Information from Various Sources

Regarding the MAPP Research Network. (March 26, 2009)

The MAPP Network web site is now public (www.Mappnetwork.org
Please study this web site and follow it for additional information.

The NIH is making an effort to seek a cause and cure for prostatitis in response to your requests and letters so we need to support these research centers when the time comes.

Prostatitis Foundation

To Members of Medical-Scientific Community, (March 6, 2009)

The NIH announced the allocation of $200 million to support hundreds of 2-year, $1 million challenge grants: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OD-09-003.html. This new program will support research on 'high priority challenge topics' that would benefit from significant 2-year jumpstart funds. The complete list can be viewed online: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/challenge_award/High_Priority_Topics.pdf#topic_01

The earliest date an application may be submitted to grants.gov is March 27, 2009. Applications are due on April 27, 2009. Peer review will take place over the summer and grants will be announced in the fall. Eligible US organizations/institutions are listed in the request for applications.

We encourage you to contact the program officer(s) listed under each topic area for additional information and to discuss potential projects.

"Prostatitis is a significant health problem, with a prevalence of 11% to 16%." (February 28, 2009)

"Prostatitis is a significant health problem, with a prevalence of 11% to 16%."
Mishra VC, Browne J, and Emberton M: Role of repeated prostatic massage in chronic prostatitis: a systematic review of the literature. Urology. 2008 Oct;72(4):731-5.

2009 AUA Annual Meeting (January 23, 2009)

The 2009 AUA Annual Meeting in Chicago is growing closer. As you plan your itinerary for the Annual Meeting, we ask that you please keep these Office of Research events in mind:

Saturday, April 25, 7:00 a.m.

Run For Urology Health, On the Go for a Cure! 5K Run/2K Walk

Grant Park, East Balbo Dr. and South Columbus Dr.

Click here to register

Sunday, April 26, 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Research Forum – “Showcasing Young Investigators”

McCormick Place South Rooms S102 A/B/C/D

Monday, April 27, 6:30 – 8:00 a.m.

AUA Foundation Scholars Breakfast (by invitation only)

Hyatt McCormick Chicago Hotel - Regency Ballroom A



O’Brien Research Centers

The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is pleased to announce the release of a new program funding announcement for the George M. O’Brien Urology Research Centers. The George M. O’Brien Urology Research Centers (P50) application due date is March 18, 2009. Please be advised that, although not required, a letter of intent is strongly encouraged to be received by KUH by February 18, 2009. The RFA is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-08-016.html. To view this RFA as well as RFA updates and timelines, please visit the NIDDK’s “O’Brien Kidney and Urology Research Centers Updates” Web page at http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/Research/Centers/CenterPrograms/OBrien_Updates.htm. To request additional information, please contact Dr. Debuene Chang at changtd@mail.nih.gov.



Rodney Cotten, PMP
Research Programs Manager
American Urological Association Foundation
1000 Corporate Boulevard
Linthicum, MD 21090
Toll Free 1-866-RING-AUA x3750
(410) 689-3750
Fax: (410) 689-3850
rcotten@auafoundation.org

www.auafoundation.org

www.UrologyHealth.org


Promoting health through education * Empowering patients through advocacy * Advancing cures through research

Back $10 Billion for NIH in Economic Recovery Act Contact Your Senators Immediately (January 3, 2009)

Contact your senators now in support of $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The full Senate will debate the bill this week, including Senator Arlen Specter's (PA) amendment to increase NIH funding.

Sen. Specter's amendment would add $6.5 billion to the $3.5 billion for NIH currently included in the bill. Additional funds provided by the amendment would be distributed to the Institutes and Centers proportional to their current funding level.

Investing in the NIH will create and sustain high-paying jobs in every state while improving the lives and health of Americans. Take action now!

The NIH has supported prostatitis research consistently. Let us assist them now by supporting this amendment backed by Senator Arlen Spector.

Please contact your senators.

COMMON TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC PROSTATITIS FAILS TO REDUCE SYMPTOMS (December 19, 2008)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Embargoed for Release: Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 5:00 p.m. EST
CONTACT: Arthur Stone, 301-496-3583,

COMMON TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC PROSTATITIS FAILS TO REDUCE SYMPTOMS

Alfuzosin, a drug commonly prescribed for men with chronic prostatitis, a painful disorder of the prostate and surrounding pelvic area, failed to significantly reduce symptoms in recently diagnosed men who had not been previously treated with this drug, according to a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study is to be published in the "New England Journal of Medicine".

"Although these results are disappointing, it is just as important to find out what doesn't work as it is to know what does," said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. "We have conclusively shown that a drug commonly prescribed for men with chronic prostatitis did not significantly reduce symptoms compared to a placebo."

Ameriican Family Physician Archives (December 16, 2008)

Online access to new issues of American Family Physician is restricted to AAFP members and paid subscribers. The content of each issue is made freely available about one year after publication. The bulk of the online archives are open to all.

REVIEW OF PROSTATE CANCER PREVENTION STUDY SHOWS NO BENEFIT FOR USE OF SELENIUM AND VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTS (December 9, 2008)

Initial, independent review of study data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health shows that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer. The data also showed two concerning trends: a small but not statistically significant increase in the number of prostate cancer cases among the over 35,000 men age 50 and older in the trial taking only vitamin E and a small, but not statistically significant increase in the number of cases of adult onset diabetes in men taking only selenium (10 percent for those taking selenium vs. 9.3 percent taking placebo). Neither of these findings proves an increased risk from the supplements and both may be due to chance.

The Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), an international network of research institutions, coordinates SELECT at more than 400 clinical sites in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Vitamins E and Selenium taken alone or together do not prevent prostate cancer. (December 5, 2008)

Urology Times reported in the December 08 issue that the supplements Vitamins E and Selenium taken alone or together do not prevent prostate cancer. The trial was stopped.

Krongrad Institute Launches Ground Breaking Trial for Chronic Prostatitis (October 22, 2008)

Subj: Krongrad Institute Launches Ground Breaking Trial for Chronic Prostatitis
Date: 10/21/2008 11:21:07 AM Central Daylight Time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AVENTURA, FLORIDA

Approval of Ground Breaking Clinical Trial for Chronic Prostatitis

Multidisciplinary team headed by the Krongrad Institute launches ground breaking trial of minimally invasive surgery for Chronic Prostatitis

Chronic prostatitis is associated with a cluster of potentially debilitating symptoms, including pain and bleeding upon urination and/or ejaculation, fever, malaise, and weakness. In severe cases, patients have pain from such mundane acts as sitting.

Chronic prostatitis is not only potentially ruinous at the personal level. It is also a huge public health problem estimated to cause as many as two million doctor visits a year in the United States alone.

The Krongrad Institute for Minimally Invasive Prostate Surgery has just received IRB approval to conduct a prospective, longitudinal, non-randomized, single-arm Phase II study of patients with a diagnosis of chronic prostatitis before and after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, a form of minimally invasive surgery.

"Individual clinical cases have shown that surgery using laparoscopic radical prostatectomy can eliminate the symptoms associated with chronic prostatitis. This represents a conceptual revolution for men who otherwise have no effective treatment option. The study -- the first of its kind -- aims to better characterize and quantify the effects of minimally invasive surgery on the symptoms of chronic prostatitis," said the study's principal investigator Arnon Krongrad, MD.

The study is being led by Arnon Krongrad, MD, who in 1999 pioneered the use of laparoscopic prostatectomy in the United States; Dr. Krongrad will personally perform all the surgeries. The team also includes co-investigator and statistician Shenghan Lai, MD, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine, Pathology, and Radiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Rajiv Parti, MD, an anesthesiologist and Director of Advanced Pain Medicine at the Pain Institute of California; Dr. Parti himself had a 20-year history of chronic prostatitis, which was effectively treated by laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

To learn more and to apply for participation please log on to:
http://ProstatitisSurgery.com/ or http://ClinicalTrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00775515

Media Inquiries: Arnon Krongrad, MD
email: ak@laprp.com
Phone: 305-936-0474

Patient Referrals: Ruth
email: ruth@laprp.com
Phone: 305-936-0474
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Dr. Krongrad recently discussed prostatitis surgery on CBN's Living the Life
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More information leads on top left column of prostatitis webpage.

New funding opportunity in pain research today. (September 11, 2008)

Pain study NIH

Dear Members of the Medical-Scientific Community,

The NIH announced an exciting new funding opportunity in pain research today. Additional information on the 'Request for Applications' can be viewed below.

---------

Roadmap Transformative R01 Program (R01)
RFA-RM-08-029
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-08-029.html


Purpose
As part of the NIH Roadmap for Biomedical Research, the National Institutes of Health invites transformative Research Project Grant (R01) applications from institutions/organizations proposing exceptionally innovative, high risk, original and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new or challenge existing scientific paradigms. Projects must clearly demonstrate potential to produce a major impact in a broad area of biomedical or behavioral research.

Mechanism of Support
This FOA will utilize the NIH Research Project Grant (R01) award mechanism.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards
The NIH common fund intends to commit $25 million dollars in FY 2009 to fund up to 60 applications submitted in response to this FOA.

Budget and Project Period
Budget requests should be commensurate with project needs up to a five-year project period. There is no budget limit per proposal up to the budget cap for the program as a whole.

One area of highlighted need in the RFA is:
"Transition from Acute to Chronic Pain"

More than 30 million Americans suffer from unrelieved chronic pain. Management strategies often fail, in part because an individual's susceptibility to chronic pain is highly variable, the identification of those destined to transition from acute to chronic pain is difficult, and, once pain has become chronic, changes may have occurred that cannot be easily reversed. The lack of well defined phenotypes that reflect the cellular, molecular, genetic, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral changes that occur as individuals transition to chronic pain has been a major barrier to development of personalized approaches to pain intervention. For these reasons, T-R01 proposals are sought that will transform how we view the pain state of individuals and that will revolutionize the current empirically-based analgesic treatment approaches to ones based upon objective and predictive measures of an individual's pain phenotype. It is anticipated that responsive studies will involve formation of innovative partnerships including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams to adequately address the topic and experimental aims.


Copied with permission of NVA (National Vulvadenia Association)

NEW RESEARCH PLANS (September 5, 2008)

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), one of the National Institutes of Health, announced today that $37.5 million new dollars will be dedicated to a 5-year initiative examining urologic chronic pelvic pain disorders, namely IC and chronic prostatitis in men.

For more information about the MAPP initiative, please visit the NIDDK's website: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2008/ niddk-05.htm

Prostatitis Information (August 14, 2008)

THE National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health has a free brochure called: Understanding Prostate Changes. They describe among other things:
Prostate changes that occur with age
Prostatitis and BPH
Key questions to ask the doctor
Types of Tests
You can order one at 800 422 6237 or online at WWW.cancer.gov Click on NCI Publications

More on biofilm; possibly involved in Urinary Tract Infection? (August 4, 2008)

Go to Washingtonpost.com to see an interesting illustrated article about the social lives of biofilm. In the lookup options go to science. It is written by David Brown a staff writer in collaboration with Carsten Matz a microbiologist in Brunswick, Germany. It builds upon an article in Public Library of Science PLOS One. The discussion is about the ability of bacteria reacting to each other and their ability to form biofilms or toxins in reaction to one another.

New Research Plans at NIH (July 25, 2008)

National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Immediate Release
Friday July 25, 2008

E-mail this page
Subscribe Contact:
Arthur Stone
301-496-3583


NIDDK Publishes a Strategic Plan for Research into Benign Prostate Disease


For the first time, a strategic plan for research into benign prostate disease, based on the latest scientific knowledge, has been published by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan is the culmination of discussions and meetings among experts over the past two years in an effort to outline a strategic vision for research into these elusive and multi-faceted diseases.

"The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan reflects NIH’s commitment to advancing translational research by facilitating planning efforts among basic scientists, clinicians, advocacy groups, and patients," said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. "The educational summaries in each section of the plan provide clear explanations of the scientific data and the reasoning behind each of the recommended research priorities."

The research area of benign prostate disease includes two of the most significant non-cancerous disorders affecting males — benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). BPH, an enlargement of the prostate gland, is often associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). LUTS, which can include symptoms such as overactive bladder, restricted or excessive urination, and sensations of urgency, affects men of all races and ethnic groups and can become severe over time. An estimated 50 percent of men in their 50s have BPH and 26 to 46 percent of men between the ages of 40 and 79 have moderate to severe symptoms. CP/CPPS is generally described as inflammation of the prostate gland. There is no detectable bacterial basis, but CP/CPPS sometimes is associated with urinary symptoms, pain, and sexual dysfunction. The source of the pain in this syndrome is unknown and there are no generally effective methods for preventing or treating the condition.

The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan addresses the four major research areas judged critical for advancing the field. These include basic science, epidemiology and population-based studies, translational research, and clinical sciences. Recommendations from the plan include:

Promote interdisciplinary research that focuses on how benign prostate diseases are influenced by other organ-specific diseases and systemic conditions, such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and erectile dysfunction. For example, the possible influence of high blood pressure on BPH/LUTS is a previously unexplored area of research.
Study the primary prevention of benign prostate diseases, including possible benefits of lifestyle changes such as avoidance of alcohol and caffeine, frequency of sexual practice, pelvic massage therapy, stress reduction, and diet modulation for relief of CP/CPPS.
Develop data and human tissue resources from patients of various ages to derive information useful in investigating risk factors, underlying causes and natural history of disease progression, quality of life, quality of care, and decision making regarding treatment of benign prostate disease. Develop imaging approaches and other biomarker studies to assess severity and risk of progression based on physical and cellular findings.
Develop targeted medical therapies based on new insights into disease-relevant cellular pathways and physiological events.
Develop standardized, clinically significant benign prostate disease syndrome definitions and classifications based on measurable phenotypic features.
Train and mentor epidemiologists, health services researchers, clinical investigators, and students interested in the study of benign prostate disease.
"The long-standing, unanswered questions about the causes of these disorders prompted the NIDDK to examine the state of the science and to develop a new vision for future research," explained Chris Mullins, Ph.D., NIDDK’s director of basic cell biology programs in urologic and kidney disease. "As part of this process we convened the Prostate Research Planning Committee, composed of clinical and basic scientists and epidemiologists from around the country, to review and evaluate past and current research and to make individual recommendations for new research priorities. The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan is the result of that collaborative effort."

The plan is designed to be read by a broad audience of researchers, clinicians, advocacy groups, representatives of funding organizations, and patients. Each major section includes a mission statement, a lay summary, an overview of current knowledge, and high-priority recommendations for future research. The plan is online at http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/318606D2-A9D1-4CAD-B9BF-8EB3009C83BE/0/NIDDKProstateStrategicPlan.pdf and can be purchased online in print or compact disc format at http://catalog.niddk.nih.gov/PubType.cfm?Type=182&CH=NKUDIC.

NIDDK conducts and supports research in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about NIDDK and its programs, see www.niddk.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.


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CP/CPPS and Prostate Cancer Don’t Share Genetic Variation (July 16, 2008)

CP/CPPS and Prostate Cancer Don’t Share Genetic Variation

Do androgen receptor polymorphisms contribute to an increased risk for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and prostate cancer (CaP)?

Ki Hak Song, Seattle, WA, Donald E Riley, Teresa L Gilbert, In Rae Cho, Ilsan, Republic of Korea, Young Seop Chang, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, John N Krieger, Seattle, WA

Because male hormones (androgens) influence prostate growth and because inflammation may be implicated in cancer development, these researchers looked at whether some genetic variation related to androgens might predispose men to chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), prostate cancer, or both. They looked short tandem repeats (STRs) at the androgen receptor gene in 63 CP/CPPS patients, 88 prostate cancer patients, and 72 control men. STRs are short repeats of DNA that help identify variations in a gene. CP/CPPS patients and prostate cancer patients had distinct and typical variations at the androgen receptor that were different from controls but also different from each other. Some change in the androgen receptor, concluded the researchers, might predispose a man to one condition or the other, but the specific variations and the disease mechanisms likely differ.

Exploratory/Developmental Research Project: Immune Defense Mechanisms at the Mucosa (July 11, 2008)

Immune Defense Mechanisms at the Mucosa

RFA Number: RFA-AI-08-020 Grant Type: R21

Letters of Intent Receipt Date: September 15, 2008

Application Receipt Date: October 15, 2008

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-08-020.html

Description: The National Institutes of Health has released a new Request for Applications (RFA) pertaining to mechanisms of mucosal immune defense. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) invites Exploratory/Developmental Research Project (R21) applications from institutions/organizations that propose to study immune defense mechanisms and immune regulation at mucosal surfaces including the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts. The goal is to gain new insights that will facilitate future development of vaccines and immunotherapies to protect mucosal surfaces from infection and inflammation. Investigators who have no prior history of receiving independent funding in this field are encouraged to apply. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will support basic and applied research that contributes to understanding broadly applicable host mechanisms of mucosal immune defense.

PSA and biopsies (June 26, 2008)

In the June 2007 issue of the AARP Bulletin on page 14 they discuss a new test for prostate cancer. In the column Your Health they state, “Each year about 1.6 million men with high PSA levels have biopsies; some 80 percent turn out to be cancer-free.”

Comment by prostatitis Foundation---- A good deal of the false-positives were probably caused by prostatitis.

Research Funding Figures (June 26, 2008)

In the June 2007 issue of the AARP Bulletin on page 12 they estimate these figures for 2007 research funding.

Cancer 5.50 billion
HIV/AIDS 2.90 billion
Cardiovascular 2.34 billion
Alzheimers 643 million

Write your representatives to ask for more prostatitis research funding.

Male Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome study (June 10, 2008)

Male Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome study. Do you experience pain in the genital or pelvic region?
McGill University Health Center and the Department of Urology at the Jewish General Hospital are seeking men over the age of 18 who experience pain in the genital or pelvic region to participate in research to better explain this problem.

The study involves answering questionnaires and a session which will last around 1.5 to 2 hours.
Participation during the session includes:
1. a structured interview;
2. a sensory testing session;
3. a urology examination;
4. urine samples.
Some minor pain may be experienced during the procedures, but no other health risks are posed. Participants will be reimbursed $50 for their expenses. For more information, please call Seth Davis at (514) 398-5323 or email: seth.davis@mail.mcgill.ca
This study is directed by Dr. Y. M. Binik, Department of Psychology, McGill University, Sex and Couple Therapy Service, McGill University Health Center (Royal Victoria Hospital).

NIDDK Meeting – “Defining the Chronic Urologic Pain Syndromes - International Symposium” (June 9, 2008)

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) will host a symposium, “Defining the Chronic Urologic Pain Syndromes - International Symposium” on June 16-17, 2008 at the Doubletree Hotel in Bethesda, Md. The purpose of the symposium is to enlist expert opinion related to the multiplicity of factors involved in defining the urologic pelvic pain syndromes and explore the pros and cons of developing a unifying definition. The meeting will be informative for clinicians, basic scientists, patients, advocacy groups, pharmaceutical representatives, and the public interested in developing a further understanding of the urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes and the associated disorders. A major outcome will be development of a definition of these diseases, and their phenotypes which will be used in future NIDDK funded research studies.
The meeting is open to all, however pre-registration is essential because of seating limitations. For more information on the meeting, including the program agenda , go to http://www3.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/UrologicPainSynd/index.htm.

Contact Maria Smith at (301) 670-4990 or by e-mail at MSmith@scgcorp.com.

Diet and Prostatits (May 26, 2008)

In an issue of The Louisiana Weekly there was an article written by Fr, Jerome Ledoux a contributing columnist dated March 3, 2008. He made this observation in a lengthy article, “A watermark life-altering experience happened on April 30, 1996 when, after seven months of delay I finally listened to a recorded dietary talk of Rev. George Malkmus. I was so stricken by the healings that I dropped all meats, all seafoods, all dairy products.”

He begins the next paragraph by saying, “My 8-year bout with prostatitis was over in three weeks.”

Quercetin for Prostatitis (May 26, 2008)

The Seattle Times carried a question and answer column in the Sunday March 2, 2008 issue written by Dr. Astrid Pujari a Seattle M.D with an additional degree as a medical herbalist. In a question and answer column about the possible use of Quercetin for spring allergies Dr Pujari made the comment, “For instance, quercetin has been shown in a preliminary, well-designed trial to be helpful for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in which men have chronic pain in the area around the prostate.”

She notes that,” Quercetin may interact with some antibiotics, like those in the ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin family. And although it’s rare, some people get headaches or tingling in their hands and feet when they take it.

Prostatitis and Bicycling? (April 26, 2008)

In a syndicated column by Dr Gott that appeared March 8th a reader wrote in to say.” Many months ago, my father developed pain in the prostate area after bike riding.”

We often hear this complaint from prostatitis patients and want to caution people about using a proper seat. Another infertility specialist has written an abstract saying, "thin hard bicycle seats sometimes cause low sperm counts."

Dr Gott’s reply began by saying.” As a former bike rider, I can assure you that, at times, this activity can cause troublesome problems.”

RE: New Investigator’s Award (February 17, 2008)

We would like to remind you of the New Investigator’s Award offered to new investigators to present their work at the SIIU poster session on May 18, 2008. The first place award will cover up to $1500 for travel expenses etc, and we hope to award second and third place prizes as well.

These awards will be announced at this year’s SIIU meeting in Orlando, so if you know of any new investigators that would like to attend, please have them submit an abstract for the poster. Please indicate upon submission that the abstract is in competition for the awards.

All abstracts should be submitted to Joe Downey at downeyj@queensu.ca (phone 613 548-7832 FAX 613 548-7834).

Please note that the society voted to allow AUA posters, submitted by New Investigator’s to be eligible for consideration for SIIU award if the poster fits the “infection and inflammation” profile of the society.

FROM: Daniel Shoskes, MD President, SIIU
John Forrest, MD Vice-President, SIIU
Robert Moldwin, MD Secretary, SIIU
Michel Pontari, MD Treasurer, SIIU

-All in your head? Better get tested for anaerobic bacteria (February 7, 2008)

Ever since an insufficiently treated acute urethral infection roughly 11 years ago (windsurfing...), I have been suffering from constant pain in my prostate, painful ejaculation, sometimes whitish discharges while urinating, a general feeling of illness and fatigue.

Throughout those 11 years, I was being told time and again by several doctors that it was all in my head, that I should simply stop thinking about it etc. At some point, I had actually come to consider that a possibility.
Until a few weeks ago, when after several weeks of experiencing a slight pain in my testicles while voiding and having painfully swollen lymph nodes, I went to see a urologist for what I believed to be a bladder infection or epididymitis -
When I mentioned suffering from chronic prostatitis as well, that urologist fortunately suggested testing for anaerobic bacteria. At that point, after countless tests yielding no results, I did not seriously expect her to find anything. And yet - she did. "Urethral urine" (what comes out first) was negative. So was "bladder urine". But after a (fairly unpleasant)transrectal prostate massage, another urine test finally showed the presence of anaerobic bacteria. That fact is important - because I clearly did not have a "new" acute prostate infection, for in that case a urethral infection should have been present as well, showing in all urine probes, which obviously is not the case.
Need I say I wish somebody had done that eleven years ago?

The bottom line is: No matter how many tests do not yield anything, keep doing them, especially when symptoms are strong, and ask your doctor to screen for anaerobiae as well. And if you just know you're suffering from prostatitis and they tell you it's all in your head, changing your doctor may be a better idea than changing your mind.

SUNA's (Society for Urologic Nurses and Associates): Patient Information Resource Center (January 10, 2008)

Don’t forget our Patient Information Resource Center, the go to place for patient education. Tell your patients to go to suna.org and click the For Patients tab, or just go to suna.org/patients for access to all of our patient fact sheets. Some of the fact sheets are also available in Spanish.

Prostatitis Foundation comment: See fact sheet about prostatitis

NIH Roadmap Effort to USE Genomic Technologies To Explore Role of Microbe IN Human Health and Disease (December 20, 2007)

NIH Office of the Director (OD)

NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis
and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI)

National Human Genome
Research Institute (NHGRI)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Contacts:
Geoff Spencer, NHGRI
301-402-0911

NIH Launches Human Microbiome Project
NIH Roadmap Effort to Use Genomic Technologies To Explore Role of Microbes in Human Health and Disease
The human body contains trillions of microorganisms, living together with human cells, usually in harmony. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about one to two percent of the body's mass. Many microbes maintain our health, while others cause illness. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the role this astounding assortment of bacteria, fungi and other microbes play in human health and disease. To better understand these interactions, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced the official launch of the Human Microbiome Project. The human microbiome is the collective genomes of all microorganisms present in or on the human body.

"The human microbiome is largely unexplored," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "It is essential that we understand how microorganisms interact with the human body to affect health and disease. This project has the potential to transform the ways we understand human health and prevent, diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions."

Part of the NIH's Roadmap for Medical Research, the Human Microbiome Project will award a total of $115 million to researchers over the next five years. Initially, researchers will sequence 600 microbial genomes, completing a collection that will total some 1,000 microbial genomes and providing a resource for investigators interested in exploring the human microbiome. Other microbial genomes are being contributed to the collection by individual NIH institutes and internationally funded projects. A meeting between international partners was recently convened to discuss forming an international consortium.

Researchers will then use new, comprehensive laboratory technologies to characterize the microbial communities present in samples taken from healthy human volunteers, even for microbes that cannot be grown in the laboratory. The samples will be collected from five body regions known to be inhabited by microbial communities: the digestive tract, the mouth, the skin, the nose, and the female urogenital tract. Demonstration projects will subsequently be funded to sample the microbiomes from volunteers with specific diseases. This will allow researchers to correlate the relationship between changes in a microbiome present at a particular body site to a specific illness.

"We now understand that there are more microbial cells than human cells in the human body. The Human Microbiome Project offers an opportunity to transform our understanding of the relationships between microbes and humans in health and disease," said Dr. Alan Krensky, the director of the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI), which oversees the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.

While the term "microbiome" may be relatively new in biomedical research, most people are familiar with some of the effects — both good and bad — that microbes can have on our health. Consider the example of the biggest reservoir of microbes in humans: the digestive tract. The human gut harbors many beneficial microorganisms, including certain bacteria called probiotics. There is evidence these probiotics, found in dietary supplements, yogurt and other dairy products as well as various soy products, can stimulate the immune system and improve digestive functions. In contrast, previous research suggests that variations in the composition of microbial communities may contribute to chronic health conditions, including diabetes, asthma, obesity and digestive disorders.

"Microbes play a significant role in the health of the digestive tract and many digestive diseases result when the microbial environment is out of balance," said Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P., director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and co-chair of the Human Microbiome Project's Implementation Group. "The Human Microbiome Project will help us better understand the microbial environment in the gut, as well as provide us with the tools and technology to expand our exploration into this field of research."

Traditionally, microbiology has focused on the study of individual species as isolated units, making it difficult to develop and inventory all of the microbes in and on the human body. Because their growth is dependent upon a specific natural environment, it's difficult to recreate microbe-host interactions in the laboratory. Advances in next generation DNA sequencing technologies relying on a process called metagenomic sequencing will be used. Instead of isolating each microbe, all of the DNA within the collected samples will be sequenced.

"Our goal is to discover what microbial communities exist in different parts of the human body and to explore how these communities change in the presence of health or disease," said National Human Genome Research Institute Director, Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., co-chair of the Human Microbiome Project Implementation Group. "In addition, we will likely identify novel genes and functional elements in microbial genomes that will reshape the way we think about and approach human biology."

NIH recently awarded $8.2 million to four sequencing centers, to start building a framework and data resources for the Human Microbiome Project. One-year awards were given to the sequencing centers at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, which are part of the NHGRI Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network; and the Broad Institute of MIT/ Harvard, Cambridge, Mass., and the J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Md., which are funded through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Microbial Genome Sequencing Centers Program.

The objectives of this initial work are to sequence the genomes of 200 microbes that have been isolated from the human body as part of the 1,000 microbial genomes collection. Researchers will also begin recruiting healthy volunteers who will donate samples from the five body regions. NHGRI, NIAID, and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) have led the initial phases of the project.

"The recent emergence of faster and cost-effective sequencing technologies promises to provide an unprecedented amount of information about these microbial communities, which in turn will bolster the development and refinement of analytical tools and strategies," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., co-chair of the Human Microbiome Project's Implementation Group.

Following the precedents set by other large-scale genomics efforts, such as the Human Genome Project and the International HapMap Project, data from the Human Microbiome Project will be swiftly deposited in public databases, including those supported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mapview/), part of the National Library of Medicine. The project also will fund the establishment of a Data Analysis and Coordinating Center, which will coordinate data access and develop data retrieval tools for the research community.

Also following on the lead of those efforts, the Human Microbiome Project will monitor and support research on the ethical, legal and social implications of the research. Areas of focus include the clinical and health implications of using probiotics, potential forensic uses of microbiome profiles, bioterrorism and biodefense applications, the application of new technologies from the project, and patenting and privacy issues.

"Examining and addressing the emerging ethical, legal and social implications of metagenomics research is central to our goal of one day moving any resulting diagnostic, prevention, or treatment tools into the clinic in a safe and effective manner," said NIDCR Director Lawrence Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., co-chair for the NIH Human Microbiome Project Implementation Group.

Additional information about the Human Microbiome Project is available at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp/. For more information about funding opportunities, go to: http://www.nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp/grants.asp. A high resolution image of the bacteria, Entercoccus faecalis, a microbe that lives in the human gut, is available in color at http://www.genome.gov/pressDisplay.cfm?photoID=20023, or in black and white at http://www.genome.gov/pressDisplay.cfm?photoID=20024.

The Human Microbiome Project is part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The Roadmap is a series of initiatives designed to pursue major opportunities and gaps in biomedical research that no single NIH institute could tackle alone, but which the agency as a whole can address to make the biggest impact possible on the progress of medical research. Additional information about the NIH Roadmap can be found at www.nihroadmap.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contacts:

Karen Silver, NIH OPASI
301-435-2435

NIH Office of Communications
301-496-4461

NIAID News Office
301-402-1663

Bob Kuska, NIDCR
301-594-7560

Marcia Vital, NIDDK
301-496-3583
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
. This could be an important effort to shed some light on prostatitis.
Unfortunately the prostatitis issue among males is not directly addressed. We should point that out to the proper contacts. Starting with Griffin Rogers.

Support Group Meeting-NY Area (November 14, 2007)

At the request of several patients the Prostatitis Foundation is helping form a support group for prostatitis patients in the NY.Area. It will be held at the Comfort Inn and Suites, 20 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne NY 10532 for Saturday, December 1st between one and five o'clock in the afternoon. If you or anyone you know suffers from prostatitis we would like to encourage you to participate in this meeting. This will be a chance to share your experiences with other patients and compare the results of different procedures. Dr. Nyberg from the National Institute of Health will come to speak. He has helped guide this research from the very beginning.

If you're interested in attending this meeting send a letter to Prostatitis Foundation at 1063 30th Street, Smithshire, IL, 61478 or an email to Mcapstone@aol.com .

There are two patients in the areas that will be assisting with the meeting.

Ask For More Research (November 14, 2007)

Unpaid volunteers for the past 11 years have operated the Prostatitis Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group. We have tried to raise public awareness about the prevalence of prostatitis. We have worked with the National Institute of Health and encouraged them to allocate more funding for prostatitis research.

We are asking you, to also write these two officials and ask for more research funding. It is urgent each of you and your family members join the campaign now. Email will be acceptable. Send an email to RogersG@mail.nih.gov (Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P) Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Also to Robert Star, M.D., Acting Director - Division of Kidney, Urology and Hematology, NIDDK. His Email address is StarR@mail.nih.gov.
Tell them how you have suffered, how it affected your family and lifestyle, ask them to finish the research to find a cause and cure for prostatitis. Let them know how many patients are depending on them.


To keep from having a surge of emails and then no action we should spread them out. Please , will those whose last name begins with the first part of the alphabet (A through L) write in November and the last part (M through Z) of the alphabet write in December.

More Information about Prostatitis (November 11, 2007)

For some really great information about prostatitis go to http://www.health.harvard.edu/
In the search box type in prostatitis. There are 18 articles listed there,with their links,that contain some information about prostatitis

Article About Prostatitis (October 30, 2007)

If you go to this URL below you will find an interesting article about prostatitis
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/276526/living_with_prostatitis_disease.html

Chronic Prostatitis (September 26, 2007)

IN the April 30-May 1st Edition of the AUA Daily News, circulated at the 2003 AUA Annual Meeting Dr.Anthony Schaffer is quoted as having said in regard to Chronic Prostatitis; " Leukocyte and bacterial counts do not correlate with the severity of the disease."
He was summarizing the progress of the chronic prostatitis research and the article concluded with his statement, " In a case-controlled study, we learned that these patients are more likely to have a history of cardiovascular, psychiatric, neurologic, or sinusitis conditions."

NIH Seeks New Reaserch for Prostatitis/CPPS (September 21, 2007)

The RFA, Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network (RFA-DK-07-003) is now published on the NIH website (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-07-003.html).

The NIDDK funding commitment for this program is up to $7.5 million per year for a five year funding period. We expect to fund up to six Discovery Sites at $1,000,000 Total Costs each year, as well as a separately funded Data Coordinating/Administrative Core and a Tissue Analysis and Technology Core (each to be supported at $750,000 in Total Costs per year).

This unique program promotes basic, translational, and clinical science interactions and multi-disciplinary, collaborative approaches using varied expertise from the urology field and from investigators not traditionally involved in chronic urologic pain research to address unmet needs in our understanding of IC/PBS and CP/CPPS. We are encouraging investigators to build strong multi-disciplinary teams to address the goals of this effort and to submit applications for this new and important NIDDK solicitation.

NOTE: The receipt date for applications is January 9, 2008.

All inquiries should be directed (preferably by Email) to either Dr. Chris Mullins (MullinsC@extra.niddk.nih.gov) or Dr. Lee Nyberg (NybergL@mail.nih.gov). Also, we have established a website for the program (see RFA text) that we will be populating with pertinent information and the NIDDK will host an in-person information session in Bethesda on November 5th, 2007.

Prostatitis.org(TM) (September 14, 2007)

Prostatitis.org(TM) The Prostatitis Foundation

On-line Webinar about Prostatitis this September 12th at 8:00 EST. (August 30, 2007)

The American Urological Association Foundation is please to be hosting a one hour interactive, on-line Webinar about Prostatitis this September 12th at 8:00 PM EST. This free program will feature Dr. Anthony Schaeffer and will have an opportunity for questions after Dr. Schaeffer's talk is completed . The recorded program will also be left on line for people who don't make it to the actual for 6 months. This link takes you directly to the description of the program. http://www.urologyhealth.org/prostateawareness/prostatitis.cfm

We are also hosting other Webinars in prostate health month and more in November for Bladder Health Week

Localized Prostate Cancer: Sept. 18, 2007 7:00 pm EST Dr. Catalona, Dr. Nadler and Dr. Zietman http://www.urologyhealth.org/prostateawareness/localizedpc.cfm

Advanced/Recurrent Prostate Cancer: Sept. 19, 2007 7:00 pm EST Dr. Moul and Dr. Kantoff http://www.urologyhealth.org/prostateawareness/recurrentpc.cfm

Enlarged Prostate/BPH: Sept. 25, 207 8:00 EST http://www.urologyhealth.org/prostateawareness/bph.cfm Dr. Roehrborn

As of next week, we will also have links on www.UrologyHealth.org for three programs in Bladder Health week!

Non-invasive Bladder Cancer: November 12 Dr. Soloway

Invasive/metastatic Bladder Cancer: November 13 Dr. Gonzalgo

Incontinence: November 14 Dr. Janelle Foote and Diane Newman


Stephanie Chisolm, Ph.D.
Director of Patient Education
American Urological Association Foundation
Phone: 410-689-4038
www.AUAFoundation.org
www.urologyhealth.org




****************************

Why does sleep apnea sometimes lead to frequent urination at night? (July 24, 2007)

Ask the Doctor:

Why does sleep apnea sometimes lead to frequent urination at night?

from the August-September 1996 issue of WAKE-UP Call. Courtesy of the
American Sleep Apnea Association

Nocturia, or nocturnal urination, is sometimes a symptom of sleep apnea. In fact, nocturia among younger individuals--who are less likely to have other medical causes of nocturia--is a strong indicator of sleep apnea. While the precise relationship has not been thoroughly studied, it appears that the most likely reason patients with untreated sleep apnea have more frequent urination at night is related to the increased pressure in the right side of the heart. This increased pressure is usually the result of low oxygen levels in the bloodstream caused by the apnea events: when oxygen levels fall, the heart works harder to get oxygen to the brain.

An increased pressure in the heart is a sign that there is too much liquid in the body: when the heart receives the stimulus of the increased pressure, higher levels of a hormone called atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) are secreted. ANP is a diuretic that is associated with the increased need to urinate.

When sleep apnea is effectively treated, nighttime urination is also reduced. Studies have shown that ANP levels in patients with untreated sleep apnea are increased and levels reduced in patients using CPAP effectively. Remember, not all causes of frequent urination are related to untreated sleep apnea; prostrate problems, for example, may cause increased need for urination. Discuss any concerns you may have with your doctor.

Patrick J. Strollo, Jr., MD is the Medical Director of the Pulmonary Sleep Evaluation Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School.



American Sleep Apnea Association
1424 K Street NW, Suite 302, Washington, DC 20005
phone: 202/293-3650 fax: 202/293-3656
Privacy Policy Copyright & IP Notice

© 2007 American Sleep Apnea Association

Taxpayer-Funded Research Access (July 23, 2007)

House Backs Taxpayer-Funded Research Access
Final Appropriations Bill Mandates Free Access
to NIH Research Findings

Washington, D.C. – July 20, 2007 – In what advocates hailed as a major advance for scientific communication, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved a measure directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide free public online access to agency-funded research findings within 12 months of their publication in a peer-reviewed journal. With broad bipartisan support, the House passed the provision as part of the FY2008 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill.

“The House has affirmed the principle that broad sharing of publicly funded research findings on the Internet is an essential component of our nation’s investment in science,” said Heather Joseph, Executive Director of SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), and a leader of the Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA). “This action paves the way for all scientists and citizens to access, use, and benefit from the results of publicly funded biomedical research.”

“We’re pleased by Congress’s recognition of the fundamental rationale for public access – that better-informed patients, clinicians, and researchers will mean better health outcomes,” said Sharon Terry, President of the Genetic Alliance and an ATA activist. “The time has come to sweep away unnecessary barriers to understanding and treating disease. The Genetic Alliance thanks and congratulates the House of Representatives for taking this vital step.”

The current NIH Public Access Policy, implemented in 2005 as a voluntary measure, has resulted in the deposit of less than 5% of eligible research by individual investigators.

In a recent letter to Congress, 26 Nobel Laureates called for enactment of mandatory NIH public access, noting that, "requiring compliance is not a punitive measure, but rather a simple step to ensure that everyone, including scientists themselves, will reap the benefits that public access can provide. We have seen this amply demonstrated in other innovative efforts within the NIH – most notably with the database that contains the outcome of the Human Genome Project.”

“The coalition of support for the NIH policy is extremely broad,” added Joseph. “This critical step was achieved as a result of the vision and collective effort of patient groups, scientists, researchers, publishers, students, and consumers who registered their support.”

A similar measure has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will be considered by the full Senate later this summer.

###

The Alliance for Taxpayer Access is a coalition of patient, academic, research, and publishing organizations that supports open public access to the results of federally funded research. The Alliance was formed in 2004 to urge that peer-reviewed articles stemming from taxpayer-funded research become fully accessible and available online at no extra cost to the American public. Details on the ATA may be found at http://www.taxpayeraccess.org.


Contact ATA
©2004-2007 Alliance for Taxpayer Access: Content distributed under terms of a Creative Commons License.

Prostatitis Article (July 22, 2007)

Maximum Fitness Magazine, Fall 2007 (volume 2 issue 8)has an article by Tom Weede, CSCS that every Prostatitis Patient should read. It is titled: Prostate Prime, Information for Guys who won’t talk about it. On page 64 Tom is quoted as saying, “ You won’t hear most guys talk about it, but prostate issues cause discomfort for millions of men-even those in their thirties.”

Check These Sites (July 19, 2007)

Go to this URL and you will find one chapter from a book about prostatitis. The book is Urology Diseases in America 2007 http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/uda/Prostatitis-Chapter01.pdf.

www.associatedcontent.com/article/276526/living_with_prostatitis_disease.html
Joel S. Hirschorn

http://www.sil.si.edu/eresources/tfr_ej_vendorresults.cfm?vendor=Free%20E-Journal
Croatian free E-journals

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gquery/gquery.fcgi Pub MED etc cross database search Life Sciences Cross-Database

Here's the online link to a story about prostatitis. :You can buy Best Life Magazine which contains the article at many news stands
http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/health-fitness/The_Sex_Destroyer.shtml

Bottom Line Personal Magazine, (http://bottomlinesecrets.com/) June 7, 2007 edition quotes Ira Sharlip, MD on page fifteen as having said , “ Blood in Semen is usually no cause for alarm.” He thinks you should check with a urologist if it persists or if ejaculation is painful. Ira Sharliff, MD is spokesperson for American Urological Association.

Cost of Prostatitis Compared to other Urologic Diseases (June 12, 2007)

Press release from, NIH

Bladder, prostate and other urinary tract diseases cost Americans nearly $11 billion a year, according to a new report from the National Institutes of Health. Medicare’s share exceeded $5.4 billion.

The five most expensive urologic problems — accounting for $9.1 billion — are, in descending order, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, prostate and bladder cancers and benign prostate enlargement, according to the authors of Urologic Diseases in America. The report was published online this spring and will be available in print and on CD in early May.

“This research sharply illustrates the immense burden of urologic diseases and the importance of studies to preempt disease processes and develop targeted treatments,” said Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., NIH Director.

Five years in the making, Urologic Diseases in America stitches together a patchwork of reliable data, both new and previously published, revealing numbers of people affected, treatment patterns and economic cost.

TOP DISEASES BY COST
Infection (Women & Men)
$3.5 Billion

Kidney Stones
$2.1 Billion

Prostate Cancer
$1.3 Billion

Bladder Cancer
$1.1 Billion

BPH/Prostate Enlargement
$1.1 Billion

Urinary Incontinence
$463.1 Million

Kidney Cancer
$401.4 Million

Erectile Dysfunction
$327.6 Million

Urethral Stricture
$191.1Million

Prostatitis
$84.4 Million

Interstitial Cystitis/PBS
$65.9 Million

Here's the link for the NIDDK press release. http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2007/niddk-01.htm


Keep in mind that Infection, Erectile Dysfunction and Urethral Strictures can sometimes be caused by prostatitis so the number for prostatitiis is probably higher than indicated in this table. There is a huge diagnostic overlap with these diseases.
Prostatitis Foundation

Blood in Semen (June 11, 2007)

Bottom Line Personal Magazine, (http://bottomlinesecrets.com/) June 7, 2007 edition, quotes Ira Sharlip, MD on page fifteen as having said , “ Blood in Semen is usually no cause for alarm.” He thinks you should check with a urologist if it persists or if ejaculation is painful.
Ira Sharliff,MD, is spokesperson for The American Urological Association.

New Article about Prostatitis (May 15, 2007)

On the stands now you can find the May Issue of Best Life Magazine with an article about prostatitis.
Prostatitis Foundation

Available Clinical Trials (April 26, 2007)

For information on available clinical trials go to: http://ClinicalTrials.gov/

Prostatitis and PSA (March 29, 2007)

This quote was taken from a medline email newsletter and appeared in the urology discussion list. We get a lot of questions about prostatitis causing PSA fluctuations.
Prostatitis Foundation

I had cases of prostatitis class-2 NIH with psa of 13 which later to 5 and to normal with 1 month treatment of anti biotic and alfa blocker.

The Enigma of Prostatitis (January 12, 2007)

This booklet “The Enigma of Prostatitis”, based on IPHC discussions with other international experts, at the ancient French port of Saint Malo, on the northern coast of Brittany, offers expert opinion in a simply presented, well illustrated and easily assimilated manner.Order blanks for the booklet are available on the top right side of the prostatitis.org homepage. It is well illustrated and in color.

K.G. NABER, B. LOBEL, W. WEIDNER, F. ALGABA, D. PREZIOSO, L.F. DENIS & K. GRIFFITHS

Contents

SOME INTRODUCTORY ISSUES AND GUIDELINES
-THE INTERNATIONAL PROSTATE HEALTH COUNCIL
-AN INTRODUCTION TO PROSTATITIS
-THE PROSTATE GLAND:WHERE IS IT
AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
-PROSTATE AWARENESS
-DISORDERS OF THE PROSTATE:
WHAT GOES WRONG?
THE ENIGMA OF PROSTATITIS:WHAT IS IT AND CAN IT BE CLASSIFIED
-EPIDEMIOLOGY: THE PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC PROSTATITIS / CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN
-WHICH PATHOGENS ARE IMPLICATED IN PROSTATITIS?
-SOME RELEVANT EUROPEAN DATA ON CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITS
-THERE ARE OTHER PATHOGENS TO BE CONSIDERED
-THE MOLECULAR APPROACH TO THE AETIOLOGY OF PROSTATITIS
THE HISTORY AND TRATMENT OUTCOME OF PROSTATIS
-DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF PROSTATITIS
-ACUTE BACTERIAL PROSTATIS
-INFLAMMATORY CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN SYNDROME
-SOME ISSUES REGARDING TREATMENT WITH ANTIMICROBIALS
-USE OF ALPHA-BLOCKERS TO TREAT PROSTITIS
-TREATMENT WITH ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS
-OTHER THERAPEUTIC AGENTS USED IN PROSTATITIS
-A VIEW POINT ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PROSTATITIS
-THE CLINICAL MANAGEMENT WOULD APPEAR COMPLEX AND ARVITARY
-THE ROLE OF THE GENERAL PRACTITIONER
SOME HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES DIRECTED TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF PROTATITIS
-SEXUALITY
-UNDERSTANDING THE PATHOLOGY OF PROSTATITIS
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF PROTATE DISEASE
-IMPRINTING: OESTROGENIC SIGNALS IN UTERO
-A NEW CONCEPT: PROLIFERATIVE INFLAMMATORY ATROPHY
-FREE RADICALS, ANTIOXIDANTS
SOME REFLECTIONS ON PROSTATITIS
IS THERE A RATIONAL PATHOGENESIS?
-SOME MOLECULAR ASPECTS OF A PROSTATIC
PRENEOPLASTIC LESION?
-TREATMENT WITH ANTIMICROBIALS
REFERENCES
-4 PAGES OF REFERENCES

Drug Could Prevent Prostate Gland Swelling (November 16, 2006)

Go to medscape.com/viewarticle/547313 to see all of the article below.
You might want to discuss it with your doctor.

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) Nov 06 - Drugs that regulate the hormone estrogen may help to prevent enlargement of the prostate gland in older men, Australian scientists said on Monday.

Researcher-makes-major-biofilm-dispersion-breakthrough (October 23, 2006)

Here is a website that includes a picture of David Davies who may have made a discovery that will be very important to chronic prostatitis patients
http://www.newsguide.us/education/science/Binghamton-University
-researcher-makes-major-biofilm-dispersion-breakthrough/

Mechanism Of The Sexual Transmission Of Disease (October 23, 2006)

If you have asked the question about passing something to your partner, put the two lines below in Google and go to the article.
Rafael Chacon: Mechanism Of The Sexual Transmission Of Disease. The Internet Journal of Urology. 2006. Volume 3 Number 2.

Why Do So Many Men Develop Prostatitis? (October 20, 2006)

For the complete article go to www.JohnsHopkinsHealthAlerts.com. They begin by saying, ”Chronic prostatitis usually affects men in their early 40s, and it is one of the leading reasons why men visit a urologist.”

To chronic and short term prostatitis patients (October 11, 2006)

To chronic and short term prostatitis patients.

We want to inform each of you about the clinical trials available now. The research centers need a steady flow of new patients to complete this research to determine the cause and cure for prostatitis. There is an urgent need for this research, which will enable researchers to weed out false leads and explore hopeful possibilities.

The Prostatitis Foundation has asked Congress for funds, which enable the NIH (National Institute of Health) to fund this research. These researchers want to enroll prostatitis patients to complete these clinical trials. You can contact one of these centers to see if you are eligible.


University of Washington-Harborview Medical Center
Seattle, Washington
John N. Krieger, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Susan O. Ross, RN, (206) 543-3898
or Leslie Butler (206) 616-7416

Temple University School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Michel A. Pontari, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Melody Santiago, RN, (215) 707-3783

The University of Mississippi Medical Center
Jackson, Mississippi
Paige White, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Dell Lumpkin, LPN (610) 984-5195

Massachusetts General Hospital & Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Mary McNaughton-Collins, M.D., M.P.H., Principal Investigator
Michael P. O'Leary, M.D., M.P.H.
Contact: Priya Desai, (617) 732-7223

University of Sciences Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Liong Men Long, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Shaun Lee Wen Huey, nuahsell@yahoo.com slwhuey@u.washington.edu, Mobile: 012-2030508

University of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Richard B. Alexander, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Judy Murray, CCRC (410) 328-5784

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Anthony J. Schaefer, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Darlene Marko RN, BSN, CCRC (312) 695-3898

Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Daniel Shoskes, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Donel Murphy, RN (216) 445-7505

Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
J. Curtis Nickel, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Joe Downey, M.Sc., CCRP (613) 548-7832
or Janet Clark-Pereira ACT, CCRP (613) 548-7805

Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford, California
Rodney Anderson, M.D., Principal Investigator
Contact: Christine Chan, M.D., (650) 498-4240

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Los Angeles, CA
Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH, Principal Investigator
Contact: Gwendolyn Byrd, MA (310) 267-2526

Charles R. Drew University
Los Angeles, CA
Nand S. Datta, MD, Co-Investigator
Contact: Kawajalen Mervin (310) 668-4545

The Inigma of Prostatitis (October 6, 2006)

In a teaching guide called: The Inigma of Prostatitis, put together by the International Prostate Health Council(IPHC)Professor Roger Kirby a member of the IPHC has indicated that in his extensive Harley Street practice the management of prostatitis and BPH consumed the major portion of his time spent on the management of prostate disorders. Although important, the patients with cancer take up less than 20% of his practice activity.

Stanford Physical Therapy and Relaxation Treatment Improves Sexual Function (September 30, 2006)

New research showing what has come to be known as the Stanford Protocol, involving a specific kind of pelvic floor trigger point release and Paradoxical Relaxation of the pelvic floor can not only improve pain symptoms but also sexual symptoms has just been published in the October issue of the Journal of Urology. Stanford urologist Rodney Anderson, MD, presented this study at the American Urological Association meeting last May. (See our wrap-up of that meeting, including news of this study www.prostatitis.org/AmericanUrologicalMeeting06.html.)

Now that the study has been published in a medical journal, urologists and the wider medical community will be more aware this kind of therapy and its value for men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), including help for sexual symptoms, which have a huge impact on quality of life. This builds on the study by the Stanford team presented last year showing that the Stanford protocol could improve overall symptoms, especially pain and urinary problems. The protocol, which includes physical therapy that releases trigger points in internal and external muscles and relaxation, was developed by David Wise, PhD, himself a longtime CP/CPPS sufferer, and Dr. Anderson.

This study included 146 men who had CP/CPPS were weren’t helped by other treatments. Their average age was 42—not an age when men are expected to have sexual dysfunction, but most of them (92%) did. Their symptoms included ejaculatory pain, low sexual desire, and erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction. Seventy percent of the patients said they had overall improvement with this therapy. And among the men who were helped, sexual symptoms improved by an average 77% to 87% on the Pelvic Pain Symptom Survey. The men who showed the greatest improvement overall had the greatest improvement in their sexual symptoms. The study showed that this therapy can help men with CP/CPPS, not only by easing pain but also by improving their sexual function, which plays an important role in their relationships and quality of life.

You can read the abstract of this study here at http://www.pelvicpainhelp.com/#pub, on the team’s website.
http://www.pelvicpainhelp.com/

Pathogens in Chronic Prostatitis? (September 12, 2006)

There has never been a complete agreement about the presence of pathogens in chronic prostatitis. There are those that are convinced they are not there and those who are convinced we just do not know how to test for them. In the summer issue 2006 of CURE (cancer update research and education) there is an article written by Elizabeth Whittington with additional reporting by Jennifer M.Gangloff. They say on page 52, "a mere 1% of bacteria and 5% of fungi have even been identified. The magazine website is www.curetoday.com to.

July 2006 issue of Contemporary Urology (August 14, 2006)

The July 2006 issue of Contemporary Urology contains an excellent article, starting on page 30, titled: Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. It was written by Dr. J. Curtis Nickel
The article began by saying, “The traditional biomedical model that has driven our understanding of the etiology, diagnosis, and management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome has failed to yield an effective treatment strategy for the majority of affected patients.”

The article gives us a good overview of the research efforts underway and some treatments being evaluated. However, the closing statement was, “ The patient must be counceled that this is a chronic disease and the role of the urologist is not necessarily to cure, but to ameliorate symptoms and improve quality of life.”

Association between sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction? (August 7, 2006)

In the Department of Urology, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York 10021, USA. Researchers Teloken PE, Smith EB, Lodowsky C, Freedom T, Mulhall JP investigated a possible link between sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction?

They concluded, “Men presenting with symptoms consistent with Sleep Aapnea Syndrome have a significant risk of erectile dysfunction, and the correlation between the severity of sleep apnea and the severity of erectile dysfunction is strong.”

The Prostatitis Foundation had previously reported a link between sleep apnea and frequent urination, especially during the night.

PROSTATITIS TAKES CENTER STAGE AT THE 2006 AMERICAN UROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION MEETING. (July 6, 2006)

Go to the left column on the webpage and scroll down to Abstract Summaries from 2006 AUA Annual Meetings and you can read about the plenary session overview of chronic prostatitis, plus the research summaries.

The -itis epidemic (June 18, 2006)

"Inflammation is the culprit behind dozens of common health woes" according to Camille Noe Pagin. She was writing in the May 2006 issue of Health Magazine. The article starts on page 98.
She further states that,"Inflammation is your immune systen's response to an insult-an injury, like a pulled muscle or a cut or an "intruder" such as an allergan, bacteria, virus or chemical irritant."

NIH Sponsored Clinical Trials (April 21, 2006)

For those interested in joining the prostatitis/CPPS clinical trials: Dr. Alexander has made a recruitment tape to explain the importance of participating. You can obtain one free by sending an email to the webmaster with your mailing address. Put VCR Tape in the heading of the email so it will not get deleted with spam.
We have asked for research and should support these clinical trials by contacting the nearest research center.
Prostatitis Foundation

Inflammatory theory of prostatitis (March 28, 2006)

For those interested in an inflammatory theory of prostatitis you might be interested in this theory applied to heart disease. An article, by Stacey Colino, which can be found at http://www.view.remedyonline.com/ published in Remedy Magazine, lays it out in the first paragraph. Article is titled; Your Healthy Heart: The Role of Inflammation

October 2005 Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Workshop (February 11, 2006)

A new patient friendly summary of information from The October 2005 Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Scientific Workshop at the Baltimore Washington International airport is now available from the www.prostatitis.org website . Look down the column on the left side and click on 2005.

Prostate Massage (February 4, 2006)

2-4-06
Leonard Staller P.A.-C is a Physician’s Assistant who has been practicing urology in the Pamona, New Jersey area since 1992.. He will be happy to treat new prostatitis patients. He offers prostate massage for those seeking it. He can be reached by email at Installer6@aol.com

Prostatic disease Bariloche, Argentina. (February 4, 2006)

Official Webcasts from the SIU (Société Internationale d'Urologie) Meeting on Prostatic disease Bariloche, Argentina. Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2005. http://webcasts.prous.com/SIU2005/.

Abstracts from the prostatitis/CPPS Workshop in Baltimore (January 30, 2006)

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/cpp/images/CPP05AbstractBook.pdf

Smallest Bacteria Found in Chronic Prostatitis (January 26, 2006)

Mandar R, Raukas E, Turk S, Korrovits P, Punab M.Mycoplasmas in semen of chronic prostatitis patients. Scand J Urol Nephrol. 2005;39(6):479-82.

Mycoplasmas, a type of bacteria, are some of the smallest free-living organisms. Various species are found in healthy people, especially in the mouth and genitourinary tract, but some have been associated with disease, including various urinary tract diseases and some immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases. They are difficult to identify and culture, and a kit commonly used to detect them does not distinguish well among different species. These Estonian researchers looked for mycoplasmas in the semen of men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and healthy controls. Using the kit first in 161 men, including healthy men and those with all categories of CP/CPPS (IIIa, the inflammatory type with white blood cells in semen and IIIb, the noninflammatory type, and IV, the inflammatory type with no symptoms). The kit detected mycoplasmas in all the groups of men, but a more precise method of identifying the bacterial species called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), used in 60 of these men, detected mycoplasmas more often in chronic prostatitis patients than healthy men. A quarter of the men with chronic prostatitis had mycoplasmas compared with about a fifth of the controls. In addition, the mycoplasmas occurred more frequently in the semen of men with category IIIa disease than in the healthy men. No healthy man had either Ureaplasma parvum or Mycoplasma gentialium, but some men in all categories of CP/CPPS had U parvum, and some men with IIIa disease had M genitalium. Although the numbers of patients in each group were very small, the differences between the CP/CPPS patients and controls for these two species were statistically significant. Further research has to be done to show whether these organisms may actually cause or trigger CP/CPPS.

CP/CPPS May Affect Fertility (January 26, 2006)

Henkel R, Ludwig M, Schuppe HC, Diemer T, Schill WB, Weidner W. Chronic pelvic pain syndrome/chronic prostatitis affect the acrosome reaction in human spermatozoa. World J Urol. 2006 Jan 11;:1-6 [Epub ahead of print]

There are a number of ways to check a man’s fertility. Traditionally, those have included sperm counts, sperm motility (the proportion of sperm that swim), and normal appearance. More recently, fertility experts have used the acrosome reaction to assess sperm quality. That reaction, in which the head of the sperm ruptures and releases enzymes, is the one that allows the sperm to penetrate the egg. Infection is known to have a negative effect on sperm quality and fertility, and inflammation is thought to have a negative effect. These German researchers looked at traditional measures of sperm quality and measurements of the acrosome reaction in normal men and men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), who often have evidence of inflammation (category IIIa, with white blood cells in the semen). and found that men with CP/CPPS appear to have significantly lower sperm quality, fewer acrosome reactions, and lower acrosome-reaction potential. The researchers compared these measurements between 95 control men and 56 men with CP/CPPS, including 24 with type IIIA and 32 with type IIIb. They found that men with both types of CP/CPPS had significantly lower sperm counts, lower proportions of normal sperm, and lower levels of acrosome reactions, and lower acrosome reaction potential.

Prostatitis Manual (January 23, 2006)

We are temporarily out of copies of the Prostatitis Manual. Please hold your orders until the order form goes up on the website again.
It is being revised for the next printing.
Prostatitis Foundation

Nine-step symptom check (January 4, 2006)

The Prostatitis Foundation invites men who have been diagnosed with or suspect that they may have prostatitis to undertake a nine-step symptom check to determine the severity of their existing symptoms.

The Prostatitis Foundation today issued a media advisory urging men, particularly those who have been diagnosed with or suspect that they may have chronic prostatitis, to take the nine-step Prostatitis Symptom Index to assess the severity of their existing symptoms and measure response to therapy.

The advisory was issued amid growing concerns about prostatitis, following the well-publicized resignation of Australia's Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson in July this year. Anderson, 48, quit his position because of prostatitis, which he referred to as "a stress-related prostate condition," from which he had suffered for 12 years (The Sydney Morning Herald, www.smh.com.au).

Interested parties may take the Prostatitis Symptom Index by going to the Prostatitis Foundation's website, www.prostatitis.org, said the Foundation's spokesman

The Symptom Index poses nine key questions that will help determine the degree of symptoms among individuals suffering from prostatitits or CPPS.
Among the significant areas covered by the Prostatitis Symptom Index are: pain or discomfort in the area below the waist, particularly around the crotch and bladder area, pain or discomfort during sex or urination, frequency of urination and how these symptoms have affected the person's general quality of life.

Daniel Shoskes, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation cautions that NIH-CPSI does not diagnose prostatitis as men and even women without prostatitis can score highly on the index due to other illnesses.

Disclaimer: The Prostatitis Foundation distributes literature and information relevant to prostatitis. While we encourage all research, we do not endorse any doctor, medicine, or treatment protocol. Please consult with your own physician for all your medical needs.

Chronic, recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (December 26, 2005)

The December 2005 issue of Urology Times in an article on page 26-7 by Mac Overmyer quotes Scott Hultgren, Helen L. Stover Professor of Molecular Microbiology, at Washington University School of Medicine as saying, “According to his research, recurrent infections are probably more accurately described as resurgent infections because they evolve from quiescent reservoirs established not on the surface of bladder lumen, but in colonies within the umbrella cells of the bladder.”

Nocturnal Urination and Sleep Apnea? (December 25, 2005)

Nocturia, or nocturnal urination, is sometimes a symptom of sleep apnea,” as explained by Patrick J. Strollo, Jr, MD who is the Medical Director of the Pulmonary Sleep Evaluation Laboratory at the University of Pittsburg Medical School. He writes the, Ask The Doctor, column that you can see in the August –September 1996 issue of WAKE-UP Call on sleepapnea.org: go to resources –publications and down to Health Issues for the complete article.

Examine of the urine after prostate massage (November 8, 2005)

Examination of the urine after prostatic massage is beneficial in patients
with prostatitis; according to a recent study

An Italian study has concluded that microscopic examination of urine after
prostatic massage is a feasible indicator of prostatic inflammation.

The study, called “Microscopic and microbiological findings for evaluation
of chronic prostatitis,” by Magri et al., in the Archives of Italian
Urology and Andrology, covered 233 patients with symptoms suggesting
prostatitis, but who did not have urethral discharge. The same urologist
evaluated all the patients by performing a medical history, physical
examination, and transrectal ultrasound.

The study said 47% of the 233 patients had a positive urethral culture,
35% a positive culture of the seminal fluid and 13% had a positive culture
of one or more samples of the four-specimen localization test.

According to the study, more than 10 leukocytes in the post-massage urine
were observed in 49% of patients with a positive culture of the seminal
fluid.

Reference:
Microscopic and microbiological findings for evaluation of chronic
prostatitis. by Magri V, Cariani L, Bonamore R, Restelli A, Garlaschi MC,
Trinchieri A. in Arch Ital Urol Androl. 2005 Jun;77(2):135-8.

Four Articles from Urology Times (October 5, 2005)

The link to Urology Times on the right side of the homepage now has four new articles about prostatitis recently purchased from Urology Times for free distribution by the Prostatitis Foundation

Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Scientific Workshop October 19-21 (September 21, 2005)

Review off NIH Studies-What have we learned? By Anthony Schaffer, October 19th at 8:40 am
Are all Diseases Infectious? By Bennett Lora, October 20th 1:15 pm
Is CP/CPPS Due to an Unculturable Pathogen, (TBD) October 20th 1:45 pm
Review of the Use of Antibiotics in CP/CPPS, by Daniel Shoskes October 21st, 8:35 pm
Review of Non Antibiotic Treatment in CP/CPPS, by J. Curtis Nicol, October 21nd 9:05 pm

The Magic of Lyrica (Pregabalin) (August 29, 2005)

The Magic of Lyrica (Pregabalin)

Jon Bernardes, long term Prostatitis Sufferer, Shropshire, United Kingdom.

Diagnosed with Chronic Prostatitis in January 1994, I have lived with pain and discomfort (not to mention more usual prostate symptoms such as urgency, frequency, pain on urinating) for over 11 years. I was a previously fit and healthy middle class professional then in my mid forties. Since 1994, I had not had one single day when pain management wasn’t the over-riding issue in my life. As with many chronic pain sufferers, I managed to keep working but gave up any kind of social life, lost fitness and began to look forward to retirement just to end the daily struggle of getting to a (thankfully very flexible) job. The various management strategies involved 4 components: a regular (16 week) caudal block, acupuncture (4-6 weekly), Dothiepin (an anti-depressant which also interacts with acupuncture to relieve pain), and the main daily drug of Coproxamol – ranging from 2/3 tables on a ‘good day’ to the maximum dose of 8 on a ‘bad day’.

With the end of Coproxamol prescribing in sight in the UK, I tried a wide range of other prescription painkillers with my GP’s help – all were far less effective than Coproxamol and some had unpleasant side effects. About to panic (and very depressed) I attended my regular caudal block and discussed the issue with my Pain Consultant who suggested a new drug: Lyrica ( a.k.a Pregabalin - licensed for use on neuropathic pain in July 2004 – see European Medicines Agency: http://www.emea.eu.int/humandocs/Humans/EPAR/lyrica/lyrica.htm ; at time of writing the drug is not on UK Pfizer site but the American review can be seen at: http://www.pfizer.com/pfizer/are/investors_releases/2004pr/mn_2004_1231.jsp OR
http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/projects/pregabalin/ ).

I contacted my very helpful GP and got a prescription – so my years of pain came to an end – not simply and immediately but after some experimentation and careful management.

From the very first tablet, I realised that I had simply forgotten what life without pain could be like – initially, these were only brief periods between a range of side effects –most notably, a distinct dizziness and headaches (the latter probably due to withdrawing the Coproxamol). Initially I tried one 75Mg tablet 12 hourly….the dizziness continued and the pain began to feel like it might return after 6 hours and did return with a vengeance towards 12 hours.

Within a week, I dared to try a cycle ride in the pain free period and found that I managed a mile or two with no ill effects; I repeated this with time and found that such exercise did not seem to lead to pain crises (as it had in the past). To tackle the midday pain, I moved to 75Mg tablets 8 hourly and found this much more effective in terms of continual pain control BUT found myself in a continual haze (not unpleasant but I did not like to drive); the bike riding and exercise developed well and I began to have patches of feeling really well and pain free.

My GP then agreed to prescribe 50Mg tablets and this dose 8 hourly has removed the haze and any dizziness. After nearly three whole months, I am pain free, regularly riding my bike (6 – 9 miles a day) and have returned to my favourite exercise – Jogging. I started VERY carefully with one minute jogs but am now up to 60 minutes. My wife and I had a marvellous 2 week holiday in Crete where I swam regularly, walked miles, hiked up and down mountain gorges and generally managed like a perfectly healthy person. I am losing some weight and beginning to feel much healthier and, strangely, some of the prostate symptoms are also abating. Lyrica, however, is not a cure – if I forget a tablet for a few hours, the familiar nagging pains in perineum, lower abdomen and lower back pop-up BUT taking the tablet and relaxing for an hour or two usually solves the problem.

Strangely, I cannot find much mention of patient experiences with Lyrica on the internet and I am still not really sure what ‘neuropathic pain’ is BUT this stuff is simply magic for me and my prostatitis. So far, there are limited side effects – the dizziness seems to disappear after a while and the drug appears to ‘target’ the pain very well. A broken tooth hurt like hell despite my prostate pain being completely absent; previous painkillers (such a Coproxamol) seem to hit your whole system and mask any and all pains; Lyrica seems to just control the long term prostate pain.

I have no idea whether this drug will work for anyone else but do suggest that you talk to your GP and give it a try – be prepared, though, to take control and experiment with dose strength and period (I am on 3 * 50Mg = 150Mg daily; the maximum is 600 Mg a day so I guess there is room to manoeuvre. The drug comes in 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, or 300 mg capsules so it should be possible for anyone to experiment with dosage until they have good pain control….BEST OF LUCK!

Time and continuing permitting, I will try and respond to any queries to J.Bernardes@wlv.ac.uk but please be patient – PLEASE provide a subject line including “LYRICA”.

Does Bacterial-induced Inflammation Play a Role in Prostate Cancer? (July 16, 2005)

Does Bacterial-induced Inflammation Play a Role in Prostate Cancer?

Cohen RJ, Shannon BA, McNeal JE, Shannon T, Garrett KL. Propionibacterium acnes associated with inflammation in radical prostatectomy specimens: a possible link to cancer evolution? J Urol. 2005 Jun;173(6):1969-74.

These Australian researchers cultured microorganisms from the prostate tissue taken out during radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. The team also looked at the tissue microscopically for inflammation. The most common organism they detected was a type of bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes, which they found in 35% of the prostate samples. Also, they saw significantly more inflammation in the prostate tissue from men who had P acnes than men who didn’t. They found that the P acnes bacteria in prostate tissue had characteristics that are different from the P acnes normally found on skin. The researchers suggested that these bacteria may be involved in the inflammation they saw and possibly in prostate cancer itself.

Two Groundbreaking Research Studies Published (June 26, 2005)

Newsletter 2-05

This information was provided to us courtesy of Interstitial Cystitis Association

The January 2004 edition of Urology featured two groundbreaking research papers from ICA Medical Advisory Board members Susan Keay, MD, PhD, John Warren, MD, and their colleagues at the University of Maryland.

In a paper entitled Antiproliferative factor, heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor, and epidermal growth factor in men with interstitial cystitis versus chronic pelvic pain syndrome, Dr. Keay and her colleagues showed that the urinary marker they discovered, antiproliferative factor (APF), occurs in men with IC and can help distinguish men with IC from men who have chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), commonly called “chronic prostatitis.”
Disorder Shows A Possible Genetic Link
( We could not include all of this study because of space limitations.)

Prospects for New medicine (June 10, 2005)

In the June 13 Issue of Business Week on page 30 there was an article about Biotech finally starting to pay off. They say, “Last year alone, the Food and Drug administration approved 20 biotech drugs, among them treatments for insomnia, multiple sclerosis, severe pain, chronic kidney disease, incontinence, mouth sores, and cancer.”

Prostatitis Research atAUA Annual Meeting (May 29, 2005)

To read about the poster session presentations and abstracts from the AUA 2005 Annual Meeting go to web page: http://www.aua2005.org/am05/content/abstracts/index.cfm

Pelvic Floor Therapy--NY (May 17, 2005)

We are frequently asked if the pelvic floor therapy is available in the NY area. A patient who says he has had good luck with that therapy has sent us these addresses and this information:
www.beyondbasicsphysicaltherapy.com
www.hdphysicaltherapy.com
www.duffyandbracken.com

He listed one Urologist:
Dr. David Kaufman
Central Park South
NY, NY
212-969-9540

You will need to check these out for yourself, as the foundation does not endorse any doctor, medicine or treatment protocol.

Clinical Trials for prostatitis (April 7, 2005)

The National Institute of Health has appropriated money to conduct research to find a cause and cure for prostatitis/CPPS. It is important for patients to participate in these clinical trials if they can qualify. The NIH needs to see that we are anxious to help them with this research . Please contact the research center nearest you or the one you prefer from the list available on the www.uppcrn.org website. When you get to that site click on the CPCRN website Click on the contacts tab and find the center that interests you for their contact information.
Prostatitis Foundation

Urinalysis: A Comprehensive Review (March 17, 2005)

To see this excellent article go to www,aafp.com and click onto their current issue which is Volume 71 Number 6 • March 15, 2005. Their webpage describes it thus, “Urinalysis: A Comprehensive Review
JEFF A. SIMERVILLE, M.D., WILLIAM C. MAXTED, M.D., AND JOHN J. PAHIRA, M.D.
Urinalysis provides clues in the diagnosis of calculi, urinary tract infection, and malignancy. The dipstick test can detect conditions such as hematuria and proteinuria. Identification of casts, cells, crystals, and bacteria by microscopic examination may help physicians diagnose a variety of conditions.”

Immune System Treatments (March 14, 2005)

For those of you interested in the immune system there is an interesting article in the March 14th 2005 issue of Business Week. On page 42 they say, “When the immune system goes bad it goes very, very bad.”
In a sidebar they say, “ Drugs aimed at correcting autoimmune diseases often have unforseen impacts.”

Nanotechnology (March 14, 2005)

In the February 14th issue of Business Week there was a long article about Nanotechnology. On page 71 they say, “More Dramatic breakthroughs are expected in two or three years as companies developing novel medical procedures begin to emerge from the regulatory maze. Already nano-ized versions of existing drugs are causing a stir.”

Nanotechnology (March 14, 2005)

In the February 14th issue of Business Week there was a long article about Nanotechnology. On page 71 they say, “More Dramatic breakthroughs are expected in two or three years as companies developing novel medical procedures begin to emerge from the regulatory maze. Already nano-ized versions of existing drugs are causing a stir.”

(February 19, 2005)

January 11, 2005 11:10 AM US Eastern Timezone

Nanobac Life Sciences Announces Publication of Results in the Journal of Urology Demonstrating Significant Improvement in Symptoms of Prostatitis Using comET Therapy

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2005--Nanobac Life Science, Inc. (OTCBB:NNBP), announced today results of a study providing evidence that its patented combination of EDTA, tetracycline and a proprietary blend of nutritional supplements (comET Therapy) demonstrated significant improvement in symptoms in a group of patients with prostatitis or Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS). The observational study, lead by Daniel A. Shoskes, M.D., of Cleveland Clinic Florida, demonstrated a significant decrease in the National Institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) score in patients with recalcitrant prostatitis who took 3 months of Nanobac's proprietary comET nanobiotic regimen. The results of the study currently appear online and will appear in the print version of the Journal of Urology, Vol. 173, February 2005.


The treated group of fifteen patients had prostatic stones and longstanding Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) symptoms unresponsive to multiple prior conventional therapies. The treatment is designed to eliminate stone forming Nanobacteria. The study found 80% of the patients had a significant improvement in symptoms after 3 months of the comET regimen. Two patients who had been on complete medical disability have returned to work.

"The study population represented a truly 'hard core' group of patients who had failed multiple previous therapies including antibiotics, phytotherapy, alpha blockers, neuromuscular therapies and prostatic massage," said Daniel Shoskes, MD, study principal investigator. "A response of such magnitude, even in an uncontrolled study is noteworthy in this patient population."

We will be bringing more information about this development

Research Center Trials Beginning 2005 (January 25, 2005)

.
In 1997, the NIDDK formed the first Chronic Prostatitis Collaborative Research Network (CPCRN) comprised of six clinical centers to conduct epidemiologic and clinical trial studies examining the nature, treatment and prevention of this disease.

The NIDDK is building on the work begun by the CPCRN. An expanded research network has been organized to conduct additional clinical trials of promising therapeutic interventions. The new CPCRN is comprised of 11 clinical centers and a data-coordinating center. Ancillary studies will be conducted in conjunction with the clinical trials.

This study is for men who have been recently diagnosed with chronic prostatitis and have not received a lot of past treatments for their symptoms.

The will be another trial starting later for chronic patients who have failed other treatments


For more information about these trials see www.uppcrn.org

This Information Forwarded by Prostatitis Foundation

Serum PSA Levels of 4.0 ng/mL or less (December 30, 2004)

The weekly email letter from Medscape (urology edition) has an article: Should Men With Serum PSA Levels of 4.0 ng/mL or Less Undergo a Prostate Biopsy? The authors were J. Brantley Thompson and William L. Valk from the University of Kansas, Medical Center. It was printed in Nat Clin Pract Urol 1(1): 12 13, 2004 Nature Publishing Group.

Last week they had the article by Richard Alexander on the Treatment of Chronic Prostatitis.
See www.medscape.com

Diagnosing and Treating Infections (December 23, 2004)

We want to call your attention to the book on our website by Dr. Toth: Fertile vs. Infertile, How infections affect your fertility and your baby’s health. The chapters particularly relative to a prostatitis patient are:
Chapter 2
The heart of the matter: Vertically and Horizontally Transmitted Infections.
Chapter 4
Diagnosing and Treating Infections.
ON page 90 where Dr Toth discusses chlamydia he says, “It is now believed that up to 50 percent of sexually active teenagers acquire this infection”
Another source claims that 75% of women that have chlamydia don’t know it.

Prostatitis or interstitial cystitis? (December 10, 2004)

We have forwarded an email from a patient about how his diagnosis went from prostatitis to interstitial cystitis into the column: It worked for me. He thought it worth sharing with others.

Diagnosing and Treating Infections (December 10, 2004)

We have put up a lead on the front of the webpage today to help anyone purchase Dr. Toth’s book called Fertile vs.Infertile. Dr. A. Toth is an Obstetrician, Gynecologist & Pathologist. Chapter 3: Diagnosing and Treating Infections should be interesting to a prostatitis patient. When discussing pathogens he says, “ The major players are commonly categorized as follows: chlamydia, the mycoplasma group , aerobic bacteria, anerobic bacteria, parasites, viruses and yeast.” He discusses each of the categories individually.

Cranberry for Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections (December 5, 2004)

The question keeps coming up about Cranberry Juice for prevention and treatment of Urinary Tract Infections.
If you go to aafp.org you will find an index of the contents for their magazine. Look in the current issue. This month you can read an article that concludes Cranberry Juice and/or tablets may help in preventing urinary tract infections but do not effect a cure.

New Additions (November 11, 2004)

We have a letter from Dr Alexander Mackenzie about his use of estrogen. Go to the left hand column of website and click on Treatments and Forms of Prostatitis. Click on estrogen to see a copy of his letter.
We have also added copies of articles from Urology Times: Sequential monotherapy yields poor results in CPCPS and Ejaculatory pain affects 75% of men with CPPS

Pain control (October 7, 2004)

The September/October issue of the AARP Magazine has an article by Elizabeth Enright on page 52 about pain control. (aarpmagazine.org). She discusses new strategies and an array of new medicines.
For Black and white reprints call 800 635 7181 ext 8158

Selenium and vitamin E cancer prevention trial (October 7, 2004)

In the fall issue of Cure Magazine (curetoday.com) devoted to cancer updates, research & education on page 19 Kathy LaTour has written a page on the clinical trials available. There are two prevention trials listed that are seeking patients. Both are studying prostate cancer prevention. More information can be found at (clinicaltrials.gov). Search using the keyword selenium

PSA Controversy Continues (October 6, 2004)

We frequently get questions about PSA tests. It would help if there were agreement among the experts about the PSA test. For some recent information from the US TOO Hot Sheet, which is slanted toward prostate cancer education and support, go to ustoo.org. You can access their archives there or request the October 2004 Hotsheet at:
Us Too International, Inc
Prostate Cancer Support Groups
5003 Fairview Ave
Downers Grove, Illinois 60515-05286
630-795-1002 or 800-808-7866
WWW.ustoo.org

One headline on page 3 reads: Top Professor Calls PSA Test Useless. Other experts Disagree. So What Do Men Do?

Fertile vs. Infertile (September 27, 2004)

Someone called our attention to this book by Dr Toth.We welcome your comments.
Prostatitis Foundation


Fertile vs. Infertile
by A. Toth, M.D.
Hardcover, 6x9 in, 256 pages
Fenestra Books, September 2004
ISBN: 1587363321
Description
Fertile vs. Infertile emphasizes in a very clear way the importance of sexually transmitted infections (STI). In the U.S. alone, about 15 million individuals contract an STI annually. Unfortunately, this field is not given the proper attention by many urologists and gynecologists and by those dealing with infertility. The number of suffering and frustrated patients is therefore extremely high. Young people are rarely informed properly about the high incidence of symptom-free but potentially devastating sexual infections. Hopefully this book will be the badly needed alarm clock for both the lay public and the medical profession.
About the author
Today fifteen percent of married couples suffer from infertility. Dr. Attila Toth's thirty years as a practicing infertility specialist and pathologist have convinced him that the only explanation for this alarming infertility rate, so far out of proportion with natural law, is the increasing presence of contaminating bacteria in the genital tracts of both sexes. In this book, he documents how and why this process has escalated so dramatically over the past few decades of increased sexual activity. Attila Toth, MD; Associate Clinical Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, board certified in both Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pathology. His first book, Fertility Solution was published by Atlantic Monthly in 1991. Practice is limited to infertility and treatment of genital tract infections. 65 E. 79th St. New York, NY 10021. Voice: 212-717-4444; Fax: 212-717-1868

Educational brochure & booklet (August 30, 2004)

We have copies of an educational brochure titled: Prostate Ultrasound and Biopsy and a 15 page booklet titled: Treating Prostate Problems. We purchased them from Krames, a company who call themselves the experts in patient education. You may obtain a free copy by sending your address to The Prostatitis Foundation, 1063 30th Street, Smithshire, Illinois 61478

Best Medical Web Sites (August 24, 2004)

August 24, 2004
For an excellent review of the best Medical Web Sites go to Businessweek.com/execlife and click on Executive Life August 30th on the left side of the webpage. Scroll down to Online extra: The best Medical Sites.
That is on page 152 of August 30 issue. It lists the sponsors and the highlights.

High Price of Prostatitis (August 24, 2004)

To see an article about the high price of prostatitis go to urologytimes.com and scroll down to Cover Story August 1, 2004 where they say, “ Men with chronic prostatitis incur costs nearly double those of rheumatoid arthritis patients.”

Good articles in Urology Times (August 24, 2004)

August 24, 2004

Go to urologytimes.com and scroll down to the July 1st issue. You will find leads to articles titled:
Sequential monotherapy yields poor results in CPPS
Antibiotic, alpha-blocker ineffective for CP/CPPS
If you scroll further down you will find an article titled: Study: No‘magic’PSA threshold exists for biopsy. They say, "Cancer is present in 15% of men with 'normal' PSAs and DREs; 2% have high-grade disease."

Hussein Has Prostate Infection (August 24, 2004)

To see an article about prostatitis on the Website of WebMD Medical News go to: http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/91/101211.htm.
They say, “Official: Hussein Has Prostate Infection; Iraqi Official Says Deposed Leader Otherwise in Good Health.”

Frequent concerns about bike riding. (July 2, 2004)

In a recent article in Family Urology published by American Foundation for Urologic Disease, Volume 9 Issue 1, spring 2004, there is an interesting article titled; Bicycle Riding and Perineal Injuries. The author is Dr. Irwin Goldstein professor of Urology at Boston University School of Medicine. He has spent a lot of time studying the issue and says, “Classic biking-related injuries include: urethral bleeding, urethral stricture formation, perineal numbness, pudendal neuropathy, scrotal injuries, testicular trauma, prostatitis and erectile dysfunction.”
The full text of the article can be found at: http://www.impotence.org/hottopics/bicycle.asp
When you reach www.impotence.org click on current research and findings to see the article.
You will find it an interesting site and might also want to scan the links and resources.
Prostatitis Foundation

PROSTATITIS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH MEDICAL COSTS (June 16, 2004)

CHICAGO - Patients with chronic prostatitis associated with chronic pelvic pain have substantial health care costs and have reduced quality of life, according to an article in the June 14 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The economic impact of chronic prostatitis warrants increased medical attention and resources to identify and test effective treatment strategies," the researchers conclude.
See entire article at: Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1231-1236. June 14. Available at www.archinternmed.com
Editor's Note: This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Prostatitis Foundation

Reiter’s Syndrome-Prostatitis Symptoms? (May 26, 2004)

Recently in his syndicated column Dr. Peter H. Gott was asked to elaborate on a diagnosis of arthritis caused by Reiter’s syndrome. He responded by saying, “ The syndrome is marked by arthritis, inflammation of the reproductive tract (in both sexes) conjunctivitis (eye inflammation) and superficial ulcers in the mouth or on the genitals.
The diagnosis is made by a blood test called the HLA-B27 tissue antigen”
Early in the existence of this foundation a patient reported a very stubborn case of what had been diagnosed as prostatitis that turned out to be the result of Reiter’s syndrome.
Once in a newsgroup post someone reported that tendonitis, particularly of the Achilles tendon is typical, as is fascitis of the foot among patients with Reiter’s Syndrome. The skin problems include rashes (glans penis pain, balanitis) and painful sores in the mouth.
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines Reiter’s Syndrome as a group of symptoms that appear as a complication of nonspecific urethritis.
We would be interested in more information from others.

Prostatitis Foundation.

Society for Infection and Inflammation (May 23, 2004)

A new group calling themselves the Society for Infection and Inflammation in Urology (SIIU)met at the AUA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. They are a subspecialty society affiliated with The American Urological Association (AUA). The purpose of the SIIU is to provide a forum for AUA members, associate members or guests attending the AUA Annual Meeting to discuss genitourinary tract infection and inflammation.

Their Objectives: this program is designed for the urologic clinician or investigator who has special interest in infectious and noninfectious inflammation in the genitourinary tract. Its purposes are as follows.

1. To increase knowledge and awareness of urinary tract infection in the pathogenesis and treatment of urologic disorders.

2. To increase awareness on non-infectious inflammation in the genitourinary tract and its relation to the pathogenesis and treatment of urologic disorders.

Dr. John Krieger from Seattle conducted a review and discussion of the submitted abstracts at a poster session following the business meeting. We will try to obtain more information about the presentations to bring to you. This should bring in some new ideas and approaches to treatment.

Prostatitis Foundation

Prostate Cancer Prevention? (May 17, 2004)

The National Cancer Institute is conducting a ten-year cancer prevention trial. They are trying to recruit 32,000 men in 400 locations. The purpose is to evaluate the efficiency of selenium and vitamin E combinations in preventing cancer. The American Prostate Society in their recent newsletter volume 10, Number 1, spring 2004 discussed other results obtained with selenium-E combinations for prostate cancer prevention. If you would like a copy of that newsletter write to . The American Prostate Society at Box 870 Hanover, MD 21076. Send $1 and a SASE. Tell them which issue you want.
The Prostatitis Foundation

Press Conference at AUA Annual Meeting in San Francisco (May 10, 2004)

At a press conference this morning at the AUA Annual Meeting in San Francisco Dr. Richard Alexander summed up the results of the clinical trials done by the eleven research centers in the CPCRN(Chronic Prostatitis Collaborative Research Network.

They compared the two most commonly used treatments against a placebo. They found neither Ciprofloxin or Tamsulosin reduced substantially the symptoms of CP/CPPS after six weeks of therapy in men with moderate to severe symptoms of long duration and with many previous treatments.

He stressed that patients should not get discouraged as there are other developments we will report on later.

Prostatitis Foundation

Easing the Drug Crunch (May 4, 2004)

Easing the Drug Crunch
Newsweek had an article in the May 3, 2004 edition on page 62 about how some people are dealing with the cost of their medicine. If you cannot find a copy of the magazine look at Drugstore.com, which they mention, along with pharmacy checker.com and RXDiscountGuides.com. To investigate the pharmacy they suggest using www.nabp.net.
They repeat the common cautions about not buying without a prescription or from a site without a phone number and address.

John Kennedy and Prostatitis (April 14, 2004)

4-14-04
It has been called to our attention that in the recent book An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek published by Little Brown and CO 2003 there is a discussion by the author of his prostatitis and symptoms. On page 123 paragraph 3 the author writes, “He was later diagnosed as having “a mild, chronic, non-specific prostatitis” that sulfa drugs temporarily suppressed.” References repeat on page 212 paragraph 2 and page 262 paragraph 2

PSA Controversy (April 3, 2004)

We get a lot of inquiries about PSA testing and the need for subsequent biopsies. Most are from patients who have had an increase in readings which they think were caused by prostatitis.
Frequently they have had one negative biopsy and do not want to have the procedure again.

A urologist at an US TOO group meeting recently told the crowd that when he sent patients for a biopsy because of suspected cancer if they did not find cancer they did find inflammation/infection (prostatitis) in a very high percentage of patients. Like 85% or more.

There have been two interesting articles about the value of PSA testing recently. The last one in The Wall Street Journal (Personal Journal D1) on March 23rd of 2004 makes this statement; And at a PSA above 10- when doctors are far more likely to agree a biopsy is in order- a man doesn’t necessarily have cancer. Often simple infections and benign prostate problems can cause big spikes in PSA.

There is not total agreement among the medical profession about the use of these tests. In a sidebar on page 27 with an article in The Riverfront Times, St. Louis (November19-25, 2003) Bruce Rushton discusses the controversy. You may be able to find it at www.riverfronttimes.com) Go to the archives and type in authors name plus the keywords; Up Yours. If you can’t get to it we have permission to reissue copies courtesy of The Riverfront Times and Mr. Rushton.
Send an email to administrator@prostatitis.org or leave a voice mail message with your address at 888- 891- 4200 to receive a copy

Prostatitis Foundation

Research Funding (March 17, 2004)

Prostatitis Research Funding
The Financial Management Office at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases report that they have supported a total of $5,463,000 on prostatitis research in 2003. The total from 1999 to 2003 was approximately $19.4 million.
The newly organized research centers are preparing for future trials. The details will be announced as soon as they are finalized and patient recruitment begins.

Medical Tests for Prostate Problems (March 15, 2004)

We get frequent questions about medical tests from new prostatitis patients. The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse has an excellent patient education fact sheet that explains most of the procedures. We are going to start enclosing one with the information packets we send to new patients. Those of you who wish can see it at www.niddk.nih.gov under “Health Information.”
Prostatitis Foundation

Dr. Curtis Nicol Receives Grant (February 25, 2004)

Urology Times announced in the January 2004 issue that J Curtis Nickel
MD, Kingston, Canada has been awarded four research grants totaling nearly $8 million from the Nationl Institute of Health to study alternative, complimentary, and novel therapies for prostate and bladder disease.

AARP website has posted information on prostatitis ( , )

The AARP website has posted additional information on prostatitis other than what was in the last issue of The
AARP Magazine http://www.aarpmagazine.org/health/Articles/a2004-11-29-mag-getwell.html
See the January-February edition of the AARP Magazine and the article on page 26 titled: A Wee Problem

New Technique Could Differentiate Infection from Inflammation ( , )

Bettegowda C, Foss CA, Cheong I, Wang Y, Diaz L, Agrawal N, Fox J, Dick J, Dang LH, Zhou S, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Pomper MG. Imaging bacterial infections with radiolabeled 1-(2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-iodouracil. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2005 Jan 25;102(4):1145-50. Epub 2005 Jan 14.

A new imaging technique could help resolve debates about when bacterial infection plays a role in disease by quickly detecting infectious bacteria in tissue. It could distinguish infected tissue from merely inflamed but sterile tissue. Although other imaging methods have been tried, they have been cumbersome or difficult or not very specific. Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, MD, say they have developed a technique that is fairly simple and could translate to the clinic. The method relies on a radioactive tracer that is trapped by an enzyme common to bacteria. The radiotracer they used, [125I]FIAU, has already been used safely in humans. This tracer accumulates in bacteria, and not in inflamed cells, making the infection visible on a specialized type of computed tomography (CT) scan. Using this tracer, the researchers were able to detect infection in tissue caused by five different types of bacteria, and they believe that the technique could be applied to most, if not all, disease-causing bacteria. The technique has the potential to detect infection more quickly and with higher certainty than traditional cultures.

New Book: The Enigma of Prostatitis ( , )

The Prostatitis Foundation is making this excellent book available to patients and order forms are available on the front page of this website. Order one for your doctor also.
---------------
The International Prostate Health Council (IPHC), was established more than a decade ago, as an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation. Its main goals include the assessment of the current knowledge base and practice pattern of the physicians concerned with prostate diseases, of the level of awareness of these diseases on the part of the public and the creation of worldwide edu-cational programs and resource materials for urologists, primary care physicians and allied health-care workers.

This booklet ‘The Enigma of Prostatitis’, based on IPHC discussions with other international experts, at the ancient French port of Saint Malo, on the northern coast of Brittany, is another of the series that offers expert opinion in a simply presented, well illustrated and easily assimilated manner.

The booklet targets urologists and primary health-care physicians to help them in their daily practice to understand the mechanisms of prostatic disease, with quality of life of the patient as an endpoint. In line with its independence, the IPHC has been able to present this booklet through the generous financial support of unrestricted educational grants from AstraZeneca, United Kingdom, SPA - Società Prodotti Antibiotici S.p.A., Italy, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Japan and Sanofi-Aventis S.p.A., Italy.
Louis Denis
( Chairman, IPHC )

Finasteride May Lower Serum PSA Level in Men With Male-Pattern Hair Loss ( , )

According to an article in Medscape Medical News written by News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD and CME Author: Charles Vega, MD, FAAFP
Finasteride May Lower Serum PSA Level in Men With Male-Pattern Hair Loss

New Book Available: The Enigma of Prostatitis. ( , )

We became aware of a great book about prostatitis and we are making it
available to anyone interested in prostatitis. Go to the top right of the prostatitis.org website and find the information and an order blank there. This book will be suitable for patients and doctors alike.
Prostatitis Foundation