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Introduction Significantly more women reporting stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or low urinary tract symptoms complained of sexual dysfunction than a general healthy female population. The use of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT), placed transvaginally under the mid-urethra, ensures to reacquire continence but could affect sexual function. Aim This study aimed to determine if a suburethral tape for the correction of SUI could interfere with sexual activity. Methods Of 108 patients, 37 underwent positioning of a tension free vaginal tape through a retropubic approach (TVT), and 71 through a transobturator approach from outside to inside (TOT). Main Outcome Measures All patients enrolled had a complete urodynamic study and were invited to answer the Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire and our personal questionnaire, before surgery, after 1 month, and then at 3-month intervals. Results Of the 108 patients, 67% of the women experienced incontinence during intercourse, 96% during penetration, and 4% on orgasm. The cure rate for SUI was 97.1%. Sixty-two women (87%) with TOT placement and 31 (84%) with TVT were satisfied with the operation as regards sexual function, 68 (96%) and 29 (78%), respectively, with TOT and TVT had an improvement of urinary symptoms with resolution of urinary leakage during intercourse, after a 12.3-month follow-up. Just one patient treated with a TOT approach and two with the TVT complained of low grade of leakage. Of the 101 sexually active women, 90.1% reported a significant improvement in their sexual life, 9.9% referred a poor sexual activity not due to surgical intervention. Conclusions In the surgical treatment of SUI, it is important to think about the patients' future sexual life and inform them that the great part of women can expect to improve their quality of life.

Introduction Women’s sexual dysfunctions (WSD) have been commonly associated with urinary incontinence (UI). Women with UI and who scored low on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) showed an improvement in urinary leakage and also in their sexual life following treatment by transvaginal electrical stimulation (TES). Aims To determine the effects of TES in 37 women complaining of UI, of whom 23 also had WSD, and to compare the FSFI scores of women with UI and 43 women not affected by UI who underwent routine urologic evaluation. Methods Thirty-seven women complaining of UI were evaluated by voiding diary and with FSFI before and after 3 months of TES. All had a urogynecologic evaluation and urodynamic study. Main Outcome Measures In the voiding diary the women reported the types of liquid they ingested, urinary frequency, and episodes of urgency and urine leakage. The domain scores of the FSFI, including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain, were calculated. TES was conducted for 15–30 minutes, twice a week for 3 months, using biphasic intermittent current with a frequency of 50 Hz for stress UI (SUI) and 20 Hz for urge UI (UUI), and the most tolerable intensity of stimulation. Results After TES, only two of the 10 women with UUI experienced a few leakage incidents; patients with SUI were completely dry during TES; and only three reported a few episodes of UI during intense activities. The five patients with mixed UI improved mainly as regards urgency. The FSFI scores of patients complaining of UI showed significantly lower desire and sexual satisfaction, and higher sexual pain than controls. After 3 months, the 23 women affected by WSD, of the 37 participants with UI, reported a remarkable improvement in their sexual life. Conclusion TES was found to be a safe and effective therapy for selected patients affected by mild to moderate UI. Because women with UI also complain of WSD compared with the general female population, an investigation of female sexuality is suggested for these patients.

Objective: The aim was to verify whether oxidative stress could represent a common key factor of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa). Subjects and Methods: 15 patients affected by BPH, 15 with PCa and 15 controls were enrolled. Blood samples were withdrawn systemically and locally during radical retropubic prostatectomy in patients with PCa and during transvesical retropubic adenomectomy in patients diagnosed with BPH. Plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein, peroxides, and total equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) including plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) determination were analyzed as oxidative markers. Results: With respect to the control group, high plasma peroxides and decreased TEAC levels were measured in patients affected by both PCa and BPH. Plasma peroxides were significantly higher in patients with PCa with respect to BPH. A positive correlation was found between peroxides and TEAC values in samples withdrawn locally in patients affected by PCa. An inverse correlation between peroxides and TEAC was observed in patients with BPH. No statistically significant modifications were observed as concerns SOD activity and LDL oxidability. Conclusions: Our findings confirm a significant unbalance of redox status in patients affected by BPH and PCa, and suggest a potential involvement of oxidative stress as a determinant in the pathogenesis of these diseases.