STOCKHOLM—Obesity is a strong risk factor for the decline in residual renal function (RRF) after patients start dialysis, researchers in The Netherlands say.

ORLANDO—New studies support the use of active surveillance (AS) for selected patients with localized, low-risk prostate tumors.

STOCKHOLM—Researchers in Vienna have found that higher levels of uric acid are associated with an increased risk of new-onset kidney disease. The new findings add to a growing body of data supporting such an association, including a recently published study by an American team.

MILAN—Dutasteride and tamsulosin combination therapy provides significantly greater improvements in patient-reported, symptom-specific quality of life compared with either medication at two years in men with moderate to severe BPH, new data show.

GRAPEVINE, Tex.—Higher levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 [OH] D) may lower the risk of anemia and elevated C-reactive protein levels may raise the risk, according to new study findings that may explain much of the high prevalence of anemia among individuals with kidney disease, researchers conclude.

SAN DIEGO—Genetic analyses suggest that prostate cancer in African-American men is distinctly different as compared with European-American men, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md.

WASHINGTON D.C—CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation of renal tumors appears to be a viable option for the treatment of selected small renal cell tumors, according to new data presented at the 2008 Society of Interventional Radiology 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

ORLANDO—Patients with gram-negative peritonitis (GNP) undergoing early catheter removal have a higher rate of permanent transfer to hemodialysis but a lower death rate compared with GNP patients not having their catheter removed, according to study findings presented here at the 2008 Annual Dialysis Conference.

SAN FRANCISCO—Men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer are at elevated risk of cardiovascular death and suicide, according to separate analyses of a cohort of Swedish men.

MILAN—Intravesical alkalized lidocaine (PSD597) may be an effective short-term and possibly long-term treatment for patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS), data suggest.