Color Doppler ultrasound imaging in varicoceles: Is the difference in venous diameter encountered during Valsalva predictive of palpable varicocele grade?

Objective: The clinical grading system for varicoceles is subjective and dependent on clinician experience. Color Doppler ultrasound (US) has not been standardized in the diagnosis of varicoceles. We aimed to determine if US measurement of varicocele could be predictive of World Health Organization (WHO) varicocele grade.

Evaluation of the impact of marijuana use on semen quality: a prospective analysis.

Aims: To assess if marijuana consumption - prevalent among men of reproductive age and becoming widespread due to decriminalization - is associated with changes in semen parameters. Marijuana's active metabolite, tetrahydrocannabinol, can alter signaling pathways within spermatozoa, affecting spermatogenesis and fertility.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated semen analyses (SA) from men presenting for infertility evaluation at one institution from July 2017 to April 2018.

Global Trends in Prevalence, Treatments, and Costs of Penile Prosthesis for Erectile Dysfunction in Men.

Context: Penile prosthesis is a durable and effective treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). Even as other treatment options for ED have been brought to market, penile prosthetic surgery remains a mainstay for urologists treating ED. No systematic study has yet summarized the global trends in penile prosthetic surgery.

Treatment Trends and Cost Associated With Peyronie's Disease.

Introduction: Providers may use several treatment options for patients with Peyronie's disease; however, it is unclear whether practice patterns have evolved over recent years and if this has impacted cost.

Aims: To investigate trends in the treatment of Peyronie's disease over time and the associated costs using a national, commercial insurance claims database.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using claims from the Truven MarketScan database from 2007 to 2018 for men with Peyronie's disease.

Comparison of clinician and patient users of a mobile phone application to assess penile curvature in Peyronie's disease.

Assessment of Peyronie's disease with penile injection is invasive and uncomfortable. We developed a smartphone application (UWPEN) to assess penile angulation in the home environment. The purpose of this study was to compare clinician and patient measurements and assess the patient experience with UWPEN in a clinical setting.

Undergoing varicocele repair before assisted reproduction improves pregnancy rate and live birth rate in azoospermic and oligospermic men with a varicocele: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate how varicocele repair (VR) impacts pregnancy (PRs) and live birth rates in infertile couples undergoing assisted reproduction wherein the male partner has oligospermia or azoospermia and a history of varicocele.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Setting: Not applicable.

Characterizing the Morbidity of Postchemotherapy Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection for Testis Cancer in a National Cohort of Privately Insured Patients.

Objective: To characterize morbidity of postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND) for testis cancer, we analyze a contemporary national database. PC-RPLND is the standard for residual radiographic masses ≥1 cm (nonseminoma) and positron emission tomography-avid masses ≥3 cm (seminoma). Morbidity for PC-RPLND is greater than primary RPLND, which may be mitigated by performing surgery at a high-volume cancer center.

The fate of transitional urology patients referred to a tertiary transitional care center.

Objective: To determine the changes in management of children with neurogenic bladder (NGB) or genitourinary congenital anomalies as they moved to our transitional care clinic at the Center for Restorative Pelvic Medicine, a multidisciplinary center led by an adult urologic team dedicated to the long-term care of these patients.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed charts of patients with NGB or genitourinary congenital abnormalities referred between 2010 and 2013. Analysis included patient characteristics, causes of NGB, bladder management, recurrent urinary tract infection, stones, renal function, upper tract studies, video urodynamics, and change in management.

Urethral diverticulum after midurethral sling erosion, excision, and subsequent management.

Background: Urethral diverticulum formation after midurethral sling placement is a very rare complication. Only 3 previous cases have been reported in the English literature. This is the first reported case of urethral diverticulum formation after midurethral sling excision for urethral erosion.

Patient satisfaction with testosterone replacement therapies: the reasons behind the choices.

Introduction: Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for male hypogonadism is rapidly gaining popularity and acceptance. Options include gels, injections, and implantable subcutaneous pellets.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine rates of patient satisfaction and reasons for patient preferences in hypogonadal men on TRT.

Factors influencing patient decisions to initiate and discontinue subcutaneous testosterone pellets (Testopel) for treatment of hypogonadism.

Introduction: A variety of modalities for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) are available, including topical gels, injections, and Testopel subcutaneous testosterone pellets (STP). STP are becoming more commonly utilized in the United States; however, patient preferences, expectations, and usage patterns regarding this therapy remain poorly characterized.

Aim: To identify factors influencing patients' decisions to initiate or discontinue STP.

Anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism in young men.

Purpose: The use of anabolic androgenic steroids has not been traditionally discussed in mainstream medicine. With the increased diagnosis of hypogonadism a heterogeneous population of men is now being evaluated. In this larger patient population the existence of anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism, whether transient or permanent, should now be considered.

Defective gonadotropin-dependent ovarian folliculogenesis and granulosa cell gene expression in inhibin-deficient mice.

Inhibin-α knockout (Inha-/-) female mice develop sex cord-stromal ovarian cancer with complete penetrance and previous studies demonstrate that the pituitary gonadotropins (FSH and LH) are influential modifiers of granulosa cell tumor development and progression in inhibin-deficient females. Recent studies have demonstrated that Inha-/- ovarian follicles develop precociously to the early antral stage in prepubertal mice without any increase in serum FSH. These studies suggest that in the absence of inhibins, granulosa cells differentiate abnormally and thus at sexual maturity may undergo an abnormal response to gonadotropin signaling contributing to tumor development.

Genetic evidence that SMAD2 is not required for gonadal tumor development in inhibin-deficient mice.

Background: Inhibin is a tumor-suppressor and activin antagonist. Inhibin-deficient mice develop gonadal tumors and a cachexia wasting syndrome due to enhanced activin signaling. Because activins signal through SMAD2 and SMAD3 in vitro and loss of SMAD3 attenuates ovarian tumor development in inhibin-deficient females, we sought to determine the role of SMAD2 in the development of ovarian tumors originating from the granulosa cell lineage.

Stable expression and characterization of N-terminal tagged recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 15.

Oocyte-derived growth factors are critically involved in multiple ovarian processes via paracrine actions. Although recombinant proteins have been applied to dissect the physiological functions of these factors, variation of activities among different protein preparations remains an issue. To further elucidate the roles of one of these growth factors, bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), in mediating oocyte-regulated molecular and cellular events and to explore its potential clinical application, we engineered the human BMP15 sequence to efficiently produce bioactive recombinant human BMP15 (rhBMP15).