bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Course of C‐reactive protein during continuous peritoneal dialysis‐associated peritonitis
Authors: TROIDLE LAURA , KLIGER ALAN , GORBAN‐BRENNAN NANCY , FINKELSTEIN FREDRIC 
Published: October 2005

SUMMARY:Objective:  C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels increase during peritonitis. Little is known about the extent and duration of CRP elevation.Patients and Methods:  Patients on continuous peritoneal dialysis (CPD) therapy had a baseline CRP value at the start of the study. CRP values were determined at 48 h, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after an episode of peritonitis developed in the 13 months after the study started.Results:  The demographic values and comorbid diseases of the patients developing and not developing peritonitis were not significantly different. Patients who developed peritonitis had a mean ± SD CRP value of 15.0 ± 11.1 mg/L compared with 15.7 ± 9.9 mg/L in patients without peritonitis. The CRP value rose to 118.35 ± 96.86 mg/L at 48 h, and decreased to 34.5 ± 43.6 mg/L at 2 weeks and to 30.1 ± 39.7 mg/L at 4 weeks after the onset of peritonitis. All types of peritonitis were associated with a significant increase in CRP at 48 h. Nine patients had CRP elevations above baseline at 4 weeks; seven patients had active medical issues.Conclusion:  CRP values become significantly elevated during peritonitis. Most patients have a decrease in the CRP values toward baseline values at 4 weeks following the onset of peritonitis while 20% of patients had continued elevations. The significance of the elevations is unclear. Given the associations of CRP with cardiovascular mortality in both uremic and non‐uremic patients and the association of peritonitis with mortality, the role of this inflammatory marker deserves further evaluation.
Randomized controlled trial of pulse intravenous cyclophosphamide versus mycophenolate mofetil in the induction therapy of proliferative lupus nephritis
Authors: ONG LOKE MENG , HOOI LAI SEONG , LIM TECK ONN , GOH BAK LEONG , AHMAD GHAZALI , GHAZALLI ROZINA , TEO SUE MEI , WONG HIN SENG , TAN SI YEN , SHAARIAH WAN , TAN CHWEE CHOON , MORAD ZAKI 
Published: October 2005

SUMMARY:Background:  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil in the induction therapy of proliferative lupus nephritis.Methods:  Forty‐four patients from eight centres with newly diagnosed lupus nephritis World Health Organization class III or IV were randomly assigned to either mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) 2 g/day for 6 months or intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVC) 0.75–1 g/m2 monthly for 6 months in addition to corticosteroids.Results:  Remission occurred in 13 out of 25 patients (52%) in the IVC group and 11 out of 19 patients (58%) in the MMF group (P = 0.70). There were 12% in the IVC group and 26% in the MMF group that achieved complete remission (P = 0.22). Improvements in haemoglobin, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum albumin, serum complement, proteinuria, urinary activity, renal function and the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index score were similar in both groups. Twenty‐four follow‐up renal biopsies at the end of therapy showed a significant reduction in the activity score in both groups. The chronicity index increased in both groups but was only significant in the IVC group. Adverse events were similar. Major infections occurred in three patients in each group. There was no difference in gastrointestinal side‐effects.Conclusions:  MMF in combination with corticosteroids is an effective induction therapy for moderately severe proliferative lupus nephritis.
Losartan reduces the costs of diabetic end‐stage renal disease: An Asian perspective
Authors: SENG WONG KOK , HWANG SHANG‐JYH , HAN DONG CHEOL , TEONG CHUA CHIN , CHAN JULIANA , BURKE THOMAS A , CARIDES GEORGE W , CHOI YON JONG 
Published: October 2005

SUMMARY:Objective:  To evaluate losartan and conventional antihypertensive therapy (CT) compared with CT alone on the cost associated with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.Methods:  Reduction of end‐points in non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus with the angiotensin II antagonist losartan (RENAAL) was a multinational, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial to evaluate the renal protective effects of losartan on a background of CT in patients with type 2 diabetes and nephropathy. The primary composite end‐point was a doubling of serum creatinine, ESRD or death. Data on the duration of ESRD for the Asian subgroup of patients enrolled in RENAAL were used to estimate the economic benefits of slowing the progression of nephropathy. The cost associated with ESRD was estimated by combining the number of days each patient experienced ESRD with the average daily cost of dialysis from the third‐party payer perspective in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. Total cost, converted to US dollars, was the sum of ESRD and losartan costs.Results:  Losartan plus CT reduced the number of days with ESRD by 37.9 per patient over 3.5 years compared with CT alone. This reduction in ESRD days resulted in a decrease in the cost associated with ESRD, which ranges from $910 to $4346 per patient over 3.5 years across the six countries or regions. After accounting for the cost of losartan, the reduction in ESRD days resulted in net savings in each of the six countries or regions, ranging from $55 to $515 per patient.Conclusion:  Treatment with losartan in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy not only reduced the incidence of ESRD among Asian patients, but resulted in direct medical cost savings in countries or regions representing Asia.
Cardiac troponin I and beta 2 microglobulin as risk factors for early‐onset atherosclerosis in patients on haemodialysis
Authors: ZUMRUTDAL AYSEGUL , SEZER SIREN , DEMIRCAN SENOL , SEYDAOGLU GULSAH , OZDEMIR F NURHAN , HABERAL MEHMET 
Published: October 2005

SUMMARY:Aim:  To investigate the associations of different risk factors with carotid artery intima‐media thickness (C‐IMT) in non‐diabetic haemodialysis (HD) patients who had no clinical evidence of atherosclerosis.Methods:  Seventy‐two HD patients (43 men, 29 women; mean age: 34.5 ± 10.6 years; mean time on HD: 47.9 ± 40.0 months) and 40 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls (26 men, 14 women; mean age: 35.5 ± 7.1 years) participated in the study. The relationship between C‐IMT and haematocrit‐corrected erythrocyte sedimentation rate (Hct‐corrected ESR), beta 2 microglobulin (beta2M) and serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels beyond C‐reactive protein (CRP), lipid profile and lipoprotein(a), fibrinogen, homocysteine and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) were examined.Results:  Mean C‐IMT of the HD patients was significantly greater than that of the control subjects (0.59 ± 0.06 vs 0.53 ± 0.07 mm, P = 0.002). C‐IMT of patients was positively correlated with age (r = 0.33), body mass index (r = 0.40), Hct‐corrected ESR (r = 0.37), CRP (r = 0.34), beta2M (r = 0.34), cTnI (r = 0.26), triglyceride (r = 0.26) and fibrinogen (r = 0.28) levels (P < 0.05 for all). The mean C‐IMT was significantly greater in patients with LVH than it was in those without LVH (P = 0.004). In multivariate regression analysis, age (P = 0.02), beta2M (P = 0.001), log‐transformed CRP (P = 0.03) and LVH (P = 0.01) were independently related with C‐IMT.Conclusion:  Besides well‐known cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, cTnI and beta2M were related with C‐IMT in that they may have important roles in early‐onset atherosclerosis in this high‐risk population.
Renal tubular function in children with β‐thalassemia minor
Authors: KALMAN SÜLEYMAN , ATAY A AVNI , SAKALLIOḠLU ONUR , ÖZGÜRTAŞ TANER , GÖK FAYSAL , KURT ISMAIL , KÜREKÇI A EMIN , ÖZCAN OKAN , GÖKÇAY ERDAL 
Published: October 2005

SUMMARY:Background:  β‐thalassemia minor is a common heterozygous haemoglobinopathy that is characterized by both microcytosis and hypochromia. It requires no treatment. It has been postulated that low‐grade haemolysis, tubular iron deposition and toxins derived from erythrocytes might cause renal tubular damage in adult patients with β‐thalassemia minor. Our aim was to investigate the renal tubular functions in children with β‐thalassemia minor and to determine its possible harmful effects.Methods:  The study was conducted on 32 children (14 female and 18 male) at the age of 5.8 ± 3.1 years (range 2–14 years) with β‐thalassemia minor. The patients were classified as anaemic (haemoglobin (Hb) ≤ 11 g/dL) (Group 1, n = 14) and non‐anaemic (Hb > 11 g/dL) (Group 2, n = 18). A control group was formed with 18 healthy children whose ages and sexes match those in other groups (Group 3, n = 18). Fractional excretion of sodium (FENa, %), fractional excretion of magnesium (FEMg, %), fractional excretion of uric acid (FEUA, %) and tubular phosphorus reabsorption (TPR,%) were calculated with standard formulas. Urinary calcium excretion (mg/kg per 24 h), zinc (Zn) (µg/dL), glucosuria (mg/dL), β‐2 microglobulin (mg/dL) and N‐acetyl‐β–D‐glycosaminidase (NAG, U/mmol creatinine) levels were measured through biochemical methods.Results:  There was no statistically significant difference among the three groups in terms of the results of FENa (%), FEMg (%), FEUA (%), TPR (%), calciuria (mg/kg per 24 h), NAG, urine Zn, proteinuria, glucosuria or urine β‐ 2 microglobulin levels (P > 0.05).Conclusion:  On the contrary of children with β‐thalassemia major, renal tubular dysfunction has not been determined in children with β‐thalassemia minor in the present study.
Growth of bone marrow stromal cells on small intestinal submucosa: an alternative cell source for tissue engineered bladder
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , Lin Hsueh‐Kung , Frimberger Dominic , Epstein Robert B. , Kropp Bradley P. 
Published: October 2005

OBJECTIVETo assess the potential use of bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC)‐seeded biodegradable scaffold for bladder regeneration in a canine model, by characterizing BMSCs and comparing them to bladder smooth muscle cells (SMCs) by immunohistochemistry, growth capability, and contractility.MATERIALS AND METHODSBone marrow was taken by direct needle aspiration from the femurs of five beagle dogs for the in vitro study. Mononuclear cells were isolated by Ficoll‐Paque® density gradient centrifugation and cultivated in medium 199 with 10% fetal bovine serum. BMSCs were characterized by cell proliferation, in vitro contractility, immunohistochemical analysis, and the growth pattern on small intestinal submucosa (SIS) scaffolds compared to bladder SMC cultures from the same dogs. Another six dogs had a hemicystectomy and bladder augmentation with BMSC‐seeded (two), bladder cells including urothelial cells plus SMC‐seeded SIS (two) and unseeded SIS scaffolds (two). The six dogs were followed for 10 weeks after augmentation.RESULTS In vitro BMSCs had a significant contractile response to calcium‐ionophore, with a mean (sem) 36 (2)%, relative contraction (P < 0.01), which was similar to bladder SMCs but markedly different from fibroblasts. BMSCs also expressed α‐smooth muscle actin by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting, but did not express desmin or myosin. In vivo, both BMSC‐seeded and bladder cell‐seeded SIS grafts had solid smooth‐muscle bundle formation throughout the graft.CONCLUSIONSBMSCs had a similar cell proliferation, histological appearance and contractile phenotype as primary cultured bladder SMCs. SIS supported three‐dimensional growth of BMSCs in vitro, and BMSC‐seeded SIS scaffold promoted bladder regeneration in a canine model. BMSCs may serve as an alternative cell source in urological tissue engineering.
The potassium sensitivity test: a predictor of treatment response in interstitial cystitis
Authors: Gupta Suresh K. , Pidcock Lol , Parr Nigel J. 
Published: October 2005

OBJECTIVETo determine whether the potassium sensitivity test (PST) can be used to predict the response to treatment with intravesical sodium hyaluronate in patients with interstitial cystitis.PATIENTS AND METHODSThirty‐eight patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis were recruited; each had a PST, carried out in a double‐blind fashion, followed by six weekly doses of intravesical sodium hyaluronate. The patients were assessed before and after treatment using a self‐administered interstitial cystitis symptom index (CSI) and problem index (PI). The clinical response was defined as none (<25% improvement in clinical symptoms), mild (>25%), moderate (50–75%) and excellent (>75%).RESULTSThe PST was positive in 23 and negative or indeterminate in 13 patients; two patients withdrew from the study. Overall 20 of 36 (55%) patients reported an improvement after six doses of intravesical sodium hyaluronate, but 17 (74%) with a positive PST improved, compared to only five (22%) with a negative test (P = 0.03). There was an improvement in the CSI after treatment in both groups, but a significant improvement in the PI only in patients with a positive PST (P = 0.01). The magnitude of change for the CSI and PI was significantly greater in the positive than in the negative group (CSI, P = 0.043; PI, P < 0.001). There were no major complications. Three patients complained of pain after the test, and two with a positive and one with a negative PST developed a urinary tract infection.CONCLUSIONSAlthough the role of the PST in the diagnosis of interstitial cystitis requires further clarification, the test helps to predict the response to treatment with glycosaminoglycan‐substitution therapy.
Plasma levels of endothelin‐1, angiotensin II, nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 in the venous and cavernosal blood of patients with erectile dysfunction
Authors: El Melegy Nagla Taha , Ali Mohamed‐Esam M. , Awad Efat M.A. 
Published: October 2005

OBJECTIVESTo determine the alterations in the plasma levels of endothelin‐1, angiotensin II, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the venous and cavernosal blood of patients with organic and psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED).PATIENTS, SUBJECTS AND METHODSThe study included 32 patients complaining of ED; they were subdivided into two equal groups with either organic or psychogenic ED. Fifteen healthy potent age‐matched male volunteers were enrolled as a control group. For each patient, venous and cavernosal blood samples were obtained, while venous blood was obtained from the controls.RESULTSThere were significantly greater mean plasma levels of endothelin‐1 and angiotensin II, and significantly lower mean plasma levels of NO and PGE2, in the venous blood of patients with ED than in the controls. Patients with organic ED had significantly higher levels of endothelin‐1 and significantly lower levels of NO in both venous and cavernosal blood than had those with psychogenic ED. There were significant positive correlations in both venous and cavernosal blood between endothelin‐1 and angiotensin II, and between NO and PGE2 in all patients with ED and the two subgroups. There were significant negative correlations between venous and cavernosal endothelin‐1 and NO, endothelin‐1 and PGE2, angiotensin II and NO, and between angiotensin II and PGE2.CONCLUSIONThe present results suggest that endothelin‐1 could be a clinical marker of diffuse endothelial disease manifested by ED. As angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) activity controls angiotensin II there might be a rationale for the use of ACE inhibitors to prevent or treat ED. NO and PGE2 may provide new strategies for the pharmacological treatment of ED.
A retrospective study of the time to clinical endpoints for advanced prostate cancer
Authors: Sharifi Nima , Dahut William L. , Steinberg Seth M. , Figg William D. , Tarassoff Christopher , Arlen Philip , Gulley James L. 
Published: October 2005

Authors from the National Cancer Institute present a study which assessed the time to androgen independence and overall survival for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. They reported a longer than expected survival with androgen‐independent prostate cancer, and make original observations on the time to metastatic disease for patients with no evidence of radiographic disease.The new wave of chemotherapeutic agents for hormone‐resistant prostate cancer has generated a new interest in producing more. Dr Cora Sternberg from Rome presents information on satraplatin, a third‐generation orally available platinum analogue that shares more structural similarities with cisplatin. There are several other papers in this section on prostate bladder and renal cancer, and finally a paper from London on penile cancer, asking what surgical resection margins are required to achieve oncological control, and finding that the traditional 2 cm margin may be unnecessary, with excision margins of only a few millimetres needed to give excellent control.OBJECTIVETo determine the natural history of patients with prostate cancer who start initial androgen‐deprivation therapy (ADT) for biochemical failure with no radiographic evidence of disease (D0) or with radiographic metastatic disease (D2), as the history is either not well‐defined or is changing, and such data are critical for guiding therapy after prostate cancer recurrence.PATIENTS AND METHODSWe retrospectively assessed the time to androgen‐independence (AI), defined as the first sustained rise in prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level on ADT, time to metastatic disease and overall survival for 80 patients with metastatic prostate cancer in clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute.RESULTSADT was initiated after metastatic disease in 37 patients and before metastatic disease in 43 patients; in these 43 patients, the median time to developing metastatic disease on ADT was 37.8 months. The median time to AI from the initiation of ADT was 19.3 and 13.1 months in D0 and D2 patients, respectively. The median overall survival from the start of ADT was 89.0 and 63.0 months, and the median overall survival from the time of AI was 63.1 and 44.2 months in D0 and D2 patients, respectively. These 80 patients, which included 43 who had no metastatic disease when starting ADT, had a median survival of 54.8 months after AI prostate cancer.CONCLUSIONSWe describe the natural history of AI prostate cancer in D0 patients who eventually developed metastasis, and in D2 patients. The results suggest a longer than expected survival with AI prostate cancer, and to our knowledge this is the first study to report the time to metastatic disease for D0 patients from ADT and from AI. These results can be used to help design clinical trials in patients with D0 prostate cancer.
Clinical staging of prostate cancer: a computer‐simulated study of transperineal prostate biopsy
Authors: Crawford E. David , Wilson Shandra S. , Torkko Kathleen C. , Hirano Daisaku , Stewart J. Scott , Brammell Craig , Wilson R. Storey , Kawata Nozomu , Sullivan Holly , Lucia M. Scott , Werahera Priya N. 
Published: October 2005

OBJECTIVETo identify the precise location of prostate cancer within the gland and thus possibly permit more aggressive therapy of the lesion, while potentially sparing the noncancerous gland from ablative therapy.MATERIALS AND METHODSThree‐dimensional ‘solid’ computer models were reconstructed for 86 autopsy specimens and 20 stage T1c radical prostatectomy specimens. Transperineal biopsies were simulated for grid sizes of 5‐mm (method A) and 10‐mm (method B) with an 18 G, 23‐mm long biopsy needle. One or two biopsies per grid point were obtained for a total of 12–108 biopsies, depending on the size of the prostate. Clinically threatening cancers were defined as having volumes of ≥ 0.5 mL or Gleason sum ≥ 7.RESULTSMethod A detected significantly more carcinomas than method B in both the autopsy and prostatectomy specimens (autopsy, 72 vs 51; prostatectomy, 50 vs 32, both P < 0.001). Method A also detected more clinically threatening cancers found at autopsy (38/40 vs 31/40, P = 0.008). Among autopsy patients with negative sextant biopsies whose disease was localized to one side, method A detected 72% and method B detected 29–43% (P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONSThe results of this computer simulation show that 5‐ and 10‐mm grid biopsies detect three‐quarters and a third, respectively, at autopsy, of patients with the disease localized to one side of the prostate, which may be useful when planning highly selective ablative treatments in the future.
Nephron‐sparing surgery for renal tumours using selective renal parenchymal clamping
Authors: Denardi Fernandes , Borges Gustavo M. , Silva Walter , Stopiglia Rafael M. , Ferreira Ubirajara , Billis Athanase , Netto Nelson R. 
Published: October 2005

OBJECTIVETo describe a technical modification that facilitates nephron‐sparing surgery (NSS) for renal tumours, without clamping the renal pedicle or promoting renal surface hypothermia.PATIENTS AND METHODSSeventeen patients with renal tumours had NSS using the selective renal‐parenchymal clamping technique. In 11 patients the tumour was polar and in six it was central. The mean (range) size of the tumours was 3.6  (2–6) cm. The technique was performed using one or two large Satinsky vascular clamps. Time was not limited as there was no clamping of the renal pedicle, or renal hypothermia.RESULTSThe mean (range) operative duration was 190 (120–300) min. Only one patient needed a blood transfusion. There were no complications in 13 patients after NSS. The mean (range) hospital stay was 5 (3–12) days. The pathological examination detected malignant tumours in 13 patients, and a microscopic examination showed adequate surgical margins in all. The mean (range) follow‐up was 24.5 (4–60) months. No patients required haemodialysis immediately after surgery or later.CONCLUSIONSSelective renal parenchymal clamping is a simple and efficient technical manoeuvre that facilitates NSS without dissection or clamping of the renal pedicle. Time is not limited as the ischaemia is limited to the tissue surrounding the tumour. The operative duration and blood loss are acceptable and the complications similar to those with the conventional technique. The size and position of the tumour could be limiting factors to this technique.
Estimating a frequency unseen: an application to ornithology
Authors: Albers C. J. , De Roos G. Th. , Schaafsma W. 
Published: October 2005

The second author is involved in a capture–mark–recapture study of some wader species. Part of his program deals with resight observations. On a particular day he visually inspects a fairly stable population to identify the ringed birds by reading their ring‐number. Some ringed birds will be missed, so observations are repeated on other days. The issue of main interest is whether, after some repetitions, we can be sufficiently sure that all the ringed birds in the population have been identified or, equivalently, that the frequency of unseen birds is zero.Most current theory is concerned with an asymptotic setting. In our ‘exact’ context the emphasis is on the determination of the ‘probability’ that the frequency of unseen birds is zero. This issue is settled by considering the more general problem of ‘estimating’ the frequency of the unseen birds by providing a predictive inference in the form of a probability distribution. We develop methods of inference based on the assumption of a bird‐independent probability pi of identifying a ringed bird on day i, as well as without this assumption. In Section 5 we critically examine these approaches.