Examination of potential novel biochemical factors in relation to prostate cancer incidence and mortality in UK Biobank

Background Although prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death, its aetiology is not well understood. We aimed to identify novel biochemical factors for prostate cancer incidence and mortality in UK Biobank.Methods A range of cardiovascular, bone, joint, diabetes, renal and liver-related biomarkers were measured in baseline blood samples collected from up to 211,754 men at recruitment and in a subsample 5 years later. Participants were followed-up via linkage to health administrative datasets to identify prostate cancer cases. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression corrected for regression dilution bias. Multiple testing was accounted for by using a false discovery rate controlling procedure.Results After an average follow-up of 6.9 years, 5763 prostate cancer cases and 331 prostate cancer deaths were ascertained. Prostate cancer incidence was positively associated with circulating vitamin D, urea and phosphate concentrations and inversely associated with glucose, total protein and aspartate aminotransferase. Phosphate and cystatin-C were the only biomarkers positively and inversely, respectively, associated with risk in analyses excluding the first 4 years of follow-up. There was little evidence of associations with prostate cancer death.Conclusion We found novel associations of several biomarkers with prostate cancer incidence. Future research will examine associations by tumour characteristics.Subject terms: Predictive markers, Prostate cancer, Risk factors     

Patterns in metabolite profile are associated with risk of more aggressive prostate cancer: A prospective study of 3,057 matched case–control sets from EPIC

Metabolomics may reveal novel insights into the etiology of prostate cancer, for which few risk factors are established. We investigated the association between patterns in baseline plasma metabolite profile and subsequent prostate cancer risk, using data from 3,057 matched case–control sets from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We measured 119 metabolite concentrations in plasma samples, collected on average 9.4 years before diagnosis, by mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit, Biocrates Life Sciences AG). Metabolite patterns were identified using treelet transform, a statistical method for identification of groups of correlated metabolites. Associations of metabolite patterns with prostate cancer risk (OR_1SD) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Supplementary analyses were conducted for metabolite patterns derived using principal component analysis and for individual metabolites. Men with metabolite profiles characterized by higher concentrations of either phosphatidylcholines or hydroxysphingomyelins (OR_1SD = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.89), acylcarnitines C18:1 and C18:2, glutamate, ornithine and taurine (OR_1SD = 0.72, 0.57–0.90), or lysophosphatidylcholines (OR_1SD = 0.81, 0.69–0.95) had lower risk of advanced stage prostate cancer at diagnosis, with no evidence of heterogeneity by follow-up time. Similar associations were observed for the two former patterns with aggressive disease risk (the more aggressive subset of advanced stage), while the latter pattern was inversely related to risk of prostate cancer death (OR_1SD = 0.77, 0.61–0.96). No associations were observed for prostate cancer overall or less aggressive tumor subtypes. In conclusion, metabolite patterns may be related to lower risk of more aggressive prostate tumors and prostate cancer death, and might be relevant to etiology of advanced stage prostate cancer.     

Intracranial circulation: pulse-sequence considerations in three- dimensional (volume) MR angiography

The technique and feasibility of magnetic resonance (MR) angiography of intracranial vessels were studied in 35 healthy volunteers. Variations in image orientation, repetition time (TR), and flip angle were evaluated to determine their effects on flow-related enhancement. Gradient modifications--including echo time (TE), motion compensation, bandwidth, and field of view--were also studied in an effort to reduce motion-induced phase shifts. Results indicated that a FISP (fast imaging with steady precession) sequence with a TR of 50 msec, TE of 15 msec, velocity compensation in the read and section-select directions, acceleration compensation in the read direction, anisotropic volume, and a 1.25-mm partition thickness produced three-dimensional angiographic MR images that were accurate and reproducible in the depiction of the major intracranial vessels. Difficulties with field of view, persistent signal void secondary to higher-order motion, and spatial resolution remain major problems requiring additional study.     

Experimentelle Untersuchungen über die Entzündung der Hornhaut

Ohne ZusammenfassungHierzu Taf. XV–XVI.     

Paediatric dacryocystorhinostomy

Of 258 cases of dacryocystorhinostomy performed on children in the period September 1981 to September 1991, 130 were for simple, unresolved congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Other indications for surgery included punctal agenesis, lacrimal fistula, post-traumatic and post-inflammatory canalicular obstruction. Of 177 children without canalicular pathology, 171 (96%) were relieved of symptoms with one operation, without canalicular intubation. Of 81 cases with canalicular disease, 55 of 70 (79%) who underwent DCR plus canalicular intubation, and 10 of 11 who underwent DCR plus Lester-Jones tube, were substantially improved with one operation. No child required peroperative or postoperative blood transfusion. Dacryocystorhinostomy in childhood, in experienced surgical hands, is a safe procedure, achieving relief of symptoms in most cases, particularly in the absence of canalicular disease.     

骨钙素酶免疫检测方法的研究和应用

目的：建立骨钙素酶免疫测定方法，并应用于临床检测血清骨钙素。方法：应用了3种检测模式，根据检测灵敏度、剂量反应曲线的形态进行分析，选择出合适的模式进一步应用于临床血清标本的骨钙素检测。结果：所采用的骨钙素单克隆抗体是钙离子依赖型的。固相抗原竞争法适合于临床定量测定骨钙素。最低可测限为1．4μg/L;20μg/L骨钙素样品批内CV＝3．98％，批间CV＝12．67％。测定正常献血员140名（年龄17－45岁），第5－95百分位点的骨钙素含量，男性为7．5－15．0μg/L女性为7.0-17.5μg/L。70例疑有骨质疏松症患者血清骨钙素含量2．91－30．20μg/L，以第95百分位点的骨钙素含量为cut-off值，升高5例。与进口试剂盒（Novocalcin,USA）相比较，有较好的相关性，r=0.81。结论：固相抗原竞争法酶免疫测定可以灵敏地检测血清中骨钙素含量，有实用价值。     

间接测热法和反向Fick氏法测定心脏手术病人术后氧耗量的比较

目的 采用反向Fick氏法和间接测热法测定心脏手术后病人的全身氧耗,并比较两种测量方法的相关性和准确性。方法8例心脏手术术后病人,分别在入ICU后2h和6h时同时采用反向Fick氏和间接测热法测定病人的全身氧耗量。结果 间接测热法和反向Fick法测得氧耗分别是(16±30)ml·min-1·m-2和(127±23)ml·min-1·m-2,前者的测定结果显著高于后者(P<0.01)。相关分析显示两者有较好的相关性(r=0.92,P<0.01)。采用Bland和Altman统计分析提示两种测定结果的平均偏离值为(35.5±13.4)ml·min-1·m-2,其95％的分布范围是(9～62)ml·min-1·m-2,提示两种测量结果间的一致性较差。结论 两种方法测定心脏病人术后全身氧耗的结果有明显差异,其中反向Fick氏法的测定结果误差大、准确性差,而间接测热法是较好的临床选择。