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The American Foundation of Urologic Disease will be under the ageis of the American Urological Association following an agreement between leaders of the two groups.

Steep Medicare payment cuts to physicians and other health professionals will hurt access to care for America's seniors and disabled, according to a survey of physicians by the American Medical Association.

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Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., merged to form a new corporation named Astellas Pharma, Inc.

The Indian American Urological Association (IAUA) said it will hold its educational program under the auspices of AUA for the first time next month. The program is scheduled for May 21 at the Marriott Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX.

Within 36 hours after ingesting sildenafil citrate (Viagra) for erectile dysfunction, some men have nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), described as "stroke of the eye," according to a report of seven cases published in the Journal of Neuro-ophthalmology (2005; 25:9-13).

Testosterone gel (AndroGel) 1% will be evaluated for its efficacy and safety as an adjunct to oral hypoglycemic therapy in men with type 2 diabetes and hypogonadism, according to its manufacturer, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

A clinical study evaluating the effect of co-administration of an investigational intranasal agent PT-141 and sildenafil citrate (Viagra) shows positive results in patients with erectile dysfunction, according to researchers from Palatin Technologies Inc. and King Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Rectal cancer risk is 70% higher in men who undergo radiation for prostate cancer than those who opt to have surgery to treat the cancer, according to a study to be published in the April issue of Gastroenterology.

Androgen suppression immediately after radiotherapy in high-risk prostate cancer patients reduces the disease progression and significantly improves survival, according to long-term data published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics (2005; 61:1285-90).

San Francisco--Environmental factors have emerged as potential contributors to genetic anomalies affecting male genitalia, according to studies reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

Honolulu--Ureteroscopy may be safe and effective for the diagnosis and treatment of renal colic and urolithiasis during pregnancy, according to research findings presented at the annual Kimbrough Urological Seminar.

Antimuscarinics are recommended as first-line pharmacotherapy for OAB. They act to reduce urgency, stabilize detrusor overactivity, and increase bladder capacity.

Philadelphia--Urologists who manage patients with overactive bladder are challenged not only with choosing from a growing list of pharmacologic treatment options, but also with the prospect that some patients may not respond to oral anticholinergic treatment at all. In these patients with "refractory detrusor overactivity," it is important to realize that a number of factors mitigate against successful therapy, said Roger R. Dmochowski, MD, professor of urology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.

Houston--Nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) is to bladder cancer as PSA is to prostate cancer, perhaps better. That is the implication of a recently published, prospective, multi-institution study showing the point-of-care NMP22 assay (BladderChek, Matritech, Newton, MA) has a sensitivity of 55.7% and a specificity of 85.7%. In contrast, cytology was found to have lower sensitivity (15.8%) but higher specificity (99.2%).

If we do not develop our own performance measures, someone else will do it for us.

Washington--A controversy is brewing over whether Medicare should pay for erectile dysfunction drugs, which boiled over in the midst of heated discussions over the cost of the new Medicare drug benefit. Now estimated at $720 billion, the expected cost of the program is nearly double the government's original 2003 projections.

Irvine, CA-- The Pathway Ureteral Access Device from Onset Medical allows minimally invasive ureteral access in a manner that is less traumatic to both the kidney and ureteral tract. The device, which recently received FDA approval, is designed to eliminate a number of surgical maneuvers.

The FDA has agreed to file the new drug application for atrasentan (Xinlay) by Abbott, an oral agent for the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. The NDA is based on phase II and III clinical trials in men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Maybe there's a little of Dr. Kaye, Dr. Childs, and Dr. Cumes in all of us.

San Francisco--A previously unrecognized syndrome of nocturnal overdistension of the bladder (NOB) can cause bladder deterioration in children with neurogenic bladder. However, the condition is amenable to treatment by nighttime bladder emptying.

San Francisco--Considerable agreement exists among pediatric urologists regarding gender assignment in newborns with ambiguous genitalia, according to results of a survey of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology.

San Francisco--Environmental factors have emerged as potential contributors to genetic anomalies affecting male genitalia, according to studies reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

Honolulu--Men with local-regional prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy appear to have a more durable response to subsequent salvage radiotherapy than those patients with fossa-only or no disease following the operation, a new study shows. This finding is in direct contrast to what would normally be expected, said Inger Rosner, MD, a resident at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, working with David G. McLeod, MD.

Honolulu--Young men with early-stage, low-grade prostate cancer may defer therapy and elect watchful waiting without fear of clinically worse pathologic outcomes, according to results of an analysis conducted by urologists at eight different U.S. military medical centers.

Honolulu--Treatment with bacille Calmette-Gu?rin (BCG) for superficial bladder cancer is unlikely to confer any protection against prostate cancer in patients undergoing cystoprostatectomy, according to the results of a study presented at the annual Kimbrough Urological Seminar here.

Honolulu--Photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) is a safe, efficacious approach to relieve lower urinary tract symptoms, according to a study presented at the annual Kimbrough Urological Seminar here. PVP engenders minimal morbidity while achieving significant cost savings, said study author Robert E. Reiter, MD.