Prostatitis: Updates on diagnostic evaluation

Prostatitis accounts for almost 2 million office visits to urologists and primary care physicians. The label “prostatitis” refers to a diverse constellation of symptoms and disease processes. The diagnosis and treatment of this disorder present numerous challenges for the physician, including a lack of abnormal findings on physical examination, laboratory tests, and radiographic images. In this article, we offer a review of the current literature and recommendations for the evaluation and diagnosis of the patient presenting with prostatitis.     

AMPK在妊娠期糖尿病发病机制中的作用

腺苷酸活化蛋白激酶是一种重要的蛋白激酶,主要作用是协调代谢和能量平衡.腺苷酸活化蛋白激酶被激活后,在增加骨骼肌对葡萄糖摄取、增强胰岛素敏感性、增加脂肪酸氧化以及调节基因转录等方面发挥重要作用.已经证实脂联素有调节糖脂代谢的作用,但其作用机制尚不十分清楚,很可能是通过腺苷酸活化蛋白激酶介导,对脂联素信号转导通路的研究将成为进一步理解脂联素作用的关键所在.而脂联素又是妊娠期糖尿病的预测因子,所以腺苷酸活化蛋白激酶逐渐成为对妊娠期糖尿病研究中的焦点.     

Acute urticaria and hepatitis complicating high-dose methotrexate therapy

We report an unusual case of anaphylaxis and hepatitic dysfunction in a child with the administration of the twenty-third course of high-dose methotrexate. The latter had been used as an adjuvant to prevent pulmonary metastases and the prior 22 courses had been well tolerated. An attempt to reinstate methotrexate after the twenty-third course was again followed by a similar reaction. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Regulatory mechanisms of growth hormone secretion are sexually dimorphic.

Sexually dimorphic growth hormone (GH) secretory pattern is important in the determination of gender-specific patterns of growth and metabolism in rats. Whether GH secretion in humans is also sexually dimorphic and the neuroendocrine mechanisms governing this potential difference are not fully established. We have compared pulsatile GH secretion profiles in young men and women in the baseline state and during a continuous intravenous infusion of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I (rhIGF-I). During the baseline study, men had large nocturnal GH pulses and relatively small pulses during the rest of the day. In contrast, women had more continuous GH secretion and more frequent GH pulses that were of more uniform size. The infusion of rhIGF-I (10 microg/kg/h) potently suppressed both spontaneous and growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH)-induced GH secretion in men. In women, however, rhIGF-I had less effect on pulsatile GH secretion and did not suppress the GH response to GHRH. These data demonstrate the existence of sexual dimorphism in the regulatory mechanisms involved in GH secretion in humans. The persistence of GH responses to GHRH in women suggests that negative feedback by IGF-I might be expressed, in part, through suppression of hypothalamic GHRH.     

Limited posterolateral surgical approach to the knee for excision of osteoid osteoma

An 18-year-old man suffered four years of undiagnosed knee pain until a CAT scan revealed an epiphyseal osteoid osteoma of the tibia located subchondrally, just medial to the proximal tibiofibular joint. A nidus in this location is not easily accessible, and its proximity to the joint surface raised concerns about damage to the tibial plateau. To facilitate excision of the tumor, cadaveric dissections were performed to develop a limited posterior approach to the proximal, lateral portion of the tibia. The CAT scan was used to calculate the precise dimensions of the tumor and its relation to the posterior tibial cortex and the proximal tibiofibular joint. With the use of the exposure developed in the laboratory and the calculations derived from the CAT scan, the tumor could be excised by removing a single block of bone 15 mm3. Intraoperative radiographs confirmed the presence of the nidus within the excised block of bone. This case report reaffirms the frequent difficulties and tardiness in diagnosing osteoid osteomas and the need to include these tumors in the differential diagnosis of knee pain and epiphyseal lesions. Before CAT scans were used, the working diagnoses were torn meniscus, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and bone hemangiomatosis.     

Biological consequences of cancer and its treatment and their relationship to current treatment planning

Advances in the treatment of childhood cancer have produced dramatic changes in survival. Unfortunately, many of the advances associated with this improvement have been accompanied by delayed sequelae induced by treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. This article reviews published reports of treatment sequelae and examines their impact on the design of current forms of treatment. Recognition of the delayed effects of these treatment modalities has resulted in alterations in established therapies. This alteration is an ongoing process and demonstrates the concern of physicians with improving quality of life for long-term survivors of childhood cancer.