IJU this issue

Abstract

Yoshinobu Kubota M.D., Ph.D., Associate Editor This issue features two special reports and one excellent review article of high interest. The first report, by Purnomo (Jakarta, Indonesia) is an editorial on urology in Asia in which urology in Indonesia and the Indonesian Urological Association are reported. The other special report by Homma et al. (Tokyo, Japan) is the clinical guideline for benign prostatic hyperplasia. This guideline has been recently developed and published by JUA for urologists as the target users. The article is a shortened version of the English translation of the guideline. The full English version of this guideline is also open on line. One review is on urethral function after hypospadias repair by González (Hannover, Germany) and Ludwikowski (Zurich, Switzerland). They provide a systematic review of articles addressing the value of urinary flow studies on the evaluation of the results of hypospadias operations. They recommend that asymptomatic children operated for hypospadias in infancy should have one flow study after toilet training. In this issue, four interesting original articles appear. One is on laparoscopic surgery on the adrenal gland. There is a lack of consensus regarding the optimal management of bilateral adrenal disease. Kawasaki et al. (Sendai, Japan) analyze their experience of bilateral simultaneous laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LSBA) for 21 various bilateral adrenal diseases and note that LSBA surgery was given to these 21 patients without major complications and with a reasonable operation time and blood loss. They concluded that a LSBA is a safe and valuable treatment option for selected patients with adrenal disease. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to be a risk factor and also affects the treatment outcome of several malignancies. In bladder cancer, DM might influence tumor features. Hwang et al. (Gwangju, Korea) report as an original article an investigation of the association between DM and non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer and suggest that DM seems to be an independent predictor of recurrence and progression-free survival. The other two articles are about lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The international prostate symptom score (IPSS) is most commonly used for both male and female LUTS patients. However, this IPSS questionnaire may not be adequate for the assessment of female LUTS patients. Fujimura et al. (Tokyo, Japan) evaluated the performance of the core lower urinary tract symptom score (CLSS) originally developed for overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms in female LUTS patients. They conclude that the CLSS questionnaire is a practical tool for the overall initial assessment of female LUTS including OAB and pain symptoms. α1-adrenoceptor (AR) antagonist is another topic addressed in articles about LUTS in this issue. α1-AR antagonists are suggested to improve the storage symptoms of LUTS by blocking adrenergic receptors involved in afferent inputs. Haga et al. (Fukushima, Japan) clearly demonstrate the beneficial effect of a α1-AR antagonist. They analyzed the effect of long-term administration of the prazosin to spontaneously hypertensive rats in terms of bladder storage function. In this issue, two short communications also appear. Tsuzaka et al. (Tokyo, Japan) show the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing naftopidil with silodosin for ureteral stone in Japanese patients. The primary end-point of this RCT study was stone expulsion. Nam et al. (Busan, Korea) report the results of a study evaluating the severity of penile deformity in Peyronie's disease in relation to serum testosterone levels. None declared.