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Treatment with an investigational agent known as elocalcitol effectively arrested prostate growth in BPH patients, according to Italian researchers. The therapy also showed improvements in urgency, frequency, and nocturia.

Early and appropriate treatment of urinary tract infection, especially during the first 24 hours after the onset of symptoms, diminishes the likelihood of renal involvement during the acute phase of the infection, but does not prevent scar formation, researchers reported in Pediatrics (2007; 120:e922-e928).

Testosterone insufficiency in older men is associated with increased risk of death over the following 20 years, independent of multiple risk factors and several pre-existing health conditions, according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The FDA has approved labeling changes for erectile dysfunction drugs in the class that includes tadalafil (Cialis), vardenafil (Levitra), and sildenafil citrate (Viagra), to display more prominently the potential risk of sudden hearing loss and to guide consumers on what to do if they experience sudden problems with their hearing.

The FDA has approved injectable doripenem (Doribax) for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis. Doripenem has demonstrated activity against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas, that cause these serious infections, research has shown.

In patients with castration-refractory prostate cancer, the addition of estramustine (Emcyt) to chemotherapy increases time to PSA progression and overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone, according to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Oncology (2007; 8:994-1000). However, this benefit should be balanced with the risk of increased thromboembolic events in patients who receive the combination therapy compared with chemotherapy alone.

Andrew C. Novick, MD, chairman of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, recently was named a laureate of the SIU Astellas Award at the 29th Congress of the International Urological Society (SIU) in Paris. The award recognizes outstanding personal contributions to the field of urology and to its development. The award has been presented only seven times in SIU’s 100-year history.

Scott Monroe, MD, has accepted the position of director of the division of reproductive and urologic products at FDA. Dr. Monroe has served as the acting director of the division since June 2006.

With proper screening and treatment, many patients with chronic heart failure can safely engage in sexual activity, according to a review published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2007; 82:1203-10).

Men who have prostate cancer surgery, especially if they are younger or have cancers with certain tumor cell characteristics, appear less likely to die of the disease within 10 years than are men who choose other treatment options, according to a report in Archives of Internal Medicine (2007; 167:1944-50).

New research has shown that androgen-synthesizing proteins are present within cancer cells, which suggests that cancer cells may develop the capacity to produce their own androgens. The presence of these proteins may explain why some prostate cancers become resistant to widely used therapies and offers new directions for research into future treatments that could block the development of androgens in the cancer cells, researchers say.

Treatment with extended-release tolterodine tartrate (Detrol LA) is associated with higher sexual quality of life scores and reduced anxiety measurements in women with overactive bladder and urge urinary incontinence, according to a study presented at the American Urogynecologic Society annual scientific meeting in Hollywood, FL.

Androgen deprivation therapy may encourage prostate cancer cells to produce a protein that makes them more likely to spread throughout the body, suggests a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. Although the finding could eventually lead to changes in this standard treatment for prostate cancer, the researchers caution that their discovery is far too preliminary for patients or physicians to stop using hormone therapy.

In addition to the two cell patterns that help determine the Gleason score, if a third, small area of highly aggressive cancer is seen on biopsy, it is associated with a worse prognosis for men with otherwise moderately aggressive disease, according to a study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital published in JAMA (2007; 298:1533-8).

Laparoscopic surgery for urologic malignancy is associated with a low perioperative complication rate, and the rate has decreased over time despite the increasing performance of more challenging cases.

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Percutaneous insertion of permanent metal stents appears to offer a safe and reasonably effective, minimally invasive technique for long-term patency restoration in patients with extrinsic ureteral obstruction.

A new study has produced solid evidence that sacral neuromodulation affects the central nervous system.

A team of German researchers is pursuing promising research on oncofetal fibronectin as a potential marker for bladder cancer.

Patient factors, level of surgeon training, and certain surgical steps appear to represent impediments to learning hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN).

Initial experience with laparoscopic management of post-urologic surgical hemorrhage suggests its feasibility as a minimally invasive alternative to open laparotomy.

When performed by experienced prostate cancer surgeons at a center of excellence, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP) have comparable outcomes in the treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer.

Use of a novel articulated needle driver in combination with a three-dimensional imaging system appears to offer a viable method for facilitating suturing in laparoscopic urologic surgery.

Researchers surveyed nine high-volume institutions that use the da Vinci surgical robot (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA) and learned that the failure rate for these devices during prostatectomies was 0.3%.

Use of an extraperitoneal approach for either laparoscopic or robot-assisted radical prostatectomy yields excellent results and has significant advantages over performing these minimally invasive procedures via a transperitoneal route.

A retrospective study of more than 2,100 laparoscopic surgeries performed over 12 years confirmed what many urologists have long suspected: Overall laparoscopic conversion rates are low, and conversion rates fall toward zero as laparoscopic surgeons gain experience.

Where botulinum toxin A (Botox) is injected to treat idiopathic detrusor overactivity makes a difference-not right away, but in the long term.

An analysis of experience with nerve-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in more than 2,600 men having up to 5.5 years of follow-up indicates that the procedure provides good cancer control and functional outcomes that are comparable to those achieved with open surgery.

A third-generation intra-abdominal surgery technique in which endoscopic access is gained through natural orifices using a combined transgastric and transvesical approach has been shown feasible in the hands of Portuguese surgeons.

Laparoscopic surgery for urologic malignancy is associated with a low perioperative complication rate, and the rate has decreased over time despite the increasing performance of more challenging cases.