Articles in 2024

High-fat diets disrupt testicular function by accumulating lipids, impairing sperm production and affecting the cytoskeleton of spermatogenic cells. This Perspective aims to understand these mechanisms to develop treatments for infertility in men with obesity.

Literature about prostate cancer in transgender women is growing, but many questions remain unanswered. Unique challenges exist in the identification of transgender women that can slow or even impair research advances in this field. Reframing our thinking about the identification of this population is imperative to help advance both research and clinical care.

Metastatic urothelial cancer exhibits substantial molecular heterogeneity compared with the primary tumour, complicating the development of accurate biomarkers. Pre-treatment metastatic biopsies capture real-time tumour biology and can enhance response predictions for targeted therapies, improving patient selection for precision oncology.

When Nature Clinical Practice Urology launched in 2004, we could not have foreseen the ways in which our field has transformed. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary — traditionally, the ‘china’ anniversary — it gives us a chance to get out the special china tea service, sit back with a cup of tea and reflect on what this journal, and the editors who work on it, have achieved.

Examination of racial disparities in prostate cancer in the USA and UK highlights systemic, socio-economic and sociocultural factors that might contribute to these differences. Understanding behavioural medicine might inform and improve the way in which the health-care system can engage with patients in minorities who are affected by this disease.

For the past 20 years, Nature Reviews Urology has evolved alongside the field, reflecting a shift towards basic research as a tool to inform clinical practice. From the latest developments in urology to the advent of telehealth, the journal has remained committed to delivering rigorous and unbiased science, accessible to a global audience.

Over the past 20 years, Nature Reviews Urology has been at the forefront of developments in the field — from championing men’s health to explaining the intricacies of the prostate cancer tumour immune microenvironment. Going forwards the journal will continue to be a leader in the field, providing an important resource for patients and physicians alike.

Feedback mechanisms between androgen and IGF1 signalling pathways have been linked to the development, progression and hormone refractoriness of prostate cancer. In this Review, the dynamic regulation of androgen and IGF1 signalling in prostatic epithelia and stroma are described and the implications for future preventative and therapeutic strategies are explored.

Here, the authors describe the evidence concerning plant-based dietary patterns and omnivorous diets with reduced consumption of animal-based food and increased consumption of plant-based foods and their associations with the most common urological cancers and benign urological conditions.

Women are under-represented in surgery and are particularly subject to the intrinsically gendered practice of pimping in the clinical learning environment. The potential downstream effects of this continued practice have considerable implications on gender disparities within surgical disciplines.

The incidence of detrusor underactivity is projected to rise owing to an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of diabetes, but therapeutic options remain limited. Successful bladder contractions have been yielded in studies of bladder pacing in animals. However, anatomical incongruities highlight the need for human trials. Bladder pacing in humans through electrical stimulation has shown some potential, although sustainable protocols are lacking owing to detrusor–sphincter dyssynergia and patient discomfort during trials. Thus, manometric studies in brain-dead patients might serve as a model for developing an implantable bladder pacing device to restore contractility.