Varicocele is a common problem in reproductive medicine practice. A varicocele is identified in 15% of healthy men and up to 35% of men with primary infertility. The exact pathophysiology of varicoceles is not very well understood, especially regarding its effect on male infertility. We have conducted a systematic review of studies evaluating the epidemiology of varicocele in the general population and in men presenting with infertility. In this article, we have identified some of the factors that can influence the epidemiological aspects of varicoceles. We also recognize that varicocele epidemiology remains incompletely understood, and there is a need for well-designed, large-scale studies to fully define the epidemiological aspects of this condition.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) remains the only trulyminimally invasive procedure for the treatment of upper tract nephrolithiasis.Recently, there has been a recent rise in the patientson antiplatelet agents. Therefore, the aim of the present study isto review the literature available regarding SWL in these high-riskpatients requiring anti-coagulation therapy. Alternative therapiesto SWL are also presented.

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Our experiment confirms that molecular changes occur very soon after the initiation of pBOO, and implicates several molecular pathways. We believe these insights may provide insight into novel prevention and treatment strategies targeted at the pathophysiology of pBOO.