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Objective To identify a contralateral testicular cut-off size that would predict monorchism (intra-abdominal vanishing testis or inguinal/scrotal nubbin) in boys with unilateral nonpalpable testis (NPT). Materials and methods Boys with cryptorchidism, treated by a single surgeon at a tertiary care center from 2009 to 2013, were grouped based on intra-operative findings: boys with a solitary gonad (monorchism group, M) and two control groups: intra-abdominal testis (IAT) and palpable undescended testis (pUDT). Immediately before the procedures, the contralateral descended testes were measured using callipers. Boys with NPT underwent diagnostic laparoscopy. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, likelihood ratios and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated. Results Out of the 324 boys with cryptorchidism, 58 were found to have pUDT and 85 had NPT. Of these 85 boys with NPT, 50 had an IAT and 35 had monorchism. Mean ages at surgery for groups M, IAT and pUDT were similar (28.0, 31.3 and 30.4 months, respectively; P = 0.4). Mean length of the contralateral descended testes in groups M, IAT and pUDT was 24.3, 16.5 and 18.8 mm, respectively. Contralateral testicular cut-off lengths of 18, 19 and 20 mm had positive likelihood ratios (LR+) of 6.5, 7.4 and 10.1, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 95% (95% CI: 91–100%). Conclusion A contralateral testicular cut-off length of 19–20 mm had the best accuracy in predicting monorchism in boys aged 11–30 months with unilateral NPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nasal septum deviation grade and inferior turbinate hypertrophy with the computed tomography (CT). Methods: The paranasal sinus CTs of 82 patients with septum deviation were evaluated. Nonhypertrophied inferior turbinates on the deviated side of the nasal septum were accepted as the control group and hypertrophic inferior turbinates of the other side were taken as the compensatory group in the same patient. The turbinate bone, medial mucosa, lateral mucosa, septal deviation angle, and deviation volume were measured using three-dimensional CT. Results: The study group included 82 patients (M/F, 42/40) and ages ranged from 17 to 79 years (mean, 38.5 ± 14 years). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the deviation angle and the deviation volume (p < 0.01). The measurements of the inferior turbinate bone and medial and lateral mucosal thickness were statistically different between the compensatory group and the control group (p < 0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in comparisons between the lateral and medial mucosal thickness with the deviation angle and the deviation volume in the two groups (p > 0.05). A positive correlation between the measurements of the deviation angle, deviation volume, and bone thickness was found statistically significant in the compensatory group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The compensatory hypertrophy of inferior turbinates in patients with nasal septum deviation is not only caused by mucosal hypertrophy, but also by hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate bone itself. The assistance of preoperative CT before septoplasty can be useful when deciding on the surgical technique to fix turbinate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Removal of a kidney with abnormal structure and impaired excretory function causes compensatory hypertrophy of the „normal“ kidney. Aim: 1. Does nephrectomy of a unilateral multicystic dysplastic or hydronephrotic kidney correspondingly influence biomarkers of renal injury of the solitary kidney? 2. To what extent are duration after nephrectomy and kind of renal pathology pathogenic factors that may impair function of the solitary kidney? Material and methods. In 27 children after unilateral nephrectomy (11 - congenital hydronephrosis, 16 - multicystic kidney dysplasia) the following parameters were evaluated: kidney length; renal cortex thickness; mean arterial pressure; body mass index; glomerular filtration rate (GFR); plasma creatinine and cystatin C concentration and clearance; albuminuria; urinary excretion of: IgG, transferrin, α1-microglobulin, α2-macroglobulin, and β2-microglobulin. Results. Most estimated parameters were of similar magnitude in both examined groups. Only renal creatinine clearance and renal cortex thickness were significantly higher in the group with hydronephrosis. There was a positive correlation between duration after nephrectomy and albuminuria in children with multicystic dysplastic kidney. Conclusions. 1. In the majority of children an appropriate compensatory overgrowth of the solitary kidney was found. 2. In children with a multicystic dysplastic kidney the duration after nephrectomy of the diseased kidney seems to be a promoter of albuminuria. 3. Prolonged and careful follow-up of these children is mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although genetic determinants protecting against the development of elevated blood pressure (BP) are well investigated, less is known regarding their impact on longevity. We concomitantly assessed genomic regions of rat chromosomes 3 and 7 (RNO3 and RNO7) carrying genetic determinants of BP without known epistasis, for their independent and combinatorial effects on BP and the presence of genetic determinants of survival using Dahl salt-sensitive (S) strains carrying congenic segments from Dahl salt-resistant (R) rats. Although congenic and bicongenic S.R strains carried independent BP quantitative trait loci within the RNO3 and RNO7 congenic regions, only the RNO3 allele(s) independently affected survival. The bicongenic S.R strain showed epistasis between R-rat RNO3 and RNO7 alleles for BP under salt-loading conditions, with less-than-additive effects observed on a 2% NaCl diet and greater-than-additive effects observed after prolonged feeding on a 4% NaCl diet. These RNO3 and RNO7 congenic region alleles had more-than-additive effects on survival. Increased survival of bicongenic compared with RNO3 congenic rats was attributable, in part, to maintaining lower BP despite chronic exposure to an increased dietary salt (4% NaCl) intake, with both strains showing delays in reaching highest BP. R-rat RNO3 alleles were also associated with superior systolic function, with the S.R bicongenic strain showing epistasis between R-rat RNO3 and RNO7 alleles leading to compensatory hypertrophy. Whether these alleles affect survival by additional actions within other BP-regulating tissues/organs remains unexplored. This is the first report of simultaneous detection of independent and epistatic loci dictating, in part, longevity in a hypertensive rat strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]