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San Diego--Preliminary experience with the transobturator sling suggests that it provides a minimally invasive approach to incontinence surgery and that the surgery is well tolerated, a Seattle urologist reported at the AUA Western Section meeting. Complications have been minimal, but the results achieved to date require validation in a prospective clinical trial.

San Diego--The spiral sling offers an effective salvage therapy for a select group of difficult stress incontinence patients who have typically failed multiple anti-incontinence procedures, according to an initial experience with the procedure at UCLA.

San Diego--With follow-up for as long as 5 years, the non-frozen cadaveric transvaginal sling has provided excellent results for treatment of stress urinary incontinence with or without prolapse repair and is associated with minimal morbidity, Los Angeles investigators reported at the AUA Western Section meeting.

San Diego--The transvaginal permanent mesh sling provides a safe option with excellent early results for more difficult incontinence patients, such as those with lower leak point pressures or decreased urethral mobility, according to researchers at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.

San Diego--A moderately strong association has been found between lower urinary tract symptoms and the rate of erectile dysfunction in men with moderate to severe symptoms of BPH and enlarged prostate glands, according to a presentation of data gleaned from the Proscar Long-Term Efficacy and Safety Study (PLESS).

San Diego--External beam radiation therapy can be safely initiated in patients who have previously undergone penile prosthesis placement, according to results of a small retrospective study presented at the AUA Western Section annual meeting.

Extraprostatic seed placement during prostate brachytherapy frequently results in seed migration to the thorax. However, this occurrence apparently does not influence dosimetry or cause adverse effects, suggest results of a Mayo Clinic series.

San Diego--Prostate cancer cell growth slowed when placed in human serum taken from men fed a low-fat diet, adding yet another link in the relationship between dietary fat and prostate cancer.

As we continue to debate and search for a common treatment for these two diseases, physicians should continue to treat these as two different entities as we have in the past.

Interstitial cystitis is not an uncommon condition, yet researchers continue in their struggle to define it and reach consensus on appropriate diagnostic criteria. In part one of this two-part Urology Times interview, Christopher K. Payne, MD, discusses the current controversy over the definition of IC and his approach to diagnosis.

Interstitial cystitis is not an uncommon condition, yet researchers continue in their struggle to define it and reach consensus on appropriate diagnostic criteria. In part one of this two-part Urology Times interview, Christopher K. Payne, MD, discusses the current controversy over the definition of IC and his approach to diagnosis.

San Diego--Searching for ways to recoup lost revenue from outpatient prostate cancer therapy, urologists have turned to a variety of non-traditional income producers, ranging from CT scanning to processing of biopsy specimens.

Radiologic imaging has always played a critical role in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of urologic disease. Advances in three-dimensional imaging using multidetector computerized tomography (MDCT) have made this imaging modality an invaluable diagnostic tool in many aspects of urologic practice.

Men may be twice as likely to have hypogonadism if they are obese, diabetic, or hypertensive, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Family Physicians annual scientific assembly in Orlando.

Robert Waldbaum, MD, has been named chairman of urology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY. Dr. Waldbaum, who served as director of the hospital's division of urology for 30 years, will be the first chairman of urology at the hospital.

The FDA has approved the anticholinergic agent solifenacin succinate (Vesicare) for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urgency, frequency, and urge incontinence.

Alan Partin, MD, PhD, is the new director of the Johns Hopkins department of urology and the Brady Urological Institute, as well as the new urologist in chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

Combination therapy with extended-release tolterodine tartrate (Detrol LA) and doxazosin mesylate (Cardura) is twice as effective as doxazosin alone in relieving overactive bladder symptoms in men with both bladder obstruction and overactive bladder symptoms, according to a recent study in the British Journal of Urology (2004; 94:817-20).

Balancing the roles of physician and business owner is "extremely challenging" to one-fourth of urologists in private practice, according to an American Express survey.

The American Board of Urology is among 24 members of the American Board of Medical Specialties that will participate in a Maintenance of Certification program to ensure all board-certified physicians meet the highest standards of patient care and accountability.

The FDA has issued a consumer alert for and has stopped the importation of the dietary supplements Actra-Rx and Yilishen, because they contain prescription-strength quantities of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.

Reimbursement for urologic evaluation and management services increased by one-half since 1995, while surgical reimbursement rates have decreased by about one-third, according to a study in the November Journal of Urology (2004; 172:1958-62).

Infertile mice produced sperm and fathered offspring after transplantation of sperm progenitor cells grown in laboratory culture, according to research published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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.