The TMx-2000 can create temperatures >45 degrees C in areas 3 to 4 mm from the antenna. However, the heat pattern and protocol of the TMx-2000 produce necrosis-generating conditions only within a few millimeters of the urethra.

Gadolinium-enhanced MRI demonstrates new vascular defects representing necrosis caused by TUNA of the prostate. This therapy for BPH produces necrotic lesions that can be placed strategically by the surgeon. The standard protocol produces lesions that coalesce to create larger lesions. This MRI study has characterized, for the first time, the heating pattern and intraprostatic necrosis of a complete TUNA procedure.

Transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) is an accepted and effective therapy for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). ProstivaTM (Medtronic, Shoreview, MN) is the newest-generation device, which includes a new needle design and radio frequency (RF) generator. This device creates temperatures of 120°C and necrotic lesions in less than 2.5 min. Using previously described techniques, we analyzed dynamic, gadolinium-enhanced MRIs to characterize the ablative properties of the new ProstivaTM RF device.Ten men with LUTS due to BPH were treated with the standard ProstivaTM manufacturer–recommended protocol. The bladder neck and lateral lobes received treatment based on prostate volume and prostatic urethral length. Gadolinium-enhanced MRI sequences were obtained prior to and 1 week post-treatment. Analyze® software (Mayo Clinic Biomedical Imaging Resource, Rochester, MN) was used to evaluate MRIs. New gadolinium defects were seen in all patients following ProstivaTM treatments. All lesions coalesced within the prostate. No defects were seen beyond the prostate, and the urethra was spared in all patients. The mean volume of necrosis was 7.56 cc, representing a mean of 11.28% of total prostate volume.Dynamic, gadolinium-enhanced MRIs demonstrate new vascular defects representing necrosis caused by ProstivaTM RF therapy of the prostate. The standard ProstivaTM RF protocol produces lesions that coalesce to create larger lesions in the bladder neck and lateral lobes. Compared to the TUNA® Precision PlusTM device, the ablative lesions appear comparable while produced with a shorter burn time.

Within the past 50 years, several mummies have been found in the Andean region of South America at altitudes between 5.200 and 6.700 meters above sea level.All of these human remains belong to the Inca civilization and date from approximately 1.475 A.D. to 1.540 A.D. (Horne, 1996). In 1954 the first of these corpses, a well preserved freeze dried body of an eight-to-nine-year-old Inca prince (Fig. 1),was discovered at 5.400 meters on Cerro El Plomo, a mountain peak some 45 km. east of Santiago, and described the presence of Papilloma virus in two verrucae on one of the child’s hand (Horne & Quevedo, 1984). In this paper we present the results of recent radiological (computerized imaging), molecular and chemical investigations.

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