понедельник, 27 декабря 2010 г.

Erectile Dysfunction and Obesity: Another Sad Story, Same Happy Ending

Erectile Dysfunction

In the pantheon of contemporary culture, neither Adonis nor Aphrodite has love handles. But two thirds of Americans do. Yet, contrary to conventional stereotypes, their excess weight hasn't hampered their interest in having a healthy sex life. In fact, research shows that overweight men are just as interested in sex as the next guy; they just may not be as able to perform.

Now, when it comes to performance anxiety, low self-esteem about body image can be a real impediment to confidence, so that may account for some of the problem. But experts say that 90 percent of erectile dysfunction is physical in origin, not psychological. In large-scale studies, nearly 80 percent of men who reported having erectile dysfunction were also overweight or obese.

Therefore, perhaps it won't be a surprise that a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has yielded some promising news about resolving this sensitive problem, and it doesn't have anything to do with little blue pills you hear advertised during major sporting events.

The research in question was a two-year study conducted at the Second University of Naples, Italy. The subjects were recruited from a campus weight-loss clinic. They were all obese men between the ages of 35 and 55. All reported some degree of erectile dysfunction, but they were otherwise healthy, without the complications of diabetes, hypertension or heart disease that are so common with obesity.

Half the subjects were supervised by medical professionals in individualized weight-loss treatment programs. They were educated about diet, fitness and personal behavioral adjustments in visits with a nutritional counselor and a personal trainer, every month for the first year, and then bi-monthly during the second year of the study.

The other half, the control group, just got general information about exercise and healthy dietary choices during visits every other month during the two-year study period. By the end of the study, all the men in the supervised group had lost weight and experienced various health and sexual function improvements. In fact, by the time they'd achieved a weight loss of just 10 percent, erectile dysfunction was completely alleviated for one out of three men in that group.

However, there was no change in weight for the control group, and even by the end of the study, only three of the 55 men in the control group had recovered normal erectile function.

Perhaps the most important finding of this study is one the researchers weren't even trying to prove: regardless of the objective, the weight loss effort is more effective with professional supervision. Remember that these men were all what you would call "motivated" subjects; they were recruited from among people who had already shown up at a weight-loss clinic, so they wanted to lose some weight. But even at that, the subjects who didn't have any particular guidance just couldn't do it.

The men did not know that the study was specifically examining the potential improvement in sexual function. Had they known this was a possible outcome of their effort, even the unsupervised group might have been more "motivated." When a healthy sex life is at stake, and for most overweight men, it is, men shouldn't just try to handle the problem on their own, because the right support seems to make all the difference.

Having said that about sexual health, consider some of the other outcomes:

    * In the supervised group, overall blood pressure was lowered, but not in the control group.


    * In the supervised group, overall cholesterol levels dropped, but the subjects had an increase in their good HDL cholesterol levels. The control group's overall cholesterol went up, but with no increase in their good HDL levels.


    * Triglyceride levels and C-reactive protein counts also dropped for the supervised group, but not the control.

You probably recognize these things as factors in heart health and diabetes, and so you can understand how the supervised subjects' also reduced their disease risk.

среда, 22 декабря 2010 г.

Older men with restless legs show higher rates of erectile dysfunction

A new study shows that older men with restless leg syndrome (RLS) also suffer from higher rates of erectile dysfunction. The findings also show that increased frequency of restless leg syndrome leads to worsening erectile dysfunction for men.
For men who have restless leg syndrome 15 times a month or more, the incidence of erectile dysfunction was as high as seventy eight percent, and lower for those who experienced fewer episodes of RLS monthly.
The study, published in the journal Sleep suggests that restless leg syndrome and erectile dysfunction share the same mechanism.
For older men without restless leg syndrome the occurrence of erectile dysfunction was forty percent. For older men who reported restless leg syndrome, erectile dysfunction incidence was fifty three percent. The study came from an analysis of 23,119 men who participated in the Health Professional Follow-up Study. Information about erectile dysfunction and RLS was obtained via questionnaire. Average age of the men was 69, that included male dentists, optometrists, osteopaths, podiatrists, pharmacists and veterinarians in the US. Approximately four percent of the men had RLS.
According to lead author Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, instructor at Harvard Medical School, associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and research scientist at the Harvard School of public health in Boston, Mass, "The mechanisms underlying the association between RLS and erectile dysfunction could be caused by hypofunctioning of dopamine in the central nervous system, which is associated with both conditions."
Scientists do not know what causes restless leg syndrome, a condition that is more prevalent in middle aged women and older adults. RLS causes frequent movement of the legs and uncomfortable sensations that interfere with sleep because of a persistent uncontrollable urge to move the legs. There are several identified factors that make restless leg syndrome worse, including stress, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease, pregnancy, iron deficiency, and certain medications. Heredity might play a role, but the source of the condition has not yet been discovered.
The findings from the current study suggest that sleep apnea could play a role in both restless leg syndrome and erectile dysfunction through decreased levels of circulating testosterone.
The study is not conclusive in that it does not establish cause. The scientists say further studies are needed to uncover the biological mechanisms linking restless leg syndrome to erectile dysfunction in older men. For men who experience restless leg syndrome in addition to erectile dysfunction, a sleep study could be of benefit, and may be worth discussing with your physician.

понедельник, 20 декабря 2010 г.

Difficult To Treat Erectile Dysfunction Patients

TriMix Laboratories introduces TriMix-gel as an alternative for patients who fail on Viagra type pills and cannot or will not self inject with a needle.
With twenty million American men currently suffering with ED, current treatments are sufficient in many cases, but there remain more and more men who can't tolerate the side effects of Viagra type pills and cannot bring themselves to self inject with a needle.
TriMix-gel is not an herbal remedy. It contains prescription medications listed in the US Pharmacopoeia. The active ingredients in this compounded medicine, prostaglandin, papaverine and phentolamine, have been tested and widely prescribed by physicians for many years.
Typically, trimix for injection would have to be refrigerated and then self injected at time of use. But this new compound in gel form called TriMix- gel, allows the patient to carry the medicine on his person at room temperature. More importantly, an ED patient will not have to use a needle to self inject himself before sexual intercourse.
TriMix-gel doesn't require needles because it uses a novel methodology. At the time of use, before sexual intercourse, the patient uses an "all-in-one" application device which stores, mixes and applies the medicine. The patient does not need a needle for self injection. And the medicine does not require refrigeration.
To obtain the medicine, a patient needs to visit his physician for a thorough ED examination and if appropriate, the patient will be prescribed this medicine by his own doctor. The doctor can fax the prescription to the pharmacy (877-387-4649) and the pharmacy will ship the medicine directly to the patient. Applied Pharmacy Services, Inc., a licensed pharmacy in Mobile, AL has been chosen as the exclusive compounding pharmacy for TriMix-gel (877-887-4649).
T.J. Harkins, President of TriMix Laboratories says, "Physicians have been looking for a new delivery method for these medications for a long time and TriMix-gel is exactly what ED patients have been asking for."
The profession of pharmacy has always been based on the patient-physician- pharmacist relationship, known as the "Triad." Through this "Triad" relationship, patient needs are determined by a physician, who chooses a treatment regimen that may include a compounded medication. Physicians often prescribe compounded medications for various reasons, such as when a patient cannot ingest a medication in its available form. A pharmacist can prepare the medication in cream, liquid, gel or other form that the patient can more easily take.

среда, 15 декабря 2010 г.

Erectile dysfunction may be early symptom of heart attack

Erectile dysfunction may be the early warning predictor symptom of heart attack. However, the link between erectile dysfunction and the risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes Dr Geoffrey Hackett from the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham.
Over many years Hackett reports regularly seeing patients referred with erectile dysfunction after a heart attack, only to hear that they had developed erectile dysfunction two to three years before – a warning sign ignored by their general practitioners.
It is well known that erectile dysfunction (a symptom of vascular disease in the smaller arteries) doubles the risk of heart disease, a risk equivalent to being a moderate smoker or having an immediate family history of heart disease. Erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk of heart disease than high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
But despite this considerable evidence erectile dysfunction is still treated as a recreational or “lifestyle issue” rather than a predictor of a serious health problem, says Hackett.
The UK government has pledged to reduce the death rate from coronary heart disease and stroke and related diseases in people under 75 by at least 40% by 2010, yet there is no screening for erectile dysfunction in patients with diabetes or heart disease, he says.
“Continuing to ignore these issues on the basis that cardiologists feel uncomfortable mentioning the word ‘erection’ to their patients or that they may have to deal with the management of a positive response, is no longer acceptable and possibly, based on current evidence, clinically negligent”, he concludes.

пятница, 10 декабря 2010 г.

Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Disease Linked to Increased Risk of Death

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with atherosclerosis and heart disease. A new study published online in the March 15th issue of the journal Circulation reports men with ED and heart disease are twice as likely as men with only heart disease to suffer death from any cause and twice as likely to have a heart attack.
The German researchers, lead by Dr. Michael Bohm, evaluated the collected data on 1549 patients with heart disease who took part in two trials: ONTARGET or TRANSCEND. In the ONTARGET study, patients were randomly assigned to receive ramipril (400), telmisartan (395), or the combination of the two drugs (381). In the TRANSCEND study, patients were randomly assigned to receive telmisartan (171) or a placebo (202).
All patients had an ED evaluation at baseline, at 2-year follow-up, and at the penultimate visit before closeout. They were classified as having mild, mild-to-moderate, moderate or severe erectile dysfunction. In both trials, in addition to cardiovascular disease, 55 percent of the men also had erectile dysfunction.
The researchers found men suffering from erectile dysfunction were more likely to have high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and lower urinary tract surgery, compared to men without erectile dysfunction.
The researchers found the study medications did not influence the course or development of ED, but the presence of ED was found to be predictive of the risk of death.
Men with ED were found to be 1.84 times as likely to die from any cause as men without ED (hazard ratio [HR] 1.84). Separated out, the risk of death from a cardiovascular death was 1.94 times as high. The risk of a stoke was 1.1 times as high. The risk of being hospitalized for heart failure was 1.2 times as high.
Erectile dysfunction is linked to the endothelial dysfunction (problems with the cells that line the blood vessels) that occurs in atherosclerosis and the vascular disturbances such as the build-up of plaque that happens before heart attack and stroke, the study authors explained.
If a man has Erectile Dysfunction, but has not been diagnosed with heart disease, he and his doctor need to take another look. ED is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease just as high blood pressure and cholesterol are.