Longitudinal association between the dynamic nature of depression with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH).

BACKGROUND: Depression is associated with an increased risk of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). Whether the dynamic nature of depression affects the incidence of LUTS/BPH remains unknown. A four-year cohort study based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) was conducted to assess their association. METHODS: This study included 3433 Chinese men from the CHARLS 2011, representative of > 95 million individuals. All eligible individuals underwent three assessments of LUTS/BPH and depression in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The dynamic nature of depression was classified as acute depression with remission, acute depression with recurrence, or chronic major depression. Weighted, generalized additive analyses with three binomial models were used to investigate the relationship between LUTS/BPH and the dynamic nature of depression. RESULTS: During the four-year follow-up, 11.5% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 9.5-13.3%) of Chinese men were diagnosed with newly incident LUTS/BPH. Meanwhile, there were 60.6% (95% CI = 58.5-62.7%) of the individuals without depression and 8.9% (95% CI = 7.9-10%) of the individuals with chronic major depression. A total of 25.1% (95% CI = 23.4-26.9%) and 5.4% (95% CI = 4.6-6.3%) of the individuals were categorized as acute depression with remission and recurrence. After weighted, adjusted all included confounding risk factors, chronic major depression (RR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.14-2.33, P < 0.01) but not acute depression with remission (RR = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.92-1.56, P = 0.18) and recurrence (RR = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.82-2.10, P = 0.26) significantly increased the incidence of LUTS/BPH compared with no depression. The subgroup analysis showed that the above relationships appeared to be evident among Chinese men < 60 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the dynamic nature of depression has a different effect on the incidence of LUTS/BPH. The monitoring and treatment of depression are important in preventing LUTS/BPH.

Erectile Functional Restoration With Genital Branch of Genitofemoral Nerve to Pelvic Nerve Transfer After Spinal Root Transection in Rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of erectile function restoration by the genitofemoral nerve to pelvic nerve transfer in rats. METHODS: Thirty-six male rats were included in this study. Rats in the nerve transfer group (n = 12) were subjected to pelvic nerve, sacral roots, and L6 roots transection and then bilateral genitofemoral nerve to pelvic nerve transfer, rats in the nerve resection group (n = 12) were subjected to pelvic nerve, sacral roots, and L6 roots transection without nerve transfer, and rats in the control group (n = 12) served as controls. After reinnervation, intracavernous pressure (ICP) assessment was performed. Fluoro-Gold was injected into the corpus cavernosum. Immediately before euthanasia, transferred nerves were stimulated to test penile intracavernous pressure. The L6, S1, and L1-2 spinal cord segments were used for retrogradely labeled neurons. Regenerative nerve morphologic examination assessment was performed. RESULTS: Genitofemoral nerve stimulation induced an increase in ICP in the nerve transfer group. The mean ICP in this group was (33.8 ± 9.4 mm Hg), which is higher than the mean value in the nerve resection group (3.9 ± 1.0 mm Hg) but lower than that in the control group (69.8 ± 12.2 mm Hg; P < .05). The formation of new neural pathways was confirmed by the appearance of Fluoro-Gold labeled neurons in the L-1 and L-2 spinal cord segments in the nerve transfer group. Regenerative nerve morphologic examination showed good axonal regeneration after genitofemoral nerve transfer. CONCLUSION: Nerve regeneration can be obtained by genitofemoral nerve to pelvic nerve transfer, and erectile function can be restored.

Depletion of multidrug-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli BC1 by ebselen and silver ion.

Ebselen, an organo-selenium compound with well-characterized toxicology and pharmacology, recently exhibited potent antibacterial activity against glutathione (GSH)-negative bacteria by disrupting redox homeostasis. In this paper, we show that ebselen and silver ion in combination exert strong bactericidal activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) BC1, a model MDR GSH-positive bacterium. The mechanisms were found to involve consumption of total intracellular GSH and inhibition of thioredoxin reductase activity, which was highly related to reactive oxygen species up-regulation. Furthermore, the therapeutic efficacy of ebselen and silver ion against UPEC-induced cystitis was assessed in a mouse model. Treatment with ebselen and silver ion significantly reduced bacterial loads, down-regulated the expression levels of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) on-site and decreased white/red blood cell counts in mild cystitis model mice, which demonstrated the anti-inflammatory property of these agents. In addition, ebselen and silver ion also exhibited significantly high protective ability (100%) against acute cystitis infections. These results together may lay the foundation for further analysis and development of ebselen and silver ion as antibacterial agents for treatment of MDR UPEC infections.

Reinnervation of the rectum with transfer of the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve to the pelvic nerve in rats.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of rectum reinnervation with transfer of a primarily genitofemoral nerve to the pelvic nerve in the rat. METHODS Thirty-six male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: rats in the nerve transfer group (n = 12) were subjected to rectal denervation and then bilateral genitofemoral nerve-pelvic nerve transfer; rats in the nerve resection group (n = 12) underwent rectum denervation without nerve transfer; and rats in the control group (n = 12) underwent sham surgery. Rectum denervation was achieved by transection of the L-6 spinal nerves, the spinal nerves below L-6, and the pelvic nerve. Four months postoperatively, retrograde nerve tracing, regenerative nerve morphological examination, and rectal manometry assessment were performed. RESULTS Regenerative nerve morphological examination showed good axonal regeneration after genitofemoral nerve transfer. Nerve stimulation induced increased rectal pressures in 10 of 12 rats in the nerve transfer group. The mean rectal pressure in this group was 54.9 ± 7.1 mm Hg, which is higher than the mean value in the nerve resection group (5.5 ± 2.0 mm Hg) but lower than that in the control group (70.6 ± 8.5 mm Hg) (p < 0.05). The appearance of FluoroGold-labeled neurons in the L-1 and L-2 spinal cord segments in the nerve transfer group confirmed the formation of new neural pathways. CONCLUSIONS The results have demonstrated that genitofemoral nerve-pelvic nerve transfer can achieve nerve regeneration. In this animal model, the authors were able to reinnervate the rectum by nerve transfer.

Antibiotic Susceptibility and Molecular Characterization of Escherichia coli O157 Isolates from Urinary Tract Infections.

BACKGROUND: Escherichia coli O157 is an important food-borne pathogen that can cause diarrhoea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uraemic syndrome. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence PCR (ERIC-PCR) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) are good methods for molecular typing and the extensive use of antibiotics is a contributing factor to the increasing incidence of antimicrobial-resistant for these strains. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and genetic diversity of E. coli O157 based on the prevalence of urinary tract infection (UTI) in Hubei, China. RESULTS: We obtained 23 (8.07%) E. coli O157 isolates from 285 UTI patients in Hubei, China. All isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility analysis, and molecular typing was performed using ERIC-PCR and MLST. Antimicrobial susceptibility results indicated that most strains were resistant to penicillin (95.65%), chloramphenicol (73.91%), and ampicillin (69.57%). All isolates were discovered to be multiresistant (resistance to more than 3 antibiotics). Genetic variability analysis showed that all of the isolates were grouped into 4 clusters both by ERIC-PCR and MLST. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated the presence of E. coli O157 in UTIs, provided insights into the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant strains, and improved our knowledge of E. coli O157 risk assessment in UTIs.

Functional Restoration of Erectile Function Using End-to-side Autonomic-to-somatic Neurorrhaphy in Rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of erectile function rehabilitation using end-to-side autonomic-to-somatic neurorrhaphy in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 12 per group): in the end-to-side coaptation group, the left L6 and S1 spinal nerves were transected, and the distal stump of L6 ventral root was sutured to L4 ventral root through end-to-side neurorrhaphy; in the no-coaptation group, the rats did not undergo coaptation; and in the control group, the left L6 and S1 spinal nerves were transected, but L6 ventral root was preserved. After 4 months, retrograde tracing, histomorphological technique, mating test, and evaluation of functional properties of the regenerated nerve were performed. RESULTS: Mating test showed a significantly higher intromission behavior rate in the end-to-side coaptation group (41.7%) and control group (58.3%) than in the no-coaptation group (0%) (P < .001). Intracavernous pressure in end-to-side coaptation group was 31.6 ± 12.0 mmHg, significantly higher than in the no-coaptation group (3.1 ± 1.4 mmHg), but lower than in the control group (67.9 ± 18.0 mmHg) (P < .0001). Retrograde tracing indicated the establishment of the new neural pathway. Axon counting and ultrastructure observation confirmed axonal regeneration in the end-to-side coaptation group. The bilateral tibialis anterior muscles wet weight in the end-to-side coaptation group were 0.6686 ± 0.0427 g and 0.6707 ± 0.0515 g (P = .93). The wet weight and morphology of the tibialis anterior muscles revealed no detrimental effect on the donor nerve. CONCLUSION: Nerve regeneration can be achieved using end-to-side autonomic-to-somatic neurorrhaphy, and erectile function can be restored without the functional impairment of the donor somatic nerve.

Successful removal of metal objects causing penile strangulation by a silk winding method.

Penile strangulation is a challenge to urologists. The decompression of the penis is required to prevent long-term complications. Metal objects are difficult to remove. Cutting is the most common method described. Appropriate cutting tools may be difficult to obtain, and the process may be time-consuming with the possibility of iatrogenic penile injury. In this paper, we will present a simple method to remove such objects by use a silk winding method and subcutaneous puncture.