WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Women who've experienced the pregnancy complication known as preeclampsia face a much greater risk of end-stage renal disease, new research suggests.

In fact, says the report in the Aug. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the rate of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was between 3.2 and 15.5 times greater for women who had preeclampsia in pregnancy.

TUESDAY, Aug. 19 (HealthDay News) -- A daily dose of the erectile dysfunction drug tadalafil (Cialis) helped relieve lower urinary tract symptoms in men with signs of enlarged prostates, according to a new study.

More than 50 percent of men age 50 and older have lower urinary tract symptoms, including increased urination frequency and urgency, straining, intermittence, incomplete emptying or a weak urinary stream. Current drugs used to treat the condition can produce side effects such as dizziness, low blood pressure and sexual dysfunction.

MONDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Chewing gum helps improve recovery of intestinal function after all or part of the colon has been surgically removed, according to British researchers who reviewed data from five clinical trials involving 158 patients.

The inability of the intestines to pass contents after surgery (postoperative ileus) is normal among abdominal surgery patients and is a major contributing factor to post-surgery nausea, vomiting, cramps, and the pain and discomfort associated with abdominal distension, according to background information in the article.

FRIDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- The drug rituximab may significantly reduce kidney damage in people with a common form of kidney disease called membranous nephropathy, believed to be caused by autoimmune reactions against the kidney.

The disease, characterized by large amounts of protein in the urine, leads to impaired kidney function that may eventually require dialysis or a transplant.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Monitoring levels of a hormone called fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) may help improve treatment of kidney failure patients, say Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.

Their analysis of patient data revealed that those who had elevated levels of FGF-23 when they began hemodialysis were much more likely to die within the first year of treatment, regardless of other risk factors.

THURSDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute say that have solved the mystery of how cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections.

Their study, published in the current issue of Colloids and Surfaces: B, shows that the juice changes the thermodynamic properties of bacteria in the urinary tract to form an energy barrier that prevents infections from developing.

FRIDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- Men over 40 may want to avoid iced tea and start hitting the lemonade if they wish to lower their risk of kidney stones, according to experts.

Kidney stones, crystals that develop in the kidneys or the tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder, affect 10 percent of the U.S. population, and men run a four times greater risk than women of developing them. The chance of forming kidney stones rises steeply after the age of 40.

Oxalate, a key chemical in the formation of kidney stones, comes in high concentrations in iced tea.

Yesterday while I was shopping for some last minute items for my trip to China I got a call from home asking for my EXACT location. Ellen from USADA was at my house and wanted to collect a urine sample. What are the odds of her coming to my house on the one day in months that I was anywhere but home, the gym or the Chiropractor? Anyhow, we decided to meet in the third floor "mother's lounge" in Nordstroms.

WEDNESDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Using kidneys from donors who died of cardiovascular causes may help reduce disparities for black patients awaiting a kidney transplant, says a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:

Neoplasms

If you have been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, have measurable disease as per RECIST or bone-only disease, and have ECOG performance status 0 or 1, you may qualify for this study.

The research site is in Beech Grove, Ind.

More information

Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studi....

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Bladder Disorders

If you are 18 or older and have had symptoms of overactive bladder for at least three months, you may qualify for this study.