Urology
The medical field of urology covers disease that affects the urinary system including the kidneys and bladder, and the male sexual system which includes the prostate gland, testicles and penis. Our research group gathers together both urologists - doctors who help people with urinary and sexual health problems and scientists in Newcastle University - who have the necessary knowledge, skill and equipment to investigate why health problems occur. Once a potential solution is found in the laboratory this can then be quickly tested, with the appropriate safeguards, by our patients to see if it improves their care. It is impossible to cover every disease so we tend to concentrate our efforts in a limited number of areas, some of which we highlight below.
- Prostate cancer - we are investigating ways to stop cancers progressing in older men without the need for surgery
- Urinary infection – we are searching for simple ways to boost natural immunity for women who suffer repeated cystitis
- Measurement of bladder function – we are designing simpler ways to diagnose bladder problems
- Stem cells – we are trying to identify the key cells in organs such as the bladder, prostate and testicle that can regenerate diseased or injured tissue
If you are concerned about any of the urological conditions mentioned, you should contact your doctor to discuss it. In all these projects we always find it very useful to get the help of both people with urological health problems and members of the public interested in research to identify the important problems and contribute to the research process. Please feel free to contact Prof Rob Pickard if you are keen to help.
