José Carlos Truzzi

Male infertility in spinal cord trauma

Every year there are 10 thousand new cases of patients victimized by spinal cord trauma (SCT) in the United States and it is estimated that there are 7 thousand new cases in Brazil. Eighty percent of patients are fertile males. Infertility in this patient group is due to 3 main factors resulting from spinal cord lesions: erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory disorder and low sperm counts. Erectile dysfunction has been successfully treated with oral and injectable medications, use of vacuum devices and penile prosthesis implants. The technological improvement in penile vibratory stimulation devices (PVS) and rectal probe electro-ejaculation (RPE) has made such procedures safer and accessible to patients with ejaculatory dysfunction. Despite the normal number of spermatozoa found in semen of spinal cord-injured patients, their motility is abnormal. This change does not seem to be related to changes in scrotal thermal regulation, frequency of ejaculation or duration of spinal cord damage but to factors related to the seminal plasma. Despite the poor seminal quality, increasingly more men with SCT have become fathers through techniques ranging from simple homologous insemination to sophisticated assisted reproduction techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Urinary glycosaminoglycans excretion and the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide in an experimental model of non-bacterial cystitis

PURPOSE We reproduced a non-bacterial experimental model to assess bladder inflammation and urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAG) excretion and examined the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). MATERIALS AND METHODS Female rats were instilled with either protamine sulfate (PS groups) or sterile saline (control groups). At different days after the procedure, 24 h urine and bladder samples were obtained. Urinary levels of hyaluronic acid (HA) and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (S-GAG) were determined. Also to evaluate the effect of DMSO animals were instilled with either 50% DMSO or saline 6 hours after PS instillation. To evaluate the effect of DMSO in healthy bladders, rats were instilled with 50% DMSO and controls with saline. RESULTS In the PS groups, bladder inflammation was observed, with polymorphonuclear cells during the first days and lymphomononuclear in the last days. HA and S-GAG had 2 peaks of urinary excretion, at the 1st and 7th day after PS injection. DMSO significantly reduced bladder inflammation. In contrast, in healthy bladders, DMSO produced mild inflammation and an increase in urinary HA levels after 1 and 7 days and an increase of S-GAG level in 7 days. Animals instilled with PS and treated with DMSO had significantly reduced levels of urinary HA only at the 1st day. Urinary S-GAG/Cr levels were similar in all groups. CONCLUSIONS Increased urinary levels of GAG were associated with bladder inflammation in a PS-induced cystitis model. DMSO significantly reduced the inflammatory process after urothelial injury. Conversely, this drug provoked mild inflammation in normal mucosa. DMSO treatment was shown to influence urinary HA excretion.

Urinary Glycosaminoglycans as Biomarker for Urothelial Injury: Is It Possible to Discriminate Damage From Recovery?

OBJECTIVES The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer is referred to as a bladder protective factor. We reproduced an experimental model of urothelial damage to assess GAG metabolism in the process of injury and recovery of the urothelium. METHODS Wistar female rats were bladder catheterized and instilled with either protamine sulfate (PS groups) or sterile saline (control groups). At different days after the procedure, 24-hour urine samples were obtained. The urinary levels of hyaluronic acid (HA) and sulfated glycosaminoglycan were determined in all groups and in nonmanipulated rats (day 0). Additionally, sulfated-GAG synthesis was assessed by the incorporation of [(35)S]-inorganic sulfate. The bladders were analyzed by histochemical staining for HA and immunofluorescence for heparin sulfate and syndecan-4. RESULTS Urinary HA and sulfated-GAG were elevated after PS injection (P <0.05). A greater concentration of [(35)S]-labeled GAG in the PS group animals on the fifth day and, especially, on the seventh day represented increased GAG synthesis at these periods (P <0.05). Bladder sections from the PS group animals on day 1 showed a greater amount of HA in the urothelium. PS instillation damaged the urothelium layer of heparin sulfate and syndecan-4 seen in the control animals. On day 5, patchy areas of a restored layer were seen, and, on day 7, this layer had completely regenerated. CONCLUSIONS Urinary GAG cannot differentiate urothelial damage from recovery. Elevated levels of urinary GAG can result from either desquamation of the surface cell GAG layer or increased GAG synthesis to regenerate the damaged urothelium.

Genital prevalence of HPV types and co-infection in men

INTRODUCTION HPV infection is a highly prevalent sexually transmitted disease and there is evidence of the relationship of HPV infection and the development of genital warts, penile intraepitelial neoplasia, invasive penile carcinoma and cervical cancer. However, there is sparse data regarding the prevalence of HPV types and co-infection of different HPV types among men. OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of HPV subtypes infections and rates of co-infection among men. MATERIALS AND METHODS 366 men were evaluated from March to October 2010. Men were referred to our institution for HPV diagnostic evaluation based on the following criteria: 1. presence of a genital wart; 2. presence of an atypical genital lesion; 3. absence of symptoms and a partner with a HPV diagnosis; 4. absence of symptoms and a desire to undergo a full STD diagnostic evaluation. Genital samples were collected from the urethra, penile shaft, scrotum and anus with Digene® collection and preservation kit and submitted to HPV genotype microarray detection (Papillocheck®). All men were tested for the low-risk HPV types 6-11-40-42-43-44 and for the high-risk HPV types 16-18-31-33-35-39-45-51-52-53-56-58-59-66-68-70-73-82. RESULTS Of the 366 men, 11 were tested inconclusive and were excluded from the analysis. 256 men (72.1% of the men from the cohort referred to our institution) tested positive with genotype micro-array detection and 99 tested negative. The most preva¬lent HPV-subtypes in the studied population were 6, 42, 51 and 16. Co-infection was found in 153 men. Of those, 70 (19.7%) had a co-infection by 2 types, 37 (10.4%) by 3 types; 33 men (9.2%) by 4 types; 8 men (2.2%) by 5 types; 1 man (0.3%) by 6 types; 1 man (0.3%) by 7 types; 2 men (0.6%) by 8 types and 1 man (0.3%) by 9 types. CONCLUSION The most frequent HPV types were 6, 16, 42 and 51. Co-infection was found in 59% of our patients. This information is vital to drive future public health policies including massive public vaccination campaign.

Paraurethral leiomyoma in a female causing urinary obstruction

We report a case of paraurethral leiomyoma in a female patient, in which the first symptoms were dysuria and sensation of incomplete voiding. The physical examination revealed a mass in the anterior vaginal wall. The diagnosis was made through ultrasonography and pelvic MRI and confirmed by transvaginal ultrasound-guided needle biopsy. The surgical excision was accomplished without opening the urinary tract. A review of the relevant published studies and a suggestion for the appropriate management of these cases are included.

Assessment of urodynamic bladder behavior on filling with solutions representing physiological extremes of urinary osmolarity

OBJECTIVE Verify if there is any difference in sensitive and motor bladder response in the presence of solutions with different osmolarities, simulating physiological extremes of urinary osmolarity. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-three patients (24 men and 9 women) with mean age of 46.4 years (8 to 87 years) took part in this study. They were all subjected to 2 consecutive urodynamic examinations. In each exam, the vesical filling was accomplished by using a hyperosmolar (1000 mOsm/L) or hypo-osmolar (100 mOsm/L) sodium chloride solution in similar speed. The sequence in which each solution was instilled was determined by a double blind draw. The urodynamic results obtained from the infusion of both solutions were compared, regardless the sequence of administration. RESULTS Fifteen patients (45.4%) showed detrusor hyperactivity, 12 of whom with neurological antecedents. The mean age of those with detrusor hyperactivity was 45.8 years, against 46.9 for those without hyperactivity. The infusion of the hyperosmolar/hypo-osmolar solution generated the following results, when comparing patients without vs. with detrusor hyperactivity: initial sensation of vesical filling (mL): 167.5/159.2 vs. 134.9/157.3 (p > 0.05); volume of occurrence of the first involuntary bladder contraction (mL): 163.9/151.9 (p > 0.05); detrusor micturition pressure (cm H2O): 24.0/24.4 vs. 13.8/27.5 (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION The vesical filling with solutions simulating extreme urinary osmolarities, accomplished with similar speed and without previous identification, did not likewise alter the sensitive and motor urodynamic behavior in the current study.

Overactive bladder – 18 years – Part II

ABSTRACT Traditionally, the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome has been based on the use of oral medications with the purpose of reestablishing the detrusor stability. The recent better understanding of the urothelial physiology fostered conceptual changes, and the oral anticholinergics – pillars of the overactive bladder pharmacotherapy – started to be not only recognized for their properties of inhibiting the detrusor contractile activity, but also their action on the bladder afference, and therefore, on the reduction of the symptoms that constitute the syndrome. Beta-adrenergic agonists, which were recently added to the list of drugs for the treatment of overactive bladder, still wait for a definitive positioning – as either a second-line therapy or an adjuvant to oral anticholinergics. Conservative treatment failure, whether due to unsatisfactory results or the presence of adverse side effects, define it as refractory overactive bladder. In this context, the intravesical injection of botulinum toxin type A emerged as an effective option for the existing gap between the primary measures and more complex procedures such as bladder augmentation. Sacral neuromodulation, described three decades ago, had its indication reinforced in this overactive bladder era. Likewise, the electric stimulation of the tibial nerve is now a minimally invasive alternative to treat those with refractory overactive bladder. The results of the systematic literature review on the oral pharmacological treatment and the treatment of refractory overactive bladder gave rise to this second part of the review article Overactive Bladder – 18 years, prepared during the 1st Latin-American Consultation on Overactive Bladder.

Overactive bladder: pharmacological treatment

The Guidelines Project, an initiative of the Brazilian Medical Association, aims to combine information from the medical field in order to standardize procedures to assist the reasoning and decision-making of doctors. The information provided through this project must be assessed and criticized by the physician responsible for the conduct that will be adopted, depending on the conditions and the clinical status of each patient.

Male urinary incontinence: Artificial sphincter

The Guidelines Project, an initiative of the Brazilian Medical Association, aims to combine information from the medical field in order to standardize procedures to assist the reasoning and decision-making of doctors. The information provided through this project must be assessed and criticized by the physician responsible for the conduct that will be adopted, depending on the conditions and the clinical status of each patient.

Global evaluation of men – check-up and follow-up.

Women, after childhood are rapidly attended by Gynecologists, even during puberty. They become their physicians and responsible for their follow-up. On the other hand, men routinely remain for a long period of time unattended until the 5th decade of life, when, in the best of scenarios, they visit a lot of professionals of several specialties. We could draw a long discussion about the need of medical attention between these two periods of life, but we will stick to check-up and follow-up of adult men. Usually as Urologists we are the first doctors these men interact with and at that moment we could play a definite role in providing global health evaluation. For more than one decade Brazilian Society of Urology has launched campaigns to promote Urologists as the doctor of men. With that in mind, it is important that we recognize which are the actual needs of periodical medical care for these men.