Photodynamic therapy in the bladder: Can the light dose be easily quantified?

The shape of the bladder and the optical characteristics of the tissue within the wall can be shown to play an important role in the amount of light actually received at the wall. The use of estimated doses even assuming spherical geometry, cannot therefore be relied upon. This paper describes some experimental work carried out on a glass model that was used to simulate the bladder. A specially constructed dual detector was used which consisted of an isotropic probe and semiconductor detector. This enabled measurements of irradiance and space irradiance (light energy fluence rate) to be made simultaneously. By changing the optical characteristics of the wall a four-fold increase in space irradiance was measured. Contamination of the water contained within the model by blood was also investigated and has shown that with concentrations as low as 0.5% the delivered light dose reaching the wall can be reduced by up to 50% at a wavelength of 510 nm. Some in vivo measurements are also presented together with some comments on the difficulties that have been encountered when transferring measurements from the model to the patient.     

Prediction of survival and recurrence in bladder carcinoma

Summary We have followed a large population of patients receiving radiation treatment for bladder carcinoma with respect to survival and recurrence-free survival. Bivariate and multivariate life table analyses have been performed using a set of independent variables. The most important were T class, grade (G), urinary carcinoembryonic antigen (U-CEA) taken before treatment and cytological analysis 4 months after treatment. We compared the usual way of classifying a patient (T+G) with the combination of U-CEA and cytology since the latter two variables seemed to have great prognostic importance. The analyses show that T+G gives the best significance for survival (P=0.0003) while U-CEA and cytology is better for recurrence-free survival (=0.0002). 0.0002).     

Crystallisation of calcium oxalate dihydrate in normal urine in presence of sodium copper chlorophyllin

Summary A method is described for the growth of calcium oxalate dihydrate in normal urine. Soluble chlorophyllin, at a concentration of 20 g/ml inhibited the crystallisation and the growth kinetics of the dihydrate crystals. The inhibitory capacity of chlorophyllin was compared with previous results. Data obtained suggest that the food and drug colourant chlorophyllin might be useful in the treatment of calcium oxalate stone disease.     

Correlations of pseudouridine in 8-hour and 24-hour urinary samples determined by high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary The correlations of Pseudouridine () values in 8 h and 24 h urinary samples from 23 healthy persons were determined. Pseudouridine in the 8 h urinary samples was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and the 24 h excretion was calculated from the results of three 8 h determinations. Simultaneous determinations of urinary creatinine were performed by Jaffe's reaction. Based on the 8 h values of urinary Pseudouridine the results demonstrated a constant excretion of Pseudouridine in the 24 h periods, if the values were related to the urinary creatinine. The precision in using this ratio as an indicator for normal 24 h excretion of Pseudouridine was 90.5% for males and 92.5% for females.     

膀胱移行细胞癌微卫星不稳定性及其机制的研究

目的　探讨膀胱移行细胞癌 (BTCC)染色体微卫星不稳定性的表现及与基因突变的关系。方法　采用聚合酶链反应 (PCR)方法检测 4 0例 BTCC患者 5个微卫星位点的改变 ,同时用同样的方法检测癌组织中BAX基因和转化生长因子 (TGF) - β 型受体基因移码突变的情况。结果　至少发生一个微卫星位点改变的阳性率为 82 % (33/ 4 0 ) ,D9S16 2、D16 S4 76、D9S5 4、FGA和干扰素 (IFN) - A1位点改变各自的阳性率分别为 5 8%(2 3/ 4 0 )、 4 2 % (17/ 4 0 )、 38% (15 / 4 0 )、 4 8% (19/ 4 0 )和 5 5 % (2 2 / 4 0 ) ,阳性检出率与良性病变差异有显著性 ,与肿瘤的分期分级无显著相关性。发生微卫星改变的 33例中 ,33% (11/ 33)和 4 2 % (14 / 33)分别可见 TGF- β 型受体基因和 BAX基因的移码突变。结论　检测染色体微卫星的改变是 BTCC早期诊断、监测复发的有效手段 ,染色体微卫星改变可能是 BTCC发生过程中多基因突变的一种表现形式     

Epithelial mucin expression in bladder cancer: correlation with pathological and clinical parameters

Recently, attention has been drawn to the role of polymorphic epithelial mucin (PEM) as a possible target for cancer immunotherapy. To investigate the expression of this molecule in bladder tissue, we used two mouse monoclonal antibodies (HMFG1 and HMFG2) raised against the core protein of the PEM. The localization of these two anti-PEM antibodies was examined in normal (n=10), inflammatory (n=10) and malignant (n=67) bladder tissue samples with the use of a three-step avidin-biotin method. For HMFG1 and HMFG2 localization was successful in 78% and 60% of the bladder cancer samples, respectively, where as they were localized only in 30% and 40% of normal bladder tissue samples, respectively. Staining of either antibodies did not correlate with the grade, stage, or survival of bladder cancer patients. We conclude that PEM is frequently overexpressed by bladder cancer cells and HMFG1 is the antibody of choice to be used as a carrier of a cytotoxic agent for application of intravesical targeted therapy of bladder cancer. Received: 25 August 1999 / Accepted: 1 March 2000     

Factors causing differences in voiding parameters between conventional and ambulatory urodynamics

Voiding parameter values measured with ambulatory urodynamic monitoring (AM) are generally found to be different from those measured with conventional cystometry (CMG). The reason for this is unclear, but might be related to differences in the voided volume. To verify this hypothesis, we compared voidings from female patients at an initial bladder volume that was close to the modal volume (that is, the volume most often voided by the patient as derived from frequency/volume charts) with voidings at maximum cystometric capacity during a routine video urodynamic examination. A first group of 35 patients voided at the modal volume before they did at capacity. The order was reversed in a second group of 12 patients. The dependence of the voiding parameters on the voided volume and the order of the measurements were examined. It was found that the maximum flow rate depended significantly on the voided volume, but the associated detrusor pressure did not. Urethral resistance and bladder contraction strength were not volume dependent either. It was concluded that the differences between AM and CMG cannot be explained from possible differences in the voided volume. Received: 23 August 1999 / Accepted: 16 December 1999     

Effect of aging on bladder function and the response to outlet obstruction in female rats

Bladder dysfunction in the aging population is a significant problem. However the concomitant presence of other diseases in many patients can make it difficult to distinguish between changes in bladder function and other influences. The present study was designed to study, in aging rats, bladder function and the effect of partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) on bladder function. Cystometrics were performed in awake, female Fischer 344 rats of four age groups (6, 12, 18 and 24 months) following subcutaneous implantation of a mediport catheter. Cystometric evaluations were carried out in control rats or those subject to three weeks of BOO. Bladder compliance significantly decreased with aging, which reflected an increase in threshold pressure without changes in bladder capacity. Partial BOO caused development of severe bladder instability. Following BOO, bladder capacity and compliance were significantly increased in all age groups. Threshold pressure was lower in obstructed animals, except for 6-month rats. Younger animals were able to generate a higher contraction pressure to compensate for the BOO, whereas older animals did not. Using an awake model of cystometric measurement, we have demonstrated that aging, by itself can affect bladder function. Furthermore, aged animals respond differently to BOO than younger animals. These results demonstrate that both aging and disease can contribute to bladder dysfunction, and suggest that treatment of bladder dysfunction may require a combination of therapies targeted to multiple etiologies. Received: 18 August 1998 / Accepted: 6 July 1999     

Bladder Cancer and Arsenic Exposure： Differences in the Two Populations Enrolled in A Study in Southwest Taiwan

Objective Analyses of bladder cancer mortality in the Black Foot Disease (BFD) endemic area of southwest Taiwan conducted by Morales et al. showed a discontinuity in risk at 400 μg/L arsenic in the drinking water in a stratified analysis and no discontinuity in a continuous analysis.