The effects of silodosin therapy on the parameters and patterns of ureteric jets in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: To our knowledge, there is no study in the literature so far to investigate the effect of silodosin therapy on the ureteric jet parameters. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of silodosin 8 mg/day for medical therapy of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on the color flow Doppler parameters and patterns of the ureteric jets. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 34 male patients who presented to our outpatient clinic with the complaint of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and received silodosin 8 mg once a day as medical therapy. In the color flow Doppler examinations, ureteric jets were observed and mean flow rate (JETave), maximum flow rate (JETmax), flow duration (JETdura), and flow frequency (JETfre) were examined. In addition, patterns of the ureteric jets (JETpat) were also evaluated. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in JETave; however, JETmax, JETdura and JETfre were significantly higher at post-silodosin treatment. The patterns of ureteric jet were significantly changed following a 6-week treatment with silodosin (p<0.001). One ureter in the monophasic pattern group (9.1%) and three in the biphasic group (13.6%) turned to polyphasic pattern after silodosin use. None of the patients developed side effects that would require discontinuation of the drug. CONCLUSIONS: Six-week silodosin 8 mg/day therapy for the treatment of LUTS in men changed the parameters and patterns of ureteric jets at follow-up examination. Furthermore, comprehensive studies are needed on this issue.

Right-sided Bochdalek hernia with intrathoracic ectopic kidney in an advanced-age adult: a case report.

Ectopic intrathoracic kidney is an extremely rare congenital anomaly and it is often asymptomatic and discovered incidentally on chest radiography. Although congenital thoracic kidney is mostly seen in infants, it can be diagnosed in neonatal age and adults as well. Herein, we present a 72-year-old woman who had a right-sided Bochdalek hernia with intrathoracic ectopic kidney. In contrast to the usually young patients with thoracic hernia, the presented case was the oldest female patient having thoracic kidney accompanied with Bochdalek hernia with clinical symptoms among those reported in the literature.

A novel mechanism of anti-T-lymphocyte globulin mediated by fractalkine in renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

BACKGROUND: Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is among the main challenges in kidney transplantation. It causes delayed graft function and graft loss in long-term follow-up studies. Anti-T lymphocyte globulin (ATG), a common induction immunosuppressive, has been used in kidney transplantation to prevent rejection. Fractalkine (FKN) is among the main chemokines involved in IRI. This study was designed to identify the relationship between ATG and FKN after warm ischemia in rat kidneys. METHODS: Rats were divided into three groups: Control, IRI+normal saline(NS) and IRI+ATG. After IRI was initiated, rats received a dose of ATG or NS during surgery as well as two more doses at 24 and 48 hours after surgery. All rats were humanely killed at 72 hours. RESULTS: The concentration of FKN as well as dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages were lower in both peripheral blood and the injured kidney among ATG-treated versus control rats. Additionally cell necrosis, cytoplasmic vacuolization, cast formation, and tubular dilatation were improved among ATG-treated rats. Serum creatinine levels were lower in rats that received ATG. CONCLUSION: ATG depleted the concentration of FKN, which inhibits migrations of DCs and macrophages into the kidney, and reduces IRI-related pathology.

Stone disease in kidney transplantation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate etiologic, diagnostic, and management aspects of stone disease in renal transplant recipients and donors. Calculi from five patients were analyzed. The immunosuppressive regimen included tacrolimus or cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids in all cases. The etiology of the stone disease was cadaveric donor-gifted in one patient and de novo stone formation after transplantation in two patients. Additionally, stone disease was found and treated in living related donors in two patients. The mean follow-up was 32.4 +/- 19.7 months. In the living related donors, stones were initially treated by ESWL. Pyelotomy at the back table during the transplantation was required in one of them. The patient with cadaver-gifted stone was also treated by ESWL. In patients with de novo stone formation after transplantation, the stones were related to urinary infections and foreign body double-j (JJ) stent. A small stone in one of these patients (de novo formation) passed spontaneously after removal of the foreign body. Endoscopical lithotripsy was performed in the other patient. Stones are more frequently transplanted with allografts than expected; therefore, preoperative imaging of the donor is important. ESWL is recommended for medium-sized calculi in transplant kidneys. JJ stent insertion before ESWL might be needed in stones larger than 10 mm.

The denaturation maxima of proteins and of drug-biomolecule complex formation in a wide range of methanol/water mixtures. Solvophobic theory predictions as compared to experiments.

Independent experiments have shown that both protein folding (G. Velicelebi and J.M. Sturtevant, Biochemistry 18 (1979) 1180) and drug-biomolecule complexation (D.M. Crothers and D.I. Ratner, Biochemistry 7 (1968) 1823) in a wide range of compositions of methanol/water mixed solvents exhibit a maximum at 8% (v/v) MeOH. This hitherto unexplained phenomenon is shown to be given a priori by the 'solvophobic theory' developed earlier by Sinanoglu which had related the solvent effects including water in biochemistry to the then introduced 'molecular surface areas' and to 'microthermodynamic cavity inner surface tensions' and in a different version to interfacial microtensions between side chains and the solvent. Both analyses carried out in the present paper in detail for MeOH/water mixtures show how the denaturation or complexation free energies are predicted for the entire range of MeOH/water compositions from only data at one point. The molecular surface area changes for the conformational processes are obtained as well as the free energies in the hypothetical but theoretically important in vacuo limits with no solvent present.

Denaturation of proteins in methanol/water mixtures.

The solvophobic theory developed earlier by Sinanoglu introducing the use of molecular surface areas and microthermodynamic surface and interfacial tensions at molecular dimensions is applied to the interpretation of calorimetric data on denaturation of lysozyme in a wide range of methanol/water mixtures. The experimental values of standard unitary free energies of denaturation correlate well with our predictions. The molecular surface area change of the protein upon denaturation is evaluated using the solvophobic theory. The maximum in the stability of the native form of the protein is predicted to occur at 8% (v/v) methanol. This is found to be in agreement with the experimental results.

Solvophobic forces and molecular surface area changes in drug-biomolecule associations as with actinomycin-deoxyguanosine in a wide range of methanol/water mixtures.

A method is given to predict the unitary free energies of complexation between drug-like and nucleoside-like biomolecules in a range of mixed solvent compositions. A stability maximum for the actinomycin (A)-deoxyguanosine (D) complex at 8% MeOH (v/v) in methanol/water mixtures is correctly predicted by the theory in agreement with existing experimental data. The molecular surface areas of A and D exposed to the solvent are found to diminish by 36.4 A(2) upon association. The 'microthermodynamic differential surface tension' of the solvophobic theory obtained for nucleoside-like and organic molecules in contact with MeOH/H2O can be used to predict the solvent effect free energies in other such molecular or biopolymeric associations in solution.

Spatial-temporal dissipative structures arising in open reactive systems with a negative feedback loop.

A systematic way of finding the possible spatial-temporal structures that may emerge in open reactive systems coupled with diffusive transport and containing one inhibitory (negative feedback) loop is presented. The method is illustrated on two kinetic models, one used by L. Glass, another by Higgins et al. which we coupled with diffusion. The ranges of cooperativity index and Fick transport coefficients we find for the occurrence of a spatially non-uniform time periodicity are consistent with in vitro experiments.