Salivary Pepsin as an Intrinsic Marker for Diagnosis of Sub-types of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease-related Disorders

Background/Aims@#To determine the value of salivary pepsin in discriminating sub-types of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and GERD-related disorders. @*Methods@#Overall, 322 patients with different sub-types of GERD and 45 healthy controls (HC) were studied. All patients took Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (GerdQ) and underwent endoscopy and 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring and manometry. Salivary pepsin concentration (SPC) was detected by using colloidal gold double-antibody immunological sandwich assay. Oral esomeprazole treatment was administrated in the patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and extra-esophageal symptoms (EES). @*Results@#Compared to HC, patients with erosive esophagitis, NERD, EES, EES plus typical GERD symptoms, or Barrett’s esophagus had a higher prevalence of saliva and SPC (all P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the positive rate for pepsin in patients with functional heartburn or GERD with anxiety and depression, compared to HC. After esomeprazole treatment, the positive rate and SPC were significantly reduced in NERD (both P < 0.001) and in EES (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Of the 64 NERD patients, 71.9% (n = 46) were positive for salivary pepsin, which was significantly higher than the rate (43.8%, n = 28) of pathological acid reflux as detected by 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring (P = 0.002). @*Conclusions@#Salivary pepsin has an important significance for the diagnosis of GERD and GERD-related disorders. Salivary pepsin and 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring may complement with each other to improve the diagnostic efficiency.

Upregulated FAAH expression in PVN contributes to sympathoexcitation in rat with chronic heart failure / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To investigate the expression of fatty-acid amide hydrolase(FAAH)in paraventricular nu-cleus(PVN)and its contribution to renal sympathetic nerve activity in rats with chronic heart failure(CHF).METH-ODS:A rat model of CHF was established by ligation of the left coronary artery to induce acute myocardial infarction. Eight weeks after ischemia,the rat model of CHF was identified by echocardiogram and histopathological observation.The plasma level of norepinephrine(NE)was detected by ELISA.The protein expression levels of FAAH in the PVN were de-termined by Western blot.The N-arachidonoylethanolamide(AEA)generation in PVN was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography.After microinjection of AEA,PF3845(an FAAH inhibitor)or rAAV2-FAAH shRNA virus in PVN, the sympathetic drive indexes were recorded in different experiment groups.RESULTS: Compared with the rats in sham group,the cardiac function and AEA concentration in PVN were significantly reduced, while the plasma NE level and FAAH expression in PVN were obviously increased in the CHF rats(P<0.05).After microinjecion of PF3845, AEA or rAAV2-FAAH shRNA virus in PVN, the sympathetic drive indexes were decreased significantly and the cardiac function were improved in the CHF rats.CONCLUSION:Upregulated FAAH expression in PVN may result in sympathoexcitation in the rat with CHF.

Establishment of a penile transplantation model in beagle dogs / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the feasibility of establishing a model of allograft penile transplantation in adult beagle dogs and explore the conditions for constructing a stable animal model of penis transplant.@*METHODS@#Following the principles of similarity, repeatability, feasibility, applicability, and controllability in the construction of experimental animal models, we compared the major anatomic features of the penis of 20 adult beagle dogs with those of 10 adult men. Using microsurgical techniques, we performed cross-transplantation of the penis in the 20 (10 pairs) beagle dogs and observed the survival rate of the transplanted penises by FK506+MMF+MP immune induction. We compared the relevant indexes with those of the 10 cases of microsurgical replantation of the amputated penis.@*RESULTS@#High similarities but no statistically significant differences were observed in penile anatomic features between the 20 beagle dogs and 10 men. All the 10 cases of cross-transplantation of the penis were successfully completed in the 20 beagle dogs, of which the transplanted glans survived with normal micturition in 12 but developed necrosis in the other 8; the success rate of one-time venous anastomosis was 95.0% (38/40) and that of one-time arterial anastomosis was 87.5% (35/40), with an average vascular anastomosis time of (71.0±9.0) minutes, a mean operation time of (133.0±10.3) minutes, and a mean blood loss of (135.8±41.4) ml. In the 10 cases of penile replantation, the success rate of one-time venous anastomosis was 100% (20/20) and that of one-time arterial anastomosis was 90.0% (18/20), with an average vascular anastomosis time of (65.0±7.9) minutes, a mean operation time of (117.4±10.0) minutes, and a mean blood loss of (85.0±10.8) ml. In the 12 cases of replantation of the amputated penis, the success rate of one-time venous anastomosis was 100% (24/24) and that of one-time arterial anastomosis was 95.8% (23/24), with an average vascular anastomosis time of (79.0±17.6) minutes, a mean operation time of (125.0±20.6) minutes, and a mean blood loss of (140.0±44.3) ml. No statistically significant differences were found in the relevant indexes among the three groups.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The anatomic structure of the corpus cavernosum penis of beagle dogs is highly similar to that of men, almost the same in cross-section anatomy. Microsurgical replantation and allograft transplantation of the penis were both successfully performed in beagle dogs, which showed similar operative indexes to those of human penile replantation. The construction of the allograft penile transplantation model in adult beagle dogs is feasible clinically, with the advantages of operability and repeatability.

Changes in prostatic stromal composition and benign prostatic hyperplasia / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate whether there are different stromal compositions in the prostate tissue of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and evaluate their significance in the course of the disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-three surgical or bioptic prostatic specimens of BPH and 5 autoptic normal prostatic specimens were stained by the Masson method to display the elements of the muscle fiber and collagen. The relationship of the changes in the prostatic stromal composition was analyzed with the degree of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) , IPSS and medication results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean ratio of muscle fiber to collagen in the normal prostate tissue was (3.2 +/- 0.2):1, significantly higher than that of the BPH patients (1: [4.7 +/- 3.1] ) (P < 0.01); that in the BPH patients with BOO was 1: (5.4 +/- 3.7) markedly lower than in those without BOO (1: [2.5 +/- 1.1] ) (P = 0.02); that in the BPH patients with severe prostatic symptoms was 1: (9.1 +/- 2.9), remarkably lower than in those with moderate (1: [5.3 +/- 3.4]) and mild prostatic symptoms (1: [2.8 +/- 1.7]) (P < 0.01); and that in the BPH patients with satisfactory medicinal therapeutic results was 1:(2.3 +/- 1.9), significantly higher than in those with poor therapeutic results (1: [7.6 +/- 4.3]) (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The stromal composition in the prostatic tissue of BPH patients undergoes different degrees of changes. More obvious BPH symptoms and poorer therapeutic results are associated with a bigger proportion of collagens and a smaller proportion of muscle fibers in the prostatic tissue. These changes may play an important role in the development and progression of BPH.</p>

Progress in the treatment of penile defect / 中华男科学杂志

As the important external genitalia of males, penis has the functions of both urination and copulation. Battle wound, other trauma, and some diseases such as penile cancer can result in total and partial penile defect, which has great impact on the sufferers' mind and life. Therefore, the treatment of penile defect is receiving more and more importance from both the patients and doctors. The ideal treatment is expected to achieve a satisfactory appearance, unobstructed standing urination and successful copulation. Nowadays, the main clinical techniques for the treatment of penile defect include penile replantation, penile lengthening, and penile reconstruction. The progress made in transplantation immunity, tissue matching, immunosuppressive agents, and long-term surviving of animal allograft limb transplantation has prepared a firm ground for human penile allograft. The construction of penile tissues by tissue engineering techniques is still at the experimental stage. It would be a valuable research how to assimilate the constructed and autologous tissues in clinical practice so as to achieve better function and appearance of the penis.