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Timm Medical said the FDA has allowed the company to extend the labeling of its Osbon ErecAid device for use in creating and maintaining erections by providing arterial blood to the penis during recovery from radical prostatectomy.

Firefighters in five Rhode Island communities are being offered free screening for bladder cancer in a voluntary program paid for and sponsored by their local state representatives.

Two consumer advocacy groups have joined with the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) to improve patient safety during surgery and increase communication between patients and their caregivers.

New guidelines, one set for adults and one for children, have been developed to help physicians reduce the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

New explanatory analyses of a phase III study support earlier results observed with treatment using the investigational active cellular immunotherapy sipuleucel-T (Provenge) in men with advanced androgen-independent prostate cancer, researchers reported at the Prostate Cancer Foundation's annual scientific retreat in Scottsdale, AZ.

The National Cancer Institute has released new data from the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility study on prostate cancer that may help identify genetic factors that influence the disease and will be integral to the discovery and development of new targeted therapies.

It's easy to spot the complainer, but that is the exception.

Cleveland-Intravenous ketorolac tromethamine is safe and appears to be effective at alleviating pain following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) procedures in properly selected patients, according to a study from the Methodist Hospital Institute for Kidney Stone Disease and Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

An increase in 2007 of $190 million was requested to promote program integration and interdisciplinary team science.

It's easy to spot the complainer, but that is the exception.

What is considered the usual postoperative bleeding time following a transurethral resection of the prostate?

Between 30% and 60% of calcium oxalate stone patients have hypercalciuria in the absence of raised serum calcium levels.

Cleveland-Routine transposition of an anterior crossing vessel during laparoscopic pyeloplasty may be unnecessary, appears to depend on the surgeon's intraoperative subjective assessment of its obstructive nature, and seems to occur more often when a transperitoneal approach is used, Cleveland Clinic investigators reported.

Cleveland-A Mayo Clinic study published earlier this year raised more than a few eyebrows when its authors concluded that treatment of renal stones with shockwave lithotripsy appears to heighten the risk of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. More recently, researchers from Northwestern University reported a similar finding in patients with pancreatic stones-that SWL used in these patients may be associated with an increased risk of diabetes.

Cleveland-A staged approach to endoscopic lithotripsy may be a reasonable treatment option in patients with large renal stones who are not ideal candidates for the gold standard of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center reported. Their technique, known as staged retrograde endoscopic lithotripsy (SREL), has a slightly lower success rate than PCNL does, but it is less invasive and associated with fewer complications.

Cleveland-With the growing acceptance of flexible ureteroscopy at academic centers, this endoscopic technique as a treatment for renal stones has made fewer inroads into the practices of community urologists, data from a large U.S. inpatient database indicate. The reasons for the procedure's apparent lack of popularity in the community, at least in the inpatient setting, are unclear.

Cleveland-The size and volume of upper-urinary-tract calculi do not necessarily predict outcomes of ureteroscopic lithotripsy, but stones of larger size and volume require significantly more time and effort to clear, according to a group of urologists from St. Paul, MN.

Cleveland-Dean G. Assimos, MD, professor of urology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, asked a simple question here at the World Congress of Endourology: "Is the Internet a reliable source of information for dietary recommendations for stone formers?"

Cleveland-Urologists at Emory University, Atlanta, may or may not have slain an urban myth, but at the very least, the team has given it a sound kick. Cola in moderation does not change urine chemistries significantly, and therefore does not appear to raise the risk of forming stones, the team concluded after comparing cola to deionized water in a randomized, prospective pilot study.

Cleveland-A Harvard Medical School study published last year in JAMA (2005; 293:455-62) established a link between obesity and kidney stone formation. Now researchers at the University of Minnesota have taken the next step with a study showing that obese men and women have at least one, if not more, urine abnormalities that increase their risk of stone formation.

Cleveland-There is a commonly held view that obese patients tend to present greater surgical challenges and have more complications after percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have challenged that belief.

Cleveland-Intravenous ketorolac tromethamine is safe and appears to be effective at alleviating pain following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) procedures in properly selected patients, according to a study from the Methodist Hospital Institute for Kidney Stone Disease and Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

Boston-A study investigating a treatment sample of men diagnosed with sexual compulsivity suggests that prescription and non-prescription use of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors is common in that population. This finding should alert physicians who prescribe medications for erectile dysfunction to maintain an index of patients with a suspected sexual compulsivity problem and to be attentive to clues of potential drug misuse, according to the researchers.

Ann Arbor, MI-Results of a study from the University of Michigan here provide further evidence that the incidence of kidney cancer and the rate of surgical treatment are both on the rise. However, those trends are primarily accounted for by the identification and management of small, presumably curable renal masses (?4 cm). Meanwhile, mortality rates in kidney cancer patients have also been increasing, driven by worsening outcomes of patients with the largest tumors (>7 cm).

Washington-Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a chlorinated hydrocarbon once commonly used as a degreasing agent in industrial settings. The nonflammable, colorless fluid may also be found as an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids, and spot removers. Although a clear-cut link between TCE and cancer has yet to be established, the chemical is the subject of a recent report calling for research on how it causes cancer and other adverse health effects.

San Diego, CA-Exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation through natural sunlight and dietary intake of fatty fish are independent predictors of renal cancer risk, according to the findings of two recently published studies.

Cleveland-Two studies from the University of Minnesota and one from the University of Tennessee presented at the World Congress of Endourology tackled three important questions raised by the use of nephrostomy tubes: Which configuration best minimizes pain? How small can the tube be and remain effective? When can a nephrostomy tube be abandoned altogether?

The return and quality of sexual function is a major concern for men undergoing radical prostatectomy. New research on the etiology of post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction is shaping new rehabilitation strategies for prostatectomy patients, according to John P. Mulhall, MD, who discusses current and future rehabilitation strategies and his own approach to post-prostatectomy ED in this exclusive interview.