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San Francisco--Environmental factors have emerged as potential contributors to genetic anomalies affecting male genitalia, according to studies reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

Honolulu--Ureteroscopy may be safe and effective for the diagnosis and treatment of renal colic and urolithiasis during pregnancy, according to research findings presented at the annual Kimbrough Urological Seminar.

Antimuscarinics are recommended as first-line pharmacotherapy for OAB. They act to reduce urgency, stabilize detrusor overactivity, and increase bladder capacity.

Philadelphia--Urologists who manage patients with overactive bladder are challenged not only with choosing from a growing list of pharmacologic treatment options, but also with the prospect that some patients may not respond to oral anticholinergic treatment at all. In these patients with "refractory detrusor overactivity," it is important to realize that a number of factors mitigate against successful therapy, said Roger R. Dmochowski, MD, professor of urology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.

Houston--Nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) is to bladder cancer as PSA is to prostate cancer, perhaps better. That is the implication of a recently published, prospective, multi-institution study showing the point-of-care NMP22 assay (BladderChek, Matritech, Newton, MA) has a sensitivity of 55.7% and a specificity of 85.7%. In contrast, cytology was found to have lower sensitivity (15.8%) but higher specificity (99.2%).

If we do not develop our own performance measures, someone else will do it for us.

Washington--A controversy is brewing over whether Medicare should pay for erectile dysfunction drugs, which boiled over in the midst of heated discussions over the cost of the new Medicare drug benefit. Now estimated at $720 billion, the expected cost of the program is nearly double the government's original 2003 projections.

Irvine, CA-- The Pathway Ureteral Access Device from Onset Medical allows minimally invasive ureteral access in a manner that is less traumatic to both the kidney and ureteral tract. The device, which recently received FDA approval, is designed to eliminate a number of surgical maneuvers.

The FDA has agreed to file the new drug application for atrasentan (Xinlay) by Abbott, an oral agent for the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. The NDA is based on phase II and III clinical trials in men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Maybe there's a little of Dr. Kaye, Dr. Childs, and Dr. Cumes in all of us.

San Francisco--A previously unrecognized syndrome of nocturnal overdistension of the bladder (NOB) can cause bladder deterioration in children with neurogenic bladder. However, the condition is amenable to treatment by nighttime bladder emptying.

San Francisco--Considerable agreement exists among pediatric urologists regarding gender assignment in newborns with ambiguous genitalia, according to results of a survey of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology.

San Francisco--Environmental factors have emerged as potential contributors to genetic anomalies affecting male genitalia, according to studies reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

Honolulu--Men with local-regional prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy appear to have a more durable response to subsequent salvage radiotherapy than those patients with fossa-only or no disease following the operation, a new study shows. This finding is in direct contrast to what would normally be expected, said Inger Rosner, MD, a resident at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, working with David G. McLeod, MD.

Honolulu--Young men with early-stage, low-grade prostate cancer may defer therapy and elect watchful waiting without fear of clinically worse pathologic outcomes, according to results of an analysis conducted by urologists at eight different U.S. military medical centers.

Honolulu--Treatment with bacille Calmette-Gu?rin (BCG) for superficial bladder cancer is unlikely to confer any protection against prostate cancer in patients undergoing cystoprostatectomy, according to the results of a study presented at the annual Kimbrough Urological Seminar here.

Honolulu--Photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) is a safe, efficacious approach to relieve lower urinary tract symptoms, according to a study presented at the annual Kimbrough Urological Seminar here. PVP engenders minimal morbidity while achieving significant cost savings, said study author Robert E. Reiter, MD.

Honolulu--A new "one-step" percutaneous access sheath may become the next advance in the evolution of percutaneous nephrostolithotomy, according to D. Duane Baldwin, MD, associate professor of urology at the Loma Linda (CA) University Medical School. Dr. Baldwin has completed the first trials of the device, which weds the dilation balloon to the sheath, allowing the instrument to be advanced to the kidney in a single procedure.

Honolulu--Not only does a form of microwave thermotherapy for BPH appear to be free of sexual side effects, it may actually improve sexual function in men with the disease, investigators from the Portsmouth (VA) Naval Hospital and Eastern Virginia Medical School reported at the Kimbrough Urological Seminar here.

Honolulu--Operation Iraqi Freedom sees its share of sick and wounded soldiers. Primarily, specialists in orthopedics and general surgery are seeing an upswing in patients coming from the conflict. But you may be surprised to learn that urologic care is the third most important medical specialty needed for these soldiers.

Orlando, FL--A novel immunotherapy drug may increase the survival of hormonally refractive patients with asymptomatic, metastatic prostate cancer, according to the results of a small study with great promise.

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The New York University School of Medicine and Pfizer, Inc., have launched the Men's Sexual Health Referral Network, an online listing of health care professionals who treat male sexual dysfunction and related disorders.

The interaction between two cellular proteins-Skp2 and FOXO1-influences the growth of cancer cells, and the process can be chemically reversed to stop cancer tumor growth, according to an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2005; 102:169-54).

Trospium chloride (Sanctura) does not affect sleep patterns in patients aged 51 to 65 years, according to a study published in the British Journal of Urology (2005; 95:346-9).

Gene variant KLF6 may increase a man's risk of prostate cancer by 50%, according to study from New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center published in Cancer Research (2005; 65:1213-22).

Men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer might notice a reduction in verbal fluency, visual recognition, and visual memory, according to a small trial published in the Feb. 28 online edition of Cancer.

Estrogen therapy has been touted as an effective treatment for urinary incontinence, but new research shows the treatment may actually raise the risk of incontinence (JAMA 2005; 293:935-48).

If finasteride (Proscar) were prescribed prophylactically in older men, an estimated 316,760 years of life over 10 years would be saved through the prevention of prostate cancer, according to a new analysis of data from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT).

A new National Institutes of Health-funded study is recruiting adults newly diagnosed with either painful bladder syndrome or interstitial cystitis to determine if the antidepressant amitriptyline (Elavil) will reduce the pain and frequent urination associated with the conditions.