Journal Reviews
Prevention of urethral stricture recurrence
Urethral stricture recurrence after urethral reconstruction is one of the most challenging problems in urology. With the increase in endoscopic surgery over the last three decades the incidence of urethral strictures has increased, with iatrogenic manipulation the leading aetiology in...
Urethral pain syndrome – is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
Urethral pain syndrome (UPS) is defined in the 2014 EAU Guidelines as the occurrence of chronic or recurrent episodic pain perceived in the urethra, in the absence of proven infection or other obvious local pathology. UPS is often associated with...
Simple cystectomy for benign disease
In the UK, due to cancer reorientation programmes by the NHS, radical cystectomies happen only in regional cancer centres. But there is no reason why simple cystectomies cannot take place in district general hospitals, often much closer to patients and...
YouTube for vaginal mesh information
Social media networks and websites are extensively used in healthcare. This interesting study examines information available on YouTube videos for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repairs with mesh. Forty-nine videos were viewed. Sources were 69% legal firms, 24% medical institutions and...
PDE5I in LUTS – how do they work – no proof yet
Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors used in erectile dysfunction (ED) have been shown to improve lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as well. The mechanism is not well understood. One of the hypotheses for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – LUTS is...
New therapy for overactive bladder
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a complex symptom that can adversely affect quality of life. So far pharmacotherapy has focused on anti-cholinergic drugs. Recently, beta-adrenoreceptors have been identified as having an effect on the detrusor muscle and urothelium. Beta-3 is the...
Antimuscarinics and behaviour in patients with spinal dysraphism
Since the 1980s patients with spinal dysraphism have had aggressive bladder management with clean intermittent catheterisation and anticholinergic therapy from early on in life. This strategy aims at improving lower and therefore upper urinary tract function thus decreasing the risk...
Urethral sphincter function before and after radical prostatectomy
This paper from Holland will be useful for urologists involved in radical prostatectomy (RP) for cancer of the prostate. It presents a PubMed search between 1980 and 2012. Twenty-five out of 124 articles were further analysed, mainly English-language papers. Several...
Reflux oesophagitis and risk of interstitial cystitis: is there a link?
This study aims to explore the potential link between reflux oesophagitis (RE) and interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). IC/BPS is a chronic disease which is difficult to diagnose and treat. Two percent of the population may be affected....
Novel therapy for SUI
This is a joint study from Iran and University College London. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a difficult condition to treat for patients and clinicians alike. Various surgical procedures have their benefits and pitfalls. Cell therapy is a new modality;...
Pacemakers in the upper urinary tract
This is an interesting study from Italy. The mechanism by which urine is transported from the kidney to the bladder via the upper urinary tract (UUT) remains poorly understood and elusive. For many years, pyeloureteric rhythmicity is thought to arise...
Adults with myelomeningocoele: life situation and bladder and bowel management
Long-term outcome studies of patients to include what happens at transition to adulthood are rare but increasing in the literature as paediatric urologists are questioning their long-term results more deeply. These authors aimed to assess life situation and bladder and...
