Association between -174G/C and -572G/C interleukin 6 gene polymorphisms and severe radiographic damage to the hands of Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a preliminary report.

Several interleukin 6 gene (IL6) polymorphisms are implicated in susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has not yet been established with certainty if these polymorphisms are associated with the severe radiographic damage observed in some RA patients, particularly those with the development of joint bone ankylosis (JBA). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the association between severe radiographic damage in hands and the -174G/C and -572G/C IL6 polymorphisms in Mexican Mestizo people with RA. Mestizo adults with RA and long disease duration (>5 years) were classified into two groups according to the radiographic damage in their hands: a) severe radiographic damage (JBA and/or joint bone subluxations) and b) mild or moderate radiographic damage. We compared the differences in genotype and allele frequencies of -174G/C and -572G/C IL6 polymorphisms (genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) between these two groups. Our findings indicated that the -174G/C polymorphism of IL6 is associated with severe joint radiographic damage [maximum likelihood odds ratios (MLE_OR): 8.03; 95%CI 1.22-187.06; P = 0.03], whereas the -572G/C polymorphism of IL6 exhibited no such association (MLE_OR: 1.5; 95%CI 0.52-4.5; P = 0.44). Higher anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody levels were associated with more severe joint radiographic damage (P = 0.04). We conclude that there is a relevant association between the -174G/C IL6 polymorphism and severe radiographic damage. Future studies in other populations are required to confirm our findings.

The impact of transrectal prostate biopsy on erectile function. / Impacto de la biopsia transrectal de próstata en la función eréctil.

OBJECTIVE: To assess erectile function at different periods of time in patients who undergo transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 364 patients underwent TRPB. All of the patients were assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5). All patients with a positive result for cancer or with previous erectile dysfunction in the initial assessment were excluded. Ninety-three patients were included and were assessed before the biopsy and at 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the TRPB, using the IIEF-5 and assessing erectile function across these time periods. RESULTS: We assessed 93 patients. During the first prebiopsy assessment, 100% of the patients scored ≥22 points. In the first postbiopsy evaluation at 4 weeks, 66.6% scored ≥ 22 points, and 33.3% had erectile dysfunction, thereby indicating a statistically significant reduction in the IIEF-5 score (P=.001). In the second postbiopsy evaluation, only 9.1% patients still had mild to moderate erectile dysfunction (P=.04). By the end, 92.48% of the patients scored ≥ 22 points, and 7.52% still had mild erectile dysfunction, without presenting a significant difference (P=.1). CONCLUSIONS: After a TRPB, the drop in IIEF-5 scores and the presence of erectile dysfunction are temporary and transient, with greater impairment during the first month following the procedure and improvement starting after the first month, with almost total recovery at 6 months.