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AEterna Zentaris Inc. said it will file an investigational new drug application with the FDA for permission to proceed to phase III clinical trials of cetrorelix, a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone antagonist product candidate for the treatment of BPH. The decision follows FDA review of safety and efficacy data from an extensive phase II program of the drug.

Atlanta-An approach to transvaginal total pelvic reconstruction that uses a single piece of polypropylene mesh with four-point fixation is proving to be safe and efficacious during long-term follow-up, according to an outcomes analysis undertaken by urologists at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY.

Atlanta-A study of patients receiving a double-cuff artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) shows encouraging short-term outcomes, but a second, longer-term study comparing single-cuff and double-cuff AUS indicates comparable outcomes but a greater complication rate with the double-cuff version.

Atlanta-The transobturator approach for sling placement may result in decreased pad use and overall patient satisfaction in men with stress urinary incontinence, according to the preliminary findings of a small study presented by Peter Rehder, MD, a urologist at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. The data were reported at the AUA annual meeting here.

Atlanta-Sling procedures have long been touted as minimally invasive approaches to stress urinary incontinence, but new data from UCLA suggest that complications resulting from sling surgery may happen far more frequently than is reported in the literature.

Atlanta-A sling procedure for women with stress urinary incontinence known as the distal urethral polypropylene sling (DUPS) procedure results in minimal complications and produces long-lasting results, according to 5-year results presented here at the AUA annual meeting.

Atlanta-Results of a Medicare claims analysis of women undergoing a sling procedure for stress urinary incontinence have revealed a significant variation between gynecologists and urologists in their approach to patient evaluation and the outcomes after surgery. However, further study is needed to understand the factors underlying those differences, researchers from UCLA said at the AUA annual meeting here.

Atlanta-As radiofrequency ablation emerges as a minimally invasive treatment option for small-cell renal carcinoma, urologists should consider including biopsy as a normal component of patient follow-up, say researchers from the Cleveland Clinic.

Atlanta-Several groups have recently demonstrated the safety and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation in select patients ineligible for surgical excision of small renal tumors. Short-term data from these single-institution studies were presented at the AUA annual meeting here.

Atlanta-An investigational vaccine directed against prostate cancer cells has been found to be well tolerated with minimal toxicity in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. In patients receiving the agent, median survival appeared to be enhanced when compared with accepted nomograms, reported researchers from Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle. These results were from two phase II trials of the vaccine, known as GVAX, presented at the AUA annual meeting here.

Atlanta-Combining the endothelin A (ETA) receptor antagonist atrasentan (Xinlay) with taxane chemotherapy has a significant additive effect against prostate cancer, results of a preclinical investigation presented at the AUA annual meeting here have demonstrated.

Atlanta-The decision about when to intervene in patients with small, low-grade prostate tumors can be a tough one for both patient and physician. A study from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, suggests that these men may have 2 years or longer to make a decision without compromising effective treatment.

Atlanta-Laurence H. Klotz, MD, looks momentarily at the data generated by his study of the role that PSA kinetics might play in influencing intervention in men with low-risk prostate cancer and summarizes the findings in a single observation: "It is hard to argue with 99% disease-specific survival."

Atlanta-Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor therapy, which is commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, may have a paradoxical benefit as a treatment for priapism in patients with sickle cell anemia, according to research presented at the AUA annual meeting here and at the American Society of Andrology annual meeting in Chicago.

Atlanta-Which procedure nets better results for patients with Peyronie's disease-corporeal plication or plaque incision with venous grafting? According to a long-term study from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles, there is no difference between the two procedures in terms of patient satisfaction. The major difference between the two is time spent in the operating room.

Atlanta-Surgeons from Italy have developed a technique to take tissue from the underside of the tongue and transplant it to repair strictures in the urethra, giving surgeons an alternative to buccal mucosa for the procedure.

Atlanta-Remission of erectile dysfunction may be more common than has been previously believed, according to an analysis of data from the National Institutes of Health-supported Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS). Findings from this analysis were reported at the AUA annual meeting here.

When we replace testosterone, we bring the serum testosterone levels in hormone-deficient men to that of their eugonadal peers.

Atlanta-Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) caused no adverse events in the prostate tissue of men with androgen decline of aging male (ADAM) syndrome after 6 months of treatment, according to a study presented at the AUA annual meeting here.

AUA president Lawrence S. Ross, MD, discusses current issues related to training, as well as the urology work force and maintenance of certification.

Atlanta-Despite recent medical advances, no consensus exists about the optimal treatment for patients with localized prostate cancer, members of an AUA clinical guideline panel have concluded.

For the two to four million American men who suffer from hypogonadism or "andropause," is treatment with androgen replacement therapy safe, particularly in older men?

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, has started treating patients at its Proton Therapy Center, the first facility associated with a comprehensive cancer center and the fourth such facility in the United States.

Peter Scardino, MD, has been named the new chairman of the department of surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

An oral drug under development for the treatment of multiple side effects of androgen deprivation therapy appears to lower total cholesterol levels, according to an interim analysis of phase III clinical trial results.

An external or "condom" catheter appears to reduce the risk of urinary tract infections or death by 80 percent compared with an indwelling catheter, according to a randomized, controlled trial comparing the two types of catheters.

The second of two phase III trials has shown that once-daily trospium chloride (Sanctura XR) reduces frequency of urination and the number of urge incontinence episodes in individuals with a once-daily formulation for the treatment of overactive bladder.

Men who receive radiation therapy for prostate cancer are not at any appreciable increased risk of developing rectal cancer compared with those not given radiation therapy, according to a recently published study by Canadian researchers.