Biomedical subjects

Ja Hyeon Ku

Publications and source records attributed to Ja Hyeon Ku.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Sarcomatoid differentiation as a prognostic factor for immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the current study was to determine the significance of sarcomatoid differentiation as a prognostic factor for immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). METHODS: Patients with metastatic RCC were included in this study and were categorized according to sarcomatoid differentiation. RESULTS: Patients with sarcomatoid differentiation had more aggressive tumor characteristics than those without sarcomatoid differentiation. After immunotherapy, the median progression-free survival was 9.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-52.7) for patient without sarcomatoid differentiation and 3.2 months (95% CI 0.4-42.9) for patients with sarcomatoid differentiation, respectively (P=0.0001). The median overall survival was 22.2 months (95% CI 3.2-75.4) and 10.0 months (95% CI 0.7-60.1) in both groups. When comparing patients with sarcomatoid differentiation, there was no significant difference of overall survival in the immunotherapy group and the no immunotherapy group. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed that T stage (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.71; 95% CI 1.07-2.74; P=0.024), sarcomatoid differentiation (HR 2.18; 95% CI 1.30-3.66; P = 0.003), and the number of metastasis sites (HR 1.81; 95% CI 1.14-2.88; P=0.012) were independent predictors of progression-free survival. Sarcomatoid differentiation and the number of metastasis sites were independent prognostic predictors of overall survival. The estimated relative risks of sarcomatoid differentiation and the number of metastasis sites were 2.83 (95% CI 1.49-5.40; P=0.002) and 2.31 (95% CI 1.29-4.16; P=0.005), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that sarcomatoid differentiation is an important prognostic factor for immunotherapy in metastatic RCC.

Adult↗

PubMed2007

Severity of erectile dysfunction in married impotent patients: interrelationship with anthropometry, hormones, metabolic profiles and lifestyle.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) or cardiovascular disease on the disease severity in impotent men. METHODS: A total of 87 men, 25-75 years old (mean age, 53.4) were included in the study. Patients were evaluated with anthropometry, hormones, metabolic profiles and lifestyle. Baseline erectile function (EF) was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). The severity of ED was classified into the following four grades based on the six-item EF domain of the IIEF: severe (6-10); moderate (11-16); mild to moderate (17-21); and mild (22-25). Patients were deemed to have metabolic syndrome (MS) if they had three or more of five criteria according to National Cholesterol Education Program, with some modification. RESULTS: Of 87 patients, 15 patients (17.2%) had mild, 11 (12.6%) had mild to moderate, 33 (37.9%) had moderate and 28 (32.3%) had severe ED. There was no correlation between scores of IIEF or EF domain and continuous parameters. On the multivariate model used, hypertensive patients had 26-fold higher risk (odds ratio, 26.195; 95% confidence interval, 1.463-46.072; P = 0.027) of severe ED than those without hypertension. Other factors were not significant. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicate that MS might not influence the severity of ED in impotent men. However, our findings suggest that hypertension plays a role in the disease severity in these patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2007

Percutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation in patients with chronic pelvic pain: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the clinical effect of intermittent percutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in patients with chronic pelvic pain (CPP). METHODS: A total of 15 patients (10 women and 5 men, mean age 60.0 years, range 41-78) with CPP were enrolled in an open prospective clinical trial. The patients had 12 weekly outpatient treatment sessions, each lasting 30 min. All patients were evaluated by history, physical as well as urological examination, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and urgency, the International Prostate Symptom Score, and a 3-day frequency-volume chart. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of PTNS, 9 (60%) and 3 patients (30%) had an improvement of >50% and 25-50% in the VAS score for pain, respectively. Six patients (40%) ended up with a mean VAS <3. Mean VAS for pain changed from 8.1 +/- 0.2 at baseline to 4.1 +/- 0.6 after 12 weeks of treatment (p < 0.01). Mean VAS for urgency changed from 4.5 +/- 1.0 at baseline to 2.7 +/- 0.7 after 12 weeks of treatment (p < 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant improvement in the International Prostate Symptom Score. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of voids and bladder volumes either. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that PTNS may improve pain symptoms for over half of the patients with CPP. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to verify these preliminary results.

Adult↗

PubMed2007

Impact of self-perceived bothersomeness on health-related quality of life in women with overactive bladder symptoms.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to examine the impact of self-perceived bothersomeness of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms on the health-related quality of life (QOL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 92 women with a mean age of 53.3 (range 23-79) years suffering from OAB were included in the study. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) were used to assess the QOL. The patients were divided into two groups according to the bothersomeness degree of OAB: 'low' and 'moderate' to 'high'. RESULTS: The SF-36 and the KHQ scores of the patients were significantly different from those of the controls (p <0.05), except for three domains of the SF-36. No difference in the results of the frequency-volume charts was observed between the two patient groups. The scores of the SF-36 and the KHQ domains did not correlate with the data of the frequency-volume charts. Significant differences were found between the two patient groups for most domains of the SF-36 (p <0.05). Significant differences were also detected in most domains of the KHQ (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Objective data are not a sensitive tool for measuring the QOL in women with OAB symptoms. Our findings suggest that patient-perceived bothersomeness significantly influences QOL and that strategies for assessing bothersomeness should be developed to evaluate the QOL in these patients.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Relationship between serum prostate-specific antigen levels and body mass index in healthy younger men.

OBJECTIVES: To understand further the physiologic characteristics of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations in healthy younger men. METHODS: A total of 2032 men, 20 to 39 years old, who visited our hospital for a routine health checkup were entered into the study. Pearson correlation coefficients were determined to evaluate the association between serum PSA and clinical parameters. Because of the log-normal distribution, the serum PSA levels were log-transformed for analysis. RESULTS: Although the relationships were weak, significant negative correlations were noted between serum PSA and body weight (r = -0.107, P <0.001), body mass index (BMI; r = -0.131, P <0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; r = -0.076, P = 0.001), alanine aminotransferase (ALT; r = -0.079, P = 0.001), gamma-glutamyltransferase (r = -0.046, P = 0.046), and creatinine clearance (r = -0.113, P <0.001). A positive correlation was found between serum PSA and creatinine (r = 0.053, P = 0.024). Age did not correlate with serum PSA level. The influence of clinical parameters on serum PSA was explored using multiple linear regression analysis. Using the stepwise method, all other explanatory variables, except BMI, AST, and creatinine were eliminated (log10[PSA] = -0.124[BMI] + 0.063[creatinine] - 0.053[AST] + 0.097; r = 0.152, P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: BMI, creatinine, and AST may influence the serum PSA level in this population. However, because it was not clear that this group should be considered at high risk of prostate cancer in the future, additional longitudinal research is needed.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

A comparative study of patient experiences of conventional fluoroscopic and four-hour ambulatory urodynamic studies.

We assessed several emotional variables in patients experiencing conventional urodynamic and ambulatory urodynamic monitoring (AUM) to verify the hypothesis that AUM is tolerated as well as conventional urodynamics. A total of 33 women and 7 men from 23 to 72 years of age who were undergoing both procedures were prospectively included in this study. Prior to and immediately after the procedures, each patient completed a self-administered questionnaire. Answers were given on a visual analogue scale. The degree of anxiety was higher for conventional urodynamics than for AUM (p = 0.045), while the degree of boredom experienced during AUM was higher than that during conventional urodynamics (p= 0.013). There was no significant difference in the degree of shame or bother experienced by the patients during the two procedures. In general, patients tolerated both examinations extremely well. The examiner-rated degree of intolerance during conventional urodynamics was influenced by the subjective pain score (p=0.001), while all other emotional variables except bother were not significantly related with the degree of intolerance during AUM (p=0.007). A total of 74.4% and 84.6% responded that they were willing to repeat conventional urodynamics and AUM, respectively, which were not significantly different. Although AUM produced a significantly higher level of boredom than conventional urodynamics, our data demonstrates that patients are as tolerant of AUM as they are of conventional urodynamic procedures.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

A generic health-related quality of life instrument, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36, in women with urinary incontinence.

The paper reviews the literature concerning health-related quality of life in women with urinary incontinence by using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36). The aim of this study was to determine the role of the SF-36 in the evaluation of urinary incontinence. Although some information regarding factors associated with health-related quality of life in women with urinary incontinence is currently available, this issue remains controversial since these factors had not been consistently found to have effects on quality of life. The scales of the SF-36 questionnaire have poor content validity for urinary incontinence, multidimensionality with difficulty of interpretation of any changes, and limited sensitivity to small changes in symptoms. The problem with using the SF-36 is that results are often insensitive to the specific condition measured and therefore fail to address many of the issues relevant to the disease. As a result, disease-specific instruments may be more beneficial in evaluating the impact of a specific urinary incontinence on quality of life and are more sensitive than their generic counterparts in detecting changes as a result of treatment. Since generic quality of life may be more susceptible to other factors such as co-morbid diseases than disease severity and reflect a wider aspect of daily life, these factors should also be evaluated in future studies.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Adjuvant systemic chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy in conjunction with surgery in patients with invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract. METHODS: From January 1991 to May 2001, 36 men and 7 women had invasive (Stage pT2 or worse), but not metastatic, disease and were the subjects of this study. Their median age was 59 years (range 36 to 72). Of these 43 patients, 32 were scheduled to receive more than four courses of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The median follow-up period of all the evaluated patients was 30.7 months (range 4.7 to 98.8). RESULTS: Recurrence was observed in 12 patients (37.5%) who underwent chemotherapy and 7 (63.6%) who did not (P = 0.170). The disease-free survival was lower in the nonchemotherapy group than in the chemotherapy group (P = 0.0439). During the follow-up period, 9 patients (28.1%) in the chemotherapy group died and 9 patients (81.8%) in the nonchemotherapy group died (P = 0.004). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard model analysis revealed that the use of adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.006, relative risk = 9.19) and node-positive status (P = 0.008, relative risk = 8.28) were strongly associated with overall survival. In the chemotherapy group, 24 (75%) had side effects due to the treatment; however, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms were the chief adverse effects and were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have indicated that adjuvant systemic chemotherapy may provide therapeutic benefit in patients with invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

PubMed2006

Detection of prostate cancer at low and intermediate serum prostate-specific antigen levels in a country with a low incidence of prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the cancer detection rate and the pathologic findings of biopsy in men at low and intermediate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in an Asian population. METHODS: Patients between 40 and 79 years were entered into a study and 755 patients with serum PSA level of 2.0-10.0 ng/ml underwent trus-guided systematic biopsy. Patients were divided to low (PSA 2.0-4.0 ng/ml, n = 144) and intermediate (PSA 4.1-10.0 ng/ml, n = 611) PSA groups. RESULTS: Patients in the low PSA group had significantly smaller prostates (P = 0.003) and lower PSA density (P < 0.001). The rate of cancer detection was 16.7% (24 of 144) in the low PSA group and 23.7% (145 of 611) in the intermediate PSA group (P = 0.067). In men with normal digital rectal examination (DRE), prostate cancer was diagnosed in 14 (13.3%) of the 105 men in the low PSA group and 99 (19.5%) of the 508 men in the intermediate PSA group (P = 0.139). In all patients and patients with normal DRE, no statistically significant differences were found in the pathologic findings of biopsy between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide a rationale to recommend prostate biopsy at lower PSA threshold in this population. At present, however, it is not clear that men who are treated when their cancers are detected at lower PSA levels have better outcomes than those who are treated when the PSA is higher than 4.0 ng/ml.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Prevention of nephrolithiasis by Lactobacillus in stone-forming rats: a preliminary study.

Hyperoxaluria is a risk factor for renal stones. It appears to be sustained by increased dietary load or increased intestinal absorption. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether oral administration of lactobacilli could prevent urolithiasis in stone-forming rats. Oxalate-degrading activities of lactobacilli were evaluated by measuring the oxalate level in a culture medium after inoculation with lactobacilli. Only the strains of Lactobacillus having oxalate-degrading activity were used. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a powdered standard diet containing 3% sodium oxalate and/or received 100 mg/kg of celecoxib for the first 8 days by gavage, before or after the beginning of this experiment (groups with previous treatment or with co-treatment). Rats were sacrificed after 4 weeks and kidneys were harvested for the assay of crystal formation under a dissecting microscope. Twenty-four-hour urine collections were performed before kidney harvest. Only two strains, Lactobacillus casei HY2743 and L. casei HY7201 out of 31 strains of Lactobacillus were able to degrade oxalate. In both groups of co-treatment and previous treatment with L. casei HY2743 and L. casei HY7201, urine oxalate excretion decreased compared to the group without lactobacilli. The dissecting microscope examination of kidneys in the rats in two previous treatment groups and the co-treatment group with L. casei HY7201 showed less abundant crystals than control groups. Our results show that lactobacilli may be used as a potential therapeutic strategy in the prevention of urinary stones.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Significance of tension in tension-free mid-urethral sling procedures: a preliminary study.

We report the results of the release and tape-shortening techniques in polypropylene pubovaginal slings. Of female patients who had undergone mid-urethral sling procedures [tension-free vaginal tape procedure and suburethral polypropylene (SPARC)], in cases in which postoperative retention occurred, the patients were offered release or tape cutting. Women reporting postoperative urinary incontinence underwent a tape-shortening procedure. In these patients, the tape was shortened by the use of clips. Mean follow-up time after the release and/or the shortening operations was 9.9 months (range 6-18). A total of 15 women, ranging from 41 to 75 years old (mean 58.3) were included in this study. Upon the latest follow-up, six women exhibited prolonged urinary retention and subsequently underwent a release procedure (n=5) or a tape-cutting procedure (n=1). After the release procedure, all patients remained continent, but one patient's urinary retention issues were not resolved, and she subsequently underwent a tape-cutting. Both of the patients who underwent the cutting procedure then developed recurrent stress urinary incontinence. The tape-shortening technique was conducted with nine patients. Seven of these patients recovered their continence, and no one patient experienced any urinary retention or other voiding difficulties. Two patients reported only minimal stress leakage and elected to undergo no further interventions. Our findings suggest that tension plays a substantial role in tension-free mid-urethral sling procedures.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Impact of stress urinary incontinence and overactive bladder on micturition patterns and health-related quality of life.

We examined the impact of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and overactive bladder (OAB) on micturition habits and health-related quality of life (QOL). A total of 250 Korean women were included in the study. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) and the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) were used to assess QOL in the patient (SUI, n=158 and OAB, n=92) and control (n=70) groups. A control group was recruited at the Health Promotion Center of our hospital. Each of the dimension scores in the SF-36 represents better health, while that of the KHQ does worse health perception. On the frequency-volume charts, patients with OAB had more nighttime voids than those with SUI (P=0.001). Of the eight domains in the SF-36 questionnaire, four domains were significantly different between the control and OAB groups. Patients with SUI had a significantly lower score on one domain than the controls. Between the SUI and OAB groups, only one domain showed a significant difference. Regarding the KHQ, all domain scores in control subjects were significantly lower than those in the SUI and OAB groups. Between the SUI and OAB groups, the OAB group had higher scores on 'general health perception' and 'sleep/energy disturbances', while the scores of 'physical limitations' and 'severity measures' were higher in the SUI group. Women with OAB have a higher number of nocturic episodes than those with SUI, but the QOL is not less affected by SUI than by OAB. Furthermore, simultaneous disease-specific QOL instruments should be used in the evaluation of urinary incontinence because the generic QOL instrument is not a sensitive tool for measuring QOL in this population.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Age is not a limiting factor for midurethral sling procedures in the elderly with urinary incontinence.

OBJECTIVE: The object was to evaluate clinical outcome of the midurethral sling procedures in the elderly compared with middle-aged women. METHODS: A total of 266 women who underwent midurethral sling procedures with at least follow-up greater than 6 months were included in the study. Patients were divided as the elderly group (65 years old or older, n = 60) and the middle-aged group (45-64 years old, n = 206). RESULTS: Although postoperative urge symptoms were more prevalent in the elderly group (25.0%) than in the middle-aged group (6.3%), there were no significant differences between the two groups for the rates of postoperative urge incontinence (p = 0.159). Stress incontinence was cured by 91.3% in the middle-aged group and 85.0% in the elderly group, respectively (p = 0.158). CONCLUSIONS: Age does not seem to be a significant risk factor for failure of midurethral sling procedures.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Clinical and urodynamic features according to subjective symptom severity in female urinary incontinence.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between subjective symptom severity and clinical or urodynamic parameters and to compare these parameters according to subjective symptom severity. METHODS: A total of 268 female patients with grade II (n = 94) and grade III (n = 174) according to the Ingelman-Sundberg scale were included in the study. Mean patient age was 55.9 years (range 28-80). Of 268 patients, 196 women (73.1%) complained of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and 72 (26.9%) reported additional symptoms of urge urinary incontinence (UUI). Fifty-four (20.1%) women previously had hysterectomies and 12 (4.5%) underwent surgery for UI. RESULTS: Patients with severe incontinence (grade III) are older, have longer duration of symptoms, concomitant urgency or UUI, and low maximal urethral closure pressure and low Valsalva leak point pressure (VLPP). No difference in other characteristics including pad test loss and urethral mobility was observed in the two groups. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, a longer duration of symptoms was associated with an increased likelihood of severe symptoms (P = 0.025). Patients with mixed incontinence were at five-fold increased risk of severe symptoms compared with those with SUI only (P = 0.011). In the same model, increasing VLPP was associated with a decreased likelihood of severe symptoms (P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Longer symptom duration, mixed incontinence and low VLPP have independent effects on the severity of incontinence. Our findings suggest that incontinent patients with sphincteric impairment or urge component may have and increased probability of severe symptoms.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Comparison of voiding parameters in men and women with lower urinary tract symptoms.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare voiding parameters by using urodynamic investigations in men and women with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). METHODS: A total of 164 individuals (76 men and 88 women) completed the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and underwent a detailed urodynamic investigation. Patients were stratified by voiding function, which included bladder voiding efficiency (BVE) of < 80% and of >or= 80%. RESULTS: IPSSs were similar in the men and women except for voiding symptoms for those with a BVE of >or= 80% (12 for men vs. 9 for women, P=0.016). When voiding parameters were compared according to BVE in men and women, respectively, maximum flow rate (Q(max)) (P=0.002), average flow rate (Q(ave)) (P=0.003), voided volume (P=0.037), post-void residual (PVR) (P<0.001), and bladder outlet obstruction index (P=0.016) were different for men with a BVE of < 80% and men with a BVE of >or= 80%. However, for women with a BVE of < 80% or >or= 80%, PVR (P<0.001), detrusor pressure at maximum flow rate (P=0.022), and opening detrusor pressure (P=0.024) were different. CONCLUSIONS: The voiding parameters of women differ from those of men according to voiding function. The present results show that a pressure-flow study may represent a difference according to BVE in women as well as in men. Our findings suggest that opening detrusor pressure in women reflects the urethral and detrusor during voiding phase accurately as detrusor pressure at maximum flow rate does.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Does condition-specific quality of life correlate with generic health-related quality of life and objective incontinence severity in women with stress urinary incontinence?

AIMS: We examined the impact of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) on health-related quality of life (QOL) and evaluated the relationships between incontinence-specific QOL and objective disease severity. METHODS: A total of 158 women (mean age 49.9) suffering from SUI were included in the study. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) and the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) were used to assess QOL in the patient and control groups. RESULTS: The SF-36 scores did not show any significant differences between the two groups except for one domain (physical functioning, P = 0.005). The patient KHQ scores were significantly lower than those of the controls (P < 0.001 for all domains). The scores of the KHQ domains correlated with those of the SF-36 domains, but the relationship was low to moderate, ranging from -0.033 to -0.686. However, they did not correlate with Valsalva leak point pressure (VLPP). When patients were divided into the low VLPP group (n = 60) and the higher VLPP group (n = 98), statistically significant differences were found between the groups for general health domains of the SF-36 (P = 0.010) and of the KHQ (P = 0.027). No statistically significant differences were found in other domains of both questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: The generic QOL instrument is not a sensitive tool for measuring QOL in women with SUI. In addition, our findings suggest that objective disease severity is not associated with generic or incontinence-specific QOL.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Is a generic quality of life instrument helpful for evaluating women with urinary incontinence?

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a generic health outcome instrument would be helpful for evaluating women with stress urinary incontinence (UI) combined with or without urge UI. METHODS: A total of 109 women with UI and 80 controls participated in the study. Health-related quality of life (QOL) was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36) and the Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QoL) questionnaire. RESULTS: Among eight domains of the SF-36 questionnaire, only four domains, namely, 'role-physical functioning' (p<0.05), 'vitality' (p<0.05), 'mental health' (p<0.05) and 'bodily pain' (p<0.05) were significantly different between the groups. Comparing the I-QoL sores in the two groups, patients with UI had significantly poorer subscale scores of I-QoL than the controls (p<0.05 for all domains). When women with UI were subdivided into groups of stress and mixed UI, only 2 domains of the SF-36 questionnaire, 'role-physical functioning' (p<0.05) and 'bodily pain' (p<0.05), were significantly different. The mixed UI group had higher scores only on these two domains compared to the stress UI group. In the 'role-physical functioning' domain, there was no significant difference between the mixed UI group and the controls. In 'bodily pain' domain, there was no significant difference between the stress UI group and the controls. The mixed group had the highest scores observed. Patients with mixed UI had significantly lower total scores compared to those with stress UI, including the subscale score of 'avoidance behavior' of the I-QoL. Among eight domains of the SF-36, only 'physical functioning' (r = 0.281, p<0.01) and 'social functioning' (r = 0.239, p<0.05) were weakly correlated with 'psychological impact' of the I-QoL. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that the generic QOL instrument is not sensitive measure of QOL in women with UI.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

In vivo hepatocyte growth factor gene transfer to bladder smooth muscle after bladder outlet obstruction in the rat: a morphometric analysis.

PURPOSE: We determined whether hepatocyte growth factor gene transfer after partial bladder outlet obstruction would prove effective for decreasing transforming growth factor-beta expression and consequently decreasing collagen deposition in partially obstructed rat bladders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups of 10 each, including group 1--sham operation, group 2--bladder outlet obstruction for 4 weeks and group 3--hepatocyte growth factor gene transfer after bladder outlet obstruction. Two weeks after the onset of bladder outlet obstruction in group 3 hepatocyte growth factor-liposome complex (50 microg human hepatocyte growth factor cDNA) was injected into the smooth muscle of the rats. RESULTS: We noted no difference between groups 2 and 3 with regard to the ratio of bladder weight to body weight. The ratio in groups 2 and 3 was significantly higher than in group 1 (p = 0.043). The mean percent of collagen area +/- SE was 36.32% +/- 1.83%, 27.90% +/- 2.66% and 8.97% +/- 3.35% in groups 1 to 3, respectively (p <0.05). Relative hepatocyte growth factor and c-met mRNA and protein expression were higher in group 3 than in groups 1 and 2. However, the expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 mRNA and protein was higher in group 2 than in groups 1 and 3. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may imply a possible novel therapeutic strategy against bladder dysfunction arising in patients with bladder outlet obstruction.

Animals↗