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INTRODUCTION: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with various comorbidities and an early diagnosis and treatment is necessary to avoid the development of these comorbidities. Unfortunately, there is no biochemical marker that can be used for early diagnosis of ED. Nitric oxide (NO) is released by nerve and endothelial cells in the corpora cavernosa of the penis and is believed to be the main vasoactive chemical mediator of penile erection. Adropin is a regulatory peptide which has effects on NO bioavailability and energy homeostasis. We hypothesized that adropin may contribute to the pathogenesis of ED because of the presence of both metabolic effects and the influence on NO bioavailability. To confirm this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship between ED and serum adropin and NO levels. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-five ED patients were enrolled for this study and the patients were divided into two groups according to angiographic scoring. Serum NO and adropin levels were measured by the Griess reaction and ELISA method, respectively. RESULTS: Serum adropin and NO levels were found to be lower in the group which has higher angiographic score and the difference in NO was statistically significant. Also, adropin has a significant correlation between IIEF scores in ED patients. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in the literature investigating the levels of adropin in ED patients having coronary artery disease. The adropin molecule shows a promising future in clarifying the etiopathogenesis of ED. More comprehensive and multicenter studies are needed to reveal the role of adropin in ED and the effects of treatment on this molecule.
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INTRODUCTION: Transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) guided prostate needle biopsy has been performed to diagnose and stage prostate cancer for many years. There are many different bowel preparation protocols to diminish the infectious complications, but there is no standardized consensus among urologists. Therefore, we aimed to assess two different bowel preparation methods on the rate of infectious complications in patients who underwent TRUS-guided prostate biopsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 387 cases of TRUS-guided prostate biopsy were included in this retrospective study. All patients received antibiotic prophylaxis with ciprofloxacin (500 mg) twice a day orally for 7 days starting on the day before the biopsy. The patients were divided into two groups according to the bowel preparation method used. Patients (Group 1, n = 164) only received self-administrated phosphate enema) on the morning of the prostate biopsy. Other patients (Group 2, n = 223) received sennasoid a-b laxatives the night before the prostate biopsy. Infectious complications were classified as sepsis, fever (greater than 38°C) without sepsis, and other clinical infections. RESULTS: Major complications developed in 14 cases (3.8%), including 3 cases (0.8%) of urinary retention, and 11 (3%) infectious complications, all of which were sepsis. There were 3 and 8 cases of urosepsis in Group 1 and Group 2, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between both Groups regarding to the rates of urosepsis (p = 0.358). CONCLUSIONS: Despite both methods of bowel preparation, sodium phosphate enema or sennasoid a-b calcium laxatives, before TRUS-guided prostate biopsy have similar effect on the rate of urosepsis, so both methods of bowel preparation can be safely used.