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Atlanta-The first gene therapy treatment for erectile dysfunction could be available as early as 2011.

Atlanta-Results of an analysis based on approximately 52,000 patient-years of observation demonstrate that the incidence of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) among men receiving sildenafil citrate (Viagra) is no higher than that occurring among men in the general population, Rachel E. Sobel, MPH, reported at the AUA annual meeting here.

Atlanta-The population of patients being treated with a penile prosthesis for erectile dysfunction is evolving, with the average patient now being older and having more medical comorbidities compared with less than 20 years ago, according to the results of a nationwide epidemiologic study reported at the annual AUA meeting here.

Paris-Most patients with asymptomatic lower pole calyceal stones can be followed safely without treatment, with a small minority of them requiring surgical intervention in the long-term, according to Turkish researchers who presented the results of a prospective study at the 2006 European Association of Urology annual congress here in Paris.

Paris-Administration of corticosteroid therapy does not significantly increase the expulsion rate of distal ureteral stones. However, the synergistic effect of steroid therapy with concomitant administration of the alpha-blocker tamsulosin (Flomax) increases the effectiveness of tamsulosin, Italian researchers reported at the recent European Association of Urology annual congress here.

Atlanta-When life gives you lemons-or in this case, hypocitraturic nephrolithiasis-make lemonade.

How can neuromodulation be so efficacious? The answer lies in its mechanism of action.

Five states failed the first-ever prostate cancer state-by-statereport card issued by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition.Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, and Wisconsin did not makethe grade while California, Connecticut, Kansas, and New York allearned As.

Spectrum Laboratory Products, Inc., is initiating a voluntarynationwide recall of the active pharmaceutical ingredienttacrolimus after learning some lots are sub-potent.

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic and Memorial Sloan-Kettering CancerCenter, New York, have developed a nomogram capable of predictingthe probability of prostate cancer recurrence within 10 years of apatient's surgical treatment.

The investigational drug NX-1207 has shown significant symptomaticimprovement in men with BPH 29 to 34 months after initial treatmentin a long-term, open-label, phase I/II study.

Men age 75 years and older may not benefit from prostate cancerscreening because they are at risk of adverse outcomes fromaggressive treatment of localized disease, according to a studypublished in the American Journal of Medicine (2006;119:418-25).

The urology community is mourning the death of Joseph W. Segura,MD, who died Tuesday, May 23 after a battle with mesothelioma.

Robert C. Flanigan, MD, was named the new secretary of AUA duringthe association's business meeting yesterday. He is professor andchair of urology at the Loyola University Health System, Maywood,IL.

Cook Urological introduced on Tuesday a new biomaterial known asSurgisis ES for the treatment of Peyronie's disease. Surgisis ES isa natural biomaterial that provides a graft that is strong, easy tohandle, easy to use, and biocompatible, the company said. Itsupports the growth of new fully vascularized host tissue in thepenis.

Intraprostatic injection of botulinum toxin type A (Botox) is asafe and effective treatment in patients with symptomatic BPH thatresults in improvements in symptoms and quality of life that maypersist for up to 1 year, researchers from Taiwan said.

Once-a-day tadalafil (Cialis) at dosages ranging from 5 mg to 20 mgproduces measurable benefits in men with BPH and lower urinarytract symptoms, according to a multicenter study presented hereyesterday.

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.

Chad Wallis, MD, pediatric urology fellow at the Hospital for SickChildren, Toronto, accepts congratulations from Catherine R.deVries, MD, president of International Volunteers in Urology, atthe IVU Traveling Urology Resident Scholar Reception Mondayevening.

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