All News

Despite media images depicting middle-aged and older men embracingthe use of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors to correct erectiledysfunction, actual interest and usage in this population isunknown.

Combining the alpha-blocker alfuzosin SR (Uroxatral) with thephosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor sildenafil citrate (Viagra)appears to produce a greater therapeutic benefit in men with lowerurinary tract symptoms than either drug alone, researchers saidyesterday.

Long-term survival of inflatable penile prostheses (IPPs) that havebeen in use over the past 2 decades is excellent, and thereliability of those devices appears even more promising for theenhanced models that have become more recently available, saidSteven K. Wilson, MD.

Adam West, the star of TV's "Batman" series in the 1960s, has takenon a new role: helping to raise awareness about BPH. The actor saidhe suffered from the "pressures and anxieties" of BPH for 5 yearsbefore he finally saw a urologist at the urging of his wife,Marcelle West.

The 4-year-old Coalition for the Advancement of Prosthetic Urology(CAPU) is continuing to push for improved funding for penileprostheses and procedures, but the fight is likely to get steeper,according to information CAPU members were given at a meetingyesterday.

The population of patients being treated with a penile prosthesisfor erectile dysfunction is evolving, with the average patient nowbeing older and having more medical comorbidities compared withless than 20 years ago, according to the results of a nationwideepidemiologic study reported by University of Michigan urologists.

Remission of erectile dysfunction may be more common thanpreviously believed, according to results from the MassachusettsMale Aging Study (MMAS).

Stimulation of the pudendal nerve may be an alternative to sacralneurostimulation (SNS) in the treatment of urinary voidingdysfunction. Two studies presented yesterday indicate that pudendalneurostimulation (PNS) is effective in patients who do not respondto SNS.

Cryoablation is a feasible treatment option in patients who havefailed radiotherapy, especially in those who may not be consideredsuitable surgical candidates for salvage radical prostatectomy,according to a new study.

The first gene therapy treatment for erectile dysfunction could beavailable by 2011.

Researchers presented findings from studies yesterday that providenew insights into bladder cancer screening and follow-up. Inrelated news, two organizations teamed up with actor Tate Donovanto announce a new bladder cancer awareness initiative.

New studies on the impact of diet, smoking, and water and alcoholconsumption on urologic health were featured at a press briefingyesterday moderated by Mark Moyad, MD, of the University ofMichigan, Ann Arbor. The news was generally good for alcohol and ahigh-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, but bad for vegetable oil and eventap water.

NBA Hall of Famer Earl "The Pearl" Monroe meets Manhattan urologistRobert Salant, MD, at the Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticalsbooth yesterday. Monroe is a spokesman for the company's BPHproduct, tamsulosin (Flomax). Known for his free-flowing finesse onthe court, Monroe was a four-time All-Star and was named to the NBA50th Anniversary All-Time Team. He is currently a sportscommentator.

AUA has established the Department of Reimbursement and RegulatoryAffairs to more effectively target resources and advocacy effortsfor its members. Nancy K. Edwards, currently AUA reimbursementsystems project manager, will become its director.

Results of an analysis based on approximately 52,000 patient-yearsof observation demonstrate that the incidence of nonarteriticanterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) among men receivingsildenafil citrate (Viagra) is no higher than that occurring amongmen in the general population, Rachel E. Sobel, MPH, of Pfizer,reported yesterday.

Alendronate (Fosamax), a bisphosphonate commonly used to treatosteoporosis in postmenopausal women, has been shown to halt andreverse bone loss associated with androgen deprivation therapy inmen with prostate cancer.

Rainer Engel, MD, curator of AUA's William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History, explains "what's behind the fig leaf" to visitors to AUA's history exhibit. The theme for the exhibit this year is sexuality through history. The display, which includes an all-red "adults-only section," will be moved to the museum as a permanent exhibit after the meeting ends.

Intravesical administration of liposomal ajulemic acid (IP-751)produces a positive response in laboratory animals and may beuseful in patients with painful bladder syndrome or interstitialcystitis, say investigators from the University of Pittsburgh.IP-751 is an analog of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-11-oic acid,which in turn is a metabolite of THC, the main psychotropic elementof cannabis.

Autologous adipose stem cells lend themselves well to theengineering of bladder smooth muscle and may eventually make theuse of gastrointestinal tissue for this purpose obsolete, say theauthors of an animal study from UCLA. The group reports that it hasshown, for the first time, that adipose stem cells can bedifferentiated into functional smooth muscle.

The debate over the most appropriate surgical approach to placementof an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) may be coming to aresolution. In the largest retrospective trial reported to date,Gerard Henry, MD, of Regional Urology in Shreveport, LA, found thatthe traditional perineal approach offers significantly betterurinary control than the newer penoscrotal insertion.

Obesity does not appear to independently predict long-term prostatecancer survival after primary treatment of the disease, accordingto two new studies.

Complications resulting from sling surgery for stress urinaryincontinence may happen far more frequently than is reported in theliterature, data from UCLA suggest.

Young men with PSA velocities greater than 0.5 ng/mL/year are atsignificantly greater risk for prostate cancer, researchersreported here yesterday. This suggests that the traditional PSAvelocity threshold of a 0.75 ng/mL/year to distinguish prostatecancer from benign conditions is too high and would miss asubstantial proportion of prostate cancers among men younger than60 years.

Monica Liebert, PhD, recently resigned from her post as director ofthe AUA Office of Research. Dr. Liebert, who served AUA in thiscapacity since 2001, has accepted a research position at theUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

As all practicing urologists know, shrinking reimbursement forurologic services has become the norm. But current market forcesactually favor the specialty, and urologists can take control oftheir financial future - as long as they are willing to takea handful of forward-thinking steps.

If you stop at Boston Scientific Corp.'s BPH booth at this week'sAUA annual meeting, you won't get a pen. But you could help make achild's wish come true. For every physician who stops at thecompany's booth, Boston Scientific will make a $25 donation to theMake-A-Wish Foundation, up to $25,000.

A study from the New England Research Institutes (NERI) inWatertown, MA, shows that lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) canhave as great an impact on a man?s mental and physical quality oflife as do diseases considered by many to be more severe.

Researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor havedeveloped and validated a new questionnaire to assesshealth-related quality of life outcomes among patients treated forbladder cancer, it was reported here yesterday.