Impact of unilateral interposition sural nerve graft on the recovery of sexual function after radical prostatectomy in Japanese men: A preliminary study

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of an interposition nerve graft on sexual function after radical prostatectomy. METHODS: This study includes 64 patients, without hormonal therapy, who underwent a radical prostatectomy and intraoperative electrophysiological confirmation of cavernous nerve preservation. Twelve patients underwent a unilateral interposition sural nerve graft (UNG) for the resected neurovascular bundle. Twenty-one and 31 patients underwent bilateral nerve-sparing (BNS) and unilateral nerve-sparing (UNS) surgery without a nerve graft, respectively. As the age of patients was significantly younger in the UNG group than in the other groups, age-matched analysis also was conducted. Sexual function, evaluated by a self-administered questionnaire using the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index, was compared statistically among the three groups. RESULTS: In the age-matched analysis, the postoperative sexual function (SXF) score of the UNG group showed an intermediate level of recovery between those of the BNS and UNS groups at 12 months and reached the same level as the score at 12 months of the BNS group at 18 months postoperatively. The difference in the SXF score between the UNG and UNS groups began to appear after 6 months postoperatively and increased steadily with time. However, the background factors, such as the baseline SXF score, the usage rate of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors, and the rate of comorbidities were different between the UNG and UNS groups. CONCLUSIONS: The difference of the SXF score between the UNG and UNS groups increased with time after 6 months postoperatively. However, it might be difficult at present to attribute a better recovery of the SXF score to the nerve graft because of the difference in the background factors between the groups.     

Significance of lateral biopsy specimens during transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies in Japanese men

OBJECTIVES: Lateral biopsies are thought to have a better cancer detection rate compared with standard sextant biopsies. This study aimed to determine whether lateral peripheral zone biopsies in Japanese men who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies provided a significantly higher cancer detection rate than sextant biopsies. METHODS: Between 1999 and 2004, data were collected from 461 men who underwent prostate biopsy and had enough data regarding the performance of lateral biopsies for statistical analysis. There were two categories in this study: (i) patients who underwent sextant prostate biopsies; and (ii) patients who underwent sextant biopsies plus lateral biopsies. RESULTS: Prostate cancer was detected in 141 (30.6%) of 461 patients. It was detected in 24 (22.2%) of 108 patients who underwent sextant biopsies and 117 (33.1%) of 353 patients who underwent sextant plus lateral biopsies. Lateral biopsies were not associated with a statistically higher rate of positive biopsy findings; however, we found a significantly higher ratio of patients with positive findings in those with prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels 10 ng/mL (one of 71, 1.4%) among those who had positive cores only in lateral biopsy samples (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Lateral biopsies did not show a significantly higher detection ratio of prostate cancer compared to sextant biopsies. However, lateral biopsies were more effective than sextant biopsies in patients with lower PSA levels. Our findings might be useful for the establishment of biopsy strategies to detect prostate cancer, especially in patients with lower PSA levels.     

Long-term effectiveness and quality of life improvement in entacapone-treated Parkinson's disease patients: the effects of an early therapeutic intervention

To evaluate the long-term effects of entacapone on both mean daily 'on' time and health-related quality of life (QoL) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experiencing 'end-of-dose' motor fluctuations and the benefits of an early therapeutic intervention. A prospective, multicenter, observational, 12-month study was performed with an initial 3-month intervention phase, consisting of a phone call to half of the patients from randomly selected investigators to assess if dose adjustment was necessary. Effectiveness was determined by home diaries ('on' time), subscales II and III of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8). After 3 months of treatment, 4.0% of the intervention group patients discontinued the study, versus 18.4% in the control group ( P  < 0.01). The improvement in 'on' time was significantly increased since the 3-month visit (21%, P  < 0.0001) until the end of the study (23% at 12 months, P  < 0.0001). Entacapone also induced significant reductions in the UPDRS scores for subscales II and III and in the PDQ-8 score. 11.2% of patients experienced at least one adverse reaction. This study confirms the effectiveness of entacapone in reducing motor fluctuations by increasing 'on' time, and in improving QoL of PD patients. An early adjustment of entacapone and levodopa doses reduces the number of treatment discontinuations during the first months of treatment.     

Evaluation of clinical outcomes in anterior cruciate ligament surgery

Clinical outcomes data can be used to facilitate patient management decisions, assess clinician and organizational performance, and to provide evidence for the effectiveness of surgery and rehabilitation. The validity of the inferences made from outcomes data are dependent on the validity of the outcomes measures themselves and the circumstances under which the data were collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Clinical outcomes may include measures of impairment of body structure and function, activity limitation, and participation restriction. However, because the relationship between impairment and the resulting activity limitation and participation restriction is not direct, and because activity limitations and participation restrictions are of the utmost concern to the athlete, the primary clinical outcome should be measures of activity limitation and participation restriction. Activity limitation and participation restriction may be measured either through direct observation of performance or by general or specific measures of health related quality of life. Clinical outcomes data must be collected systematically to ensure valid inferences from the data.     

Undergraduate psychiatry teaching in Ethiopia

Many epidemiological studies have shown the magnitude and seriousness of mental disorders in developing countries. However, mental health care remains unsatisfactory owing to lack of skilled manpower and many other social and medical priorities. General practitioners and other health personnel can significantly help in extending mental health care provided they receive adequate training during their medical curriculum. With this aim, the Department of Psychiatry at Addis Ababa University runs a 6-week full-time course for undergraduate medical students. Its chief objectives, teaching methods, achievements and shortcomings are discussed in the paper.     

老年人急性阑尾炎的腹腔镜手术治疗

目的 探讨老年人急性阑尾炎的临床特点，更好地把握腹腔镜阑尾切除（LA）术的方法和特点。方法 回顾分析50例老年人急性阑尾炎LA的临床资料。结果 LA均获成功，患者全部治愈，无严重的并发症发生，肠功能恢复时间及住院时间均缩短。结论 老年人反应迟钝，阑尾炎进展快，易发生坏疽及穿孔，合并症多，手术风险较高，LA是安全、可行的，除个别腹膜后阑尾炎外，其余均可施行LA。     

胎膜早破并发胎盘早剥的临床分析

目的　探讨妊娠晚期胎膜早破并发胎盘早剥的发生率、早期诊断和处理要点。方法　回顾分析2 0 0 1年～2 0 0 4年郑州大学第三附属医院产科分娩的胎膜早破病例,其中并发胎盘早期剥离者8例,与非胎膜早破发生胎盘早剥者进行比较。分析早期诊断和母婴结局。结果　3年分娩总数为4 12 4例,胎膜早破并发胎盘早剥者占全部胎盘早剥的2 8 6 % ,胎膜早破是胎盘早剥的首位发病诱因。胎膜早破并发胎盘早剥的发生率为2 77% ,而非胎膜早破者为0 5 2 % ,两者相比差异有显著性(P <0 0 1)。间断腰痛、血性羊水、胎心异常为常见的临床表现。胎膜早破并发胎盘早剥时围产儿的死亡率为12 5‰,无孕产妇死亡。结论　胎膜早破是胎盘早剥的诱因之一,重视临床表现,并结合B超和胎心监护有助于早期诊断,以降低母儿并发症。     

小学生个性影响因素研究

【目的】分析影响儿童个性的有关因素，为培养儿童的健全人格提供依据。【方法】对西安市所属的七个区各随机抽取一所学校，每所学校抽取四、五、六年级各两个班．采用龚耀先修订的艾森克个性问卷（Eysenck Personality Questionnaire，EPQ）（儿童用）和自编的个人一般情况调查表，对2000名儿童进行调查。将调查所得数椐进行多元逐步回归分析。【结果】影响小学生个性精神性（Psy choticism，P）的因素有性别、是否班干部、父母关系；影响内外向（extrovision and intrnision，E）的因素有性别、父母关系、是否班干部、住所、母亲文化程度、所在学校；影响情绪稳定性（nearoticism，N）、掩饰性（lie,L）的均为性别、父母关系2个因素。【结论】儿童个性受家庭、学校环境等的多重影响。家长、教师应创造良好的家庭、社会环境，保持情绪乐观、稳定，避免对子女儿童的负面影响，以利于其个性向积极方向发展。     

Predictors of oral health quality of life in older adults

There is limited information regarding oral health status and other predictors of oral health‐related quality of life. An association between oral health status and perceived oral health‐related quality of life (OHQOL) might help clinicians motivate patients to prevent oral diseases and improve the outcome of some dental public health programs. This study evaluated the relationship between older persons' OHQOL and their functional dentition, caries, periodontal status, chronic diseases, and some demographic characteristics. A group of 733 low‐income elders (mean age 72.7 ISD=4.71, 55.6% women, 55.1% members of ethnic minority groups in the U.S. and Canada) enrolled in the TEETH clinical trial were interviewed and examined as part of their fifth annual visit for the trial. OHQOL was measured by the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI); oral health and occlusal status by clinical exams and the Eichner Index; and demographics via interviews. Elders who completed the four‐year assessment had an average of 21.5 teeth (SD=6.9). with 8.5 occluding pairs (SD=4.6), and 32% with occlusal contacts in all four occluding zones. Stepwise multiple regressions were conducted to predict total GOHAI and its subscores (Physical, Social, and Worry). Functional dentition was a less significant predictor than ethnicity and being foreign‐bom. These variables, together with gender, years since immigrating, number of carious roots, and periodontal status, could predict 32% of the variance in total GOHAI, 24% in Physical, 27% in Social, and 21 % in the Worry subscales. These findings suggest that functional dentition and caries influence older adults' OHQOL, but that ethnicity and immigrant status play a larger role.