Could urinary nerve growth factor and bladder wall thickness predict the treatment outcome of children with overactive bladder?

ABSTRACT Objective: Bladder wall thickness (BWTh) measurements and Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) /creatinine (Cr) values, as noninvasive tools, were found to predict daytime voiding problems in children with overactive bladder (OAB). The goal of this research was to examine if bladder wall thickness together with urine NGF/Cr could be a clinical utility in treatment outcome of OAB in children. Patients and Methods: A total of 60 children with OAB, (Group 1; n=40) and healthy normal controls (Group 2; n=20), aged 6-14 years old were involved in this prospective study. Children were evaluated with detailed history and physical examination, including neurologic examination, and were asked to complete a self-reported questionnaire and a 3-day bladder diary with the aid of their parents. Uroflowmetry was performed in all cases. Urinary nerve growth factor levels were measured by the ELISA and BWTh was measured trans-abdominally by one uro-radiologist specialized in pediatric ultrasonography. Urinary NGF levels were normalized by urinary creatinine levels and compared among all subgroups. Children with OAB received urotherapy as first line treatment at least for three months. 18 children refractory to urotherapy received anticholinergic therapy defined as group 3. Results: The median age of the study group was 10 (range 6 to 16). After urotherapy, 22 children had similar BWTh and NGF/Cr values compared to controls. (2.75 ± 1.15; 2.40 ± 1.00 mm; p=0.86 and 1.02 ± 0.10; 0.78 ± 0.15; p=0.12, respectively). After anticholinergic treatment, BWTh levels (2.25 ± 0.90; 2.40 ± 1.00 mm; p=0.94) and NGF/Cr values (0.95 ± 0.10; 0.78 ± 0.15; p=0.42, respectively) had no significantly difference compared to controls (Group 2). In receiver operating characteristic analysis, bladder wall thickness was found to have sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 84.2% (3,20 AUC, 913; 95 %) and NGF/Cr had sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 92.1% (1,595; AUC, 947; 95 %) in predicting treatment outcome in children with OAB. Conclusions: Bladder wall thickness measurements and NGF/Cr values, as noninvasive tools, could guide outcomes in the treatment of children with overactive bladder.

Can the success of structured therapy for giggle incontinence be predicted?

ABSTRACT Introduction: To evaluate possible factors that can guide the clinician to predict potential cases refractoriness to medical treatment for giggle incontinence (GI) and to examine the effectiveness of different treatment modalities. Material and methods: The data of 48 children referred to pediatric urology outpatient clinic between 2000 and 2013 diagnosed as GI were reviewed. Mean age, follow-up, GI frequency, associated symptoms, medical and family history were noted. Incontinence frequency differed between several per day to less than once weekly. Children were evaluated with uroflowmetry-electromyography and post-void residual urine. Clinical success was characterized as a full or partial response, or nonresponse as defined by the International Children's Continence Society. Univariate analysis was used to find potential factors including age, sex, familial history, GI frequency, treatment modality and dysfunctional voiding to predict children who would possibly not respond to treatment. Results: Mean age of the patients was 8.4 years (range 5 to 16). Mean follow-up time and mean duration of asymptomatic period were noted as 6.7±1.4 years and 14.2±2.3 months respectively. While 12 patients were treated with only behavioral urotherapy (Group-1), 11 patients were treated with alpha-adrenergic blockers and behavioral urotherapy (Group-2) and 18 patients with methylphenidate and behavioral urotherapy (Group-3). Giggle incontinence was refractory to eight children in-group 1; six children in-group 2 and eight children in-group 3. Daily GI frequency and dysfunctional voiding diagnosed on uroflowmetry-EMG were found as outstanding predictive factors for resistance to treatment modalities. Conclusions: A variety of therapies for GI have more than 50% failure rate and a standard treatment for GI has not been established. The use of medications to treat these patients would not be recommended, as they appear to add no benefit to symptoms and may introduce severe adverse effects.

Tadalafil rehabilitation therapy preserves penile size after bilateral nerve sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the change in penile size r bilateral nerve sparing retropubic radical prostatectomy (BNSRRP) and possible effect of Tadalafil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 65 patients underwent BNSRRP and they were evaluated prospectively for a whole year of follow-up . The patients were randomized to control without rehabilitation (Group 1) or Tadalafil rehabilitation group (Group 2). The patients were evaluated at months 3, 6 and 12 postoperatively for erectile function, penile measurements (flaccid penile length, penile length at maximum erection, penile circumference at flaccid status, and penile circumference at maximum erection), penile abnormalities and general health status. Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-Square test and significance was defined as p value < 0.05. RESULTS: In Group 1 there was significant decrease in penile measurements at month 3 compared to preoperative measurements. There was decrease in all parameters at month 6 compared to month 3 but only the decrease in penile length at maximum erection was significant. There were no significant differences between postoperative months 6 and 12 for all measurements. In Group 2 there was a tendency to decrease in all measurements at month 3 compared to baseline. There was no significant difference for penile measurements between postoperative 3rd and 6th months and between 6th month and the first year. CONCLUSION: Although further large sampled trials are needed to describe the possible positive effect of tadalafil or other PDE5-I's on penile size after BNSRRP, tadalafil rehabilitation is effective in preserving penile size especially in the early postoperative period after BNSRRP.