Urology News and Research

Latest Urology News and Research

Why hormone therapy for prostate cancer fails

Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

21 Aug 2008

Type 2 diabetes linked to arsenic in drinking water

While exposure to high concentrations of the element in drinking water and in the workplace has been shown to be associated with diabetes, little is known about the effect of lower levels on diabetes risk.

20 Aug 2008

Brachytherapy may benefit obese prostate cancer patients

Brachytherapy, also called seed implants, may be a more beneficial treatment than surgery or external beam radiation therapy for overweight or obese prostate cancer patients, according to a study published in the August issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

19 Aug 2008

Urologists report success using robot-assisted surgery for urinary abnormality

Ashok Hemal, M.D., a urologic surgeon from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues have reported success using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to repair abnormal openings between the bladder and vagina known as fistulas. Reporting on their experience with seven patients, Hemal and colleagues have the world's largest known success with the procedure.

18 Aug 2008

Convenience, cost driving more kids to retail clinics for care

Convenience and lower costs are driving even more parents to seek routine health care for their children - including vaccinations and physicals - at retail clinics in their communities.

11 Aug 2008

Racial disparities in PSA screening

In one of the first examinations of PSA screening in younger men, a study published by researchers at Duke Medicine's Prostate Center finds that one-fifth of men under age 50 reported undergoing a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test to detect prostate cancer in the previous year, yet only one in three young black men reported ever having a PSA test in the previous year.

11 Aug 2008

First NY to LA living-donor transplant chain results in three lifesaving kidney transplants at UCLA

The lives of three Los Angeles-area kidney transplant patients were transformed by one of the West Coast's first three-way living donor kidney transplant chains, made possible through the generosity of a non-directed, altruistic kidney donor from New York City -- announced today at a joint news conference.

4 Aug 2008

ShangRing - innovative circumcision device

With the recent endorsement by the World Health Organization (WHO) and scientists worldwide of adult male circumcision as an important strategy for HIV prevention, there is increased urgency to develop safe and cost-effective circumcision services. This is especially the case in Africa where HIV/AIDS continues to spread at an epidemic rate.

4 Aug 2008

Disparities in prostate cancer treatment suggest ways to improve care

Quality of care varies greatly for the treatment of men with early-stage prostate cancer by region of the country and category of health care facility, suggesting the potential for improved patient outcomes with more standard treatment protocols, according to a new study that was published in the Aug. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2008: Vol. 26, Issue 22).

3 Aug 2008

FDA clears test that determines what type of cancer cells are present in a malignant tumor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a test that can help health care professionals determine what type of cancer cells are present in a malignant tumor.

31 Jul 2008

Robotic surgery now benefits bladder cancer patients

Robotic surgery, largely pioneered for prostate cancer surgery, is rapidly being adapted for use in other areas, including for bladder cancer patients. Urologic surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center now have significant experience -- and have demonstrated considerable success -- with robotics for removal of the bladder, also known as cystectomy.

30 Jul 2008

Bladder problems may leave mark on brain contributing to sleep and attention problems

Bladder problems may leave a mark on the brain, by changing patterns of brain activity, possibly contributing to disrupted sleep and problems with attention. For one in six Americans who have overactive bladder, the involuntary bladder contractions that often trigger more frequent urges to urinate, such mind-body connections may be of more than academic interest.

29 Jul 2008

New biomarker for early cancer detection? Research reveals that 'microRNA' may fit the bill

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered that microRNAs - molecular workhorses that regulate gene expression - are released by cancer cells and circulate in the blood, which gives them the potential to become a new class of biomarkers to detect cancer at its earliest stages. Muneesh Tewari, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues describe their findings in the July 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

29 Jul 2008

NIDDK publishes strategic plan for research into benign prostate

For the first time, a strategic plan for research into benign prostate disease, based on the latest scientific knowledge, has been published by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan is the culmination of discussions and meetings among experts over the past two years in an effort to outline a strategic vision for research into these elusive and multi-faceted diseases.

27 Jul 2008

Soyfoods Association response to research on soy in men

Headlines claiming "soy products lower sperm count" do not tell the whole story. The small scale, preliminary study that Dr. Jorge Chavarro, published online in Human Reproduction, is based on recollected intake of soyfoods and not on specific diets containing soyfoods.

24 Jul 2008

CUPID cannabinoid MS study reaches milestone

The CUPID (Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory brain Disease) study at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth has reached an important milestone with the news that the full cohort of 493 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been recruited to the study.

21 Jul 2008

Daily broccoli juice beats bladder cancer in elderly man

An elderly man in Britain believes he has beaten cancer by drinking a daily glass of broccoli juice.

21 Jul 2008

More kidney stone disease projected due to global warming, predicts UT Southwestern researchers

Global warming is likely to increase the proportion of the population affected by kidney stones by expanding the higher-risk region known as the "kidney-stone belt" into neighboring states, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and UT Dallas have found.

14 Jul 2008

Researchers locate and image prostate cancer as it spreads to lymph nodes

Using an engineered common cold virus, UCLA researchers delivered a genetic payload to prostate cancer cells that allowed them, using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), to locate the diseased cells as they spread to the lymph nodes, the first place prostate cancer goes before invading other organs.

13 Jul 2008