Involuntary detrusor contractions play an important role in the development of urge incontinence. Also in an in-vitro situation contractions which develop spontaneously can be seen; a parallel with the in vivo observations is likely. In order to study this muscle overactivity we investigated the possibility to induce this phenomenon with oxidative stress using hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Materials and Methods Urinary bladder muscle strips from pigs were mounted in a custom made organ bath and incubated for 20 minutes in Krebs solution. Next HOCl (10µM) was added to the organ bath and the onset of overactive contractions was closely followed. Overactivity was defined as a development of more than 5 phasic detrusor contractions per minute without any other provocation in the 30 minutes following addition of HOCl to the organ bath. Results Of the 50 strips which were used 36 (72%) became overactive after exposure to HOCl during 30 minutes recording. In 76% of the overactive strips overactivity occurred within 5 minutes, in 19% between 5 and 15 minutes, and in 5% it took longer than 15 minutes. The overactivity could be stopped by washing out HOCl for 10 minutes after which still a significant contraction after EFS and ACh stimulation was seen. Conclusions It can be concluded that an oxidative stressor, like HOCl, is capable of inducing smooth muscle overactivity. This model can be used for the development and testing of new treatment modalities for the overactive detrusor. Furthermore, this study provides evidence for a causal relationship between oxidative stress and detrusor overactivity.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of castration on cell death rate of the adult rat prostates and to evaluate the benefic action of alpha tocopherol supplementation to avoid apoptosis post-orchiectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats weighing 250-300g were divided into three groups: group I - they were subjected to bilateral orchiectomy and sacrificed eight weeks after the procedure; group II - subjected to bilateral orchiectomy and alpha-tocopherol supplementation for four weeks preceding the procedure; and group III - subjected to bilateral orchiectomy and alpha-tocopherol supplementation for four weeks preceding the procedure and for eight weeks afterwards. At the end of the experiment, the prostatectomy was performed in all rats. The presence of oxidative stress was determined by assaying the blood level of 8-isoprostane and the occurrence of apoptosis was evaluated by identification of active caspase-3 through immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: The statistic analysis of active caspase-3 showed that in the long-term castrated group the detection was higher than in groups were the alpha-tocopherol was supplemented (p=0.007). Analysis of 8-isoprostane levels showed higher concentrations of reactive oxygen species in group I compared to other groups (p<0.05). Groups II and III presented active caspase-3 lower than in group I (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our exploratory analyses demonstrate a method to study the aging process and its influence on oxidative stress of prostatic tissue and cells death rate. Based on our results we can suggest that alpha tocopherol supplementation can decrease the apoptotic process as well as the oxidative stress levels induced by androgen deprivation of the prostate gland.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on the quality of life (QoL) in a group of elderly men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Observational clinical study contained 200 men recruited between March-September 2008 in the community and Urology and Geriatrics ambulatories. The data collected included health and sociodemographic conditions; the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS); an anxiety/depression inventory; the World Health Organization Quality of Life -Bref and -Old questionnaires (WHOQoL). Participants were classified according to IPSS: Group I (moderate/severe symptoms) and Group II (absence/mild symptoms) and 100 men were included in each group. RESULTS: The groups were statistically similar in sociodemographic, morbidity, and anxiety/depression scores. Both QoL scales showed significant lower median scores in group I in all parameters, except the global subjective self-evaluation of QoL. The domains social and environmental relations presented the most significative differences (p < 0.0005) in both questionnaires, and final mean WHOQoL-OLD score was lower in group I (p < 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: For elderly men, moderate to severe LUTS do significantly impact almost all parameters of QoL proposed by the WHO, especially social and environmental relations.

Introdução: As complicações orbitárias das sinusites permanecem como tópico importante dentro da otorrinoloringologia, a despeito do decréscimo de sua prevalência observado após o advento da antibioticoterapia. Objetivo: Tendo por objetivo determinar as características clínicas e terapêuticas nos casos de sinusites complicadas. Forma de estudo: Clínico prospectivo randomizado. Material e método: Realizamos um estudo retrospectivo de 128 pacientes internados nos últimos 15 anos na Divisão de Clínica Otorrinolaringológica do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. A maior parte destes pacientes eram crianças ou adultos jovens (82,81% dos pacientes tinham menos de 30 anos de idade) e 57,81% eram do sexo masculino. Todos os pacientes apresentaram evolução satisfatória, sem seqüelas tardias. Conclusão: Observamos que o diagnóstico precoce destas patologias é importante, bem como o é a instituição de terapêutica adequada e agressiva (clínica ou cirúrgica). É a ação conjunta destes dois fatores que irá promover uma diminuição da morbimortalidade destas afecções.

Introduction: The orbital complications of sinusitis continue to be an important topic in otolaryngology despite the reduction in their prevalence observed after the advent of antibiotic therapy. Aim: With the objective to determine the clinical and therapeutic characteristics of cases of complicated sinusitis. Study design: Clinical prospective randomized. Material and method: We conducted a retrospective study on 128 patients admitted to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of São Paulo Medical School, over the last 15 years. Most of these patients were children or young adults (82,81% were less than 30 years old) and 57,81% were males. All of the patients had a favorable outcome, with no sequels. Conclusion: An early diagnosis and the institution of adequate treatment are of fundamental importance for the prognosis and outcome of these patients. The observation of these two factors contributes to the low mortality of these conditions.