Our studies form a rational basis for the use of PSA peptides or recombinant vectors encoding PSA in the development of anticancer vaccine immunotherapy protocols for patients with prostate cancer.

Treatment with tolterodine ER in men with BPH and LUTS may be a reasonable therapeutic option as initial therapy or after failed treatment with alpha-blockers.

No abstract

TUMT is a safe and effective therapy for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to BPH. In addition, there are distinct advantages to each of the devices. However, intense marketing and hyperbole have dominated this segment of the BPH market. Ultimately, the most effective TUMT device can only be determined by direct comparison studies.

Four randomised, placebo-controlled trials have previously documented the clinical benefits of azithromycin (AZM) in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The present study examined whether the beneficial effect of AZM is equivalent when administered daily or weekly.A double-blind, randomised study was carried out in 208 CF patients aged 6-58 yrs who were assigned to AZM either 250 mg daily (n5103) or 1,200 mg weekly (n5105) for 6 months, with assessments at baseline and at 1, 3, 6 and 7 months. Patients were taken from five adult and children CF centres in South-east Queensland, Australia.Equivalence was demonstrated between the two groups (daily versus weekly) with respect to improvements in lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity), C-reactive protein, days spent in hospital, admission rates and nutrition (body mass index, zscores) using 95% confidence intervals with a tolerance interval of ¡10%.In patients aged ,18 yrs the daily group had significantly better improvements in z-scores for height and weight after 6 months. In children, a nutritional advantage for daily administration was found. Gastro-intestinal adverse effects were more common with weekly therapy. Apart from these findings, daily and weekly administered azithromycin demonstrated similar outcomes for cystic fibrosis patients.

The aim of this study was to determine whether a selective, physiologically relevant increase in blood-borne insulin perfusing the brain has an impact on the counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia. Experiments were carried out on 12 conscious 18-h-fasted dogs. Insulin was infused (1 mU x kg(-1) x min(-1)) in separate, randomized studies into a peripheral vein (n = 6) or both carotid and vertebral arteries (n = 6). This resulted in equivalent systemic insulinemia (38 +/- 2 vs. 35 +/- 5 microU/ml) but differing head insulin levels (38 +/- 2 microU/ml during peripheral infusion and an estimated 90 microU/ml during head insulin infusion). Glucose was infused during peripheral insulin infusion to equate the level of hypoglycemia (58 +/- 2 mg/dl) to that obtained during head insulin infusion (57 +/- 2 mg/dl). Despite equivalent peripheral insulin levels and hypoglycemia, incremental area under the curve responses for epinephrine, glucagon and cortisol were increased during head insulin infusion (P< 0.05). Net hepatic glucose output, gluconeogenesis, and lipolysis were increased 50-100% (P < 0.05) during head compared with peripheral insulin infusion. We conclude that during hypoglycemia in the conscious dog 1) physiologically relevant increases of blood-borne insulin to the head can amplify neuroendocrine and metabolic counterregulatory responses and 2) glucagon secretion can be regulated, in part, by neural efferent activity.

Treatment with tolterodine ER in men with BPH and LUTS may be a reasonable therapeutic option as initial therapy or after failed treatment with alpha-blockers.

. Involvement of the vagus nerves in the regulation of basal hepatic glucose production in conscious dogs. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 283: E958-E964, 2002; 10.1152/ajpendo.00566. 2001.-We determined if blocking transmission in the fibers of the vagus nerves would affect basal hepatic glucose metabolism in the 18-h-fasted conscious dog. A pancreatic clamp (somatostatin, basal portal insulin, and glucagon) was employed. A 40-min control period was followed by a 90-min test period. In one group, stainless steel cooling coils (Sham, n ϭ 5) were perfused with a 37°C solution, while in the other (Cool, n ϭ 6), the coils were perfused with Ϫ20°C solution. Vagal blockade was verified by heart rate change (80 Ϯ 9 to 84 Ϯ 14 beats/min in Sham; 98 Ϯ 12 to 193 Ϯ 22 beats/min in Cool). The arterial glucose level was kept euglycemic by glucose infusion. No change in tracer-determined glucose production occurred in Sham, whereas in Cool it dropped significantly (2.4 Ϯ 0.4 to 1.9 Ϯ 0.4 mg ⅐ kg Ϫ1 ⅐ min Ϫ1 ). Net hepatic glucose output did not change in Sham but decreased from 1.9 Ϯ 0.3 to 1.3 Ϯ 0.3 mg ⅐ kg Ϫ1 ⅐ min Ϫ1 in the Cool group. Hepatic gluconeogenesis did not change in either group. These data suggest that vagal blockade acutely modulates hepatic glucose production by inhibiting glycogenolysis. vagal cooling; liver nerves; parasympathetic blockade; gluconeogenesis; glycogenolysis THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM is involved in the regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism. It has been demonstrated, for example, that electrical stimulation of the vagus nerves induces activation of the liver enzyme glycogen synthase, which in turn increases glycogen synthesis and reduces glucose output (19). Conversely, electrical stimulation of the splanchnic nerve induces activation of the liver enzyme glycogen phosphorylase, which in turn increases glycogenolysis and glucose output (20). Taken together, these data have been interpreted to suggest that activation of the parasympathetic nervous system promotes glucose uptake and hepatic glycogen deposition while activation of the sympathetic nervous system promotes glycogenolysis and glucose output.It is also known that glucosensors within the hepatoportal region have the ability to sense glucose and inform the brain of its concentration via afferent fibers traveling, at least in part, along the hepatic vagus nerves (16). It has been hypothesized that the brain uses this information to minimize fluctuations in the plasma glucose level after feeding (18). The efferent responses of this feedback loop involve the pancreas, adrenal glands, adipocytes, skeletal muscles, and the liver (2). Although it is known that the autonomic nervous system is vital to the regulation of glucose metabolism in times of stress, evidence is accumulating to support a role for it in the postprandial state. Nevertheless, its role in regulating hepatic glucose metabolism after an overnight fast is not clear.Our aim, therefore, was to cool the vagus nerves, in the presence of a pancreatic clamp, to study the involve...