[Sacral neuromodulation preliminary outcomes in male patients with idiopathic dysuria].

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and safety of sacral neuromodulation (SNM) therapy for men with idiopathic dysuria. Methods: From January 2012 to December 2016, a total of 26 patients treated with SNM therapy from multi-center across the country were retrospectively studied. The age ranged from 19 to 86 years with an average age of 45.2 years. Patients suffered from one or multiple urinary symptoms such as frequency of urination, urgency, urinary retention, etc. All patients had received more than two types of conservative therapy including oral and behavioral therapy, but had poor or no improvement. The voiding diary, urgency score and the quality of life score before implantation, in stageⅠ after implantation and stage Ⅱ after permanent implantation were recorded and compared. Results: A total of 22 patients chose to receive IPG at the end of stageⅠ therapy while 4 patients refused further stage Ⅱ therapy because of dissatisfactory effect. The conversion rate of stage Ⅰ to stage Ⅱ was 84.6% (22/26). The average follow-up time was 19.2 months, ranging from 3 to 63 months. The baseline of residual urine, voiding frequency and average voiding amount and those after stage Ⅰ therapy were [5 (0, 137.5) ] ml vs [0 (0, 40) ] ml, 14.6±6.1 vs 9.1±2.8, [100 (80, 135) ] ml vs [190 (150, 210) ] ml, respectively. The differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).However, no significant differences were found in urination volume and quality of life (QoL) before and after implantation(P>0.05). During an average follow-up time of 19.2 months after the permanent implantation, over 80% patients had an improvement of residual urine volume by more than 50% after permanent implantation while the improvement was 55.6% after stage Ⅰ therapy, suggesting that the improvement of residual urine volume might be positively correlated with the duration of regulation. No significant differences were found in other parameters between stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ therapy. No adverse events like wound infection and electrode dislocation happened during our study. Conclusions: SNM is an effective and safety procedure for male patients with idiopathic dysuria, with a relatively high transfer rate. The medium-term curative effect is stable. The duration of regulation may be positively correlated with the improvement of residual urine.

Antimicrobial alumina nanobiostructures of disulfide- and triazole-linked peptides: Synthesis, characterization, membrane interactions and biological activity.

Due to the its physical-chemical properties, alumina nanoparticles have potential applications in several areas, such as nanobiomaterials for medicinal or orthodontic implants, although the introduction of these devices poses a serious risk of microbial infection. One convenient strategy to circumvent this problem is to associate the nanomaterials to antimicrobial peptides with broad-spectrum of activities. In this study we present two novel synthesis approaches to obtain fibrous type alumina nanoparticles covalently bound to antimicrobial peptides. In the first strategy, thiol functionalized alumina nanoparticles were linked via disulfide bond formation to a cysteine residue of an analog of the peptide BP100 containing a four amino acid spacer (Cys-Ala-Ala-Ala). In the second strategy, alumina nanoparticles were functionalized with azide groups and then bound to alkyne-decorated analogs of the peptides BP100 and DD K through a triazole linkage obtained via a copper(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition reaction. The complete physical-chemical characterization of the intermediates and final materials is presented along with in vitro biological assays and membrane interaction studies, which confirmed the activity of the obtained nanobiostructures against both bacteria and fungi. To our knowledge, this is the first report of aluminum nanoparticles covalently bound to triazole-peptides and to a disulfide bound antimicrobial peptide with high potential for biotechnological applications.

Quality of obstetric and midwifery care for pregnant women who have undergone female genital mutilation.

Despite the availability of professional guidelines for the pregnancy management of women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM), this study demonstrated major deficits in identification, management and safeguarding.

The effects of micronutrient supplementation on vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: Estrogen is the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms. Given its potential risks, herbal preparations and nutritional supplements have been developed as alternative remedies. The main aim of this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was to assess any impact of a nutritional supplement containing 12 vitamins and nine minerals on the frequency and severity of hot flushes in postmenopausal women over a 3-month period. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ninety-one postmenopausal women were randomized to either the placebo (n = 45) or the treatment arm (n = 46). Seventy out of the 91 women completed the study (36 from the treatment group and 34 from the placebo group). At baseline and the 14-week post-intervention assessments, study participants completed questionnaires on the frequency and severity of hot flushes and night sweats, the Profile of Mood State questionnaire, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire, the National Adult Reading Test and the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. Between assessments, the women also completed hot flush diaries. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease (p < 0.01) in the number (±standard error of the mean) of hot flushes experienced per week for treatment (pre 31.3 ± 4.7; post 23.1 ± 4.8) and placebo groups (pre 28.1 ± 4.7; post 17.3 ± 4.0). A significant decrease (p < 0.001) in the number of night sweats experienced per week was also observed in the treatment (pre 6.1 ± 1.0; post 4.2 ± 0.7) and placebo groups (pre 5.9 ± 0.7; post 3.7 ± 0.7). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a significant placebo effect on hot flushes and night sweats, as consistent with other studies. The micronutrient supplement containing 21 vitamins and minerals was not superior over placebo in effects on hot flushes and night sweat experiences.

Changes in pubococcygeus muscle tension in the pelvic floor of rats after spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in pelvic floor muscle tension at different times after suprasacral spinal cord injury (SS) and sacral cord injury (SC), and learn more about pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) after spinal cord injury (SCI). METHOD: A total of 70 healthy female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, weighing between 250 and 280 g, were randomly divided into seven groups with 10 rats in each group, which included five SS groups (3 days and 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after injury), one SC group (4 weeks after injury) and one normal group. Muscle tension, including muscle compliance, and contraction activity elicited using electrostimulation under two initial lengths were measured at different time points. RESULTS: (1) Muscle compliance decreased within 4 weeks in the SS group (P>0.05), began to increase at 8 weeks (P<0.05) and reached the peak at 12 weeks, which were all lower than the normal level; (2) contraction activity under both initial lengths tended to decrease within 4 weeks, peak at 8 weeks (P<0.05) and decline again at 12 weeks , which were all lower than that of the normal group as well; and (3) the SC group showed similar compliance with the normal group (P>0.05) and less contraction activity when compared with other SS groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Measurement for the compliance and contraction activity of pubococcygeus indicates the changes from decreasing to increasing after suprasacral cord injury, and similar compliance combined with rather low contraction activity compared with the normal group after sacral cord injury, both of which are in accordance with PFD after spinal cord injury.

Antifungal activity of volatile constituents of Eugenia dysenterica leaf oil.

The essential oil from the hydrodistillation of Eugenia dysenterica leaves consisted mainly of beta-caryophyllene and alpha-humulene as the major sesquiterpene, while limonene and alpha-thujene were the major monoterpene hydrocarbons. The main oxygenated mono and sesquiterpene constituents were alpha-terpineol and beta-caryophyllene oxide, respectively. The oil was investigated against eight strains of Candida albicans, 35 strains of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans, and two C. neoformans var. gattii isolated from HIV-infected individuals with candidosis or cryptococcal meningitis using the agar dilution method. Based on the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, the most significant results were obtained against Cryptococcus strains. It was observed that 22 strains were inhibited at a concentration of 250 microg/ml, whereas four exhibited potent inhibition with MIC values below 125 microg/ml against 10(6) UFC/ml organisms. We found MICs > or = 3.12 microg/ml for 91.6, 50 and 30% of all Cryptococcus strains in relation of amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole, respectively.