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Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the existence of erectile dysfunction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in which the other possible causes of erectile dysfunction were eliminated. Material and Methods:The study group consisted of 24 patients diagnosed as OSAS with polysomnographic evaluation, and 15 non-apneic controls (mean age; 41.0±8.8 and 42.3±7.9 year respectively) whose comorbidities which might be associated with erectile dysfunction were excluded. Daytime sleepiness was evaluated by Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and measurement of erectile function was performed by International Index of Erectile Function.Results: The rate of erectile dysfunction in OSAS and control groups were 54.2% and 33.3% respectively (p=0.204). The difference between mean erectile function scores of patient and control groups was non-significant (26.1±4.5 and 26.3±4.3 respectively, p=0.900). There was no correlation between erectile function scores and apnea hypnoea index (r=-0.140; p=0.395). Conclusion:Findings obtained from this study suggest that the high incidence of erectile dysfunction reported in OSAS patients seems to be related with concomitant comorbidities such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and neuroendocrine disorders rather than sleep apnea.

PurposeEven though hypospadias is one of the most common congenital anomalies, the cause of hypospadias is largely unknown. With regard to molecular biology and microarray technology, it appears that hypospadias is potentially related to disrupted gene expression. Genomic analysis of hypospadiac tissue indicated a potential role for activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) in the development of this anomaly. This study prospectively examined the expression of ATF3 in tissues from 20 children with hypospadias compared with 26 normal penile skin tissue samples from elective circumcision.Materials and MethodsPrepucial tissue was obtained from children who underwent repair of hypospadias for comparison with tissue samples from children who underwent elective circumcision. Skin specimens were evaluated for the expression of ATF3 protein by immunohistochemical staining.ResultsImmunohistochemical staining for ATF3 in samples from children who underwent repair of hypospadias was significantly greater than in samples from children who underwent elective circumcision (80% vs. 11%, respectively; p<0.05).ConclusionsOur results indicate that ATF3 is up-regulated in the penile skin tissue of boys with hypospadias, which suggests a role for this transcription factor in the development of this abnormality.

Serum total prostat spesifik antijen (PSA) keşfedildiğinden beri prostat kanserinin (PCa) taramasında yaygın olarak kullanılan çok önemli bir belirteç olmaya devam etmektedir. [1,2] PSA seviyesi, PCa'ya spesifik olmayıp ek olarak benign prostat hiperplazisi (BPH) ve akut veya kronik prostatit gibi benign durumlar ile üretral enstrümantasyon ve ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Inflammation is one of the most common histological evidence when prostate biopsy specimens of patients presenting with high PSA (Prostatespecific antigen) levels are examined, but little is known about its effect on PSA levels. This study was conducted to evaluate whether C-reactive protein (CRP) and sterile pyuria has clinical significance in histologically-detected asymptomatic prostatitis cases. MATERIAL and METHODS: In this article, the data were obtained by a crosssectional and prospective clinical study. One hundred eleven consecutive patients without clinical prostatitis had normal digital rectal examination findings, PSA levels ranging from 3 to 20 ng/mL, and sterile urine culture results. All of them underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided 12-core prostatic biopsy. Preoperatively, patients who had urinary leukocyte count 3 or less than 3/high power field (h.p.f) were classified as non-pyuria, while those with urinary leukocyte count more than 3/high power field (h.p.f) were classified as pyuria. The serum CRP level was also used to categorize patients before the biopsy. The subgroups were compared regarding a number of clinical variables. RESULTS: Histological examination revealed inflammation in 69% of pyuria patients and 38.9% of non-pyuria patients. Histologically-detected inflammation rate was significantly different in the groups (p=0.008). The pyuria group exhibited significantly higher total PSA levels compared to the non-pyuria group (p=0.041), as well as significantly higher serum CRP levels (p=0.001). CRP positive and negative groups were similar regarding clinical variables and histologically-detected inflammation rates. CONCLUSION: It has been shown that prostatic inflammation can be detected more reliably with urinary leukocyte count rather than serum CRP. Patients with pyuria exhibited high levels of serum PSA. Sterile pyuria should be kept in mind as a cause of elevated PSA in patients without clinical prostatitis findings. Urinary leukocyte count should be incorporated in routine urological evaluation thanks to its simplicity, convenience, and non-invasiveness.

Objectives: Although cancer is believed to develop and progress with the involvement of inflammation, it is still unclear what the correlation between inflammation and prostate cancer is. This study based on results of transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies aimed to determine whether C-reactive protein (CRP) and sterile pyuria were clinically useful in the evaluation of patients with suspect of prostate cancer. Materials and methods: This study is a cross-sectional prospective study of patients without clinical prostatitis symptoms. Characteristics of the 200 consecutive patients recruited were 3-20 ng/mL value of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), normal digital rectal examination finding, and sterile urine culture result. All patients underwent 12-core prostatic biopsy. 163 of the 200 patients had benign prostatic hyperplasia confirmed through histology, while the residual 37 patients had prostate cancer. Patients with pre-treatment urinary leukocyte count ≤ 3/high power field were categorized as non-pyuria, whilst those with pre-treatment urinary leukocyte count > 3/high power field were categorized as pyuria. The serum CRP level was also used to differentiate patients before the biopsy. Subgroups were compared regarding a number of clinical variables. Results: Histology revealed that 70% of pyuria patients and 38.5% of non-pyuria patients presented inflammation (p = 0.001). The pyuria group exhibited significantly higher total PSA compared to the non-pyuria group (p = 0.044). The two groups did not differ significantly regarding cancer detection rate (p = 0.752). CRP groups were similar regarding cancer detection and histologically-detected inflammation rates. Conclusion: In patients with no evidence of clinical prostatitis, sterile pyuria should be considered as a cause of increased PSA. Although sterile pyuria cannot predict non-palpable prostate cancer, it should be taken into account in urological evaluation in order to demonstrate minute prostatic inflammation due to its simplicity, convenience and non-invasiveness.