Women whose pelvic floor has become weakened, for example through pregnancy and childbirth, benefit from pelvic floor muscle training. Specific exercises can strengthen muscles and improve bladder control. Women are sometimes offered a biofeedback device which allows them to see their muscles working as they exercise. But new research found that the device offered no ...

Women with long-term (chronic) kidney disease can now be given a clear indication of the risks of pregnancy, both to themselves and to their babies. New research assesses the likelihood that a baby will be born healthy, and estimates the impact of pregnancy on the woman’s disease. Pregnancy is known to put additional strain on ...

Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) is an effective treatment for women with pelvic organ prolapse. However, there are not enough specialist clinicians to deliver it which means access to this treatment is limited. New research finds that other healthcare staff can be successfully trained and supported to deliver PFMT. This could help meet demand for ...

Two procedures to treat men with enlarged prostates are both effective, new research has shown. A benign enlarged prostate is not cancer and is not usually a serious threat to health. But it is common in men over 50 and some need surgery to treat troublesome urinary symptoms caused by the growing prostate. The most ...

Early dialysis does not improve survival among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury, new research shows. A large multinational trial found that starting dialysis within 12 hours of acute kidney injury was no more effective than watchful waiting with delayed dialysis. Acute kidney injury means that the kidneys stop working suddenly. It is a ...

Urethral narrowing reduces the flow of urine from the bladder out of the body. The tube (called the urethra) may become narrowed because of injury or infection. Painful and potentially dangerous narrowing is more common in men and if it happens repeatedly, it is treated with surgery. Initial treatment is usually a minimally invasive procedure ...

The way that dialysis is normally scheduled in hospitals leaves a gap that may be harmful to the health of kidney patients. If, in addition, patients miss a scheduled session, the risks of hospital admission or death increase dramatically. When someone’s kidneys are not working properly, waste products and fluid can build up to dangerous ...

The risk of urinary infection appears low with very short-term use but increases with the time that a patient has a catheter. Women and patients with paraplegia or cerebrovascular disease are at increased risk. This US-based retrospective analysis of electronic health records identified 148,361 indwelling catheterisations, of which 61,047 were for three or more days, ...

For children with a first presentation of nephrotic syndrome, an extended sixteen-week treatment regimen with prednisolone does not reduce the risk of relapse compared with the standard eight-week course. Most children will experience a relapse with either regimen, but the longer course may delay it by a month or so which may, in turn, reduce ...

Feelings of profound and relentless exhaustion while undergoing haemodialysis impact on patients’ ability to lead a normal life. This overwhelming fatigue is different from the immediate symptoms of post-dialysis fatigue observable in a clinical setting and can pervade all aspects of a patient’s life. This review of 65 international studies, including 1,713 participants, found that ...