THE CONSEQUENCES of anabolic steroid use is a treatment reality for many clinicians, including urologists. Although anabolic steroid use among professional athletes gets the lion's share of attention in the media, many more casual competitors partake as well.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A handful of cases suggest that finasteride (Propecia), a treatment for male pattern hair loss, may be harming male fertility.

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.

THE ABILITY to purchase organs from live donors could largely eliminate transplant waiting times and only modestly increase total transplantation costs, according to a newly published economic analysis.

WASHINGTON D.C.—Percutaneous varicocele embolization is safe and effective for treating painful varicoceles and may improve sperm concentration in infertile men, according to Canadian researchers.

WHAT DO you know about the pathologists analyzing your patients' specimens? Are you sure the person signing off on the report is qualified to do so? How many other slides has the pathologist looked at that day? That year? Does the lab pay its pathologists using a system that encourages productivity beyond the point of proficiency and into the realm where quantity is more important than quality?

STOCKHOLM—Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common affliction among patients with stage III-IV CKD, an Italian study found.

AT PRESENT, almost one fourth of stage 5 CKD patients experience a life-threatening episode of hyperkalemia requiring emergency treatment, according to data cited in a recent article in Seminars in Dialysis (2007;20:431-439). The authors, Nirupama Putcha, MD, and Michael Allon, MD, note that although "many options have been proposed for the prevention of interdialytic hyperkalemia...prevention currently rests largely upon compliance with diet and a thoughtful use of medication regimens."

The established practice for preventing urinary calculi is being challenged by results of a recent study (Whitson et al, Urology. 2007;70:634-637), which showed no correlation between urinary citrate levels and urinary pH.

BOSTON—It may be possible to get accurate urine protein excretion estimates in lupus nephritis patients in three or 12 hours instead of 24, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.