Faris Azzouni

The 5 alpha-reductase isozyme family: a review of basic biology and their role in human diseases.

Despite the discovery of 5 alpha-reduction as an enzymatic step in steroid metabolism in 1951, and the discovery that dihydrotestosterone is more potent than testosterone in 1968, the significance of 5 alpha-reduced steroids in human diseases was not appreciated until the discovery of 5 alpha-reductase type 2 deficiency in 1974. Affected males are born with ambiguous external genitalia, despite normal internal genitalia. The prostate is hypoplastic, nonpalpable on rectal examination and approximately 1/10th the size of age-matched normal glands. Benign prostate hyperplasia or prostate cancer does not develop in these patients. At puberty, the external genitalia virilize partially, however, secondary sexual hair remains sparse and male pattern baldness and acne develop rarely. Several compounds have been developed to inhibit the 5 alpha-reductase isozymes and they play an important role in the prevention and treatment of many common diseases. This review describes the basic biochemical properties, functions, tissue distribution, chromosomal location, and clinical significance of the 5 alpha-reductase isozyme family.

5α-reductase type 3 expression in human benign and malignant tissues: A comparative analysis during prostate cancer progression†

A third isozyme of human 5α‐steroid reductase, 5α‐reductase‐3, was identified in prostate tissue at the mRNA level. However, the levels of 5α‐reductase‐3 protein expression and its cellular localization in human tissues remain unknown.

The First 100 Consecutive, Robot-assisted, Intracorporeal Ileal Conduits: Evolution of Technique and 90-day Outcomes

BACKGROUND Robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) has evolved over the last few years to become an acceptable alternative option to open radical cystectomy. Most series of RARC used an open approach to urinary diversion. Even though robot-assisted intracorporeal urinary diversion (RICUD) is the natural extension of RARC, few centers have reported their experiences with RICUD in general, and in particular, of robot-assisted intracorporeal ileal conduits (RICIC). OBJECTIVE To report our experience with RICIC using the Marionette technique. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The first 100 consecutive patients who underwent RARC and RICIC, and had ≥ 3 mo of postoperative follow-up were included in this study. Patients were divided into four groups of 25 patients each to study the evolution of our surgical technique. INTERVENTION RICIC. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Intraoperative, pathologic, and 90-d postoperative outcomes for the four groups and the overall cohort were compared using the Fisher exact test (categorical variables) and the Kruskal-Wallis test (continuous variables). Continuous variables were reported as median (range) and categorical variables were specified as frequency (percentage). RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS Overall operative and specific diversion times were 352 and 123 min, respectively. Estimated blood loss was 300 ml, lymph node yield was 24, and positive surgical margin rate was 4%. Length of hospital stay increased from 7 d for group 1 to 9 d for group 4. The overall 90-d complication rate was 81%; 19% of complications were high grade. Infections were the most common complications, representing 31% of all complications. There were no statistically significant intergroup differences except in diversion time, intraoperative transfusions, and length of stay. CONCLUSIONS RICIC diversion is safe, feasible, and reproducible. Larger series with longer follow-up are needed to validate the procedure and define its place in the minimally invasive urologic armamentarium. Quality of life studies need to be conducted to compare benefits of intracorporeal urinary diversion.

Role of 5α-Reductase Inhibitors in Prostate Cancer Prevention and Treatment

Although testosterone is the most abundant serum androgen, dihydrotestosterone is the main prostatic androgen. Testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone by the enzyme 5α-reductase (5α-R). Dihydrotestosterone plays an important role in several human diseases, including benign prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. The observation that males born with 5α-R 2 deficiency have never been reported to develop prostate cancer stimulated interest in development of 5α-R inhibitors. Thus far, 2 5α-R inhibitors are approved for clinical use. Several trials evaluated the use of 5α-R inhibitors in prostate cancer prevention and treatment and will be reviewed in this article.

Biology of castration-recurrent prostate cancer.

Although androgen-deprivation therapy is the standard therapy for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer, this treatment is only palliative. Prostate cancer recurs then grows despite low circulating testicular androgens, using several mechanisms that remain dependent on androgen-receptor signaling in most cases. This article reviews the diversity of mechanisms used for growth by castration-recurrent prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer cells differ in testosterone accumulation, dihydrotestosterone conversion, and androgen receptor signaling response to steroid 5α-reductase inhibitors†‡

Blocking 5α‐reductase‐mediated testosterone conversion to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with finasteride or dutasteride is the driving hypothesis behind two prostate cancer prevention trials. Factors affecting intracellular androgen levels and the androgen receptor (AR) signaling axis need to be examined systematically in order to fully understand the outcome of interventions using these drugs.

Current status of minimally invasive radical cystectomy: an outcome-based comparison

Minimally invasive approaches to radical cystectomy are 20 years old. Available data suggest that minimally invasive radical cystectomy can provide comparable outcomes to open radical cystectomy despite the scarcity of level 1–2 evidence. Perioperative, functional and early oncologic outcomes seem comparable between the two surgical approaches. Robotic technology has allowed more surgeons to perform minimally invasive radical cystectomy and has simplified technically demanding steps that posed problems in conventional laparoscopy. This is evident by the rapid dissemination of robotics in many bladder cancer centers worldwide and by the numerous emerging series of robot-assisted intracorporeal urinary diversion. Until more data are available regarding the oncologic performance of minimally invasive radical cystectomy, open radical cystectomy remains the gold standard procedure for now.

The eye in sexually transmitted infections: a review of the ocular complications of venereal diseases

Ocular complications of sexually transmitted diseases are frequently encountered by ophthalmologists and sexual health physicians in everyday practice. Ocular findings may be the first sign of many of the known sexually transmitted diseases. Thus, a high index of suspicion for ocular involvement in patients at risk of sexually transmitted diseases should be borne in mind and these patients should be referred to a specialist in a timely manner. This review focuses on the more significant ocular manifestations of the most common sexually transmitted diseases with which both ophthalmologists and sexual health physicians need to be familiar. In addition, it provides the most recent statistics on these conditions.