The effect of exogenous melatonin on reducing scoliotic curvature and improving bone quality in melatonin-deficient C57BL/6J mice.

It is well-documented that melatonin deficiency has been linked to the etiopathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. In this study, we intended to apply melatonin in melatonin-deficient mice to ascertain whether melatonin could reduce the incidence/severity of scoliosis, and investigate the role of melatonin on bone mineral density in scoliosis. A total of 80 mice were divided into 4 groups: 20 quadrupedal mice and 20 bipedal mice served as controls; 20 quadrupedal and 20 bipedal mice received oral melatonin (8 mg/kg BW) daily. After 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th weeks of treatment, radiographs and in vivo micro-CT were used to determine the incidence of scoliosis and bone qualities, respectively. Upon sacrifice, the levels of melatonin were measured in each group. At 20th week, the occurrence of scoliosis was 80%, 30%, 22% and 5% in bipedal, quadrupedal, bipedal + melatonin and quadrupedal + melatonin group, respectively. The trabecular bone quality of the vertebral body was significantly ameliorated in the melatonin-treated bipedal models. Likewise, the number of osteoclasts was significantly less in those treated with melatonin. Our results indicated that melatonin deficiency may be crucial for scoliotic development, and restoration of melatonin levels can prevent scoliotic development with the improvement in bone density.

A 55-Year-Old Man with Right Testicular Pain: Too Old for Torsion?

Testicular torsion is predominantly a disease of adolescence, but age itself should not be an exclusion criterion for the diagnosis. A lack of suspicion for testicular torsion in older patients may result in a missed or delayed diagnosis which jeopardizes the chance of testicular salvage. In this article, we report a case of testicular torsion in a 55-year-old Chinese man.

Augmentation cystoplasty: Urodynamic and metabolic outcomes at 10-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To review the urodynamic outcomes, renal function and metabolic complications after augmentation cystoplasty with at least 10 years of follow-up. METHODS: Augmentation cystoplasty performed in two tertiary referral centers from 1995 to 2004 were reviewed. Ten years or more postoperative course was studied by review of the clinical notes, urodynamic reports and laboratory results. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients were included in this study. The mean age at surgery was 43 years, and 47.5% of patients were female. Median follow up was 13 years. Bladder capacity significantly increased from 283 ± 151 to 492 ± 123 mL (P < 0.01), with a percentage change of +130%. The compliance of the bladder was increased by 87%, and detrusor overactivity decreased by 54.2%. There were no significant changes in preoperative and postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (68.3 mL/min vs. 76.6 mL/min, P = 0.798). Three patients (7.5%) had more than one episode of symptomatic urinary tract infection per year. CONCLUSION: The present study confirms the effectiveness of augmentation cystoplasty in increasing bladder capacity, improving bladder compliance and reducing detrusor overactivity. The preservation of renal function and low metabolic complication rate provide solid evidence for carrying out this time-honored procedure in patients with neurogenic or non-neurogenic bladder dysfunction.

Differential expression of vascular endothelial growth factor angiogenic factors in different endometrial compartments in women who have an elevated progesterone level before oocyte retrieval, during in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between endometrial expressions of angiogenic factors around the time of embryo implantation and P level before oocyte retrieval during IVF-ET treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: University Assisted Reproductive Unit. PATIENT(S): Forty patients were recruited, 20 women with an elevated P level, and 20 women with a normal P level, into cancelled embryo transfer (ET) cycles. INTERVENTION(S): Endometrial biopsy samples were obtained from women who had an elevated or normal P level 7 days after human chorionic gonadotropin administration. The protein expression levels of VEGF-A, VEGF-C, and PLGF were examined using immunohistochemistry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): A semiquantitative analysis was performed using histochemical-score analysis of staining intensity in the luminal epithelium, glandular epithelium, and stroma, separately. RESULT(S): Luminal epithelial expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, VEGF-C, and PLGF did not significantly differ in women with elevated or normal P levels before oocyte retrieval. Glandular epithelial expression of VEGF-A, VEGF-C, and PLGF was higher in women with elevated P levels, compared with those with normal P levels. A significantly higher stromal expression of VEGF-A and PLGF was found in women with elevated P levels. CONCLUSION(S): A high P level before oocyte retrieval was associated with expression of VEGF angiogenic factors in glandular epithelium and stromal compartment around the time of embryo implantation. Our findings suggest that the lower implantation rates observed in this group of women may relate to decreased endometrial receptivity arising from altered expression of angiogenic factors.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours of the urinary bladder: multi-centre 18-year experience.

OBJECTIVE: To review a series of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours (IMTs) of the urinary bladder in 10 hospitals in Hong Kong. METHODS: A database search in the pathology archives of 10 hospitals in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2013 was performed using the key words 'inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour', 'inflammatory pseudotumour' and 'spindle cell lesion'. Patient characteristics, clinical features, histological features, immunohistochemical staining results and treatment outcomes were reviewed. RESULTS: Nine cases of IMT of the urinary bladder were retrieved. The mean age was 45.4 ± 22.8 years (range 11-78). Eight patients (88.9%) presented with haematuria and 5 patients (55.6%) had anaemia with a mean haemoglobin level of 6.8 ± 1.3 g/dl. Histologically, the majority of patients (77.8%) had a compact spindle cell pattern. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase staining was positive in 75% of cases. During a mean follow-up period of 43.4 months (range 8-94), none of them developed any local recurrence or distant metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion of IMT should be maintained for young patients presenting with bleeding bladder tumours and significant anaemia. IMTs of the urinary bladder run a benign disease course, and good prognosis can be achieved after surgical resection.

Role of PSA density in diagnosis of prostate cancer in obese men.

PURPOSE: To compare the performance of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in obese and non-obese Chinese men. METHODS: The results of transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) prostate biopsies of Chinese men with PSA <20 ng/mL were reviewed. Parameters including age, body mass index (BMI), TRUS prostate volume, and TRUS biopsy results were recorded. The diagnostic yields of PSA density (>0.15 ng/mL as positive) in obese and non-obese men with PSA <20 ng/mL were compared. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 27 kg/m(2) according to WHO recommendation for Hong Kong Chinese. RESULTS: TRUS biopsy, BMI, and PSA density data were available for 854 men (mean age 65.9 ± 7.3). The mean PSA values for the obese and non-obese patients were 7.9 ± 3.7 and 8.2 ± 4.1 ng/mL, respectively (p = 0.416). TRUS volumes in obese and non-obese men were 63.2 ml and 51.6 ml, respectively (t test, p < 0.001), and PSA density was significantly lower in obese men (0.145 vs. 0.188, p < 0.001). For obese men, positive PSA density was associated with four times (41.1 vs. 9.5 %, p < 0.001) the risk of prostate cancer, compared to only twice the risk (18.8 vs. 9.7 %, p = 0.001) in non-obese men. The specificity and area under the curve of PSA density were 74.2 % and 0.731, respectively, for obese men, and 51.4 % and 0.653, respectively, for non-obese men. Among patients with a diagnosis of prostate cancer, the obese patient group had a significantly higher proportion of patients with Gleason 7-10 prostate cancer than the non-obese patient group (48.9 vs. 32.7 %, Chi-square test, p = 0.035), and a trend toward a higher proportion of bilateral lobe involvement. CONCLUSION: PSA density had better performance in obese men. Positive PSA density in obese men was associated with four times the risk of prostate cancer.

Does selective dorsal rhizotomy improve bladder function in children with cerebral palsy?

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) on urinary symptoms and bladder function in cerebral palsy children. METHODS: Selective dorsal rhizotomy was performed in 56 children with spastic cerebral palsy. Intraspinal nerve root divisions over the cauda equina from L1/2 to S1/2 levels were performed. Urinary symptoms and urodynamic study (UDS) parameters before and after SDR were analyzed. RESULTS: Fifty-four out of 56 children (mean age 7.7) with SDR performed had complete urinary symptoms for analysis, of which 90 % had diplegic cerebral palsy. Fifty-one children had preoperative UDS performed, and 20 children had both preoperative and postoperative UDS. All UDS were performed within 4 weeks before SDR, and the mean time from SDR to post-op UDS was 8.4 months. Before operation, 22 out of 54 (40.7 %) children had urgency or frequency, and 16 out of 54 (29.6 %) children had incontinence. Twelve out of 22 (54.5 %) children with urgency or frequency became completely asymptomatic after SDR (p = 0.013), while 9 out of the 10 children with residual urgency or frequency had significant improvement. Twelve out of 16 (75.0 %) incontinent children became continent after SDR (p = 0.013). Bladder capacity at first incontinence significantly increased from 70 to 130 ml (p = 0.016). Other parameters had no significant difference after SDR. There was a trend that S2 rootlet division had major contribution in achieving continence. CONCLUSIONS: Selective dorsal rhizotomy significantly improved urgency, frequency, incontinence, and urodynamic bladder capacity at first incontinence in a significant proportion of spastic cerebral palsy children.

Primary yolk sac tumour of the urinary bladder: A case report and review of the literature.

We present a case of rare primary yolk sac tumour of the urinary bladder in adulthood. A 31-year-old female patient presented with a history of chronic ketamine abuse, which has not previously been shown to be associated with malignancy development. The final diagnosis was established only after radical cystectomy. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed paraaortic lymph node metastasis. The patient was treated with systemic chemotherapy. A review of the literature revealed that surgical excision and cisplatin-based chemotherapy remain to be the standard of care for extragonadal yolk sac tumours.

Steroid-associated hip joint collapse in bipedal emus.

In this study we established a bipedal animal model of steroid-associated hip joint collapse in emus for testing potential treatment protocols to be developed for prevention of steroid-associated joint collapse in preclinical settings. Five adult male emus were treated with a steroid-associated osteonecrosis (SAON) induction protocol using combination of pulsed lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and methylprednisolone (MPS). Additional three emus were used as normal control. Post-induction, emu gait was observed, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, and blood was collected for routine examination, including testing blood coagulation and lipid metabolism. Emus were sacrificed at week 24 post-induction, bilateral femora were collected for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histological analysis. Asymmetric limping gait and abnormal MRI signals were found in steroid-treated emus. SAON was found in all emus with a joint collapse incidence of 70%. The percentage of neutrophils (Neut %) and parameters on lipid metabolism significantly increased after induction. Micro-CT revealed structure deterioration of subchondral trabecular bone. Histomorphometry showed larger fat cell fraction and size, thinning of subchondral plate and cartilage layer, smaller osteoblast perimeter percentage and less blood vessels distributed at collapsed region in SAON group as compared with the normal controls. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed poor mineral matrix and more osteo-lacunae outline in the collapsed region in SAON group. The combination of pulsed LPS and MPS developed in the current study was safe and effective to induce SAON and deterioration of subchondral bone in bipedal emus with subsequent femoral head collapse, a typical clinical feature observed in patients under pulsed steroid treatment. In conclusion, bipedal emus could be used as an effective preclinical experimental model to evaluate potential treatment protocols to be developed for prevention of ON-induced hip joint collapse in patients.

Clinical outcomes of augmentation cystoplasty in patients suffering from ketamine-related bladder contractures.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of augmentation cystoplasty in patients with bladder contractures secondary to chronic ketamine abuse. METHOD: Patients who had received augmentation cystoplasty to treat ketamine-related bladder contractures in two hospitals in our region were reviewed retrospectively. Their history of ketamine consumption, presenting symptoms, history of treatment, surgical information and post-operative conditions were retrieved from clinical records and then summarized. RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2011, four patients (three women and one man), aged 21-30 years (mean 27 years), underwent augmentation cystoplasty for ketamine-related bladder contractures. The duration of ketamine consumption ranged from 3 to 15 years, and all four patients resumed ketamine consumption after surgery. The mean maximal baseline and post-operative bladder capacity was 37.5 cc (range 25-50 cc) and up to 400-500 cc, respectively. Three patients experienced a further deterioration in renal function that was secondary to new-onset ureteral strictures in two cases and to sepsis in the other. At the time of the last follow-up, three patients could void spontaneously and one required regular intermittent catheterization. CONCLUSION: Ketamine cystitis is an emerging medical condition that requires a multi-disciplinary approach to manage the patients. Simple surgical management of the physical component of the contracted bladder may produce only suboptimal results, and could even cause further problems in some patients. The importance of compliance with post-operative care and abstinence from drug use should be stressed to the patients before surgery. In view of the high complication rate, the option of a simple ileal conduit should also be discussed prior to surgical intervention.

Hepatic haematoma after shockwave lithotripsy for renal stones.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) is a non-invasive procedure for urolithiasis. Only a very small portion of patients suffer from post-SWL haematoma and most of them have perinephric haematoma formation. We present two patients who developed subcapsular hepatic haematomas after SWL, followed by a review of the literature on the condition.

Upper gastrointestinal problems in inhalational ketamine abusers.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between upper gastrointestinal (GI) problems and inhalational ketamine abuse. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 64 ketamine abusers treated from 2001 to 2008. Variables studied included clinical presentations, findings of upper GI endoscopy, abstinence from ketamine and relief of epigastric pain. RESULTS: The following patients with (i) a previous history of upper GI problem; (ii) a history of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), aspirin or other substance abuse; and (iii) a known history of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection were excluded. The study group thus consisted of 37 ketamine abusers, of whom 28 had upper GI symptoms. Overall 14 of these patients had an upper endoscopy performed. The endoscopic diagnoses were: 12 (85.7%) with gastritis, one (7.1%) with gastroduodenitis, and one (7.1%) normal finding. Test for H. pylori, infection was negative. Abstinence from ketamine was found to be associated significantly with relief of symptoms (P= 0.027). Logistic regression showed the odds ratio of symptomatic relief for abstinence versus continued use of ketamine is 12.5 (95% CI[1.20, 130.6], P= 0.035). In patients whom an upper GI endoscopy was performed, H. pylori negative gastritis was the commonest histopathological finding (78.6%). Despite the use of medications, symptoms are commonly not relieved and that is associated with the continued abuse of ketamine. CONCLUSION: Ketamine abusers frequently presented with upper GI symptoms, the commonest of which is epigastric pain (73% of abusers). Abstinence from ketamine abuse can lead to the relief of symptoms, which is an important message for ketamine abusers.

The destruction of the lower urinary tract by ketamine abuse: a new syndrome?

OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical spectrum seen in young abusers of street-ketamine (regular recreational abusers of street-ketamine, for its hallucinogenic effects) in Hong Kong, presenting with significant lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) but with no evidence of bacterial infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the clinical presentations, pelvic pain and urgency/frequency scores, video-urodynamic studies, cystoscopy findings, histological features of bladder biopsies and radiological findings of 59 ketamine abusers who were referred to the urology units of Princess Margaret and Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong, from March 2000 to December 2007. RESULTS: Of the 59 patients, all had moderate to severe LUTS, i.e. frequency, urgency, dysuria, urge incontinence and occasionally painful haematuria. Forty-two (71%) patients had a cystoscopy that showed various degrees of epithelial inflammation similar to that seen in chronic interstitial cystitis. All of 12 available bladder biopsies had histological features resembling those of interstitial cystitis. Urodynamically, either detrusor overactivity or decreased bladder compliance with or without vesico-ureteric reflux was detected to some degree in all of 47 patients. Thirty patients (51%) had unilateral or bilateral hydronephrosis on renal ultrasonography, and four (7%) showed features suggestive of papillary necrosis on radiological imaging. Eight patients had a raised serum creatinine level. CONCLUSION: A syndrome of cystitis and contracted bladder can be associated with street-ketamine abuse. Secondary renal damage can occur in severe cases which might be irreversible, rendering patients dependent on dialysis. The present data do not establish the precise cause nor the incidence. Street-ketamine abuse is not only a drug problem, but might be associated with a serious urological condition causing a significant burden to healthcare resources.