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The Medicare Administrative Contractor is a new contract reform project that will enhance the flow of data for services charged to Medicare.

Daily use of a penile extender device shows promise as a safe, effective, and noninvasive treatment for Peyronie's disease.

Outcomes with a new sexual function questionnaire correlate well with validated measures of psychosocial function, patient satisfaction, erection hardness, erectile function, and sexual function.

Chicago-A preoperative skin preparation product may be an effective, time-saving alternative for reducing skin bacterial counts preoperatively in men undergoing penile prosthesis surgery, say the authors of a pilot study from the University of South Florida, Tampa.

Results of a study comparing the in vitro antibacterial activity of antibiotic-dipped and non-antibiotic-dipped components of inflatable penile implants show differences favoring Titan implants dipped into antibiotic solutions of rifampin-gentamicin or bacitracin-gentamicin compared with the antibiotic (rifampin-minocycline)-coated technology of Inhibizone.

Men who present with infertility issues and their partners are relatively uninformed about the causes and treatments of male infertility, a fact that may be attributable to urologists' failure to properly market their capabilities in this area of clinical practice.

Higher intakes of soy foods and soy isoflavones were associated with reduced sperm concentrations in a Harvard study.

Children who do not respond to treatment for urgency frequency syndrome may have underlying neuropsychiatric disorders that need treatment before UFS symptoms can be resolved.

Video urodynamic studies found serious underlying pathology in a majority of cerebral palsy children who had urinary incontinence.

Two groups have taken innovative steps to match technology with important clinical problems: the microscope with NOA and the Whitaker test with EDO.

Routine semen analysis does not absolutely predict the quality of sperm chromatin, which may help to explain why it often fails to predict reproductive outcomes in infertile couples.

Data from studies on post-vasectomy clearance suggest that a single azoospermic sample submitted 16 weeks following vasectomy is sufficient to establish the success of the procedure and future sterility.

Mounting evidence suggests that the appearance of sperm has little to do with its function.

A novel modification of the Whitaker test using ejaculatory duct manometry shows promise for the diagnosis of ejaculatory duct obstruction.

While understanding of the basic science of shock waves has increased dramatically, questions have also been raised about the potential for serious adverse advents and urologist ownership of lithotriptors.

Studies of vesicoureteral reflux in children show steady progress in treatment modalities and outcomes.

Serum-based tumor markers are not used in more than half of all patients who have testis cancer, report researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor.

The FDA has approved SpermCheck Vasectomy (ContraVac, Inc., Charlottesville, VA), a diagnostic product that confirms men’s post-vasectomy sterility. The device will enable men to test their post-vasectomy fertility status at home, rather than returning to the physician’s office or a laboratory for confirmation.

An investigational bladder instillation appears to improve daytime pain in patients with painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis in a single dose, according to interim results of a phase II study.

PSA levels typically have correlated with prostate biopsy results in the detection of prostate cancer, but that correlation no longer exists for men with a normal prostate exam, suggest results of a study published online in Cancer. The study suggests that improved biopsy techniques make PSA less useful in prostate cancer screening.

When it comes to effects on sperm motility or chromatin integrity, the choice of vaginal lubricant appears to make a difference, researchers reported in Fertility & Sterility (2008; 89:375-9).

Substantial variation in the prescribed and delivered doses of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for prostate and other cancers exists among medical institutions, raising concerns about the validity of comparing clinical outcomes, according to a University of Pennsylvania study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2008; 100:300-7).

Men with prostate cancer and their partners face difficult decisions regarding treatment, and outcomes depend on some unexpected factors, according to results of a multicenter study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2008; 358:1250-61).

The department of urology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, has added three new urologic oncologists to its faculty: Ashok K. Hemal, MD, A. Karim Kader, MD, PhD, and Joseph A. Pettus IV, MD.

The FDA has indicated that a new therapy for first-line nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer meets the criteria for fast track designation.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals has submitted applications in the United States and Europe for the marketing authorization of its prostate cancer treatment, degarelix, a new gonadotrophin-releasing hormone receptor blocker intended for patients in whom androgen deprivation is warranted.

Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute, Portland, researchers have found that even men with advanced prostate cancer can take a safe and much-needed break from chemotherapy.