Impact of Caffeine on Overactive Bladder Symptoms

Caffeine consumption is highly prevalent in the adult population. First-line treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms involves behavioral modification, which includes reduction of caffeine consumption. A literature review over the last 3 years has identified 10 peer-reviewed articles that investigated the effects and mechanisms of caffeine on OAB symptoms. The literature describes that caffeine can be associated to de novo OAB symptoms or their exacerbation. Those effects have been found to be dose dependent. Significant associations to age and gender cannot be made at this point due to limited studies. This review raises awareness of caffeine’s potential causal impact on OAB symptoms, which is important when counseling the general population and patients suffering from OAB. Since there is a lack of evidence-based data to support clinical recommendations, more controlled-randomized prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of caffeine on OAB symptoms that also control for dose, gender, and age.     

MFSD2A is a novel lung tumor suppressor gene modulating cell cycle and matrix attachment

Background  

MFSD2A (major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2) gene maps on chromosome 1p34 within a linkage disequilibrium block containing genetic elements associated with progression of lung cancer.     

Biallelic HERC1 mutations in a syndromic form of overgrowth and intellectual disability

We report two Colombian siblings affected by overgrowth, intellectual disability and facial dysmorphism. Exome (via NGS) and Sanger sequencing revealed that biallelic sequence variants in a novel gene (HERC1) might be related to the disease pathogenesis. These results provide useful data for future genotype–phenotype correlations and for a molecular diagnosis of overgrowth.     

The efficiency of Poly(ADP‐Ribose) Polymerase (PARP) cleavage on detection of apoptosis in an experimental model of testicular torsion

The aim of this study was to evaluate the histopathological and apoptotic changes occurring in the rat ipsilateral and contralateral testes, after experimental spermatic cord torsion, and to explore and the role of poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage in testicular torsion–detorsion injury. A total of 37 Wistar albino rats were subjected to 720° unilateral spermatic cord torsion for 1, 2 and 4 h, followed by 4‐h reperfusion, or else to a sham operation (control group). Histology of the testicle was evaluated using haematoxylin–eosin (H&E) staining and Johnsen's scoring system. Germ cell apoptosis was evaluated via active caspase‐3 immunostaining, and PARP expression levels were evaluated via Western blotting. The mean Johnsen's tubular biopsy scores (JTBS) of the ipsilateral testicles were lower for all torsion groups than for the controls (P < 0.05), but the JTBS of the contralateral testicles were only lower in the 4‐h torsion group (P < 0.05). The mean apoptosis score (AS) of the ipsilateral and contralateral testicles was significantly higher in the torsion groups than in the sham group. AS increased correlatively with torsion time, in both testicles. The effect of testicular torsion on PARP cleavage was time dependent, with the highest effect observed after 4 h of testicular torsion (P < 0.05). Testicular torsion caused time‐dependent histological changes, apoptosis and increases in PARP cleavage. Our results suggest that testicular torsion–detorsion injury caused cell damage and germ cell apoptosis that apparently involved cleavage of PARP. Increased PARP cleavage could, in turn, lead to enhanced apoptosis.     

Robotic telepathology for intraoperative remote diagnosis using a still-imaging-based system.

The aim of the present study was to assess whether a telemicroscopy system based on static imaging could provide a remote intraoperative frozen section service. Three pathologists evaluated 70 consecutive frozen section cases (for a total of 210 diagnoses) using a static telemicroscopy system (STeMiSy) and light microscopy (LM). STeMiSy uses a robotic microscope, enabling full remote control by consultant pathologists in a near real-time manner. Clinically important concordance between STeMiSy and LM was 98.6% (95.2% overall concordance), indicating very good agreement. The rates of deferred diagnoses given by STeMiSy and LM were comparable (11.0% and 9.5%, respectively). Compared with the consensus diagnosis, the diagnostic accuracy of STeMiSy and LM was 95.2% and 96.2%. The mean viewing time per slide was 3.6 minutes, and the overall time to make a diagnosis by STeMiSy was 6.2 minutes, conforming to intraoperative practice requirements. Our study demonstrates that a static imaging active telepathology system is comparable to dynamic telepathology systems and can provide a routine frozen section service.