Purpose To provide uniform terminology and definition of post-herniorrhaphy groin chronic pain. To give guidelines to the scientific community concerning the prevention and the treatment of chronic groin and testicular pain. Methods A group of nine experts in hernia surgery was created in 2007. The group set up six clinical questions and continued to work on the answers, according to evidencebased literature. In 2008, an International Consensus Conference was held in Rome with the working group, with an audience of 200 participants, with a view to reaching a consensus for each question.

Cancer cachexia is characterized by skeletal muscle wasting that is mainly supported by hypercatabolism. Muscle atrophy has been suggested to depend on impaired IGF-1 signal transduction pathway. The present study has been aimed at investigating the IGF-1 system in rats bearing the AH-130 hepatoma, a well-characterized model of cachexia. IGF-1 mRNA expression in the gastrocnemius of tumor hosts progressively decreases to ϳ50% of controls. By contrast, both IGF-1 receptor and insulin receptor mRNA levels increase in day 7 AH-130 hosts. IGF-1 and insulin circulating levels, as well as IGF-1 expression in the liver, are reduced. Muscle wasting in the AH-130 bearers is associated with hyperactivation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Consistently, the mRNA levels of ubiquitin and of the ubiquitin ligases atrogin-1 and MuRF1 are significantly increased in the gastrocnemius of day 7 AH-130 hosts. Exogenous IGF-1 administered to tumor bearers does not prevent cachexia. IGF-1 mRNA levels also have been evaluated in the gastrocnemius of AH-130 hosts treated with pentoxifylline, an inhibitor of TNF-␣ synthesis, alone or combined with formoterol, a ␤2-adrenergic agonist. Both treatments partially correct muscle atrophy without modifying IGF-1 and atrogin-1 mRNA levels, whereas MuRF1 hyperexpression is reduced by the combination of pentoxifylline with formoterol. These results demonstrate for the first time that the IGF-1 system is downregulated in cancer cachexia, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Moreover, no simple relation linking IGF-1 and/or atrogin-1 mRNA levels and muscle atrophy could be observed in these experimental conditions. Further studies are thus needed to clarify both issues.

These observations suggest that myostatin pathway should be regarded as a potential therapeutic target in cancer cachexia.

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In functional bowel disorders short-term sacral nerve stimulation seems to be a useful diagnostic tool to assess patients for a minor invasive therapy alternative to conventional surgical procedure.