In a review of 1057 consecutive prostatectomies of which 95% were performed transurethrally, carcinoma was present in 11.8%. There were 10 deaths within a month of operation (0.9%), 9 of these patients having been exceptionally old and unfit. The rate of complications and the end results appear to justify using transurethral resection as the method of choice for prostatectomy whenever it is feasible.

Objective To investigate the effect of superoxide dismutase (SOD, the enzyme that accelerates the breakdown of the superoxide anion, O 2 ± to H 2 O) on nitric oxide (NO)-mediated and electrical ®eld stimulated (EFS) relaxation in diabetic rabbit cavernosal smooth muscle. Materials and methods Diabetes was induced with alloxan (65 mg/kg) in six adult New Zealand White rabbits. After 6 months, cavernosal smooth muscle strips from age-matched controls and diabetic animals were mounted in organ baths. After precontraction with phenylephrine (10 mmol/L) in the presence of atropine (1 mmol/L), guanethidine (5 mmol/L) and indomethacin (10 mmol/L), relaxation responses to EFS (1±20 Hz), carbachol (10 x8 x10 x4 mol/L) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 10 x9 x10 x4 mol/L) were assessed in the presence and absence of SOD (100 IU/ mL). Results SNP-and carbachol-mediated (endotheliumindependent and -dependent, respectively) relaxations were impaired in the diabetic cavernosal smooth muscle strips compared with controls (concentration required for 50% inhibition, 1.4 mmol/L for diabetic and 0.75 mmol/L for control with SNP, and 44 mmol/L for diabetic and 0.4 mmol/L for control with carbachol). SOD signi®cantly enhanced both SNP-and carbachol-mediated diabetic cavernosal smooth muscle relaxations (both P<0.05). EFS-mediated relaxations were also signi®cantly (P<0.05) impaired in the diabetic cavernosal smooth muscle strips; these relaxations were also signi®cantly (P<0.05) enhanced by SOD. Conclusion NO-and EFS-mediated cavernosal smooth muscle relaxation is impaired in a rabbit model of diabetes but SOD signi®cantly reversed the impaired relaxation. Therefore, in diabetes, the generation of reactive oxygen species may play an important role in the development of erectile dysfunction.

Previous reports have shown that Her-2/neu oncogene expression in human breast cancer and ovarian cancer may be associated with poorer prognosis. We report the expression of Her-2/neu on fresh samples of known prostatic adenocarcinoma but not on those of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Using a monoclonal antibody (TA1) directed against human Her-2/neu oncogene product and an immunohistochemical staining method, no Her-2/neu expression was noted with benign prostatic hypertrophy (15 samples). With prostatic adenocarcinoma samples, a subset (9 of 25) showed overexpression of Her-2/neu. Such overexpression is correlated with higher histological grade, higher stage of disease, and high S phase and aneuploidy on flow cytometric analysis. These findings suggest that Her-2/neu may be a prognostic marker in prostate cancer as well.

No abstract