MRI评估控便功能异常的研究进展

控便功能是指当产生便意时,可以辨别粪便干稀急缓,并能正常控制其排出的能力.因一些意外因素,如盆底功能障碍、某些先天性疾病及盆腔恶性肿瘤术后会导致此功能受损,而严重影响患者的生活质量.近年来,诸多国内外学者对控便功能障碍患者进行了临床和影像学研究,能够认知控便功能受损的造成因素及改善方法,对于术前术后制定治疗方案具有重要的临床价值,是目前研究的焦点.以MRI从影像学角度为阐述其障碍发生的可能机制及改善预后提供一定依据.因此,笔者对近年来控便功能障碍的MRI研究进展做简要综述.     

Knowledge of the Brain Death Concept in Dominican Immigration Residents in Spain and Florida

The Latin American population has a double way of immigration, one toward the United States by proximity and another toward Spain by sociocultural affinity. This population increase is affecting organ donation and transplantation in receiving countries.

Patterns in metabolite profile are associated with risk of more aggressive prostate cancer: A prospective study of 3,057 matched case–control sets from EPIC

Metabolomics may reveal novel insights into the etiology of prostate cancer, for which few risk factors are established. We investigated the association between patterns in baseline plasma metabolite profile and subsequent prostate cancer risk, using data from 3,057 matched case–control sets from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We measured 119 metabolite concentrations in plasma samples, collected on average 9.4 years before diagnosis, by mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit, Biocrates Life Sciences AG). Metabolite patterns were identified using treelet transform, a statistical method for identification of groups of correlated metabolites. Associations of metabolite patterns with prostate cancer risk (OR_1SD) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Supplementary analyses were conducted for metabolite patterns derived using principal component analysis and for individual metabolites. Men with metabolite profiles characterized by higher concentrations of either phosphatidylcholines or hydroxysphingomyelins (OR_1SD = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.89), acylcarnitines C18:1 and C18:2, glutamate, ornithine and taurine (OR_1SD = 0.72, 0.57–0.90), or lysophosphatidylcholines (OR_1SD = 0.81, 0.69–0.95) had lower risk of advanced stage prostate cancer at diagnosis, with no evidence of heterogeneity by follow-up time. Similar associations were observed for the two former patterns with aggressive disease risk (the more aggressive subset of advanced stage), while the latter pattern was inversely related to risk of prostate cancer death (OR_1SD = 0.77, 0.61–0.96). No associations were observed for prostate cancer overall or less aggressive tumor subtypes. In conclusion, metabolite patterns may be related to lower risk of more aggressive prostate tumors and prostate cancer death, and might be relevant to etiology of advanced stage prostate cancer.