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To identify specific white matter tracts (WMTs) whose disruption is associated with the severity of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in two independent cohorts of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and NLUTD.Cohort 1 consisted of twenty-eight women with MS and NLUTD. The validation cohort consisted of 10 women with MS and NLUTD. Eleven healthy women served as controls. Participants of both MS cohorts had the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. Both MS cohorts and the healthy controls underwent the same clinical assessment and functional MRI (fMRI) protocol, except that the validation MS cohort underwent 7-Tesla fMRI scan. Fifteen WMTs (six coursing to relevant brainstem areas) involved in bladder control were a priori regions of interest (ROI). Spearman's correlation test was performed between each the Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of each WMT and the clinical parameters.Overall, we found a very high degree of overlap (100% of a priori ROI) in the tracts identified by our correlation analysis as having the greatest contribution to NLUTD symptoms in MS women. The right inferior cerebellar peduncle, left posterior limb of internal capsule, and left superior cerebellar peduncle displayed significant associations to the greatest number of clinical parameters.Our correlation analysis supports the role of specific WMT disruptions in the contribution of symptoms in women with MS and NLUTD, as confirmed in two independent MS cohorts.

Herein we report a systematic review of literature to identify the contemporary focus areas of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) use in benign Urology and present the highest yield results. MRI, specifically upright MRI, in combination with proper instructions and repeated Valsalva maneuvers, allows for more objective assessment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) staging. The lack of standardization of reference lines and points used in MRI evaluation of POP is a key limitation. Evaluation of prostate artery embolization (PAE) as an effective treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) was a key focus of recent studies, but clear data regarding ideal patient population, procedure standardization, and performance compared to TURP are still lacking. A longer membranous urethral length (MUL) measured on MRI was predictive of post-prostatectomy continence. Dynamic MRI of the vesicourethral junction provided insight into the development of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and the factors that contribute to successful treatment with a sling. Functional MRI demonstrated that localization of the defective signaling mechanism in women with overactive bladder (OAB) determines their likelihood to respond to pelvic floor muscle training. Patients with both neurogenic and non-neurogenic LUT dysfunction show abnormalities in both grey and white brain matter compared to healthy individuals, especially in the pontine micturition center and periaqueductal grey. MRI has become an indispensable tool in benign Urology with its applicability in diagnosis, prediction, and prognosis of the disease at the organ level (bladder, prostate, urethra) and beyond (brain).

Limiting the diffusion of small-sized substances (Dh < 5 nm) through hydrogels is particularly difficult to achieve. Herein, we demonstrate the utility of a comb architecture to systematically redu...