Female Urology

New data from The National Birth Defects Prevention Study provide additional evidence that pregnancy-related intake of progestins is associated with increased hypospadias risk.

Chicago--A study of cytokines in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) has identified two potential candidates as diagnostic markers for inflammatory and noninflammatory forms of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), according to researchers from Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago.

Paris--Most cases of chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) are spontaneous with unknown causes, and more studies are needed on all aspects of the condition, said Anthony Schaeffer, MD, who chaired the Committee on Prostatitis and Chronic Pelvic Pain at the International Consultation on New Developments in Prostate Cancer and Prostate Diseases here.

Paris--An expert committee charged with examining coming trends in new therapeutic targets and treatments for metastatic prostate cancer painted a positive picture of the future, with chemotherapy, vaccines, and gene therapy all potentially playing a role. But the committee also recognized a milestone advancement of the recent past.

Reflecting the growth of robotics in modern surgery, the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine will host a 3-day event covering developments in robotic surgery.

Minnetonka, MN--The Halo kidney stone basket from Sacred Heart Medical, Inc. features improved basket symmetry and stability to ensure complete capture and retrieval of small stones and fragments, as well as a 1.5F diameter sheath to permit simultaneous use of laser fiber for intracorporeal lithotripsy without compromising irrigation or visibility.

These procedures can be performed with or without concomitant hysterectomy or continence procedures.

Montreal--The first report of improved sperm DNA integrity after specific surgical therapy was presented at the AUA annual meeting in San Antonio. Although the cohort was small and the statistical significance slim, the study's authors say the data support the beneficial effect of varicocelectomy on human spermatogenesis.

Testosterone therapy appears to improve sexual function in postmenopausal women, primarily the symptoms of sexual desire, arousal, and orgasmic response, according to an evidence-based position statement from The North American Menopause Society.

Combining physical and psychological therapy for chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS, or chronic nonbacterial prostatitis) can provide relief for many patients who have pain refractory to conventional treatments, according Stanford (CA) University researchers.

A new estimate shows that chronic prostatitis, especially nonbacterial prostatitis, is common in American men and that most diagnosis and treatment takes place in the primary care setting.

General patterns of genetic expression have been identified in postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence that are not present in postmenopausal women without the condition. This is the first step toward being able to identify patients most at risk for stress incontinence early on, with the eventual hope of helping to prevent the condition, said researchers from the University of Rochester (NY) Medical Center.

Vaginal delivery may cause significant pelvic floor trauma in as many as one-third of first-time deliveries. This trauma appears, upon ultrasound, to primarily affect the levator ani muscle.

San Antonio--A combination of physical and psychological therapy for chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS, or chronic nonbacterial prostatitis) can provide relief for many patients who have pain refractory to conventional treatments, according to researchers from Stanford (CA) University.

San Antonio--A combination of physical and psychological therapy for chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS, or chronic nonbacterial prostatitis) can provide relief for many patients who have pain refractory to conventional treatments, according to researchers from Stanford (CA) University.

San Antonio--A new estimate shows that chronic prostatitis, especially nonbacterial prostatitis, is common in American men, and that most diagnosis and treatment takes place in primary care.

San Antonio--The adverse side effects of hormone therapy in prostate cancer patients may be more severe and manifest sooner than many might believe, according to two separate studies presented here at the 2005 AUA annual meeting.

We know the PSA test is not perfect. Nevertheless, we must move forward and continue to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

Screening for detrusor activity in women who are undergoing surgery for pure or predominant stress incontinence is not an efficient practice, according to findings from a large study presented here on Thursday.

Factors such as body mass index, smoking, and the use of hormone replacement therapy affect whether women will develop various forms of incontinence in later life, according to results of a longitudinal study from Germany presented here yesterday.

Procedures using tension-free vaginal tape (TVT, Gynecare/Ethicon, Somerville, NJ) or trans-obturator tape (TOT, Mentor Corp., Santa Barbara, CA) appear to equally treat the incontinence associated with stress urinary incontinence. TOT, however, may leave patients more comfortable because it is associated with a lower risk of urgency symptoms, Italian researchers say.

San Antonio--Application of laparoscopic surgical techniques continues to expand in urology. As experience with laparoscopy grows, the efficiency and results improve. Several noteworthy presentations related to laparoscopic surgery at the 2005 AUA meeting caught the attention of Stephen Y. Nakada, MD, chairman of urology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

One by one, drug-resistant microbes have weakened or destroyed the efficacy of established antimicrobials. The appearance of a strain of urinary tract infection-associated Escherichia coli that is resistant to ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Proquin) is not necessarily a surprise, but it is a significant concern, according to Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD, chairman of the department of urology, Northwestern School of Medicine, Chicago.

Advances in the field of male infertility continue to provide insight into the factors and processes that make fertility possible. Ultimately, the advances lead to techniques that extend the possibility of fertility to an ever-increasing population of patients.

Women receiving four weekly bladder-specific acupuncture treatments experienced significant improvements in bladder capacity, urgency, frequency, and quality of life compared with women receiving placebo treatments in a study appearing in Obstetrics & Gynecology (2005; 106:138-43).

The most important factor in predicting a successful prostatectomy appears to be the overall experience of the surgeon, not the frequency of using a specific approach.

Novartis and the FDA have revised the prescribing information of zoledronic acid (Zometa) to include the occurrence of osteonecrosis of the jaw.

This year, you have a unique opportunity to improve your income by providing more services in the office.

Atlanta--Children treated with endoscopic intervention for vesicoureteral reflux continue to demonstrate cures that approach those of open surgery and have a high resolution rate after initial failure. In addition, incidence of febrile and non-febrile urinary tract infection after treatment is lower than after surgery, according to data presented here at the State-of-the-Art Symposium on Pediatric UTI, Reflux, Antibiotic Resistance, and Endoscopy.

San Antonio--A relatively new inherited syndrome known as hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC) has a more aggressive clinical course than other hereditary renal cancer syndromes, and expectant management of even small HLRCC tumors is not recommended, according to a study presented at the AUA annual meeting here.