Purpose Due to the limited specificity of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer (CaP) screening, there is an ongoing search for adjunctive biomarkers. Retrospective studies have suggested that an isoform of proenzyme PSA called [−2] proPSA (p2PSA) may enhance the specificity of PSA-based screening. The objective of our study was to examine the utility of p2PSA in a prospective CaP screening study. Materials and Methods From a population of 2034 men undergoing CaP screening, we examined the relationship between p2PSA and CaP detection. Specifically, we compared the utility of total PSA, the ratio of free PSA (fPSA) to total PSA (%fPSA), the ratio of p2PSA to fPSA (%p2PSA) and a formula combining PSA, fPSA and p2PSA (called Beckman Coulter prostate health index or phi®) to predict CaP among men from the study undergoing prostate biopsy with PSA levels of 2.5–10 ng/ml and non-suspicious digital rectal examination (DRE). Results Despite similar total PSA levels (p=0.88), both %fPSA (p=0.02) and %p2PSA (p=0.0006) distinguished between positive and negative biopsy results. On receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, %p2PSA (AUC 0.76) outperformed both PSA (AUC 0.50) and %fPSA (AUC 0.68) for differentiating between CaP and benign disease. Setting the sensitivity at 88.5%, p2PSA led to a substantial improvement in specificity, positive and negative predictive values. The Beckman Coulter phi® (AUC 0.77) had the best overall performance characteristics. Conclusions This is the first prospective study to demonstrate that p2PSA provides improved discrimination between CaP and benign disease in screened men with PSA levels from 2.5 to 10 ng/ml and negative DRE.

Background Although gender is an important determinant of health behaviour with males less likely to perform health-protective behaviours, samples in health behaviour research are heavily biased towards females. This study investigated the use of online social network, Facebook, to reach and recruit inactive males to a team-based, social, and gamified physical activity randomised controlled trial. Methods Methodological techniques included a narrative literature review, survey of inactive males ( n = 34) who rated advertisement images and text captions on scales of 1–10, and trial Facebook-delivered recruitment campaigns. Advertisement effectiveness was measured by cost-per-click to the study website, number of expressions of interest, and study enrolments from males. Results Survey results showed that vibrant images of men exercising accompanied by concise captions (< 35 words) were most effective. An advertising campaign incorporating these components achieved a cost-per-click of $0.60, with 80% of n = 50 expressions of interest being from men, a marked improvement from baseline campaigns in which only 11% of expressions of interest were from men. Despite this, men who were recruited through the targeted campaign failed to enrol into the study, primarily due to reluctance to invite friends to join their team. An alternative strategy of encouraging females to invite men boosted male participation from 18% of the sample at baseline to 29% in the targeted recruitment phase. Conclusions Evidence-based approaches can improve Facebook recruitment outcomes, however, there are complex barriers hindering male recruitment to health behaviour studies that may necessitate multi-faceted strategies including involvement of family and friends. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7087-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Priapism is a disorder of persistent penile erection unrelated to sexual interest or desire. This pathologic condition, specifically the ischemic variant, is often associated with devastating complications, notably erectile dysfunction. Because priapism demonstrates high prevalence in patients with hematologic disorders, most commonly sickle cell disease (SCD), there is significant concern for its sequelae in this affected population. Thus, timely diagnosis and management are critical for the prevention or at least reduction of cavernosal tissue ischemia and potential damage consequent to each episode. Current guidelines and management strategies focus primarily on reactive treatments. However, an increasing understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of SCD-associated priapism has led to the identification of new potential therapeutic targets. Future agents are being developed and explored for use in the prevention of priapism.

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Penile implant usage dates to the 16th century yet penile implants to treat erectile dysfunction did not occur until nearly four centuries later. The modern era of penile implants has progressed rapidly over the past 50 years as physicians' knowledge of effective materials for penile prostheses and surgical techniques has improved. Herein, we describe the history of penile prosthetics and the constant quest to improve the technology. Elements of the design from the first inflatable penile prosthesis by Scott and colleagues and the Small-Carrion malleable penile prosthesis are still found in present iterations of these devices. While there have been significant improvements in penile prosthesis design, the promise of an ideal prosthetic device remains elusive. As other erectile dysfunction therapies emerge, penile prostheses will have to continue to demonstrate a competitive advantage. A particular strength of penile prostheses is their efficacy regardless of etiology, thus allowing treatment of even the most refractory cases.

Ambulatory IBD patients have similar prevalence of MRSA, ESBL and VRE compared to non-IBD controls. This finding suggests that the increased MRSA and VRE prevalence observed in hospitalized IBD patients is acquired in-hospital rather than in the outpatient setting.

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