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Mountain View, CA-Percutaneous Systems' telescopic PercSys Accordion stone management device is a microcatheter equipped with a multi-fold film occlusion at the distal end. Once deployed, the occlusion conforms to and fills the ureter, preventing retrograde stone fragment migration into the kidney.

Many challenges face the group urology practice, but one issue that doesn't get much attention is the cultural challenge of mixing physicians from different generations.

The shift of surgical procedures from the hospital to physician-owned outpatient facilities has been the prevailing trend over the past 2 decades and will continue into the foreseeable future.

Increasing evidence has recently pointed toward a relationship between LUTS secondary to BPH and the presence of metabolic syndrome. This relationship has been supported by recent epidemiologic findings.

Adjuvant bacillus Calmette-Guerin appears to provide no benefit for improving the oncologic outcome of patients with upper tract transitional cell carcinoma undergoing nephroureterectomy.

A multi-institutional retrospective analysis has identified five variables that independently predict cancer-specific survival in patients with nonmetastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

As new AUA president, Paul Schellhammer, MD, has listed three primary priorities for the association in 2007-08: innovation (research), education, and application (health policy).

Recently released FDA regulations requiring current good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements take an important first step in ensuring the quality of supplements, but fall short of making manufacturers accountable for the products' safety and efficacy, according to urologists familiar with the regulations.

The real dilemma with supplements is shifting to how companies decide what ingredients they put into their products.

Practitioners who specialize in urology, who are male, who seldom order PSA tests, and who are affiliated with specific hospitals are more likely than are other medical practitioners to inappropriately order a PSA test for asymptomatic patients over age 75 years or under age 40, according to a study from the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center.

An Akron, OH, jury recently found Donna Moonda, the widow of Gulam Moonda, MD, a urologist formerly with Sharon Regional Health Systems, Hermitage, PA, guilty of orchestrating the murder of her husband in 2005. Prosecutors said the slaying was a botched attempt by Mrs. Moonda to gain a $6 million inheritance. She was sentenced to life in prison.

John McConnell, MD, professor of urology and executive vice president for health system affairs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has received the AUA 2007 Eugene Fuller Triennial Prostate Award, which recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the study of the prostate gland and its associated diseases.

Transurethral ultrasonography-guided injections of autologous myoblasts and fibroblasts appear to be effective in treating women with stress urinary incontinence, according to a study published in The Lancet (2007; 369:2179-86).

Patients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates appear to have an increased risk of jaw or facial bone deterioration or infection, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2007; 99:1016-24).

Only 12% of cancer survivors are aware of prostate cancer clinical trials at the time of their diagnosis, according to a survey conducted by the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups and Northwestern University, Chicago.

Practitioners who specialize in urology, who are male, who seldom order PSA tests, and who are affiliated with specific hospitals are more likely than are other medical practitioners to inappropriately order a PSA test for asymptomatic patients over age 75 years or under age 40, according to a study from the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center.

The use of prophylactic antibiotics after an initial urinary tract infection is not associated with reduced risk of recurrent UTIs, but is associated with an increased risk of resistant infections, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Philadelphia.

Two new studies have provided evidence that the connection between dietary lycopene and reduction of cancer risk is weak, at best. Earlier studies had reported that lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes, has been associated with a decreased risk of some cancers, particularly prostate cancer.

Uropath LLC of Arlington, TX, a management service company for urology practice-owned anatomic pathology laboratories, has opened its newest laboratory location in Philadelphia. Uropath now services more than 400 urologists, including more than 45 practices across 15 states.

David F. Penson, MD, MPH, has been named AUA's first G. James Gallagher Health Policy Scholar. The program was designed to honor Gallagher, AUA's former executive director, by preparing the next generation of urologists to fill vital leadership roles in health policy.

A U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts has found that AstraZeneca, among other companies, violated the Massachusetts consumer protection act by reporting false average wholesale prices for a number of prescription drugs, including goserelin acetate (Zoladex), used in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Allen F. Morey, MD, has joined the department of urology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Arsenic exposure appears to continue causing bladder and lung cancer deaths years after exposure ends, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2007; 99:905).

The effect of finasteride (Proscar) on sexual functioning is minimal for most men and should not impact the decision to prescribe or take the drug, according to an analysis of the prospective Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial.

FDA has announced a final rule establishing regulations to require current good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements. The rule ensures that dietary supplements are produced in a quality manner, do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled.

Martin Resnick, MD, who chaired the department of urology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and headed several national urology associations, died of complications of acute myeloid leukemia on June 24.

Bloomington, IN-Cook Medical has developed the BIGopsy biopsy forceps that capture specimens of sufficient size to produce accurate biopsy results without need for additional samples. The forceps' oversized jaw design and patented backloading handle obtain specimens up to four times larger than those available with traditional forceps, and the 2.4F sheath offers greater flow than do standard 3F sheaths.