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We investigated an optimal cutoff level of free/total PSA ratios (f/t PSA) in predicting prostate cancer in different age groups, focusing on the avoidance of unnecessary prostate biopsies. A total of 4955 men were enrolled into the study. Serum tPSA, fPSA, and f/t PSA ratios were determined for the study population. All males who had suspicious digital rectal examination and tPSA > 4 ng/mL underwent transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for each group were generated by plotting the sensitivity versus 1-specificity for the f/t PSA ratio. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were obtained using various f/t PSA ratio cutoffs for different age groups. There were 657 patients with a PSA level of 4–10 ng/mL. According to sensitivity and specificity f/t% PSA cutoff points were determined to be 10%, 15%, 15%, and 10% in 50–59 years, 60–69 years, >70 years, and all ages categories, respectively, in patients with initial PSA level of 4–10 ng/mL. f/t PSA ratio had an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.81 (95% confidence level: 0.80–0.82) for all age groups in detecting prostate cancer. f/t PSA ratio has an AUC value of 0.669 (0.632–0.705) in detecting prostate cancer among patients with a PSA level of 4–10 ng/mL. Ten percent of f/t PSA ratio had the highest specificity with PLR and 30% f/t PSA ratio had the highest sensitivity with lower NLR in the all-age categories. The current study shows that the use of f/t PSA ratio in patients with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/mL should enhance the specificity of PSA screening and decrease the number of unnecessary biopsies. The age-related changes warrant further investigation in a large, multicentric, and multinational population to improve the clinical use of f/t PSA cutoffs.

Justificativa e objetivo: comparar a eficácia de levobupivacaína na indução de raquianestesia contínua (RAC) versus dose única (Radu) em pacientes programados para ressecção transuretral de próstata (RTUP). Métodos: foram incluídos no estudo 50 pacientes, ≥ 60 anos, ASA I-II ou III. Levobupivacaína a 0,5% (12,5 mg) foi administrada por via intratecal no grupo Radu. No grupo RAC, levobupivacaína a 0,25% (2 mL) foi inicialmente administrada através de cateter espinhal. Para o nível de bloqueio sensorial atingir o dermátomo T10, 1 mL adicional de levobupivacaína a 0,25% foi administrado através do cateter a cada 10 minutos. Os parâmetros hemodinâmicos e as características do bloqueio foram registrados. Amostras de sangue dos pacientes foram coletadas nos períodos pré- e pós-operatórios para determinar os níveis plasmáticos de cortisona e adrenalina. Resultados: a RAC proporcionou melhor estabilidade hemodinâmica em comparação com a Radu, particularmente aos 90 minutos após a administração intratecal. O aumento do nível de bloqueio sensorial foi rápido e o tempo para atingir a anestesia cirúrgica foi menor no grupo Radu. O desenvolvimento do bloqueio motor foi mais rápido no grupo Radu. No grupo RAC, um nível semelhante de anestesia foi obtido com o uso de uma dose mais baixa de levobupivacaína, que foi relacionada à recuperação mais rápida. Embora ambas as técnicas tenham sido eficazes na prevenção da resposta ao estresse cirúrgico, os níveis de cortisona no pós-operatório foram mais suprimidos no grupo Radu. Conclusão: a técnica RAC com levobupivacaína a 0,25% pode ser usada como um método de anestesia regional em pacientes idosos programados para RTUP.

Background: The aim of the study is to compare the efficacy of levobupivacaine induced continuous spinal anesthesia (CSA) versus single dose spinal anesthesia (SDSA) in patients who are planned to undergo transurethral prostate resection. Methods: Sixty years or older, ASA I–II or III, 50 patients were included in the study. 12.5 mg 0.5% levobupivacaine were administered intrathecally in SDSA group. In CSA group, initially 2 mL of 0.25% levobupivacaine were administered through spinal catheter. In order to achieve sensory block level at T10 dermatome, additional 1 mL of 0.25% levobupivacaine were administered through the catheter in every 10 min. Hemodynamic parameters and block characteristics were recorded. Preoperative and postoperative blood samples of the patients were drawn to determine plasma cortisone and plasma epinephrine levels. Results: CSA technique provided better hemodynamic stability compared to SDSA technique particularly 90 min after intrathecal administration. The rise in sensory block level was rapid and the time to reach surgical anesthesia was shorter in SDSA group. Motor block developed faster in SDSA group. In CSA group, similar anesthesia level was achieved by using lower levobupivacaine dose and which was related to faster recovery. Although, both techniques were effective in preventing surgical stress respond, postoperative cortisone levels were suppressed more in SDSA group. Conclusion: CSA technique with 0.25% levobupivacaine can be used as a regional anesthesia method for elderly patients planned to have TUR-P operation. Keywords: Levobupivacaine, Continuous spinal anesthesia, Spinal anesthesia, Transurethral prostate resection

In vitro literature studies have suggested that atherosclerotic oxidized low density lipoprotein (OxLDL) inhibits trophoblast invasion. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of OxLDL and to examine the relationship between antioxidative estradiol, estriol, and prooxidative progestin in normal and preeclamptic placental tissues and measure the serum activity of antioxidative paraoxonase (PON1). The study included 30 preeclamptic and 32 normal pregnant women. OxLDL was determined with ELISA, estradiol, unconjugated estriol, and progesterone that were determined with chemiluminescence method in placental tissues. Serum PON1 activity was determined with spectrophotometric method. Levels of OxLDL (), estriol (), estradiol (), and progesterone () were lower in the placental tissues of preeclamptic group compared to the normal pregnant women. Serum PON1 activity was higher in preeclamptic group () and preeclamptic group without intrauterine growth restriction () compared to normal pregnant women. Tissue estriol of preeclamptic group without/with IUGR (, ) was lower than the normal group. Results of our study suggest that the events leading to fetoplacental insufficiency lead to a reduction in the levels of estriol limit deposition of OxLDL in placental tissues. The serum PON1 activity is probably important in the inhibition of OxLDL in preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate eff ects of metformin on menstrual cyclicity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: The study was designed as pre-, post prospective clinical trial. To enter the study, patients had to have well-documented PCOS, be oligo-(six cycles or less in the preceding year) or amenorrheic (absence of menstrual cycles for 1 year), and not have exclusionary diseases or drugs. Metformin 500 mg orally twice daily was administered for 6 months. Serum fasting insulin, glucose, FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, free testosterone, DHEAS, total cholesterol, triglyceride, AST, ALT, HDL, LDL, VLDL were measured. Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) was used to measure the insulin resistance. Blood samples were collected at the initiation of therapy and 6 months after. Follow-up 6 months was scheduled with interval history, review of menstrual status, assessment of any metformin-related side effects, brief physical and laboratory examination. RESULTS: Total 13/23(39.1%) of the patients with metformin treatment resumed normal menses 6 months after. Nine of 19 oligomenoreic women (47.4%) resumed regular normal menses; 4 of 4 (100%) amenoreic women resumed oligomenoric menses. The fasting blood glucose, fasting blood insulin, free testesteron, VLDL levels were decreased after 6 months of treatment (p=0.005; p= 0.002; p= 0.008; p=0.006 respectively ). First and sixth months measurements of QUICKI were found significantly different (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: Metformin therapy is well tolerated by the majority of patients and may be clinically useful, in nonobese patients with PCOS and menstrual disturbances.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury can cause renal damage, and phosphodiesterase inhibitors are reported to regulate antioxidant activity. We investigated the prevention of renal damage using tadalafil after renal ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. A total of 21 adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into three groups of seven, including Group 1-control, Group 2-I/R, and Group 3-tadalafil + I/R group (I/R-T group) received tadalafil intraperitoneally at 30 minutes before ischemia. Inducible nitric oxide synthase, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, malondialdehyde, and total antioxidant capacity levels were evaluated, and histopathological changes and apoptosis in the groups were examined. Tadalafil decreased malondialdehyde levels in the I/R group and increased the total antioxidant capacity level. Histopathological and immunohistochemical findings revealed that tadalafil decreased renal injury scores and the ratios of injured cells, as measured through apoptotic protease activating factor 1, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase levels. We suggest that tadalafil has protective effects against I/R-related renal tissue injury.

Macroprolactinemia is often a cause of misdiagnosis, unnecessary expensive investigation, and unsuitable treatment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical findings and the concentrations of macroprolactin in patients with hyperprolactinemia in our region. Eighty-four female hyperprolactinemic patients were screened for macroprolactinemia. Prolactin was measured by chemiluminesans method on an Immulite 2000 analyzer (Siemens Health Diagnostics, Deerfield, IL, USA). Recoveries less than or equal to 40% after polyethylene glycol precipitation were indicative of macroprolactinemia. Clinical features and biochemical values were compared in true hyperprolactinemic and macroprolactinemic patients. Macroprolactinemia was detected in 31 patients (36.9%), with 84 hyperprolactinemic female patients. There was no difference in frequency of galactorrhea and oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea between the two groups. When we evaluated the clinical features of patients according to prolactin levels, no significant difference was found between the groups. In conclusion, our initial data show that no clinical features could reliably differentiate macroprolactinemic from true hyperprolactinemic patients, but at least one of these symptoms was present in most macroprolactinemic patients.

We investigated the effect of intraperitoneal vardenafil (1 mg/kg) administration during an ischemic period in a rat model of testicular torsion/detorsion (T/D). Twenty-one adult Wistar rats were equally randomized into a control group, a T/D group and a vardenafil group. The control group was designed to collect basal values for biochemical and histopathological parameters. The T/D group underwent testicular torsion for 1 hour. The vardenafil group received vardenafil (1mg/kg) intraperitoneally at 30 minutes after torsion. All rats were sacrificed 4 hours after reperfusion to evaluate the tissue levels of malondialdehyde and total antioxidant status. Germ cell apoptosis was evaluated using the apoptosis protease activating factor 1 antibody in all groups. The expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and inducible NOS were also assessed in both testes of all rats. The malondialdehyde levels in the T/D group were significantly higher than in the control and vardenafil groups. There were also significant decreases in total antioxidant status in the T/D group compared with the control and vardenafil groups. Vardenafil treatment significantly reduced apoptosis protease activating factor 1, endothelial NOS and inducible NOS levels in the vardenafil group compared with the T/D group. Administration of 1 mg/kg vardenafil during testicular torsion decreased ischemia/reperfusion cellular damage. Our results indicate that the reduction in oxidative stress by vardenafil may play a major role in its cytoprotective effects.