Colonoscopy screening and colonoscopic polypectomy can decrease the incidence and mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC). The adenoma detection rate and accuracy of diagnosis of colorectal polyp which vary in different experienced endoscopists have impact on the colonoscopy protection effect of CRC. The work proposed a colorectal polyp image detection and classification system through grayscale images and deep learning. The system collected the data of CVC-Clinic and 1000 colorectal polyp images of Linkou Chang Gung Medical Hospital. The red-green-blue (RGB) images were transformed to 0 to 255 grayscale images. Polyp detection and classification were performed by convolutional neural network (CNN) model. Data for polyp detection was divided into five groups and tested by 5-fold validation. The accuracy of polyp detection was 95.1% for grayscale images which is higher than 94.1% for RGB and narrow-band images. The diagnostic accuracy, precision and recall rates were 82.8%, 82.5% and 95.2% for narrow-band images, respectively. The experimental results show that grayscale images achieve an equivalent or even higher accuracy of polyp detection than RGB images for lightweight computation. It is also found that the accuracy of polyp detection and classification is dramatically decrease when the size of polyp images small than 1600 pixels. It is recommended that clinicians could adjust the distance between the lens and polyps appropriately to enhance the system performance when conducting computer-assisted colorectal polyp analysis.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an inability to attain or maintain adequate penile erection for successful vaginal intercourse, leading to sexual and relationship dissatisfaction. To combat ED, various surgical and non-surgical approaches have been developed in the past to restore erectile functions. These therapeutic interventions exhibit significant impact in providing relief to patients; however, due to their associated adverse effects and lack of long-term efficacy, newer modalities such as regenerative therapeutics have gained attention due to their safe and prolonged efficacy. Stem cells and platelet-derived biomaterials contained in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are thriving as some of the major therapeutic regenerative agents. In recent years, various preclinical and clinical studies have evaluated the individual, as well as combined of stem cells and PRP to restore erectile function. Being rich in growth factors, chemokines, and angiogenic factors, both stem cells and PRP play a crucial role in regenerating nerve cells, myelination of axons, homing and migration of progenitor cells, and anti-fibrosis and anti-apoptosis of damaged cavernous nerve in corporal tissues. Further, platelet-derived biomaterials have been proven to be a biological supplement for enhancing the proliferative and differentiation potential of stem cells towards neurogenic fate. Therefore, this article comprehensively analyzes the progresses of these regenerative therapies for ED.

Traditional bladder volume measurement from B-mode (two-dimensional) ultrasound has been found to produce inaccurate results, and thus in this work we aim to improve the accuracy of measurement from B-mode ultrasound. A total of 75 electronic medical records including ultrasonic images were reviewed retrospectively from 64 patients. We put forward a novel bladder volume measurement method, in which a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction model was established from conventional two-dimensional (2D) ultrasonic images to estimate the bladder volume. The differences and relationships were analyzed among the actual volume, the traditional estimated volume, and the new reconstruction model estimated volume. We also compared the data in different volume groups from small volume to high volume. The mean actual volume is 531.8 mL and the standard deviation is 268.7 mL; the mean percentage error of traditional estimation is −28%. In our new bladder measurement method, the mean percentage error is −10.18% (N = 2), −4.72% (N = 3), −0.33% (N = 4), and 2.58% (N = 5). There is no significant difference between the actual volume and our new bladder measurement method (N = 4) in all data or the divided four groups. The estimated volumes from the traditional method or our new method are highly correlated with the actual volume. Our data show that the three-dimensional bladder reconstruction model provides an accurate measurement from conventional B-mode ultrasonic images compared with the traditional method. The accuracy is seen across different groups of volume, and thus we can conclude that this is a reliable and economical volume measurement model that can be applied in general software or in apps on mobile devices.

Age‐induced erectile dysfunction (ED) is a convoluted medical condition, and restoring erectile function (EF) under geriatric conditions is highly complicated. Platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) treatment is an inexpensive cell‐based therapeutic strategy. We have aimed to restore EF in aged‐ED rats with PRP as a therapeutic tool. Male rats were grouped into aged and young according to age. The young rats were considered as normal control (NC) and treated with saline. Aged were further divided into 2 groups and treated with intracavernous (IC) PRP and saline. Treatment was scheduled at the 9th and 10th week for NC and 41th and 42th week for aged‐ED rats, with EF analysis scheduled on the 12th week for NC and 44th week for aged‐ED rats, respectively. Erectile response, immunofluorescence staining, and electron microscopic analyses were performed. IC PRP treatment effectively reduced prostate hyperplasia (PH). EF response indicated a significant increase in crucial EF parameters in PRP‐treated aged‐ED rats. Histological evidence denoted a rigid and restored development of tunica adventitia of the dorsal artery, decreased vacuolation of the dorsal penile nerve, and structural expansion of the epineurium. Masson's trichrome and immunostaining results affirmed an elevated expression of α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) in the corpus cavernosum (CC). Ultrastructure findings revealed that PRP effectively rejuvenated degenerating nerves, preserved endothelium and adherent junctions of corporal smooth muscle, and restored the axonal scaffolds by upregulating neurofilament‐H (NF‐H) expression. Finally, PRP enhanced neural stability by enhancing the axonal remyelination processes in aged‐ED rats. Hence, PRP treatment was proven to restore EF in aged‐ED rats, which was considered a safe, novel, cost‐effective, and hassle‐free strategy for EF restoration in geriatric patients.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the benefits of antibiotic-impregnated inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP; InhibiZone®) in patients at high risk of infection in Taiwan.Materials and methodsFrom 2004 to 2008, 39 patients diagnosed with uncorrectable erectile dysfunction received an IPP implantation at our hospitals. Based on the underlying diseases, the patients were divided into groups. The results of the two study groups were compared with a control group, which received a conventional IPP implantation. The control group was also divided into two groups based on underlying diseases, similar to that of the study groups. Single-tailed Student t test was performed to determine the difference between each group and to compare the data of our patients with our previously published results.ResultsSurgical outcome analysis showed that the postoperative infection rate is lower in the InhibiZone group (2.6% overall, 5.6% in the high-risk group, and 8.3% in revision surgeries) compared with the conventional (control) IPP group (9.6% overall, 25% in the high-risk group, and 33.3% in revision surgeries). The postoperative infection rate is obviously higher in the high-risk group, irrespective of whether the patient received InhibiZone prostheses or the conventional ones. Furthermore, for patients prone to a high risk of prosthesis infection, InhibiZone penile prosthesis was used instead of the conventional prosthesis, and this was found to reduce the infection rate (from 25% to 5.6%); furthermore, the overall infection rate (from 9.6% to 2.6%) was found to be reduced in the group that received InhibiZone prostheses and in patients with common etiologies (from 5% to 0%), both of which were prominent and statistically significant.ConclusionAn antibiotic-impregnated IPP (InhibiZone®) definitely increases the success rate of reimplantation surgery, and can be indicated for patients at a high risk of postoperative infection

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a key determinant of epithelial ion transport; however, its role in lower urinary tract physiology remains unclear. This study investigated whether CFTR deficiency disrupts bladder function by altering ionic homeostasis and downstream cellular signaling. Bladder function was evaluated in 12-month-old CFTR knockout (Cftr⁻/⁻) and wild-type mice (n = 8/group) using in vivo cystometry and ex vivo detrusor contractility assays, in addition to histological, immunofluorescence, electrolyte, and Western blot analyses. Cftr⁻/⁻ mice exhibited unstable cystometric profiles with irregular voiding cycles and significantly increased peak voiding pressure, indicating impaired bladder coordination. In contrast, depolarization-induced detrusor contractility was markedly reduced (0.3855 g vs. 1.908 g in wild type), despite preserved bladder morphology and unchanged α-SMA expression. CFTR deficiency was further associated with selective electrolyte imbalance (decreased Na⁺ and Cl⁻, increased K⁺). At the molecular level, reduced cytokeratin 20 expression (p < 0.01) suggested urothelial impairment, whereas increased COX-2 (p < 0.05) and caspase-9 (p < 0.01) indicated activation of inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that CFTR deficiency disrupts bladder functional homeostasis through integrated effects on ion balance, detrusor excitability and cellular signaling.