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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it has made "significant" changes in Medicare's approach to paying for drugs administered in the physician's office that will allow increased coverage in 2005 for both the drugs and their administration.

You collect your money at the time of service, and you have no accounts receivable for Medicare patients.

San Diego-Treatment with the dual neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitor duloxetine (Yentreve) results in durable improvement in symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, according to a study of open-label transition from placebo to active therapy.

San Diego-Two anticholinergic drugs commonly used in the treatment of overactive bladder have similarly low incidences of adverse events affecting the central nervous system, according to an analysis of data from a large randomized trial of the agents.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada-Intravesical hyaluronic acid (Cystistat) appears to be a simple, quick therapy for reducing pain, frequency, and nocturia in patients with interstitial cystitis, according to Austrian and Canadian researchers. The agent may also improve radiation-induced cystitis and reduce bacterial cystitis recurrences in patients with recurrent urinary tract infections, said Marc Riviere, MD, senior vice president at Belleville, Ontario-based Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., who presented a series of pilot studies at the Canadian Urological Association annual meeting.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada-In separate studies, Canadian researchers have found that two newer phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors improve erectile function in diabetic men, a population in which erectile dysfunction can be difficult to treat.

Patients can complete the HRQOL questionnaire within 5 minutes while waiting to meet with their physician.

Ann Arbor, MI-Urologists should use biopsy, not barbotage cytology, to assess tumors and select treatment for upper-tract urothelial carcinomas, advise researchers at the University of Michigan Urology Center in Ann Arbor.

New York-Approximately 50% of men who undergo bilateral nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy may be expected to achieve normal erectile function, but that recovery may take up to 4 years, according to a study conducted by urologists at Me-morial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Baltimore-Relatively high levels of free testosterone in older men appear linked to a significantly increased risk for prostate cancer-a finding that raises the possibility that testosterone replacement might affect the risk of prostate cancer, reported J. Kellogg Parsons, MD, an instructor in the department of urology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Ann Arbor, MI-The use of PSA testing by urologists and primary care physicians is much lower than that suggested by practitioner- and patient-based published self-report estimates, according to a study of national clinic-report data conducted by urologists at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

FDA approves new 12-month LHRH implant for prostate Ca

San Diego-Treatment with the dual neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitor duloxetine (Yentreve) results in durable improvement in symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, according to a study of open-label transition from placebo to active therapy.

San Diego--Two large studies have arrived at very different conclusions about the value of routine urine cytology and cystoscopy for evaluating women presenting with irritative voiding symptoms.

Bladder ultrasound is noninvasive and relatively easy to perform, which may explain its increased usage in recent years. However, the American Board of Urology has expressed concern that urologists may be overusing the test. In this exclusive Urology Times interview, Pat Fulgham, MD, president of Urology Clinics of North Texas, Dallas, discusses data on the dramatic shift in bladder ultrasound usage by some urologists. Dr. Fulgham, who teaches an annual AUA course on ultrasound, also discusses clinical and reimbursement guidelines clinicians should follow. The interview was conducted by UT Editorial Consultant Robert C. Flanigan, MD, professor and chairman of the department of urology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL.

New York--Men with prostate cancer are being urged to seek the advice of a medical oncologist in a new educational campaign launched by the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine has elected urologist John D. McConnell, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, as one of 65 new members.

African-American men have significantly higher sexual and urinary function 5 years after prostatectomy than Caucasian men, according to study results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2004; 22:1-9).

A Western diet high in animal fat and low in soy creates malignant transformation in the prostate tissue, according to a study that may explain why Asian men have lower rates of prostate cancer than their Western counterparts.

The U.S. Senate approved a resolution encouraging physicians to inform prostate cancer patients of every treatment option available, including brachytherapy, hormonal treatments, external beam radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, and watchful waiting.

U.S. Pharmacopeia, hired by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to determine drug coverage, recommended the addition of erectile dysfunction drugs for possible Medicare coverage in 2006.

The FDA approved the marketing of a histrelin implant (Vantas) for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada--Radiofrequency ablation of small renal tumors appears to be an effective nephron-sparing approach for treating localized kidney cancer in a very select group of patients using imperative indications, according to a short-term study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

The infection rate was cut in half for the men with the InhibiZone antibiotic covering (1.36% vs. 2.41% in those receiving the untreated prosthesis).

Tauranga, New Zealand--By almost all parameters measured, the efficacy of holmium laser transurethral procedures in the prostate match or exceed that of similar open and transurethral procedures, according to a significant body of work by Peter J. Gilling, MD, urologic consultant at Tauranga Hospital, New Zealand. Dr. Gilling's research has centered on two procedures'holmium laser resection of the prostate (HoLRP) and holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP)-although HoLRP has essentially been replaced by the 100-watt HoLEP (Lumenis, Santa Clara, CA).

Montreal--Two sling systems for female stress urinary incontinence have similar rates of success and perioperative events, according to the results of two separate studies presented at the AUA annual meeting. However, one was more prone to infection and erosion than the other, one study showed.

Paris--A novel adjustable device for intrinsic sphincteric deficiency shows success in women with stress unitary incontinence after other surgeries have failed, according to findings from an international, multicenter study.

Los Angeles--The largest clinical database built on renal cell carcinoma is beginning to yield definitive answers to questions about prognosis and treatment. Analyses of histories of more than 4,000 patients at eight academic medical centers worldwide has already indicated that tumor stage, grade, and performance status have a stronger influence on prognosis than tumor stage alone and that the indications for partial nephrectomy can expand.