DNA-ploidy, morphometric-stereological and P-glycoprotein study of superficial bladder carcinomas.

We carried out a DNA-ploidy, morphometric-stereologic and P-glycoprotein study on 40 newly diagnosed superficial bladder cancer patients (G1-G2), correlating the results with histological grade and clinical outcome. Variations in the number of patients who present recurrences, progression or remain tumor-free during the whole follow-up period (at least 5 years) were not significant when related to nuclear size, proliferative diploid index, presence of aneuploidy and expression of P-glycoprotein. It is striking how the majority of disease-free subjects showed a proliferative diploid index higher than 10%. Moreover, 3 of them presented an aneuploid cell population. In our study, only histological grade showed a significant discriminatory level in terms of progression versus no progression in patients with superficial bladder cancer.

Effect of intraperitoneal sterile urine injection on abdominal myoelectrical activity in the spinal rat model.

The abdominal muscle reflex contractions in response to intraperitoneal injection of homologous sterile urine and acid, alkaline, hypo- and hyperosmolar solutions are studied in an acute spinal rat model by conventional and integrated electromyographic techniques. Intraperitoneal injection of homologous sterile urine causes a powerful and almost immediate abdominal muscle contracture of relative short duration. This response seems not to be related to urine pH or osmolarity, since only when solutions with extreme variations in these parameters are injected intraperitoneally are significant abdominal muscle contractions observed.

[Effects of urologic surgery on lymphocyte blastogenic response to phytohemagglutinin]. / Efectos de la cirugía urológica sobre la respuesta blastogénica linfocitaria a la PHA.

In order to study the effect of urological surgery on the defence system, we have evaluated the postoperative evolution of the lymphocyte blastogenic response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in 45 patients. 25 of them were subjected to a transurethral resection (TUR) of a vesical tumour, 10 to a transvesical prostatectomy, 6 to a pyelolithotomy and 4 to a nephrectomy due to renal atrophy secondary to lithiasis. We verified a significant drop in the lymphocyte blastogenic response to PHA at 2-4 hours of transvesical prostatectomy (p less than 0.001) and of pyelolithotomy and nephrectomy (p less than 0.001) which was sustained until the fourth and second day after operation respectively, with subsequent return to normal. However, lymphocyte blastogenic response to PHA did not vary significantly during the postoperative of patients subjected to a TUR of vesical tumours. On the whole, the degree and duration of postoperative immunodepression was dependent on the intensity of the surgical traumatism.