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Ureterolithiasis is a common disease responsible for a large number of admissions in emergency departments and a wide utilization of imaging studies. The purpose of this review was to analyze the respective role of the different available imaging techniques. Intravenous urography is the gold-standard for diagnosis of acute obstruction, but positive detection of a stone may prove difficult at times. US is less accurate than urography for both diagnoses of obstruction and lithiasis, but it represents a non invasive alternative to IVU (no ionizing radiation and no IV contrast). The information obtained from measurements of intra-renal resistive index is poorly contributive. Non contrast helical CT has become the gold-standard for the diagnosis of ureterolithiasis, the two main factors limiting its widespread use are its accessibility and the radiation exposure. Nevertheless, its excellent diagnostic performance tends to dramatically reduce the need for IVU.

Objective: Mutations in the tumour suppressor gene p53 results in the production of a mutant type, dysfunctional p53 protein which can readily be detected in the cell nucleus by immunohistochemical staining. This study aims to investigate the association of nuclear p53 protein accumulation with the clinical outcome of stage pT1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder which is renowned for high rates of recurrence and progression., Methods: TUR samples of the tumours from fifty-two patients with primary stage T1 bladder cancer were analyzed immunohistochemically using the standard avidin-biotin peroxidase method for nuclear p53 accumulation. Status of p53 immunostaining was correlated with tumour recurrence, disease progression and three-year survival of each patient., Results: The rate of tumour recurrence in pT1 bladder cancer was 36% in patients with tumours stained negatively for p53 protein and 78% in patients with tumours stained positively for p53 protein. Disease progression was seen in 15% of p53 (-) patients and in 56% of p53 (+) patients., Conclusions: In stage pT1 bladder tumours p53 nuclear accumulation indicates higher rates of tumour recurrence and disease progression. Accordingly, in patients who have pT1 bladder tumours with nuclear p53 accumulation, institution of more aggressive therapy should be considered and early radical therapeutic modalities should be offered to these patients.

Low-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) analysis of the pancreas of rats stimulated with caerulein, a cholecystokinin analog, was found to differ from that of control rats either fed ad libitum or fasted for two days. The hormonal stimulation induced (a) an increase in the longitudinal relaxation time T1; (b) a 1H NMR peak situated at 1.8 +/- 0.2 ppm from the resonance peak of tissular water. This resonance peak was not observed in the pancreas of fasted rats, although it could just be detected in the pancreas of rats fed ad libitum. These features were not observed after injection of lorglumide, an antagonist of cholecystokinin, followed by caerulein stimulation. On the other hand, stimulation with secretin induced a slight increase in T1 but did not lead to the appearance of the 1.8 +/- 0.2 ppm peak. The 1.8 +/- 0.2 ppm resonance peak thus appears to be related to the hormone-stimulated state of the exocrine pancreas and might be a useful indicator of the physiological state of exocrine pancreatic tissue. From ultrastructural examination of pancreatic cells and 1H NMR studies of solutions of the major membrane phospholipids in rat plasma, we concluded that the 1.8 +/- 0.2 ppm resonance peak stemmed from an alteration in the metabolism of membrane phospholipids and/or an increase in membrane fluidity after stimulation of acinar cells by caerulein.

The low-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of human pancreatic adenocarcinomas maintained in nude mice and in culture exhibit characteristic features. First, the high values of longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation times were attributed to disturbances in the exchange of ions and water molecules in cancerous cells. Second, a new peak situated at about 1.8 +/- 0.2 ppm from the peak of tissular water was observed. It was higher in spectra recorded from the proliferative peripheral zone of the tumor than from the central necrotic zone and was not observed in healthy control pancreatic tissue. Histological examination of the xenografts by transmission electron microscopy indicated intense phospholipid metabolism with marked development of the plasma membrane and the presence of numerous secretory granules, lysosomes, and multivesicular bodies in the cytoplasm. The new 1H NMR low-resolution peak was thought to reflect an increase in membrane viscosity stemming from alterations in the structure and metabolism of membrane phospholipids. Whatever its origin, the 1.8-ppm peak is a particular feature of cancerous pancreatic cells, which should be readily detectable by NMR in vivo.