This meta-analysis was performed to assess sexual functions following adult male circumcision. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PUBMED, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review and Web of Science from their inception until January 2013 to identify all eligible studies that reported on men's sexual function after circumcision. The Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.2 software was employed for data analysis, and the fixed or the random effect model was selected depending on the proportion of heterogeneity. We identified 10 studies, which described a total of 9317 circumcised and 9423 uncircumcised men who were evaluated for the association of circumcision with male sexual function. There were no significant differences in sexual desire (odds ratio (OR): 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92-1.06), dyspareunia (OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 0.52-2.44), premature ejaculation (OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.83-1.54), ejaculation latency time (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 0.69-1.97), erectile dysfunctions (OR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.65-1.25) and orgasm difficulties (OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.83-1.13). These findings suggest that circumcision is unlikely to adversely affect male sexual functions. However, these results should be evaluated in light of the low quality of the existing evidence and the significant heterogeneity across the various studies. Well-designed and prospective studies are required for a further understanding of this topic.
These data revealed that different integrins have different roles in the contractility and proliferation of human bladder smooth muscle cells under physiological stretch. This suggests that different integrins may become specific therapeutic targets in patients with voiding dysfunction. They may also be used to design a specific microenvironment for optimal bladder tissue regeneration.
Although lots of strategies are available, still, we do not have a suitable, single optimum solution for all the conditions. The clinical decision of stricture-recurrence-prevention techniques should be carefully tailored to every individual patient. As the studies are not sufficient, more efforts are warranted to address this interesting but challenging issue.
It is well known that specific mechanical stimuli induce positive changes in the physiological function and status of a number of cell types. However, an in‑depth understanding of the application of mechanical forces has yet to be developed. The aim of the present study was to explore the optimal elongation and frequency of stretch‑induced proliferation of human bladder smooth muscle cells (HBSMCs) and to investigate the mechanism involved in this process. HBSMCs were seeded in a silicone membrane and subjected to cyclic stretch of 2.5, 5, 10 and 15% equibiaxial elongation at frequencies of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 Hz, respectively. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) assays were used to detect the proliferative activity of each group. To further determine the mechanism of the cell proliferation process triggered by physiological cyclic stretch, the expression of PI3K/SGK1/Akt/Kv1.3 was investigated at the transcriptional and translational levels by RT‑PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. Optimal physiological stretch was established as 5% elongation at a frequency of 0.1 Hz, whereby HBSMCs revealed a marked increase in proliferative activity compared with the other groups, including the non‑stretched group, which served as the control (P<0.05). The expression of PI3K/SGK1/Kv1.3; however, not Akt, were upregulated by cyclic stretch as compared with the control group. When separately treated with inhibitors of SGK1 and Kv1.3, increased stretch‑induced proliferation was largely eliminated. These results markedly indicate that cyclic stretch induces the proliferation of HBSMCs and the PI3K‑SGK1‑Kv1.3 pathway is involved in this process, either fully or at least partially, rather than its related pathway, PI3K‑Akt.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.