Consecutive nightly measurements are needed for accurate evaluation of nocturnal erectile capacity when the first-night laboratory recording is abnormal / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Multiple measurements of nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity (NPTR) are widely accepted as a method to differentiate psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) from organic ED. However, direct evidence remains limited regarding the first-night effect on NPTR measurement using the RigiScan. Here, we evaluated the first-night effect on the results of NPTR measurement to validate the necessity of NPTR measurement for two consecutive nights, particularly when abnormal first-night measurements are recorded in a laboratory setting. We retrospectively reviewed 105 patients with a complaint of ED, who underwent NPTR measurement using the RigiScan in the Department of Infertility and Sexual Medicine, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou, China), for two consecutive nights, during the period from November 2015 to May 2016. NPTR parameters were collected and analyzed. We found that more effective nocturnal erections were detected during the second night than during the first night (P <0.001). Twenty percent of all patients had no effective erection during the first night, but exhibited at least one effective erection during the second night. The negative predictive value of NPTR measurement during the first night was 43.2%; this was significantly lower than that on the second night (84.2%; P = 0.003). Most NPTR parameters were better on the second night than on the first night. The first-night effect might be greater among patients younger than 40 years of age. In conclusion, two consecutive nightly measurements of NPTR can avoid a false-abnormal result caused by the first-night effect; moreover, these measurements more accurately reflect erectile capacity, especially when the first-night record is abnormal in a laboratory setting.

Application of high performance liquid-ion trap mass spectrometry in analyzing saponins in sodium aescinate / 中国中药杂志

Sodium aescinate, which is produced from saponins of Chinese Buckeye Seed, is a prescription drug for treatment of brain edema and all kinds of swellings caused by surgery. In this article, high-performance liquid chromatography/ion trap (HPLC-IT) mass spectrometry was applied to study the characteristic ions of ten reference substances, namely escin Ⅰa, escin Ⅰb, isoescin Ⅰa, isoescin Ⅰb, aesculiside A, aesculiside B, aesculuside A, escin Ⅳc, escinⅡa and escin Ⅴ, which were isolated from aescinate. Furthermore, 19 saponin compounds were predicted in sodium aescinate, besides the above mentioned reference substances. The study showed that sapogenins in sodium aescinate had two structural types, namely protoaescigenin and barringenol C, and the substituent acetyl, tigloyl or angeloyl was usually located at C-21, C-22 or C-28 position. Among these predicted saponins, their sugar chains were all located at C-3 position consisting of glucose and glucuronide. This study provides experimental data for chemical constituents in sodium aescinate and scientific basis for quality and safety evaluation.

Salidroside inhibits hypoxia-induced phenotypic modulation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells in vitro / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of salidroside on the phenotypic modulation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMC) in hypoxic SD rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CCSMCs were cultured in vitro and identified by immunohistochemistry. The cells were divided into six groups: normal control (21% O2), hypoxia (1% O2), hypoxia + salidroside 1 mg/L, hypoxia + salidroside 3 mg/L, hypoxia + salidroside 5 mg/L and hypoxia + PGE1 0.4 microg/L, and then cultured for 48 hours. The relative expressions of alpha-actin and osteopontin (OPN) in each group were determined by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The in vitro cultured CCSMCs grew well, with anti-alpha-smooth muscle actin monoclonal antibodies immunohistochemically positive. The relative expression of alpha-actin was markedly decreased while that of OPN remarkably increased in the hypoxia group as compared with the normal control group (P < 0.01). The hypoxia + salidroside 5 mg/L group showed a significantly higher expression of alpha-actin and lower expression of OPN than the hypoxia group (P < 0.01), but exhibited no significant differences from the hypoxia + PGE group (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hypoxia can reduce the relative expression level of alpha-actin and increase that of OPN in the CCSMCs of SD rats, namely, induce their phenotypic modulation from the contraction to the non-contraction type. Salidroside can restrain hypoxia-induced phenotypic modulation of CCSMCs, and its inhibitory effect at 5 mg/L is similar to that of PGE1.</p>

Hypoxia induces fibrosis of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle in SD rats / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of hypoxia on the fibrosis of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMC) in SD rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CCSMCs were cultured in vitro, identified by immunohistochemistry, and then exposed to hypoxia at the concentration of 1% O2 for 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours. Those exposed to normal oxygen concentration for the corresponding lengths of time were used as the control. The relative expressions of TGF-131, type I collagen and type DI collagen were determined by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The in vitro cultured CCSMCs grew well, and the anti-a-smooth muscle actin monoclonal antibodies were positive on immunohistochemical staining. The relative expression levels of TGF-beta1, type I collagen and type mI collagen were positively correlated with the time of hypoxia interference within 48 hours, and did not increase further with prolonged exposure.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>When exposed to hypoxia, the relative expressions of TGF-beta1, type I collagen and type mI collagen in the CCSMCs of SD rats increased with the length of time, and reached the peak at 48 hours. Hypoxia can cause fibrosis of CCSMCs in SD rats.</p>