Genetic variants associated with platelet count are predictive of human disease and physiological markers

Platelets play an important role in hemostasis and other aspects of vascular biology. We conducted a meta-analysis of platelet count GWAS using data on 536,974 Europeans and identified 577 independent associations. To search for mechanisms through which these variants affect platelets, we applied cis-expression quantitative trait locus, DEPICT and IPA analyses and assessed genetic sharing between platelet count and various traits using polygenic risk scoring. We found genetic sharing between platelet count and counts of other blood cells (except red blood cells), in addition to several other quantitative traits, including markers of cardiovascular, liver and kidney functions, height, and weight. Platelet count polygenic risk score was predictive of myeloproliferative neoplasms, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, hypertension, and benign prostate hyperplasia. Taken together, these results advance understanding of diverse aspects of platelet biology and how they affect biological processes in health and disease.

Evgenia Mikaelsdottir et al. report a study of variants associated with platelet count among European individuals where they identify 577 associations. They also report a genetic overlap between platelet count and human diseases, including myeloproliferative neoplasms, rheumatoid arthritis, and hypertension, as well as a genetic overlap between platelet count and various physiological markers.

Genome-wide association study yields variants at 20p12.2 that associate with urinary bladder cancer

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of urinary bladder cancer (UBC) have yielded common variants at 12 loci that associate with risk of the disease. We report here the results of a GWAS of UBC including 1670 UBC cases and 90 180 controls, followed by replication analysis in additional 5266 UBC cases and 10 456 controls. We tested a dataset containing 34.2 million variants, generated by imputation based on whole-genome sequencing of 2230 Icelanders. Several correlated variants at 20p12, represented by rs62185668, show genome-wide significant association with UBC after combining discovery and replication results (OR = 1.19, P = 1.5 × 10(-11) for rs62185668-A, minor allele frequency = 23.6%). The variants are located in a non-coding region approximately 300 kb upstream from the JAG1 gene, an important component of the Notch signaling pathways that may be oncogenic or tumor suppressive in several forms of cancer. Our results add to the growing number of UBC risk variants discovered through GWAS.

A parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate the effect of SagaPro on nocturia in men

Objective.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of SagaPro, a product derived from Angelica archangelica leaf, on nocturia.

Material and methods.

Sixty-nine male patients 45 years or older with at least two nocturnal voids were randomized to receive SagaPro or placebo in a double-blind design for 8 weeks. Voiding diaries were assessed before and after the treatment.

Results.

The results indicate that SagaPro is safe. The actual number of nocturnal voids (ANV), nocturnal polyuria index (NPi) and nocturnal bladder capacity index (NBC index) decreased in the test population, but there was no significant difference between the treatment groups. Subsequent subgroup analysis showed that SagaPro significantly reduced the NBC index and nocturnal voids per sleeping hour in comparison to the placebo in participants with baseline NBC index above 1.3. When participants with sleep disorders were excluded from this group, ANV was also significantly reduced for the SagaPro group in comparison to the placebo group.

Conclusion.

SagaPro, made from an extract of the medicinal herb Angelica archangelica, is safe. This study did not show that SagaPro improved nocturia overall compared to placebo. Subgroup analysis suggested a beneficial effect in individuals with decreased nocturnal bladder capacity, which warrants further study.

European genome-wide association study identifies SLC14A1 as a new urinary bladder cancer susceptibility gene

Three genome-wide association studies in Europe and the USA have reported eight urinary bladder cancer (UBC) susceptibility loci. Using extended case and control series and 1000 Genomes imputations of 5 340 737 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we searched for additional loci in the European GWAS. The discovery sample set consisted of 1631 cases and 3822 controls from the Netherlands and 603 cases and 37 781 controls from Iceland. For follow-up, we used 3790 cases and 7507 controls from 13 sample sets of European and Iranian ancestry. Based on the discovery analysis, we followed up signals in the urea transporter (UT) gene SLC14A. The strongest signal at this locus was represented by a SNP in intron 3, rs17674580, that reached genome-wide significance in the overall analysis of the discovery and follow-up groups: odds ratio = 1.17, P = 7.6 × 10(-11). SLC14A1 codes for UTs that define the Kidd blood group and are crucial for the maintenance of a constant urea concentration gradient in the renal medulla and, through this, the kidney's ability to concentrate urine. It is speculated that rs17674580, or other sequence variants in LD with it, indirectly modifies UBC risk by affecting urine production. If confirmed, this would support the 'urogenous contact hypothesis' that urine production and voiding frequency modify the risk of UBC.

Genetic correction of PSA values using sequence variants associated with PSA levels

Measuring serum levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most common screening method for prostate cancer. However, PSA levels are affected by a number of factors apart from neoplasia. Notably, around 40% of the variability of PSA levels in the general population is accounted for by inherited factors, suggesting that it may be possible to improve both sensitivity and specificity by adjusting test results for genetic effects. To search for sequence variants that associate with PSA levels, we performed a genome-wide association study and follow-up analysis using PSA information from 15,757 Icelandic and 454 British men not diagnosed with prostate cancer. Overall, we detected a genome-wide significant association between PSA levels and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at six loci: 5p15.33 (rs2736098), 10q11 (rs10993994), 10q26 (rs10788160), 12q24 (rs11067228), 17q12 (rs4430796), and 19q13.33 [rs17632542 (KLK3: I179T)], each with P(combined) <3 × 10(-10). Among 3834 men who underwent a biopsy of the prostate, the 10q26, 12q24, and 19q13.33 alleles that associate with high PSA levels are associated with higher probability of a negative biopsy (odds ratio between 1.15 and 1.27). Assessment of association between the six loci and prostate cancer risk in 5325 cases and 41,417 controls from Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain, Romania, and the United States showed that the SNPs at 10q26 and 12q24 were exclusively associated with PSA levels, whereas the other four loci also were associated with prostate cancer risk. We propose that a personalized PSA cutoff value, based on genotype, should be used when deciding to perform a prostate biopsy.

Adenocarcinoma of the appendix with a fistula to the urinary bladder

Adenocarcinoma of the vermiform appendix is a rare disease that constitutes less than 0.5% of all gastrointestinal malignancies. A patient was admitted with abdominal discomfort and urinary frequency but no symptoms suggestive of enterovesical fistula, e.g. pneumaturia or urinary tract infection. She was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the appendix with a fistula to the urinary bladder.

A sequence variant at 4p16.3 confers susceptibility to urinary bladder cancer

Previously, we reported germline DNA variants associated with risk of urinary bladder cancer (UBC) in Dutch and Icelandic subjects. Here we expanded the Icelandic sample set and tested the top 20 markers from the combined analysis in several European case-control sample sets, with a total of 4,739 cases and 45,549 controls. The T allele of rs798766 on 4p16.3 was found to associate with UBC (odds ratio = 1.24, P = 9.9 x 10(-12)). rs798766 is located in an intron of TACC3, 70 kb from FGFR3, which often harbors activating somatic mutations in low-grade, noninvasive UBC. Notably, rs798766[T] shows stronger association with low-grade and low-stage UBC than with more aggressive forms of the disease and is associated with higher risk of recurrence in low-grade stage Ta tumors. The frequency of rs798766[T] is higher in Ta tumors that carry an activating mutation in FGFR3 than in Ta tumors with wild-type FGFR3. Our results show a link between germline variants, somatic mutations of FGFR3 and risk of UBC.

[Pelvic floor muscle training with and without functional electrical stimulation as treatment for stress urinary incontinence]

BACKGROUND

Twelve to 55% of women experience stress urinary incontinence at some time during their lifetime.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle training with and without electrical stimulation in treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Participants were 24 women, 27-73 years of age, diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy and urge urinary incontinence. These participants were randomly divided into group 1 and 2. Both groups trained 15 min. twice a day for 9 weeks. Group 2 used simultaneously intermittent electrical stimulation. The pelvic floor muscles were evaluated using the Oxford scale, vaginal palpation, and by electromyogram, (Myomed 930, Enraf Nonius). The quantity and frequency of urinary incontinence episodes was evaluated using a questionnaire and a VAS scale before and after the treatment.

RESULTS

The groups were demographically similar, except group 2 was significantly younger. Both groups had significantly increased pelvic floor muscle strength (p=0.007; p=0.005 respectively) after the treatment and 70% of all the women had reduced or no stress urinary incontinence. Group 2 had significantly (p=0.013) better relaxation post treatment.

CONCLUSION

Pelvic floor muscle training is an effective treatment for stress urinary incontinence, but electrical stimulation gave no additional effect for this patient group. The significantly lower relaxation threshold in group 2 indicates that electrical stimulation could be a possible treatment for symptoms caused by hypertensive pelvic floor muscles.

Painful autoimmune thyroiditis occurring on amiodarone therapy

A 51-year-old housewife, who had been on treatment with amiodarone for ten months, developed a painful enlargement of the thyroid gland. Thyroid antibody titers were highly elevated and a fine needle aspirate of the gland showed infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells. Initially the patient was hyperthyroid, later she developed hyperthyroidism which required thyroid substitution. The possibility of amiodarone provoking autoimmune thyroiditis is discussed.

A common variant associated with prostate cancer in European and African populations

With the increasing incidence of prostate cancer, identifying common genetic variants that confer risk of the disease is important. Here we report such a variant on chromosome 8q24, a region initially identified through a study of Icelandic families. Allele -8 of the microsatellite DG8S737 was associated with prostate cancer in three case-control series of European ancestry from Iceland, Sweden and the US. The estimated odds ratio (OR) of the allele is 1.62 (P = 2.7 x 10(-11)). About 19% of affected men and 13% of the general population carry at least one copy, yielding a population attributable risk (PAR) of approximately 8%. The association was also replicated in an African American case-control group with a similar OR, in which 41% of affected individuals and 30% of the population are carriers. This leads to a greater estimated PAR (16%) that may contribute to higher incidence of prostate cancer in African American men than in men of European ancestry.

Spontaneous regression of pleural metastases after nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma--a histologically verified case with nine-year follow-up

Spontaneous regression of metastatic renal cell carcinoma is a rare but well documented event, most often involving pulmonary metastases. A case of spontaneous regression of histologically verified pleural metastases after nephrectomy is reported.

[Changes in treatment and cost of benign prostatic hyperplasia in Iceland.]

OBJECTIVE

During the last eight years there has been a dramatic change in the treatment of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Iceland. The number of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) has decreased while at the same time there has been a growing tendency to treat patients with a1-blockers and finasteride. The purpose of this study was to obtain statistical information regarding these changes and to estimate alterations in the cost of the BPH treatment. Possible changes in indications for TURP were also looked at.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Information on the number of patients who underwent surgery since 1984 was gathered from Icelandic hospitals. Information on the use and cost of medical treatment was obtained from the Icelandic Social Security. Medical records of 587 men who underwent surgery in the years 1988-1989 and 1998-1999 were reviewed.

RESULTS

Since 1992 the number of TURP operations per year has dropped from its peak of about 560 to around 270 in 1999. This is more than a 50% reduction in eight years. The number of patients being treated for BPH has multiplied since the introduction of drugs and the total cost of BPH treatment has doubled since 1984. There was a trend but not a significant change in indications for TURP when the two periods were compared.

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing number of Icelandic men with BPH are now recieving treatment although the number of TURP operations has decreased. The total cost of treatment has doubled since 1984, mainly attributed to the advent of medical treatment.

Maximal functional electrical stimulation in routine practice

Maximal functional electrical stimulation is now an established treatment for urgency and urge incontinence. Many studies have been presented with good and consistent results. In a number of prospective studies we have previously recorded very favourable effects in stress incontinence and urge incontinence. In the present study, we have compared our previous experience with a retrospective analysis of a series of maximal functional electrical stimulation given according to a simple routine protocol and including 84 patients. The overall subjective improvement rate was 54% but the cure rate was only 5%, which is far below our experience in previous studies, as well as in others. The subjective outcome was in agreement with changes in mictrurition variables as recorded in voiding diaries. The discrepancy probably depends on a number of factors. It is suggested that the most crucial ones are patient selection, the intensity of stimulation, and the number of sessions given. It is important to realize the limitations and pitfalls of the technique when it is applied in routine practice.

Population studies and validation of paternity determinations by six microsatellite loci

A single locus system of 6 microsatellite markers was evaluated for paternity testing. A nonradioactive method based on peroxidase labeling of a DNA probe was used to estimate the allele frequency of markers D1S216, D3S1217, D7S480, D9S157, D13S153, and D16S422 by genotyping 1134-1698 chromosomes. The number of detected alleles were 22, 15, 23, 10, 16, and 19, respectively, and the allele frequency varied from 0.001 to 0.317. The genotype of 87 families, consisting of mother, father, and child was determined. The probability that a random individual will give a positive paternity was evaluated. We conclude that the markers can be reliably typed and give sufficient and reliable information for paternity testing.

The bladder cooling reflex and the use of cooling as stimulus to the lower urinary tract

PURPOSE

We review the physiology of bladder cooling response in experimental animals and humans, and present its clinical usefulness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We describe experimental studies of the bladder cooling response, and more recent clinical retrospective and prospective studies of the bladder cooling test in adults and children.

RESULTS

Studies indicate the existence of a segmental spinal bladder cooling reflex that originates from specific cold receptors in the bladder and urethral walls supplied by unmyelinated C-afferents. The reflex is positive in neurologically normal infants and children until about age 4 years. It becomes negative with further maturation of the nervous system but may be unmasked by pathological processes that disturb the descending neuronal control of normal voiding. A positive test in a patient with an overactive bladder requires further neurourological evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

The bladder cooling response originates from cold receptors within the walls of the lower urinary tract. The cooling response represents a neonatal reflex that may be unmasked by central neuropathology, analogous to the appearance of the Basbinki sign in pyramidal tract lesions. The bladder cooling test is a simple and valuable tool to support the diagnosis of neurourological disorders.

Reflex interaction between the proximal urethra and the bladder. A clinical experimental study

OBJECTIVE

Animal experiments have shown that the bladder-cooling reflex is activated by cold stimulation of the bladder and urethra, causing a reflex bladder contraction. In this clinical experimental study, the bladder reflex responses to distension and cooling of the bladder neck and the proximal urethra were investigated.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twenty-one patients with overactive bladders and documented positive ice water tests were studied.

RESULTS

Three patients (14%) responded with reflex bladder contraction by urethral infusion of ice water only, and another 4 patients responded to urethral distension with both warm and cold water. In 4 patients, bladder contraction was induced by a catheter pulling on the bladder neck.

CONCLUSION

This study supports the existence of a cold-sensitive reflex system in the human urethra. However, in the experimental situation, both cold and tension-mediated reflexes were more difficult to evoke from the urethra than from the bladder.

[Epidemiology and medical complications in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries in Iceland.]

OBJECTIVE

To study the epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injuries in Iceland, that have caused wheelchair-bound disability. To evaluate the frequency of medical complications in this group of patients both during the acute- and rehabilitation-stage as well as after discharge. To study the present condition and problems related to the urinary tract 1-23 years after the injury.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Medical records of all wheelchair-bound traumatic spinal cord injured individuals in Iceland in 1973-1996 were reviewed and the frequency of various medical complications recorded. Long-term complications were assessed by personal interviews. Urodynamic investigations were performed and the present kidney morphology and function studied by various radiological methods.

RESULTS

The annual incidence of studied spinal cord injuries was 8:1,000,000. During the acute- and rehabilitation-stage the following complications were encountered; 14 patients (29%) got pressure sores, eight (17%) deep vein thrombosis, six (12%) pneumonia and five (10%) pulmonary embolism. In the follow-up after discharge and mean follow-up time of 14 years, 19 (54%) have had pressure sores, 16 (46%) have had one to four urinary tract infections each year, nine (26%) more than four. Nineteen patients (56%) complained of urinary incontinance and 18 (52%) had a history of urinary tract stones. One patient had lost a kidney due to reflux. Pathological findings were found in one third of patients who came for upper urinary tract image studies. Maximal detrusor pressure over 60 cmHbO was recorded in 12 (44%) patients and bladder capacity under 200 ml in seven (26%). Of those with injury above Th-6, 14 (58%) had experienced symptoms of autonomous dysreflexia, most commonly due to urinary tract infection or distended urinary bladder. Complications were more common among those who use reflex-voiding rather than intermittent catheterisation. One-third of the patients were either advised to change their way of bladder emptying or required pharmacological intervention according to results from urinary tract investigations.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of traumatic spinal cord injuries in Iceland, which have caused wheelchair-bound disability, is low and has decreased over the past 25 years. Acute and long-term medical complications are, however, common in these patients. A more efficient follow-up program is needed to optimize bladder treatment and to reduce urinary tract and other medical complications in this patient population.

Positive ice-water test: a predictor of neurological disease?

The urinary bladder is equipped with a reflex system including cold receptors of the bladder wall and having reflex pathways partly separate from the normal micturition reflex. The ice-water test involves cooling of the bladder wall with ice-cold saline solution. In the neurologically intact adult the test is negative. A positive test indicates overt or occult neuropathy. In this report, examples are given of patients presenting with bladder symptoms and a positive test but initially lacking signs of a neurological condition. During follow-up, various neurogenic diseases appeared. It is suggested that a positive ice-water test may represent a negative prognostic urodynamic sign along with a potential risk for neurogenic disease to come.

The ice-water test in the diagnosis of detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia

The ice-water test (IWT) implies rapid intravesical infusion of 100 ml of sterile ice-water during continuous pressure measurement and registration of fluid leakage. In a typical positive test, there is fluid leakage around the catheter(s) during the peak of detrusor contraction elicited by cold stimulation. Seventy-six patients, the majority with different forms of spinal disorders and a clinical and urodynamically suspected detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia, were subjected to cystometry, needle electromyography (EMG) and an ice-water test. Detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia was found in 44 (59%) patients and 41 of them had a positive IWT. A positive test with a high detrusor pressure indicates detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia whereas the contrary applies to the negative test. Eighteen patients who responded to cold stimulation with detrusor contraction but without fluid leakage, called positive non-leakage IWT, all presented detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia according to EMG. In this situation, the cheap, non-invasive and simple IWT can replace a needle EMG study.

Does anamnestic symptom evaluation or clinical examination give enough information to evaluate the severity of obstruction in benign prostatic hyperplasia?

In this study we have investigated 70 men fulfilling the usual criteria accepted for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). The anamnestic evaluation included the Madsen-Iversen symptom score and a quality of life questionnaire. The clinical examination included suprapubic pressure flow measurement, free urinary flow, the determination of residual urine and the ultrasound evaluation of the size of the prostate. The clinical data were correlated with the grade of obstruction according to Schäfer calculated from the pressure/flow studies. No correlation was found between the grade of obstruction and anamnestic symptom data, the size of the prostate or residual urine. A slight correlation was found between the Schäfer grade of obstruction and the flow curve pattern or peak flow.

Clinical and urodynamic effects of intravesical capsaicin treatment in patients with chronic traumatic spinal detrusor hyperreflexia

PURPOSE

We administered capsaicin, a neurotoxic substance causing a reversible suppression of C fiber afferent neuronal activity, in an attempt to decrease bladder hyperreflexia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Capsaicin solution (2 mM.) dissolved in 30% alcohol was instilled into the bladders of 10 men with traumatic chronic spinal lesions and left in place for 30 minutes. Effects on bladder function, including response to cold stimulation, were recorded during treatment, immediately after instillation and at followup.

RESULTS

Bladder function improved in all but 1 patient, which was expressed as an increase in cystometric capacity and/or a decrease in maximal detrusor pressure. The effects lasted for 2 to 7 months. Immediately after capsaicin administration the ice water test was negative in half of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The positive effects on bladder function of capsaicin treatment can be explained by the blocking of C fiber afferents. The optimum dose and treatment interval are presently not established. The ice water test might possibly be used as an instrument to monitor the ideal dosage.

Transurethral microwave thermotherapy versus transurethral resection for symptomatic benign prostatic obstruction: a prospective randomized study with a 2-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE

To compare the outcome of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) on symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with symptomatic BPH were treated by either TURP (32 patients; mean age 70 +/- 6 years) or TUMT (37 patients; mean age 67 +/- 9 years) and assessed using the Madsen-Iversen symptom score, measurements of urinary free flow rate and post-void residual urine volume, digital rectal examination, transrectal ultrasonography, cystometry and pressure-flow measurement, ultrasonography or intravenous pyelography (IVP) of the upper urinary tract, urine analysis and routine blood chemistry including serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Examinations were repeated at fixed intervals for up to 24 months after treatment.

RESULTS

After both TURP and TUMT there was an improvement in symptom score, residual urine volume, free flow rate and infravesical obstruction. The improvements of free flow rate and obstruction were more pronounced after TURP. Serious complications, such as bleeding requiring a re-operation, occurred only in patients who underwent TURP.

CONCLUSION

Satisfactory results were obtained after both treatments and the improvements with either treatment lasted for at least 24 months.

Toward a new classification of overactive bladders

Based on a large retrospective series, this study compares the International Continence Society's (ICS) classification of overactive bladders and a functional subtyping of our own, founded on clinical and urodynamic parameters. Functionally identical symptoms and urodynamic patterns were found within the Detrusor Hyperreflexia as well as the Unstable Detrusor categories. There are strong arguments for a revision of the current ICS classification system.

Pressure, volume and infusion speed criteria for the ice-water test

OBJECTIVE

To define pressure, volume and infusion speed criteria for the ice-water test (IWT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this prospective clinical study, cystometry and IWTs were performed in 115 patients.

RESULTS

The critical response for a positive IWT was found to be a peak detrusor pressure above 30 cm H2O, with or without fluid leakage. Neither the infusion speed nor the infused volume was critical for the outcome of the test provided that the bladder wall was sufficiently cooled.

CONCLUSION

The IWT is a rapid, simple and robust test, whose results are easy to interpret. The test increases the precision of urodynamic diagnosis, especially in patients with an overactive detrusor dysfunction, at a small cost.

Positive bladder cooling test in neurologically normal young children

The bladder cooling test, which consists of rapid infusion of 0 to 8C saline into the bladder with simultaneous pressure measurement, was performed in 50 neurologically intact infants and children 6 months to 13 years old. The patients were referred for urodynamic investigation because of various disorders of the lower urinary tract. A positive bladder cooling test was defined as a sustained reflex detrusor contraction of about the same magnitude as the micturition contraction. The test was positive during the first 4 years of life but typically negative in children older than 5 years. These findings indicate that a positive bladder cooling test is an infant reflex response that, with the maturation of the central nervous system, becomes suppressed by descending signals from higher centers.

Evidence of cold receptors in the human bladder: effect of menthol on the bladder cooling reflex

The effect of menthol on the human bladder cooling reflex was studied prospectively in a group of patients with a positive ice water test. Menthol has a selective potentiating action on cutaneous cold receptors and shifts the temperature response curve of the bladder cooling reflex towards higher temperatures in animal experiments. The substance had an almost identical effect on the human bladder, that is it caused a shift of the threshold temperature of the bladder cooling reflex towards a higher value in all tested patients. Thus, it can be concluded that the human bladder cooling reflex originates from cold receptors within the bladder wall.

The bladder cooling reflex in man--characteristics and sensitivity to temperature

The ice-water test is a simple supplementary urodynamic test that increases the precision of the diagnosis of overactive bladder subtypes. A similar bladder cooling reflex has recently been characterised in the cat and was found to originate from specific cold receptors in the bladder wall. In the present study, the threshold temperature of the human bladder cooling reflex was determined in patients with positive ice-water tests. Estimated threshold values were somewhat lower than those of the cat but still well above the temperatures required for cold stimulation of nociceptors. As in the cat, the strength of the cooling reflex varied inversely with the bladder temperature. These findings indicate that the human bladder cooling reflex is in principle organised in the same way as that of laboratory animals. The human bladder thus seems to be endowed with cold receptors with excitatory reflex connections to the detrusor.

The ice-water test--a simple and valuable supplement to routine cystometry

The results of cystometrograms and ice-water tests (IWTs) were retrospectively evaluated in 557 patients with overactive bladders, lower motor neuron lesions or pure stress incontinence. The IWT was considered positive when, following ice-water instillation, the fluid was expelled from the bladder within 1 min. The test was considered false negative when no fluid escaped despite a sustained detrusor contraction of the same magnitude as the micturition contraction. Ninety-seven percent of patients with complete and 91% of those with incomplete upper motor neuron lesions had a positive or a false negative IWT. About 75% of the patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or previous cerebrovascular accident had a positive IWT. All patients with lower motor neuron lesions or pure stress incontinence had a negative IWT. There was a significant correlation between a positive IWT and an abnormal sensation of bladder filling and inability to inhibit micturition voluntarily, as well as between a negative IWT and the occurrence of phasic detrusor contractions during cystometry. The study shows that the IWT is a sensitive test for differentiating upper from lower motor neuron lesions. It is also a useful parameter for functional subdivision of overactive bladders. In patients with voiding dysfunction in the absence of lower urinary tract inflammation, a positive test is an indicator of a silent or overt neurological disorder.

Subtypes of overactive bladder in old age

The prevalence of urinary incontinence increases dramatically with age and is mainly related to urge incontinence and bladder overactivity. It is a reasonable hypothesis that bladder overactivity primarily results from a disturbed central neuronal control of the lower urinary tract. Different sites and extents of neurogenic lesions or dysfunctions should result in different functional and urodynamic characteristics. We have recently identified three distinct urodynamic subtypes of bladder overactivity, and we report a retrospective study of the distribution of these subtypes in elderly patients. Eight hundred and fourteen patients aged 65 years or older with symptoms of urgency and/or urge incontinence underwent cystometry and the ice-water test. Two hundred and sixty-seven of them (33%) presented an overactive bladder. The prevalence of overactive bladder was constant up to the age of 65. A marked increase above this age was almost entirely ascribed to an increase of the so-called uninhibited overactive bladder subtype. This dysfunction occurred in 70% of the older patients. Patients with this condition have a coordinated reflex micturition at normal bladder volumes, but an abnormal perception of bladder fullness and lack of voluntary inhibitory control. This constellation of symptoms and signs indicates a suprapontine dysfunction.

Traditional acupuncture and electrical stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve. A trial in chronic interstitial cystitis

A prospective study on the symptomatic effect of traditional Chinese acupuncture treatment and transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) of the tibial nerve in patients with interstitial cystitis is presented. There was no difference in voiding frequency, mean voided volume, maximal voided volume or visual analogue scale symptom scores before or after treatment with either TENS or acupuncture. Only one patient became improved both subjectively and objectively after acupuncture for a short period of time. Even though the present material involves a small group of patients, it seems that the two methods, as applied in this study, have a very limited effect in patients with interstitial cystitis.

Transurethral microwave thermotherapy versus transurethral resection for benign prostatic hyperplasia: preliminary results of a randomized study

The results of transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) were compared in a prospective randomized study with those of transurethral resection (TURP) in patients with benign prostatic obstruction. In this preliminary report, 39 and 40 patients treated with TUMT and TURP, respectively, were followed between 2 and 12 months. Statistically significant improvements in symptom score, maximum flow rate, residual urine and maximum bladder capacity at cystometry were observed in both groups. The improvements were more pronounced in the TURP group, but major complications were more frequent in this group. Results are compared to other published studies.

Screening as a prognostic factor in cervical cancer: analysis of survival and prognostic factors based on Icelandic population data, 1964-1988

Survival rates were computed for 376 women diagnosed with carcinoma of the uterine cervix between 1964 and 1988. The 5-year survival rate for the entire group was 63%. The effect of age at diagnosis, clinical stage, histopathology, year of diagnosis, and screening program attendance was studied by univariate analysis and simultaneously with a multivariate analysis, the Cox proportional hazards model. All these parameters had a significant effect on survival, with clinical stage as the strongest parameter followed by histology, year of diagnosis, age at diagnosis, and attendance at screening. Women who had attended the cervical screening program fared significantly better than those who had never attended. Patients treated in the late years of the study period had a significantly better survival rate, possibly indicating improved treatment. Young women had a significantly better prognosis than older women. Women with adenocarcinoma and anaplastic tumors had a significantly worse prognosis than women with squamous and adenosquamous carcinoma. The prognostic effect of screening was mainly attributed to the more favorable distribution of early stages and younger age at diagnosis among the screened women. After all the analyzed parameters had been adjusted for the nonattenders still had poorer prognosis.

Familial breast cancer in Iceland

Women who have relatives known to have had breast cancer are at an increased risk of getting the disease compared with the general population. On the basis of an extensive collection of family trees of women with breast cancer, the magnitude of this increase in risk is computed. Previously published results on other breast cancer risk factors are drawn upon and it has been possible to take account of some of these e.g., age, decade of birth, age at first childbirth and parity in the risk estimates. The relative risk with such adjustment is found to be 2.59 for mothers and 2.56 for sisters.

Tumours in Iceland. 5. Malignant tumours of the cervix uteri. Histological types, clinical stages and the effect of mass screening

The histological material from patients with invasive cervical carcinoma diagnosed in Iceland during the period 1955-1974 was reviewed and retyped in accordance with the WHO classification of tumours. Out of 314 malignant epithelial tumours 86.0 per cent were squamous carcinomas (subtypes: 6% microcarcinomas, 30% keratinizing, 45% non keratinizing and 5% small cell carcinomas), 9.0 per cent adenosquamous carcinoma, 3.5% adenocarcinoma and 1.5 per cent undifferentiated carcinoma. A mass screening for uterine cancer in the population, ages 25-59, led to an increased incidence of cervical carcinoma, due to the finding of early tumours (clinical stages IA and IB). The increase was most marked in the first five years of screening (1965-69). The screening did not increase the incidence of the more advanced stages and a longer observation will be needed to determine whether a decline will occur in such tumours. All the major histological types of cervical carcinoma appear to progress at the same rate through the clinical stages, from the early to the far advanced.

Screening for cancer of the uterine cervix in Iceland 1965--1978

The trends in the mortality and morbidity from cervical cancer in Iceland for the period 1965--1978 are examined in relation to the screening programme that began in 1964. By 1970 over 80% of the female population under the age of 65 had been screened at least once, and by 1977 over 65% of women under the age of 75 had been screened at least twice. Mortality fell by 60% between 1959--1970 and 1975--1978, with a corresponding fall in the incidence of advanced tumors. The mortality rates among the unscreened population are more than ten-fold greater than among the screened. The greater part of the fall in mortality is attributed to the mass screening programme.

The effect of mass screening in Iceland, 1965-74, on the incidence and mortality of cervical carcinoma

A clinic for early detection of cancer of the uterine cervix has been in operation in Iceland since 1964, aimed until recently at the age-group 25-59. More than 85% of women in this age group have been screened at least once. Mortality from cancer of the cervix had been rising in Iceland, and continued to rise during the first few years of operation of the screening clinic. Since 1970, however, a more than two-fold reduction in mortality has been observed among women aged 25-59. There has been a similar decrease in incidence of tumours of stages II, III and IV. Both deaths and advanced tumours are largely confined to women who have never been screened. Alternative explanations are considered, but the only tenable explanation of the reduction in mortality is that it is a consequence of the introduction of a comprehensive screening programme.

Epithelial repair and regeneration in the uterine cervix. I. An analysis of the cells

Cell studies from 1,376 patients with abnormal cells derived from so-called tissue repair or regeneration comprised the basis for this study. Planimetric measurements were performed on camera lucida tractings of 1,573 atypical reparative cells (ARC). A total of 3,377 ARC were anlyzed with respect to cytoplasmic and nuclear features. On the basis of these analyses, ARC were subclassified into three types. In most instances, the morphologic type corresponded with the cervical epithelium of origin. The differential morphologic features of ARC were compared with the morphologic features of endocervidal adenocarcinoma and large cell nonkeratininzing squamous cell carcinoma. The biologic potential and clinical significance of ARC is to be the subject of a subsequent report.