in these patients the biliary levels of amylase and lipase were significantly higher than the levels found in patients with benign gallbladder pathology (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: OPBR could lead to inflammatory changes of the biliary epithelium and progress towards the development of precancerous mucosal changes and gallbladder cancer. The reason why such high levels of pancreatic enzymes are regurgitated into the biliary tree of patients with gallbladder cancer should be clarified.     

Energy metabolism in the kidneys after hypokinesia of varying duration

This paper presents data suggesting that tissue homogenates can be used to assess mitochondrial oxidation. The effect of hypokinesia of various duration on tissue respiration and oxidative phosphorylation of rat kidneys was investigated for the first time. It was found that 3-day hypokinesia led to a decrease of tissue respiration due to a lower contribution of endogenous fatty acids; 10-day hypokinesia caused activation of tissue respiration on endogenous and exogenous pyridine and flavoprotein-dependent substrates; 30-, 70- and 140-day hypokinesia brought about changes in energy formation at the expense of inhibition of respiratory activity of preparations and uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. Mechanisms of the above disturbances in energy metabolism reactions of kidneys are discussed.     

Long-term experience with implanted intrathecal drug administration systems for failed back syndrome and chronic mechanical low back pain

Background  

Continuous intrathecal drug delivery has been shown in open studies to improve pain and quality of life in those with intractable back pain who have had spinal surgery. There is limited data on long term effects and and even less for patients with mechanical back pain without prior spinal surgery.     

A bioluminescent method of determining the sensitivity of microflora to antibiotics]

A bioluminescent rapid method (a three-hour test) has been developed to assess the susceptibility of microflora to antibiotics. It is based on comparison of intracellular ATP content in a sample (pus) after 3 h incubation at 37 degrees C in liquid culture medium (dilution: sample/culture medium--1:9) on a shaker in the presence and absence (control) of a single antibiotic concentration. A criterion has been offered for quantitative estimation of antibiotic susceptibility of microorganisms. The authors have optimized the measurements of intracellular ATP by the rapid bioluminescent method using immobilized firefly luciferase-based ATP reagent. The results of the method are in good correlation with those of the standard agar diffusion technique.     

PAQR3: a novel tumor suppressor gene

PAQR3, also known as RKTG (Raf kinase trapping to Golgi), is a member of the progestin and adipoQ receptor (PAQR) family. The role of PAQR3 as a tumor suppressor has recently been established in different types of human cancer in which PAQR3 exerts its biological function through negative regulation of the oncogenic Raf/MEK/ERK signaling. Multiple studies have found that PAQR3 downregulation frequently occurs in human cancers and is very often associated with tumor progression and shortened patients’ survival. Moreover, restoring the expression of PAQR3 could induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation and invasiveness of cancer cells. Downregulation of PAQR3 by oncogenic microRNAs has also been reported. In this review, we summarized current knowledge concerning the role of PAQR3 in tumor development. To our knowledge, this is the first review on the role of this novel tumor suppressor.     

Social support and incentives programme for patients with tuberculosis: experience from the Russian Federation.

SETTING: Tuberculosis (TB) services including social support and incentive programmes in four Russian regions (Orel, Vladimir, Belgorod Oblasts and Republic of Mari-El). OBJECTIVES: To determine reasons for TB treatment default among non-adherent patients and to describe patient views of social support programmes and the organisation of treatment. METHODS: Standard anonymous questionnaires were administered to new pulmonary TB patients registered for treatment. RESULTS: A total of 87 non-adherent patients and 1302 adherent patients were interviewed. The leading reasons for treatment default given by non-adherent patients were the need to earn money (30%), alcohol use (30%) and not perceiving themselves as being sick (25%). Monetary incentives were preferred by the majority of patients (67%), followed by food/hot meals (41%) and transportation reimbursement (32%). Overall, among the proposed social support programmes, those that offered small daily incentives (23%) or a big final bonus (21%) were the most popular. The majority of patients (67%) preferred out-patient treatment. CONCLUSION: Collaboration between TB services and social organisations and substance abuse services as well as availability of psychological testing/counselling for patients are social support modalities for improving adherence suggested by study findings. Social support should be combined with a patient-centred approach to TB treatment.