Melody Jacob

Oh, Scotland's got this wild weather, I'm tellin' ya! One minute, it's all sunshine and rainbows , then BAM! Rain and gloom in the blink of an eye. So, just before I took these pics, I thought, "Hey, the sun's gonna make an appearance." But nope, it didn't. Still, I went for it. Wind had other ideas, though, it messed up my hair and had my dress twirlin' like a dance-off with the breeze. I was shiverin', not gonna lie, but hey, I was thrilled to finally show off this Modlily design Navy Umbrella Hem Sequin A Line Dress. You know what's the bomb? That silver bling around the neck – no need for a necklace, it's got you covered.

Surgeons created what is today regarded as the gold standard therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an age-related condition in which the flow of urine is obstructed by an enlarged prostate, over a century ago.

This surgery, known as a transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP, is available to men who do not react to BPH medication. It entails using an electric loop to cut extra prostate tissue. About 90% of men who receive treatment experience long-lasting relief, although many are left unable to ejaculate and usually have to spend a night in the hospital recuperating.

There is less chance of problems and a quicker recovery with more recent, less invasive BPH treatments. These alternative techniques treat BPH in a different way than a TURP, which cuts directly into the prostate. For example, the obstructive tissues may be treated with lasers, steam, or microwaves.

The FDA approved another minimally invasive technique earlier this year, adding to the growing popularity of these operations. According to study results given at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association in April, the device known as the Optilume BPH catheter system offered long-lasting alleviation from BPH symptoms that held up after four years.

The process and the research

During an Optilume treatment, surgeons thread an inflated catheter toward the prostate using the urethra, the tube that empties the bladder of urine. By dividing the prostate's two lobes, the catheter makes a V-shaped channel in the gland's top, which lowers pressure on the urethra and increases urine flow rates. Crucially, paclitaxel, a chemotherapy medication, is coated on the catheter to help reduce inflammatory reactions brought on by the treatment. The prostate's duct is left behind once the catheter is taken out.

The urology professor Dr. Steven Kaplan of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York oversaw the research that resulted in the FDA's clearance. According to him, the new system's symptom improvements are on par with TURP's. He states, "We're pretty excited about it." "This is a potential game changer."

The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), which goes from 0 to 35 and categorizes BPH as mild, moderate, or severe, was monitored during the study by Dr. Kaplan's group. The initial clinical trial, known as the PINNACLE study, which was restricted to men with prostates weighing between 20 and 80 grams, showed that Optilume therapy was immediately beneficial. After a year, males who received treatment had IPSS scores that were, on average, 11.5 points lower than those from the baseline.

The abundance of surplus capacity found in the human body is one of its many underrated qualities. In other words, the majority of us do not require the whole reserve of our organs.