Male Incontinence: The Etiology or Basis of Treatment.

Context: Elderly men are an increasing proportion of the aging population in the 21st century. Urinary incontinence reduces the quality of life and increases the burden of care for the aging population.

Objective: The primary objective of this review is to explore the etiopathology of common causes of incontinence in aging male patients.

The prostatic utricle: An under-recognized condition resulting in significant morbidity in boys with both hypospadias and normal external genitalia.

Introduction: Pediatric presentations of a prostatic utricle have received only scant attention. Though recognized with increased frequency in boys with hypospadias, little is described about their incidence and potential for morbidity in boys with normal external genitalia.

Methods: We initially reviewed a cohort of 64 patients with hypospadias seen over a 3-year period to determine the frequency of investigative lower urinary tract studies and utricle identification.

Proximally Directed Double-looped Epididymis and Vas Deferens Simulating Vas Duplication: The Importance of Precise Definition of Abnormal Ductal Anatomy in Cryptorchidism.

Objective: Epididymal and vasal abnormalities are frequently recognized with undescended testes. The most common defect identified is the extended or elongated epididymis, an anomaly in which the epididymal tail extends distally beyond the testis before looping back upon itself, then following its normal course. Although the impact on fertility has not been established, the necessity of recognizing these vaso-epididymal abnormalities surgically is obvious as these frequently simulate a blind-ending spermatic cord leading to inadvertent excision or leaving the unseen testis more proximally in the abdomen.

Impact of Genetic and Epigenetic Variations Within the FADS Cluster on the Composition and Metabolism of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Prostate Cancer.

Background: In vitro and experimental animal studies have demonstrated that high levels of omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and high ratios of n-6 to omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs are strongly associated with the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCA). However, epidemiological studies in humans have demonstrated inconsistent findings linking dietary PUFAs and PCA risk. We hypothesize that genetic and epigenetic variations within the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster produce gene-diet interactions that may explain these disparate findings.

The impact of polyunsaturated fatty acid-based dietary supplements on disease biomarkers in a metabolic syndrome/diabetes population.

Background: Ingestion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been proposed to influence several chronic diseases including coronary heart disease (CHD) and type-2 diabetes (T2D).There is strong evidence that omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs provide protection against CHD and biomarkers of atherosclerosis. In contrast, there is more limited and inconsistent data for T2D.

Relationship between a common variant in the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) cluster and eicosanoid generation in humans.

Dramatic shifts in the Western diet have led to a marked increase in the dietary intake of the n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), linoleic acid (LA). Dietary LA can then be converted to arachidonic acid (ARA) utilizing three enzymatic steps. Two of these steps are encoded for by the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) cluster (chromosome 11, 11q12.