Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Detect Differences in Micturition-Related Brain Activity Between Volitional and Involuntary Detrusor Contractions.

Introduction: Detrusor contractions can be classified as either volitional or involuntary. The latter are a hallmark of urge urinary incontinence. Understanding differences in neuroactivation associated with both types of contractions can help elucidate pathophysiology and therapeutic targets.

Long-Term Decision Regret and Associated Factors Following Urinary Reconstruction in Underserved Patients with Spinal Cord Injury.

Purpose: Patients with refractory neurogenic bladder dysfunction may require urinary reconstruction due to severe incontinence, difficulty with catheterization, and to prevent upper urinary tract compromise. We evaluated long-term decisional regret and associated factors following urinary reconstruction in spinal cord injury patients.

Materials And Methods: We interviewed patients with spinal cord injuries who underwent bladder reconstruction surgery at least ten years ago, administering validated surveys on bowel quality of life and dysfunction, urinary tract infections, and decisional regret.

The Role of Vibrators in Women's Pelvic Health: An Alluring Tool to Improve Physical, Sexual, and Mental Health.

Introduction And Hypothesis: In limited studies vibrators have been shown to improve sexual function and pelvic floor health; however, there are even fewer studies on the effect of vibrator use on overall genitourinary and mental health. To investigate the effect of regular vibrator use on sexual, genitourinary, and mental health in addition to quality of life.

Methods: We performed a prospective pilot study of women aged 18 to 80 years recruited from a urogynecology clinic.

Consistency of endometrial receptivity array and histologic dating of spatially distinct endometrial samplings: a prospective, blinded study.

Objective: To compare the consistency of endometrial receptivity array (ERA) and histologic dating among 3 spatially distinct endometrial samples obtained during a cycle of exogenous estrogen and progesterone.

Design: Prospective blinded study.

Setting: University practice.

Gender disparities among publications within international sexual medicine urology journals and the impact of blinding in the review process.

Background: While female urologists are known to publish at less frequency than their male peers, The Journal of Sexual Medicine was reported to have among the highest growth in female authorship from 2002 to 2020 in urology journals.

Aim: We sought to assess the frequency of female authorship in sexual medicine journals worldwide and the factors that affect this, including the blinded/unblinded review process.

Methods: Eleven sexual medicine journals were assessed for geographic location, peer review method, and SCImago Journal Rank citation index (a metric of citation frequency and prestige).

A Pilot Study of the Effect of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation on Micturition-Related Brain Activity and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms After Stroke.

Purpose: Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSCS) is a novel neuromodulation modality developed to promote functional restoration in patients with neurological injury or disease. Previous pilot data suggest that lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) due to stroke may be partially alleviated by TSCS. In this study, we examine the mechanism of this effect by evaluating bladder-related brain activity in patients before and after TSCS therapy and comparing it to healthy volunteers.

Resilience as an Independent Predictor of Bowel Related Quality of Life After Spinal Cord Injury.

Bowel dysfunction remains a prominent priority in the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). However, our understanding of the factors that influence bowel-related quality of life (QoL) in this population remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of resilience, defined as an individual's capacity to cope with and adapt to adversity, as a predictor of bowel-related QoL among the patients with SCI.

Content, face, and construct validity of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) as a measure of bowel-related quality of life in spinal cord injury.

Introduction: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction is commonly encountered after a spinal cord injury (SCI), leading to a tremendous impact on quality of life (QOL). The neurogenic bowel dysfunction score (NBDS) is commonly used to measure the severity of bowel dysfunction and predict QOL. However, there is no comprehensive instrument to assess bowel-specific QOL for SCI patients.

Epithelioid Hemangioma of the Glans Penis in an Adolescent Male: A Case Report.

Epithelioid hemangioma is a rare vascular lesion consisting of capillaries and inflammatory infiltrate containing lymphocytes, and mast cells. The presentation of penile epithelioid hemangioma has been previously described in the adult literature; however, few cases have been reported in the pediatric population. Herein we present a case of penile epithelioid hemangioma in a 15-year-old patient with regrowth following surgical resection, requiring more extensive surgical excision with urethral reconstruction.

Health Care Economic Burden of Treatment and Rehabilitation for Neurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: The clinical, social, and economic impacts of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) on individuals and health care systems are thought to be immense, yet the true costs of care are unknown. The aims of this study are to illuminate the global costs related to the current state of care for NLUTD.

Materials And Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed using MEDLINE, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, and the Cochrane Specialized Urology and Incontinence Registers.

Gender Disparities Among Editorial Boards of International Urology Journals.

Background: Gender composition among surgical academic leadership, including academic medical journals, disproportionately favors men and may inadvertently introduce a bias. An understanding of the factors associated with gender representation among urologic journals may aid in prioritizing an equitable balance.

Objective: To evaluate female representation on editorial boards of pre-eminent international urologic journals.

Noninvasive spinal neuromodulation mitigates symptoms of idiopathic overactive bladder.

Background: Overactive bladder (OAB) affects 12 to 30% of the world's population. The accompanying urinary urgency, frequency and incontinence can have a profound effect on quality of life, leading to depression, social isolation, avoidance of sexual activity and loss of productivity. Conservative measures such as lifestyle modification and pelvic floor physical therapy are the first line of treatment for overactive bladder.

Graphical models for mean and covariance of multivariate longitudinal data.

Joint mean-covariance modeling of multivariate longitudinal data helps to understand the relative changes among multiple longitudinally measured and correlated outcomes. A key challenge in the analysis of multivariate longitudinal data is the complex covariance structure. This is due to the contemporaneous and cross-temporal associations between multiple longitudinal outcomes.

Transcriptome dataset for RNA-seq analysis of axolotl embryonic oropharyngeal endoderm explants.

Animal nutrition and toxin deterrence rely on the ability to taste, which occurs through columnar taste cells clustered within taste buds. Taste buds in mammals are located within specialized tissues, called papillae. However, taste buds in fish and amphibians, such as axolotls (), are not housed in papillae, rather they are embedded within the pharyngeal epithelium.

Transcriptome analysis of axolotl oropharyngeal explants during taste bud differentiation stages.

The Mexican salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum (Axolotl), is an excellent vertebrate model system to understand development and regeneration. Studies in axolotl embryos have provided important insights into taste bud development. Taste bud specification and determination occur in the oropharyngeal endoderm of axolotl embryos during gastrulation and neurulation, respectively, whereas taste bud innervation and taste cell differentiation occur later in development.

Understanding Male Caregivers' Emotional, Financial, and Physical Burden in the United States.

Men caregivers face caregiving burden, have weak support networks and are less likely to seek out programs which increase their caregiving capabilities and help them cope with this burden. Using the 2011 and 2015 National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) database and hierarchical regressions, we studied the emotional, financial, and physical burden of male caregivers as spouses, sons, and other caregivers by assessing the impact of caregiver characteristics, tasks and resources for each subgroup. We highlighted the importance of using a nationally representative database for men caregivers only and emphasized that these caregivers are not a monolithic group.

Modeling the Cholesky factors of covariance matrices of multivariate longitudinal data.

Modeling the covariance matrix of multivariate longitudinal data is more challenging as compared to its univariate counterpart due to the presence of correlations among multiple responses. The modified Cholesky decomposition reduces the task of covariance modeling into parsimonious modeling of its two matrix factors: the regression coefficient matrices and the innovation covariance matrices. These parameters are statistically interpretable, however ensuring positive-definiteness of several (innovation) covariance matrices presents itself as a new challenge.

Primary and secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease in women.

Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of mortality among women. With increasing awareness of heart disease in women and increasing focus on including more women in trials, mortality from cardiovascular disease has fallen. Despite this, more women than men die from cardiovascular disease, and increasing cardiovascular disease is seen in young women.

An update on exercise stress testing.

Exercise stress testing is the most commonly used noninvasive method to evaluate for coronary artery disease in men and women. Although emphasis has been placed on the diagnostic value of ST-segment depression, the exercise stress test provides other valuable diagnostic and prognostic data, beyond ST-segment depression. The value of these variables, which include exercise capacity, chronotropic response, heart rate recovery, blood pressure response, and the Duke Treadmill Score, are reviewed in this article.

A 63-year-old woman with a pericardial effusion, bilateral pleural effusions, and ascites: is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?

A 63-year-old female presented with dyspnea, leg edema, and abdominal distention. Exam revealed blood pressure of 104/58, pulse 108/min, jugular venous pressure of 8 cm, no pulsus paradoxus, a pericardial rub, muffled heart sounds, decreased basilar breath sounds, ascites, and ankle edema. Electrocardiogram showed low voltage.