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September 2008 Issue of Renal And Urology News

World Literature Review

High-Grade Tumors More Likely in Smaller Prostates

High-grade tumors are more likely to be found in smaller prostates, according to researchers in Spain.

UroVysion Not a Replacement for Cystoscopy, Study Finds

Eur Urol. 2008;54:402-408The UroVysion (UV) assay, which can diagnose urothelial cancer, cannot replace cystoscopy for monitoring patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. According to researchers in ...

Severe AKI Has Implications for Long-Term Mortality

Severe acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with significant long-term mortality, German investigators conclude.

FDA News

Single-Pill First-Line Combo Drugs for High BP Cleared

The FDA has approved two single-pill combination drugs, Diovan HCT (valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide) and Exforge (amlodipine and valsartan), as first-line treatments in patients likely to ...

Supplement Lots Seized After Company Fails to Issue Recall

At the FDA's request, U.S. marshals seized nearly $74,000 worth of Xiadafil VIP tablets, Lots 6K029 and 6K209-SEI, distributed by SEI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Miami.

Prognostic Claim with Resubmission of PSA Test Application

IRIS International, Inc., of Chatsworth, Calif., after extensive consultation with the FDA, plans to resubmit its 510(k) application for the company's NADiA PSA ultrasensitive diagnostic ...

Legal Issues

Urologist Negligent For Not Referring to a Nephrologist

As a urologist with nearly 30 years' experience, Dr. T, 58, was accustomed to having patients referred to him by other doctors. But he never ...

Malpractice News

North Carolina Joins Public-Access Trend

North Carolina will soon make physicians' malpractice histories accessible to the general public by posting them online, as more than a dozen states already do.

Fumbled Discharges Bring Preventable Risks

Inadequate hospital-discharge procedures can create a minefield of malpractice risks, as outlined in a recent report from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority (PPSA).

Doc's $25 Million Verdict Slashed

A West Virginia surgeon will get less than half the $25 million a jury awarded him in a defamation case earlier this year.

Court: 'Expert' Law Goes Too Far

An Arizona law that set qualifications for expert witnesses is unconstitutional, the state court of appeals has decided.

Renal Nutrition Update

Hypoalbuminemia in Dialysis Patients

IN DIALYSIS patients, hypoalbuminemia is a strong predictor of poor outcomes. Although low serum albumin is often attributed to inadequate protein intake, there is evidence ...

Your Money

Funds That Lead When Stocks Fall

DURING THE first six months of 2008, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 12%, and most equity mutual funds suffered double-digit declines. Long-short funds ...

Investors Who Make a Bad Time Worse

IN A year when the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has been dropping, the average mutual fund investor should do even worse than the benchmark, ...

General News

GFR Decline Linked to Oral Estrogen Use

ORAL ESTROGEN therapy in post-menopausal women is associated with loss of renal function, according to Canadian researchers.

Age Predicts RCC Death in Women

AGE IS AN independent prognostic factor in women, but not men, with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to researchers.

ARBs May Lower CVD Event Risk in Hemodialysis Patients

TREATMENT WITH angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may reduce the risk of fatal and non-fatal CVD events in hemodialysis patients, according to researchers at the Saitama ...

Artificially Sweetened Drinks May Hike Diabetes Risk

SAN FRANCISCO—Heavy consumption of artificially sweetened beverages was associated with almost twice the risk of diabetes in a long-term, community-based prospective study, researchers reported here ...

Calcitriol Lowers Death Risk

ORAL CALCITRIOL use may decrease mortality risk in non-dialysis CKD patients, according to a report in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2008;19:1613-1619).

Gastric Bypass Has Sexual Benefits

ORLANDO—Morbid obesity can cause sexual dysfunction in men, but new findings suggest that weight loss resulting from gastric bypass surgery may normalize sexual function.

Higher BMI May Not Affect Fertility

SAN FRANCISCO—Overweight men are no more likely to be infertile than normal-weight men, according to study findings presented here at the annual meeting of The ...

Agent Orange, PCa Linked

Men exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War are at increased risk of prostate cancer, according to a study published in Cancer ...

Post-Tx Diabetes Bad for Arteries

New-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) in renal transplant recipients may accelerate arterial stiffening, thus contributing to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, German researchers reported in Transplant International ...

Warming Could Hike Stone Risk

Increasing temperatures could raise the prevalence of kidney stones, researchers reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2008; 105:9841-9846).

Albuminuria Boosts Likelihood of Dementia in the Elderly

Albuminuria is associated with an increased likelihood of dementia in the elderly, researchers reported in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (2008;52:216-226).

CKD Associated with Carotid Atherosclerosis, Study Shows

Increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), as measured by ultrasonography, is associated with an elevated risk of CKD in the elderly, researchers reported in Nephrology Dialysis ...

PADT Found Not to Improve Survival

Primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT) is not associated with improved 10-year survival in elderly men with localized prostate cancer when compared with conservative management, according ...

Statins Raise PCa Odds in Obese Men

Statin use by obese men may increase their risk of prostate cancer, according to study findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (2008;168:250-260).

PDE-5 Inhibitors Effective in Women

OFF-LABEL USE of sildenafil (Viagra) relieved the sexual side effects of antidepressants for women in a recent clinical trial.

Water Intake May Diminish Likelihood of Bladder Cancer

WATER INTAKE may be associated with a slightly reduced risk of bladder cancer, especially in women, a study suggests.

Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection Highly Prevalent

OCCULT HEPATITIS C virus (HCV) infection is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients, Spanish researchers concluded.

Statins May Help Renal Tx Patients

STATIN USE is associated with reduced mortality in kidney transplant recipients but not with prolonged graft survival, according to a new study.

PCa Screening Not Advised at Age 75+

UPDATING ITS 2002 recommendations, a federal government panel now advises against screening for prostate cancer in men aged 75 years and older.

OAB Drug Works Despite Symptom Severity

PARIS—The severity of a patient's overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms prior to treatment with fixed-dose darifenacin (Enablex) has no effect on treatment response, researchers announced here ...

Weight Reduction Eases Incontinence

PARIS—Data suggest that losing even a modest amount of weight using a simple behavioral intervention is an effective, short-term treatment for urinary incontinence (UI) in ...

HIFU For PCa Salvage

MEN WITH localized prostate cancer recurrence following external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) may benefit from salvage therapy with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), researchers reported in BJU ...

Unexpected Bone-Thinning Mechanism

SAN FRANCISCO—The culprit in rosiglitazone-associated bone thinning may be increased bone resorption, according to new data presented here at the annual meeting of The Endocrine ...

Too Much Water Could Be Harmful

LONDON, Ont.—Drinking two liters of water per day may not benefit most individuals and even could be harmful, investigators say.

Data Confirm Sunitinib's Superiority

CHICAGO—Sunitinib (Sutent) remains a reference standard for the first-line treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), with updated findings from a phase 3 trial confirming ...

Low Testosterone Increases Mortality Risk

SAN FRANCISCO—Low serum testosterone levels may be associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes and cancer, independent of age and other risk ...

Scan May Reveal PCa Spread

AN ENGINEERED version of the common cold virus could indicate within days, rather than weeks or months, whether treatment has halted the spread of prostate ...

U.K. Team: GFR Estimates Important

SAN FRANCISCO—British researchers have endorsed U.S. guidelines stating that screening diabetic patients for renal disease should involve estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in addition to ...

Lifestyle Changes Can Postpone Diabetes

SAN FRANCISCO—New data suggest that group-based lifestyle interventions followed for longer than six years can postpone or prevent development of type 2 diabetes for up ...

CAM Use Could Signal Nonadherence

TORONTO—Kidney transplant patients who use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are less likely than others to adhere to their prescribed drug regimens, according to study ...

Death Risk, Phosphate Level Linked in CKD

LONDON, Ont.—Patients referred to Canadian nephrologists with CKD stage 3-5 and normal-to-high phosphate levels are at greater risk of kidney failure and death than are ...

Legislation Has Small Effect on Live Donation

TORONTO—Legislation aimed at increasing rates of live kidney donation has not substantially improved those rates, researchers concluded.

Age Predicts RCC Death in Women

AGE IS AN independent prognostic factor in women, but not men, with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to researchers.

Drug Improves Androgen Suppression

CHICAGO—An experimental oral agent called abiraterone acetate, used in combination with prednisone, can decrease serum androgen levels to undetectable levels in men who have progressive ...

An Easier Way to Predict Palliative Response

CHICAGO—A 24-hour analgesic score prior to palliative treatment in patients with hormone- refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) potentially could be used in place of daily average ...

LUTS Rates Expected to Soar Worldwide

PARIS—Investigators are predicting a significant increase in the number of individuals with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) over the coming decade.

Renal Tx Improves HIV Patients' Survival

TORONTO—HIV-infected individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have significantly better odds of survival if they have a kidney transplant than if they remain on dialysis, ...

Finasteride Shrinks Prostates of Any Size, Study Suggests

LONG-TERM treatment with finasteride either alone or in combination with doxazosin is associated with clinically significant reductions in total prostate volume in patients with lower ...

PD Patient Survival Better—At First

LONDON, Ont.—Patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) live longer than those on hemodialysis (HD), at least during the first years after dialysis starts, a new study ...

Researchers: Donor Kidneys Decline with Age

TORONTO—Transplantation of kidneys from deceased donors aged 70 years or older is associated with a high relative risk of graft loss or death, according to ...

Celecoxib Works for BPH with Nocturia

CELECOXIB IS effective for treating BPH patients with refractory nocturia, researchers in Iran reported in Urology (2008; online ahead of print).

Cover Articles

Increased PCa Risk Ruled Out

CONTRARY TO original findings from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), finasteride does not increase the risk of high-grade prostate cancer, according to a new ...

Salt May Lower ARB Efficacy in Diabetics

SAN FRANCISCO—Dietary salt supplementation may reduce the antihypertensive effects of the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension, investigators ...

Age Affects SUI Surgery Outcomes

PARIS—Older women undergoing surgery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) fare as well as younger women with respect to perioperative results, but they experience worse two-year ...

Feature

Docs Slow to Embrace Nutraceuticals

When Florida physician Bernd Wollschlaeger, MD, asked an elderly female CKD patient to tell him all the medications she was taking, she listed four or ...

Commentary

CKD: Speaking the Same Language

Decreases in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are associated with higher risks of cardiovascular events, hospitalizations, and premature death (N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1296-1305). While both ...

Urine Test Detects Upper Tract TCC

WITH UPPER tract transitional cell carcinoma (UT-TCC), vigilance is the watchword. Detecting this cancer earlier may directly impact patient survival. According to the American Cancer ...