[Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma (paraganglioma) of the urinary bladder without typical symptoms: a case report].

A 33-year-old female patient was admitted to our department with bladder tumor. It was detected by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an examination for hysteromyoma. She had neither hypertention, gross hematuria nor the classic symptoms of cathecholamine excess during micturition. The diameter of the tumor was 33 mm. Cystoscopic examination showed a submucosal tumor in the left anterior wall of the bladder. Percutaneous needle biopsy was performed. Biopsy specimens revealed as a pheochromocytoma. 131 I-MIBG scintigraphy showed abnormal accumulation in the bladder, and no abnormal accumulation in the other lesion. Endocrinologic examination disclosed increased levels of serum and urinary noradrenalin. On May 18, 2005, partial cystectomy was performed. The catecholamine levels normalized after partial cystectomy. The patient has been followed up for 9 months and shown no recurrence.

Detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum in urethral swab samples from asymptomatic men and men with urethritis by a polymerase chain reaction-based assay.

We compared a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay with primers specific for the 16S rRNA gene of Ureaplasma urealyticum with culture techniques for detecting U. urealyticum from urethral swab samples obtained from 256 asymptomatic men. Of 24 samples positive for U. urealyticum by culture, 23 samples were positive by the PCR-based assay, whereas 2 of 232 samples with a negative culture were positive by the PCR-based assay. The sensitivity and specificity for the PCR-based assay compared to culture were 95.8% and 99.1%, respectively. Our results confirmed the validity of the PCR-based assay for identifying this pathogen from urethral swab samples. In this study, we also examined urethral swab samples obtained from 195 men with urethritis for the detection of U. urealyticum by this assay. U. urealyticum was detected in 1 (3.4%) of 29 men with gonococcal urethritis and 23 (13.9%) of 166 men with nongonococcal urethritis. This assay may be a relevant tool to diagnose urethral Ureaplasma infections.