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Epitope-defined tumor markers of AFP (FA), HCG (PM), PLAP (H7) and CEA (D/AH) were determined by monoclonal antibodies in sera of patients with germ cell tumors of the testis. Characteristic profiles of PLAP (H7) were seen in localized and metastatic seminoma and in sera of patients with mixed tumors with seminoma components. PLAP (H7) levels started to rise 10 months before clinical detection of recurrence in one case. Persisting elevated levels of PLAP (H7) in several cases were indicative of metastafic seminoma. PLAP (H7) occurred rarely in sera of patients with metastasing non-seminomatous tumors. AFP (FA) detected in seminoma sera led to identification of non-seminomatous disease in one case. High AFP (FA) alone occurred in yolk sac tumors, HCG (PM) with AFP (FA) or PLAP (H7) in patients where the tumors had components of teratoma and/orembryonal carcinoma, moderately elevated levels of AFP (FA) and sometimes also HCG (PM) occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sensitive and specific method involving high-performance liquid chromatography, urinary levels of four modified nucleosides - pseudouridine (Ψ), 1-methylinosine (mI), 1-methyladenosine (mA), and 1-methylguanosine (mG)-were investigated before and after treatment in 31 patients with cancer of the urinary organs or the female genital tract. Before treatment mI was the most frequently elevated nucleoside (77%). Pretreatment urinary levels of Ψ, mI, and mA in patients with stage 2-4 cancer of the female genital tract were significantly elevated compared to human healthy volunteers ( p<0.005). Compared with the other nucleosides, Ψ appeared to correlate more closely with the clinical outcome (progression or regression) of patients with cancer of the female genital tract. In the case of patients with cancer of the urinary organs, mI followed the clinical outcome better than the other nucleosides measured. Therefore Ψ and mI seem to be useful for monitoring genito-urinary cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tranexamic acid is a potent antifibrinolytic drug frequently used in the treatment of haematuria and a number of other haemorrhagic conditions. Since it is eliminated mainly in the urine, the drug accumulates in patients with uraemia. The excretion of tranexamic acid in patients with renal failure has been investigated and dosage recommendations are given for tranexamic acid therapy in cases of renal failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral nephrectomy was performed in 6 dogs. During the first 2 days after the operation the serum calcium level remained normal, but there were significantly increases of scrum phosphorus, creatinine and BUN. Light and electron microscope evidence of parathyroid hypertrophy and hyperplasia were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moderate renal failure was produced in 10 dogs by heminephrectomy on one side and contralateral nephrectomy. Hypercalcaemia and hyperphosphataemia developed in all the animals, and there was volumetric, light microscope and ultrastructural evidence of hyperparathyroidism. The hyperplastic parathyroid glands mainly consisted of chief cells with features of great functional activity. The results show that secondary hyperparathyroidism may develop in the absence of hypocalcaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tissue concentrations of a modified nucleoside, pseudouridine, and a normal nucleoside, uridine, were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. Human kidneys were obtained from five patients with renal cell carcinoma and divided into a noncancerous part and a cancerous part. The pseudouridine concentration in the cancerous part of the kidneys ranged between<2-2.8 nmoles/g and in the noncancerous part 4.3-19.4 nmoles/g (mean 10,9 nmoles/g). The uridine concentration in the cancerous and noncancerous parts of the kidney ranged between 19.6-179.1 nmoles/g (mean 110.7 nmoles/g) and 117.5-235.6 nmoles/g (mean 191.5 nmoles/g), respectively. The pseudouridine concentration appeared to be approximately seven times higher in the noncancerous part as compared to the cancerous part of the kidney. In the case of uridine, the difference was less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty to 75% of strictures recur within 2 years of urethrotomy and the essential problem remains how to prevent the edges of the cut stricture from adhering to each other and the scar from shrinking. To solve this problem different kinds of urethral stents have been used. Recently a new bioabsorbable self-expanding urethral stent was developed by our group. The core consists of self-reinforced (SR) poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and the coating is made of an amorphous copolymer of caprolactone and D,L-lactic acid [P(epsilon-CL/ D,L-LA)]. The aim of our present study was to test the cytotoxicity of the new material used to coat the SR-PLLA urethral stent utilizing the thymidine incorporation method (DNA synthesis inhibition test). The new materials showed no acute toxicity and can be regarded as biocompatible in medical devices.

Three human bladder carcinoma cell lines, T 24, RT 4, and MANO, a human bladder nonmalignant epithelial cell line, HCV-29, and a human lung fibroblast line, 460 H1, were investigated for their ability to induce fibrinolytic, urokinase and plasmin inhibitory activities in cell culture, using serum-free medium, for up to 36 h. Generally, the non-malignant cell line and the fibroblast line had a greater ability to produce urokinase inhibitor than did the malignant cell lines. The amount produced varied greatly between cells and over the study period. A low concentration of plasminogen activator, immunologically identical with urokinase, and its accumulation in culture supernate were found with RT 4 after 12 h and 24 h cultivations, whereas no plasminogen activator was detected in all other cell lines for periods up to 36 h. No plasmin, non-specific protease or plasmin inhibitory activities were detected in any of the supernates from the cell lines.

The influence of decreased urinary fibrinolysis on renal stone formation was studied in rats fed on a calculus producing diet. The alteration in the isolated glomerular fibrinolytic activity indicating the amount of urokinase produced has also been investigated using a histochemical fibrin slide technique. The glomerular fibrinolytic activity was significantly enhanced by both tranexamic acid and the dietary treatment. The induced antifibrinolysis resulted in a significantly higher incidence of grossly visible calculi in the renal pelvis and in calcified deposits along the cortico-medullary border of the kidney. The results support the concept that a decline in urinary fibrinolytic activity can lead to the formation of renal stones.