Congenital absence of the testis in human fetuses and in cryptorchid patients

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study is to make a comparative study in human fetuses and in patients with cryptorchidism, analyzing the incidence of a number anomalies of the testes for both populations. METHODS: We studied 326 testes from 163 human fetuses ranging in age from 10 to 35 weeks postconception (WPC) and 133 testes from 101 cryptorchid patients aged from 1 to 15 years old (mean, 6.4 years). The Fisher's exact test was used for comparison. RESULTS: Among 326 fetal testes, 224 (68.7%) were abdominal, 45 (13.8%) were inguinal and 55 (16.8%) were scrotal. In one fetus at 23 WPC, both testes (0.6%) were absent. Of the 133 cryptorchid testes, 17 (12.78%) were abdominal, 92 (69.1%) were inguinal and 24 (18%) were high scrotal. Of the 17 abdominal testes, three (17.6%) were atrophic and two were vanished (11.7%). Of the 92 inguinal testes, one (1.08%) was vanished. Twenty-eight (21%) of the cryptorchid testes were impalpable and among these, 17 were located in the abdomen (60.7%) and 11 (38.2%) in the inguinal region (internal ring). CONCLUSIONS: Testicular agenesis is a very rare anomaly, both in fetuses and patients with cryptorchidism.     

Work in progress: hybrid temporal-energy subtraction in digital fluoroscopy

Initial clinical results using a digital fluoroscopic implementation of the combined time-energy ("hybrid") subtraction technique are described, with emphasis on carotid and renal imaging. Where patient motion artifacts are due to soft-tissue motion alone, hybrid subtraction can remove them. Due to the need for a finite separation time between high- and low-energy pairs, however, the present implementation of the hybrid technique is not completely immune to soft-tissue motion. The intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio of hybrid imaging is less than that of conventional temporal subtraction. However, since the low-energy temporal subtraction images are included in the hybrid data set, the diagnostic quality of the examination is not compromised.     

The Role of Social Support in Collegiate Recovery Communities: A Review of the Literature

In the past decades one response to the increase of college drinking is the growing prevalence of Collegiate Recovery Communities (CRC). Numerous publications on these programs exist, yet a review does not. With a growing need for evidence-based model programs to address the concerns of alcohol abuse and dependence on college campuses, the importance of a collection on the effectiveness of CRCs exists. The goal of this article is to compile a thorough overview of data on CRCs in the United States, focusing specifically on the role of social support in recovery maintenance. Recommendations for future directions are discussed.     

The adrenocorticotropic hormone-induced cortisol response in acute pancreatitis

The evidence that severe acute pancreatitis can result in critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency following impaired adrenal secretion is accumulating. The study by Peng and coworkers in Critical Care certainly contributes to that idea, even though the question whether relative adrenal insufficiency should prompt for treatment by substitution doses of corticosteroids remains unresolved. The study is discussed in terms of the risk factors, circumstances and significance of impaired corticosteroid secretion by adrenals in severe acute pancreatitis.