High temperature microwave thermotherapy of the prostate

Transurethral microwave thermotherapy of the prostate has been touted as a minimally invasive means of treating symptomatic prostatism. High temperatures (>55 degrees C) appear to yield improved results but require general anesthesia. To determine if high temperature thermotherapy of the prostate was feasible in an outpatient, nonanesthetic setting, we subjected men with symptomatic prostatism secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia to treatment with a newly developed circumferentially cooled transurethral microwave thermotherapy device, the UroWave. Intraprostatic temperatures were measured on-line and treatment was targeted to achieve temperatures ranging from 45 degrees C-65 degrees C. Fifty-five men with benign prostatic hyperplasia underwent transurethral microwave thermotherapy using the UroWave in an outpatient setting without general anesthesia. Baseline mean peak urinary flow rates were 8.0 cc/sec and mean American Urology Association of the prostate displayed three distinct phases: an initial slow heating phase, a plateau phase of variable duration and a rapid secondary heating phase. The final intraprostatic temperature did not correlate with urethral or rectal temperatures or the amount of power applied. At six months, peak flow increased by 50% and symptoms score declined by 52%. Ninety-four percent of patients had a transurethral resection of the prostate-like defect at cystoscopy with a greater proportion at higher temperatures. Side effects were rare and no patients had to be admitted to hospital. Transurethral microwave thermotherapy at high intraprostatic temperatures can be achieved with general anesthesia. Symptom relief was considerable and anatomic changes resembling a transurethral resection of the prostate were noted in the majority of patients. Intraprostatic temperatures are the only means of assessing the thermal damage to the prostate and thus the effectiveness if therapy. Future studies must develop less invasive means of monitoring intraprostatic temperatures and define the role of the bladder neck. Ultimately, randomized controlled trials will define the value of this treatment.     

Diastolic asynchrony is more frequent than systolic asynchrony in dilated cardiomyopathy and is less improved by cardiac resynchronization therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the incidence of diastolic and systolic asynchrony, assessed by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, and to assess TDI changes induced by cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). BACKGROUND: Thirty percent of CRT candidates are nonresponders. Besides QRS width, the presence of echographic systolic asynchrony has been used to identify future responders. Little is known about diastolic asynchrony and its change after CRT. METHODS: Tissue Doppler imaging was performed in 116 CHF patients (LV ejection fraction 26 +/- 8%). Systolic and diastolic asynchrony was calculated using TDI recordings of right ventricular and LV walls. RESULTS: The CHF group consisted of 116 patients. Diastolic asynchrony was more frequent than systolic, concerning both intraventricular (58% vs. 47%; p = 0.0004) and interventricular (72 vs. 45%; p < 0.0001) asynchrony. Systolic and diastolic asynchrony were both present in 41% patients, but one-third had isolated diastolic asynchrony. Although diastolic delays increased with QRS duration, 42% patients with narrow QRS presented with diastolic asynchrony. Conversely, 27% patients with large QRS had no diastolic asynchrony. Forty-two patients underwent CRT. Incidence of systolic intraventricular asynchrony decreased from 71% to 33% after CRT (p < 0.0001), but diastolic asynchrony decreased only from 81% to 55% (p < 0.0002). Cardiac resynchronization therapy induced new diastolic asynchrony in eight patients. CONCLUSIONS: Diastolic asynchrony is weakly correlated with QRS duration, is more frequent than systolic asynchrony, and may be observed alone. Diastolic asynchrony is less improved by CRT than systolic. Persistent diastolic asynchrony may explain some cases of lack of improvement after CRT despite good systolic resynchronization.     

Safety and immunogenicity of a canarypox-vectored human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 vaccine with or without gp120: a phase 2 study in higher- and lower-risk volunteers

Live attenuated viral vectors that express human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigens are being developed as potential vaccines to prevent HIV infection. The first phase 2 trial with a canarypox vector (vCP205, which expresses gp120, p55, and protease) was conducted in 435 volunteers with and without gp120 boosting, to expand the safety database and to compare the immunogenicity of the vector in volunteers who were at higher risk with that in volunteers at lower risk for HIV infection. Neutralizing antibodies to the MN strain were stimulated in 94% of volunteers given vCP205 plus gp120 and in 56% of volunteers given vCP205 alone. CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocyte cells developed at some time point in 33% of volunteers given vCP205, with or without gp120. Phase 3 field trials with these or similar vaccines are needed, to determine whether efficacy in preventing HIV infection or in slowing disease progression among vaccinees who become infected is associated with the level and types of immune responses that were induced by the vaccines in this study.     

Immunization with recombinant canarypox vectors expressing membrane-anchored glycoprotein 120 followed by glycoprotein 160 boosting fails to generate antibodies that neutralize R5 primary isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1

Antibodies generated by candidate HIV-1 vaccines in a phase I clinical trial were assessed for neutralizing activity with a panel of eight well-characterized, genetically diverse clade B primary isolates having an R5 phenotype. The vaccines consisted of one of three different recombinant canarypox vectors expressing membrane-anchored HIV-1(MN)gp120 (ALVAC vCP205, vCP1433, and vCP1452) followed by boosting with a soluble gp160 hybrid consisting of MNgp120 and the majority of gp41 from strain IIIB. Serum samples from a subset of volunteers in each arm of the trial, containing moderate to high titers of neutralizing antibodies to HIV-1 MN, were analyzed. Competition assays with peptides revealed that the majority of neutralizing activity was specific for the MN-V3 loop. Despite MN-specific neutralization titers that sometimes exceeded 1:500, no neutralization of primary isolates was detected and, in some cases, mild infection enhancement was observed. In addition, little or no neutralization of the HIV-1 IIIB heterologous T cell line-adapted strain of virus was detected. These results reinforce the notion that monovalent HIV-1 ENV is a poor immunogen for generating cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies.     

Identification of Possible Virulence Marker from Campylobacter jejuni Isolates

A novel protein translocation system, the type-6 secretion system (T6SS), may play a role in virulence of Campylobacter jejuni. We investigated 181 C. jejuni isolates from humans, chickens, and environmental sources in Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom for T6SS. The marker was most prevalent in human and chicken isolates from Vietnam.     

Scapulothoracic and scapholunate dissociation in the ipsilateral upper limb of a trauma victim

Scapulothoracic dissociation is a rare and complex injury pattern with varied presentation.Here we describe a case of a 32-year-old male who presented with scapulothoracic dissociation associated with brachial plexus injury,along with scapholunate dissociation.We also propose an injury mechanism that might link the two injury patterns,suggesting that the association might be more than by chance.The patient was managed according to established trauma care and resuscitation protocols followed by open reduction and internal fixation of the clavicle fracture,and fixation of scapholunate dissociation and had a successful outcome at follow-up.