Comparison of the 5-year outcome and morbidity of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy versus transperineal permanent iodine-125 implantation for early-stage prostatic cancer.
(1/997)
PURPOSE: To compare the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) relapse-free survival outcome and incidence of late toxicity for patients with early-stage prostate cancer treated at a single institution with either three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) or transperineal permanent implantation (TPI) with iodine-125 seeds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with favorable-risk prostate cancer, defined as a pretreatment PSA of less than or equal to 10.0 ng/mL, Gleason score of 6 or lower, and stage less than or equal to T2b, were selected for this analysis. Between 1989 and 1996, 137 such patients were treated with 3D-CRT and 145 with TPI. The median ages of the 3D-CRT and TPI groups were 68 years and 64 years, respectively. The median dose of 3D-CRT was 70.2 Gy, and the median implant dose was 150 Gy. Prostate-specific antigen relapse was defined according to the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology Consensus Statement, and toxicity was graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group morbidity scoring scale. The median follow-up times for the 3D-CRT and TPI groups were 36 and 24 months, respectively. RESULTS: Eleven patients (8%) in the 3D-CRT group and 12 patients (8%) in the TPI group developed a biochemical relapse. The 5-year PSA relapse-free survival rates for the 3D-CRT and the TPI groups were 88% and 82%, respectively (P = .09). Protracted grade 2 urinary symptoms were more prevalent among patients treated with TPI compared with 3D-CRT. Grade 2 urinary toxicity, which was manifest after the implant and persisted for more than 1 year after this procedure, was observed in 45 patients (31%) in the TPI group. In these 45 patients, the median duration of grade 2 urinary symptoms was 23 months (range, 12 to 70 months). On the other hand, acute grade 2 urinary symptoms resolved within 4 to 6 weeks after completion of 3D-CRT, and the 5-year actuarial likelihood of late grade 2 urinary toxicity for the 3D-CRT group was only 8%. The 5-year actuarial likelihood of developing a urethral stricture (grade 3 urinary toxicity) for the 3D-CRT and TPI groups was 2% and 12%, respectively (P<.0002). Of 45 patients who developed grade 2 or higher urinary toxicity after TPI, the likelihood of resolution or significant improvement of these symptoms at 36 months from onset was 59%. The 5-year likelihood of grade 2 late rectal toxicity for the 3D-CRT and TPI patients was similar (6% and 11%, respectively; P = .97). No patient in either group developed grade 3 or higher late rectal toxicity. The 5-year likelihood of posttreatment erectile dysfunction among patients who were initially potent before therapy was 43% for the 3D-CRT group and 53% for the TPI group (P = .52). CONCLUSION: Both 3D-CRT and TPI are associated with an excellent PSA outcome for patients with early-stage prostate cancer. Urinary toxicities are more prevalent for the TPI group and subsequently resolve or improve in most patients. In addition to evaluating long-term follow-up, future comparisons will require detailed quality-of-life assessments to further determine the impact of these toxicities on the overall well-being and quality of life of the individual patient. (+info)
Determination of intrapenial blood volume using 99mTc-labeled autologous red blood cells.
(2/997)
In 17 impotent patients, radioisotope penography was performed using 99mTc-red blood cells (the patient's own red blood cells labeled with 99mTc) for the quantitative analysis of intrapenial blood volume. A visual sexual stimulation (VSS) was given to the patient after injecting the 99mTc-red blood cells. Patients showing a complete erection had their intrapenial blood volumes 4.2-11.2 times greater than before VSS (mean increase, 8.0 times). In cases of incomplete erection after VSS the intrapenial blood volumes were 3.3-7.0 times greater than before VSS (mean increase, 4.9 times). In cases showing a gentle rise in their penogram curves without evidence of an erection, intrapenial blood volumes after VSS were 2.0-3.3 times those before VSS (mean increaae, 2.9 times). By contrast, in cases showing no response to the VSS or no rise in penogram curve, post-VSS increases in intrapenial pool of blood were very slight, slight, only 1.4-1.7 times the original volume of blood. (+info)
Sexual functioning among stroke patients and their spouses.
(3/997)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess effects of stroke on sexual functioning of stroke patients and their spouses and to study the associations of clinical and psychosocial factors with poststroke changes in sexual functions. METHODS: One hundred ninety-two stroke patients and 94 spouses participating in stroke adjustment courses sponsored by the Finnish Stroke and Aphasia Federation completed a self-administered questionnaire concerning their prestroke and poststroke sexual functions and habits. The main outcome measures were (1) libido, (2) coital frequency, (3) sexual arousal, including erectile and orgastic ability and vaginal lubrication, and (4) sexual satisfaction. RESULTS: A majority of the stroke patients reported a marked decline in all the measured sexual functions, ie, libido, coital frequency, erectile and orgastic ability, and vaginal lubrication, as well as in their sexual satisfaction. The most important explanatory factors for these changes were the general attitude toward sexuality (odds ratio [OR] range, 7.4 to 21.9; logistic regression analysis), fear of impotence (OR, 6.1), inability to discuss sexuality (OR range, 6.8 to 18.5), unwillingness to participate in sexual activity (OR range, 3.1 to 5. 4), and the degree of functional disability (OR range, 3.2 to 5.0). The spouses also reported a significant decline in their libido, sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction as a consequence of stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction with sexual life are common in both male and female stroke patients and in their spouses. Psychological and social factors seem to exert a strong impact on sexual functioning and the quality of sexual life after stroke. (+info)
Health economics and sexual dysfunction. Based on a presentation by Cyril F. Chang, PhD.
(4/997)
Erectile dysfunction (ED) and the results of its treatment are two separate issues, centering on how outcomes of the disorder affect the economy and the impact its treatment has on quality of life. The treatment of ED has been an $800-million-a-year business in the United States alone. The recent introduction of the drug sildenafil raises the possibility that revenues from its sale could reap billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry, with much of that cost being borne by the managed care industry. The introduction of sildenatil raises new cost-effectiveness concerns about all available treatment options. Both the National Institutes of Health and the American Urological Association have identified the need for better studies whose outcomes could be used to analyze the problem of ED. (+info)
Managed care and sexual dysfunction. Based on a presentation by William Parham, MD.
(5/997)
The availability of managed care benefits for the treatment of sexual dysfunction is inextricably linked with cost. An atypically low increase of 4.4% in aggregate healthcare expenditures in 1995-1996 stands in sharp contrast to outlays of more than 11% between 1966 and 1993. Between 1993 and 1996, that increase hovered at about 5%, the result largely of the growth of managed care and low levels of general inflation. However, despite relative containment of overall healthcare expenditures, those related to pharmaceuticals have risen more than 9.2% annually, an increase that reflects the managed care industry's failure to restrain drug costs. In deciding whether it will cover a particular treatment, the managed care industry applies three sets of criteria relating to efficacy, medical necessity, and appropriateness. Managed care companies are expected to counter runaway pharmacy costs for sildenafil by excluding it from coverage, imposing significant limitations, or requiring higher copayments. (+info)
Secondary infertility as early symptom in a man with multiple endocrine neoplasia-type 1.
(6/997)
Multiple endocrine neoplasia-type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant familial cancer syndrome characterized by parathyroid hyperplasia, pancreatic endocrine tumours and pituitary adenomas. Here, we report a patient with a history of insulinoma who developed secondary infertility as a further symptom of the disease. When he was first examined at the age of 36 years, he complained of weakness, reduced libido and impotence. Laboratory evaluation revealed non-obstructive azoospermia and hyperprolactinaemia. In contrast to sexual activity and serum prolactin, semen quality did not significantly respond to bromocriptine therapy. During follow-up, a growing pituitary adenoma caused acromegaly with elevated serum concentrations of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and prolactin. After microsurgery of the tumour at the age of 44 years, sperm concentration persistently increased up to 5.6 x 10(6)/ml. In accordance with the clinical diagnosis of MEN1, DNA sequencing revealed a mutation in exon 2 of the menin gene which results in a truncated, inactive protein product. In conclusion, MEN1 with pituitary lesions may cause severe hypogonadism and infertility. Both hyperprolactinaemia and overproduction of growth hormone and IGF-1 seem to be involved in testicular dysfunction in the present case. The possible role of menin in the testis, however, remains to be elucidated. (+info)
Design and evaluation of nitrosylated alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists as potential agents for the treatment of impotence.
(7/997)
We designed and evaluated a new class of molecules, nitrosylated alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists, as potential agents for the treatment of impotence. In in vitro studies with human and rabbit corpus cavernosum strips in organ chambers, the alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists (alpha-ARAs) moxisylyte and yohimbine and their corresponding nitrosylated compounds, SNO-moxisylyte (NMI-221) and SNO-yohimbine (NMI-187), concentration-dependently relaxed endothelin-induced contraction. The nitrosylated compounds were significantly more potent than the parent alpha-ARA. In human tissues, the specific phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor zaprinast potentiated the relaxing effects of the nitrosylated compounds. Only nitrosylated compounds induced accumulation of cyclic GMP in rabbit corpus cavernosum strips. Yohimbine and NMI-187 demonstrated a potent alpha2-blocking activity, with no significant differences in pA2 values (8.9 versus 8.2, respectively). Moxisylyte and NMI-221 showed moderate potency in antagonizing phenylephrine contraction, with comparable pA2 values for both molecules (6.5 versus 6.6, respectively). alpha-Adrenergic receptor-binding studies showed similar binding affinities for the alpha-ARA and their corresponding nitrosylated compounds. In vivo, intracavernosal injection of nitrosylated molecules caused greater increases in intracavernosal pressure (NMI-221 versus moxisylyte) that were more long lasting than those of moxisylyte or yohimbine. There were no significant differences between nitrosylated and non-nitrosylated compounds in the magnitude of systemic mean arterial pressure decrease after intracavernosal injection. alpha-ARA and the nitrosylated compounds showed no pain-inducing activity as evaluated with the paw-lick model in mice. In summary, nitrosylated alpha-ARA have the dual functionalities of nitric oxide donors and alpha-ARA. These drugs induced penile erection in animals, suggesting their possible therapeutic value as agents for the local pharmacological treatment of impotence. (+info)
Viagra for temporary erectile dysfunction during treatments with assisted reproductive technologies.
(8/997)
During treatments with assisted reproductive technologies (ART), some men may have difficulties in producing spermatozoa on demand at the time of insemination, either for intrauterine insemination (IUI) or for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This situation imposes tremendous stress on the couple and may cause cancellation of the treatment. Here we describe, for the first time, the use of sildenafil citrate (ViagraTM) for temporary erectile dysfunction in couples undergoing ART. The first case was a man who could not produce spermatozoa for the first IVF treatment after an exhausting trial for 12 h, despite the fact that he never had problems in providing sperm samples during previous IUI cycles. Using Viagra enabled him to provide spermatozoa, but the delay in oocyte insemination resulted in no embryonic development. This prompted us to be more alert to this option and to suggest the use of Viagra to men who had a history of erectile dysfunction during previous ART cycles. In these cases, the use of Viagra was planned in advance and it successfully solved any unpredictable erectile dysfunction on the day of insemination. Such cases emphasize the need to think in advance of this potential use of Viagra during ART. (+info)