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Background. The limitations of the specific prostate antigen and rectal touch to identify patients with prostate cancer has led to parameters being defined which increase specificity without reducing sensitivity. Ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy is the only method to obtain a diagnosis from nature of prostate cancer. In our field the accepted cutoff point for the biopsy is a specific prostate antigen value above 4 ng/ml. However, one of the most extensively studied parameters to increase specificity has been fit of the total specific prostate antigen value as a function of total prostate gland volume. Objective. Determine the relationship between prostate size and diagnosis of prostate cancer with samples obtained from patients submitted to transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy. Material and methods. A prospective, observational, transverse and comparative study in a population of 100 patients. Results. In the population with histopathologic diagnosis of prostate cancer (n = 34), 22% of patients were classified as having prostate volume below 50 grams and only 8.8% with prostate volume above 50 grams. The study group was characterized considering prostate volume, volume of specific prostate antigen, positive rectal touch, and the result of a prostate biopsy (p = 0.001). Conclusions. This study underscores the association between prostate volume, the specific prostate antigen, and rectal touch. Total prostate weight was lower in patients positive for cancer and higher for patients with diagnosis of benignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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D004, a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids between 8 and 18 carbon atoms, extracted and purified from Roystonea regia fruits, has been shown to reduce prostate hyperplasia in experimental model. There exist a validated gas chromatographic (GC) method for determining this active ingredient, which can be used for quality control and stability studies. Nevertheless, such method is based on the employ of a capillary column of low polarity (BPX-5), which does not allow determining individually the unsaturated acids of 18 carbon atoms. It was revalidated this GC method using a polar capillary column (BPX-70). It was found good linearity (r = 0.9939, CVresponse = 2.93 %, CVslope = 0.023 %, and no bias) and good accuracy (average recoveries between 98 and 102 % and texp < ttab ) in all range (50 - 150 % of the nominal concentration). The repeatability at 100 %, as well as the intermediate precision at three concentrations (50, 100 and 150 %) were characterized by CV < 2 %. Through the specificity study it was found that the greater degradation occurs for simples subjected to oxidation and thermolysis, and the most affected components were the unsaturated fatty acids. According to these results, when a polar column is used the method is linear, accurate, precise, and specific too; so it can be employed for individual determination of unsaturated fatty acids in this active ingredient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D-004 is a lipid extract of the fruits of the Cuban royal palm (Roystonea regia) (Arecaceae), which consists of a mixture of fatty acids. Oral treatment with D-004 significantly prevents the prostate hyperplasia induced with testosterone in rodents. So far, the effects had not been studied on the reproduction of this product; therefore, in this work the effects on the implantation observed in a study of toxicology from the reproduction when administering the animals during a complete reproductive cycle are reported. Female young adults Sprague Dawley rats of both sexes were randomly distributed to four groups: a control group; and three groups administered with D-004 at 500, 750 and 1 000 mg/kg, respectively. D-004 was administered orally to female rats two weeks before mating and for the duration of the nursing period. During 21 d, F0 females mating with males. Females were examined daily until mating was confirmed by the presence of copulatory plug or sperm in a vaginal lavage (gestation day 0). The end of gestation, apparently non-pregnant rats, were sacrificed to identify resorptions and the same procedure allowed with dams, after lactation period. Also, the postimplantation loss were calculated. There was no significant difference on the analyzed parameters compared to control group. The present results demonstrate that D-004, orally administered in Sprague Dawley rats did not affect adversely reproductive performance, in particular , the implantation sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer (PC) is a common malignant neoplasia in males over 50 years. The serum level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a tool in the diagnosis of PC and benign prostatic hyperplasia patients that improves the efficiency obtained with the digital rectal examination. The use of PSA increases the detection rates of organ-confined PC. The PSA must be requested by the primary care physician in male population over 45 years and if the result is above the normal levels, the patient must be send to an urologist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]