Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis in a black man.

We report a case of thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis occurring in a black man. This previously healthy 41-year-old man had a 3-year history of recurrent paroxysmal episodes of paresis in the upper and lower extremities proximally, often occurring after heavy exercise. The patient had no history of hyperthyroidism, nor family history of periodic paralysis. This case reveals a particularly rare characteristic of this disorder in which periodic paralysis is the presenting symptom of hyperthyroidism. This condition has been reported most commonly among Asians and is extremely rare in black men, only five cases having been described during the past 30 years.

Relationship of prostate-specific antigen and prostate volume in patients with biopsy proven benign prostatic hyperplasia.

BACKGROUND: Emerging data suggest a direct correlation between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate volume in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and clinical evidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We attempt to confirm that a similar correlation exists between PSA and prostate volume in patients with biopsy-proven BPH. METHODS: Over a 5 year period, 2,270 patients were confirmed to have BPH as the only histological diagnosis after evaluation with serum PSA, trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) biopsy, and prostate volume measurement. PSA and prostate volume were statistically analyzed by age-stratified cohorts, including multiple regression analysis and assessment of correlation using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). RESULTS: Mean PSA and prostate volume increased with each advancing cohort of age, and the correlation of PSA and prostate volume was determined to be statistically significant (P < 0.001) in each cohort with a correlation coefficient ranging from 0.33 to 0.41. CONCLUSIONS: We confirm that the relationship between PSA and prostate volume in a large series of patients with biopsy-proven BPH provides a comparable correlation to data for patients with LUTS and clinical BPH. As such, PSA represents a valuable approximation of prostate volume, and may prove to be clinically useful in the management of patients with BPH.