DETERMINATIONS OF ETHANOL, ACETALDEHYDE AND ACETATE IN BLOOD AND URINE DURING ALCOHOL OXIDATION IN MAN

Blood and urine samples were analyzed for ethanol, acetaldehydeand acetate during alcohol oxidation in Japanese men by headspace gas chromatography, following the consumption of 16 ml/kgof beer during a 20 min period. The maximum level of blood/urineethanol was found to be 15–17 mM (20–22 mM), whilethat of acetaldehyde in a flusher and in non-flushers was 20µM (52 µM) and 2–5 µM (10–13 µM),respectively. Acetate levels in these groups ranged from 0.2mM (0.1 mM) to 0.8 mM (1.0 mM). Blood ethanol levels were dosedependent, whereas acetaldehyde and acetate levels reflectedindividual metabolic rates. The relative concentrations of ethanoland acetaldehyde in blood and that of acetate in alcohol metabolismcould be summarized as follows: 7500 (15 mM): 1–3 (2–5µM); 250–400 (0.5–0.8 mM) for non-flushers;and 7500 (15 mM): 5–10 (10–20 µM): 250–400(0.5–0.8 mM) for a flusher.     

Phyllodes tumor of the prostate: Recurrent obstructive symptom and stromal proliferative activity

We report the case of a 59-year-old man with a metachronous development of phyllodes tumor and adenocarcinoma of the prostate. He complained of urinary obstruction and transurethral resections of the prostate (TUR-P) had been performed six times in 10 years. Microscopic examination showed cystically dilated glands consisting of bizarre cells with pleomorphic, hyperchromatic nuclei in the stroma at the sixth TUR-P. Radical prostatectomy was performed against recurrences and adenocarcinoma was incidentally detected. Apparent up-regulation of proliferative nuclear antigens (PCNA), but not p53, was observed in the prostatectomy specimen by Western blotting. Active proliferation of stromal cells is considered to have caused the recurrent obstructive symptom.     

Electroporation-mediated muscarinic M3 receptor gene transfer into rat urinary bladder

BACKGROUND: Muscarinic M3 (M3) receptor has been recognized as a major muscarinic receptor for smooth muscle contractions of the urinary bladder. Under the hypothesis that overexpression of M3 receptor in the urinary bladder would enhance urinary bladder contractions, we have transferred the M3 receptor gene into rat bladders using electroporation (EP) and evaluated the functional expression of the transferred gene. METHODS: Plasmids expressing luciferase, a green fluorescence protein and M3 receptor were injected into the rat bladder and square-wave electric pulses were immediately applied. Two days after gene transfer, we analyzed gene expression. Immunohistochemical staining was performed and the contractile responses from isolated bladder strips, which were induced KCl, carbachol and electrical field stimulation (EFS), were evaluated. RESULTS: The optimal conditions of electroporation were 8 pulses, 45 voltages, 50 milliseconds/pulses and 1 Hz. Under these conditions, luciferase gene expression was enhanced approximately 300-fold, compared to an injection of DNA only. Regarding immunohistochemistry with an anti-M3 receptor, an increase in immunoactivity was observed in the M3 receptor gene transferred rat bladder, compared to the bladder of the control rat. In rats with the transferred M3 receptor gene, carbachol- and EFS-induced maximum contractile responses of bladder smooth muscle strips significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that an in vivo EP procedure is an useful method for gene transfer into the bladder and that an overexpression of M3 receptor in the rat bladder enhances bladder contractility. This technique may become a new treatment modality for detrusor underactivity.     

Cerebral blood volume in the sleep measured by near-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract We investigated the relationship between hemodynamic changes in the cortex measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and the polysomnographic changes during sleep. Four healthy male volunteers participated in the study. Near-infrared spectroscopy measuring and polysomnographic recordings were done simultaneously during sleep. In many case, oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) decreased and deoxy-hemoglobin (deoxy-Hb) increased during the transition from wakefulness to sleep, and oxy-Hb increased toward deep sleep. Oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb had larger fluctuations during REM sleep than those during non-REM sleep. During REM sleep, oxy-Hb often showed a lower level and deoxy-Hb showed a higher level than those during the preceding and following non-REM sleep.     

Composition of the intra-erythroblastic precipitates in thalassaemia and congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA): identification of a new type of CDA with intra-erythroblastic precipitates not reacting with monoclonal antibodies to α- and β-globin chains

Ultrathin sections of bone marrow cells from two patients with homozygous β-thalassaemia, two patients with haemoglobin H (HbH) disease, a patient with congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA) type III and two patients with severe congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia of an unusual type were reacted with mouse monoclonal antibodies against various globin chains and the reaction visualized using a gold-labelled goat antibody against mouse IgG. The multiple rounded intra-erythroblastic inclusions found in homozygous β-thalassaemia reacted with the monoclonal antibody against α-globin chains but not β-globin chains, thus confirming that they consisted of precipitated α-globin chains. The branching intra-erythroblastic inclusions found in HbH disease and CDA type III reacted with the monoclonal antibody against β-globin chains but not α-globin chains, indicating that they consisted of precipitated β-globin chains. The two patients with severe CDA had been transfusion-dependent since infancy, had a normal α:β globin chain synthesis ratio or parents with normal red cell indices, displayed prominent dysplastic changes in their erythroblasts, and had intra-erythroblastic inclusions resembling those seen in homozygous β-thalassaemia. However, unlike those in β-thalassaemia, the inclusions in these two patients did not react with the monoclonal antibody against either α- or β-globin chains. The inclusions reacted with antibody against ζ-globin chains, but detailed studies in one of the patients indicated that the antigen involved was not ζ-globin. These patients have features not reported in the condition known as dominantly inherited inclusion body β-thalassaemia and appear to suffer from a novel type of CDA in which the intra-erythroblastic inclusions may consist of some non-globin protein or structurally-abnormal α-globin chains.     

How many uncomplicated male and female overactive bladder patients reveal detrusor overactivity during urodynamic study?

OBJECTIVE: We retrospectively evaluated the incidence of detrusor overactivity (DO) in uncomplicated overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) patients. METHODS: From December 1993 to October 2003, 139 adult patients were referred to an urodynamic clinic for urodynamic evaluation of frequency and/or urinary incontinence. Of these, 50 patients (12 males and 38 females) with urgency, without any overt pathological conditions, were retrospectively evaluated in regard to patient age, storage symptoms, urodynamic parameters, and the presence or absence of DO (DO patients or no DO patients, respectively). RESULTS: The overall incidence of DO was 75% (nine of 12 patients) and 36.8% (14 of 38 patients) in male and female patients, respectively. Two of nine male DO patients and five of 14 female DO patients revealed DO after provocative maneuvers. In male patients, all DO patients were OAB wet. In female patients, 13 of 14 DO patients were OAB wet (92.9%), whereas 17 of 24 no DO patients were also OAB wet (70.8%). Compared with no DO patients, female DO patients revealed statistically significant lower maximum cystometric capacity (P = 0.0139) and lower vesical compliance (P = 0.0002). Although aged 60 years or more was associated with DO in univariate analysis in female patients, any symptoms, even incontinence, were not associated with DO in both sexes. CONCLUSION: It is supposed that, in contrast to male OAB, DO might not be a major underlying cause of uncomplicated female OAB.