Digital rectal examination impact on PSA derivatives and prostate biopsy triggers: a contemporary study.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the digital rectal exam (DRE) on PSA measurements and clinical decision-making.

Methods: Healthy male volunteers between 50 and 70 years old were recruited during a 30-day public screening program. PSA levels were measured using two different methods (standard enhanced chemiluminescence immunoassay-ECLIA, and novel immunochromatography assay-ICA/rapid PSA) in the same blood sample.

The Biopsychosocial Burden of Prostate Biopsy at the Time of Its Indication, Procedure, and Pathological Report.

Purpose: To explore the burden of prostate biopsy at the time of its indication, procedure, and pathological report in the prostate cancer-screening scenario that is neglected and underestimated in the literature.

Methods: Prostate biopsy was offered to 47 consecutive patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over 4 ng/dl or suspicious digital rectal examination (DRE) of whom 16 had undergone a biopsy. Comprehensive validated questionnaires at Time 0 (prebiopsy), Time 1 (before diagnosis, 20 days after biopsy), and Time 2 (after diagnosis, 40 days after biopsy) accessed patients' erectile (IIEF-5) and voiding (IPSS) functions, Beck scales measured anxiety (BAI), hopelessness (BHS), and depression (BDI), added to the emotional thermometers including five visual analog scales for distress, anxiety, depression, anger, and need for help.

Does underestimated penile size impact erectile function in healthy men?

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of objective (stretched) and subjective penile size in the erectile function in a urological check-up program on a cross-sectional study including 689 men aged 35-70 years. IIEF-5 questionnaire, physical examination (penile length, prostate volume, blood pressure, body mass index-BMI), metabolic syndrome (MS), comorbidities, habits (sexual intercourse frequency, physical activity, alcohol, and tobacco use), level of education, serum glucose, total testosterone, estradiol, PSA, lipid profile, and self-perceptions (ejaculation time and subjective penile size) were examined in multivariate models using logistic and linear regressions. Penile objective mean length was 13.

Is there room for behavioral and modifiable health-related targets in the lower urinary tract symptoms' scenario.

Purpose: To better understand potential modifiable risk factors guiding preventive interventions against lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study, including healthy men aged 40-70 years under routine urological evaluation, measured the strength of association between the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors using logistic and linear regression adjusted for confounding factors. Men with urethral or prostate surgery were excluded.

Steroid Hormone Receptors as Potential Mediators of the Clinical Effects of Dutasteride: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind Study.

This study characterizes the clinical and morphofunctional effects of a 5α-reductase inhibitor on steroid hormone receptors in normal human prostate tissue, as potential mediators of the clinical effects of dutasteride. This work was a prospective, double-blind, and randomized study that evaluated 49 men aged between 45 and 70 years, with no alterations in a digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen measurements between 2.5 and 4.

Is metabolic syndrome truly a risk factor for male lower urinary tract symptoms or just an epiphenomenon?

To define whether the association of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and metabolic syndrome (MS) is real or simply an epiphenomenon, 490 male adults (mean age 58 ± 9 years) underwent International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), physical and prostate digital examinations, blood analysis, and urinary tract transabdominal ultrasound with prostate volume measurement. Mild, moderate, and severe LUTS were found in 350 (71.4%), 116 (23.

The interpretation of the figure of the prophet Jonah by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel: anatomical urological vision.

Purpose: A detailed analysis in the iconography and pictorial appearance of the scene of the "Prophet Jonah" painted by the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between the years 1508 and 1512.

Materials And Methods: Literature review on the Italian Renaissance period and the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti and analysis of historical aspects of the evolution of studies of human anatomy in this period and the works of the artist.

Results: A comparative analysis of the representation of the figure of the fish on the left thigh of "Jonah " with a cross section of penis shows a curious similarity.

Experience with different botulinum toxins for the treatment of refractory neurogenic detrusor overactivity.

Purpose: To report our experience with the use of the botulinum toxin-A (BoNT/A) formulations Botox and Prosigne in the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO).

Materials And Methods: At a single institution, 45 consecutive patients with refractory urinary incontinence due to NDO received a single intradetrusor (excluding the trigone) treatment with botulinum toxin type A 200 or 300 units. Botox was used for the first 22 patients, and Prosigne for the subsequent 23 patients.