L-carnitine alleviates sciatic nerve crush injury in rats：functional and electron microscopy assessments

Several studies have demonstrated that L-carnitine exhibits neuroprotective effects on injured sciatic nerve of rats with diabetes mellitus. It is hypothesized that L-carnitine exhibits neuro-protective effects on injured sciatic nerve of rats. Rat sciatic nerve was crush injured by a forceps and exhibited degenerative changes. After intragastric administration of 50 and 100 mg/kg L-carnitine for 30 days, axon area, myelin sheath area, axon diameter, myelin sheath diameter, and numerical density of the myelinated axons of injured sciatic nerve were similar to normal, and the function of injured sciatic nerve also improved signiifcantly. These ifndings suggest that L-carnitine exhibits neuroprotective effects on sciatic nerve crush injury in rats.     

The application of tissue-engineered preputial matrix and fibrin sealant for urethral reconstruction in rabbit model

Background

To introduce the role of fibrin sealant and preputial acellular matrix (PAM) as a new source of inert collagen matrix for urethral reconstruction.

Methods

A ventral urethral segmental defect was created in 24 male rabbits divided into four groups. In group 1 (G1), urethrotomy was closed in layers. In group 2 (G2), closure was followed by applying fibrin sealant. In groups 3 (G3) and 4 (G4), urethroplasty was performed with a patch graft of PAM, and in G4, fibrin sealant was also applied. Serial urethrography was performed before and after the operation. Then, the animals were euthanized, and their urethra was excised 1, 3, and 9 months postoperatively for further electron microscopic examination, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) technique, and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with CD34, CD31, desmin, SMA, and α-actin.

Results

In G1 and G2, the fistula repair failed in all the time points. In G3 and G4, serial urethrography confirmed the maintenance of a wide urethral caliber without signs of strictures or extravasations. Satisfactory vascularity was observed in G3 and G4 during the whole study, which was more significant in G4 after 9 months of follow-up. The presence of a complete transitional cell layer was confirmed over the graft in G3 and G4 in all time points. IHC staining confirmed the effectiveness of fistula repair in G3 and G4, 3 months postoperatively.

Conclusion

This rabbit model showed that PAM combined with fibrin sealant may herald a reliable option for repairing segmental urethral defects.     

Effects of the recreational use of PDE5 inhibitors on the corpus cavernosum of young,healthy rats

Purpose

PDE5 inhibitors are widely used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. However, these drugs have recently become popular among men without erectile dysfunction as a means of enhancing sexual performance and improving sexual desire. The aim of this study was to investigate the histopathological and ultrastructural effects of PDE5 inhibitors on the corpus cavernosum in young, healthy male rats.

Methods

Twenty-four 4-month-old male rats were divided into four groups: group 1 was the control group, group 2 rats received sildenafil citrate, group 3 rats received vardenafil hydrochloride, and group 4 rats received tadalafil. All drugs were administered for 4 weeks. Penile tissue was collected for electron microscopy and tissue collagen measurements. Electron microscopic analysis indicated that the number of active fibroblasts and macrophages and the synthesis of new collagen fibers increased in treated rats.

Results

Cavernous tissue collagen levels were significantly higher in the sildenafil-, vardenafil-, and tadalafil-treated groups than in controls (46.16 ± 4.9, 42.06 ± 2.4, 41.07 ± 2.4, and 29.20 ± 3.3, respectively) (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Young men who use these drugs to enhance performance in the absence of erectile dysfunction may experience irreversible damage to the cavernosal tissue. However, more studies are needed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms by which PDE5 inhibitors affect the corpus cavernosum.     

TMPRSS2-ERG Fusions Are Strongly Linked to Young Patient Age in Low-grade Prostate Cancer

Based on next-generation sequencing of early-onset prostate cancer (PCa), we earlier demonstrated that PCa in young patients is prone to rearrangements involving androgen-regulated genes—such as transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2)–v-ets avian erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (ERG) fusion—and provided data suggesting that this situation might be caused by increased androgen signaling in younger men. In the same study, an accumulation of chromosomal deletions was found in cancers of elderly patients. To determine how age-dependent molecular features relate to cancer phenotype, an existing data set of 11 152 PCas was expanded by additional fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), 6q15 and 5q21. The results demonstrate that the decrease in TMPRSS2–ERG fusions with increasing patient age is limited to low-grade cancers (Gleason ≤3 + 4) and that the significant increase in the deletion frequency with age was strictly limited to ERG-negative cancers for 6q15 and 5q21 but to ERG-positive cancers for PTEN. These data suggest that the accumulation of non–androgen-linked genomic alterations with advanced patient age may require an appropriate microenvironment, such as a positive or negative ERG status. The strong link of ERG activation to young patient age and low-grade cancers may help to explain a slight predominance of low-grade cancers in young patients.     

Evaluation of the optic nerve head vessel density in the patients with asymmetric pseudoexfoliative glaucoma: an OCT angiography study

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To evaluate vascular microcirculation changes of the optic nerve head (ONH) in the patients with asymmetric pseudoexfoliative...