HEALTH BULLETIN .CO

Monday, July 28, 2014

Erectile dysfunction in military males is triple the norm

Men age 40 and younger who are enlisted in the U.S. military are three times more likely to have erectile dysfunction (ED) than civilian men of similar age, but few military men report receiving treatment, according to a new study.

The study, one of the first assessments of sexual-functioning problems among male military personnel, included 367 enlisted men, ages 21 to 40. Participants completed an online sexual-functioning survey during an eight-week period in October and November in 2013.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sexual function problems in male military personnel, examine its effects on their quality of life and evaluate barriers for seeking treatment, said Sherrie L. Wilcox, research assistant professor at the University of Southern California's School of Social Work in Los Angeles, and one of the authors of the study.

The researchers found that ED was common, with more than 30 percent of the relatively healthy young servicemen in the study reporting having it.

"The overall rate of erectile dysfunction in our sample is three times higher than the rate of ED in civilian males of similar age, and 10 percent more than civilian men over the age of 40," Wilcox told Live Science. "The most alarming data, however, is the rate of ED in the 36- to 40-year age group, which is nearly twice the rate of civilian men over 40."

There was a clear relationship between sexual-function problems and quality of life and happiness, she said. Only 12 of the men affected, however, reported receiving treatment for their problems, according to the study. [10 Surprising Sex Statistics]

"Many of the reasons cited for not seeking treatment were related to social factors and concerns about what others would think," Wilcox said.

Wilcox said the high rates of sexual problems among men in the military could be due to exposure to traumatic events during deployment, mental and physical health issues, and relationship problems with their spouses or significant others. "Sexual-functioning problems are typically associated with increasing age, but those exposed to traumatic events and physical injuries are at risk for developing them, regardless of age," she said.

The study is published in the July issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Wilcox said she hopes to do a longitudinal study in the future, with a larger sample size and perhaps one that focuses on women as well. "This study is important in that it raises awareness for this problem and puts it on the radar of professionals who work with military personnel and their families," she said. "Sexual dysfunction in young military personnel is both an understudied and underreported problem, but it is not unique to the current generation of enlisted men."

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Blood clot jabs for pregnant women 'don't work': Treatment could actually be harmful by increasing bleeding

Doubts emerge over heparin, which expectant mothers inject into stomach

Scientists say it can cause unnecessary pain during pregnancy

Daily injections for pregnant women at risk of developing blood clots don’t work, and could be harmful, warn researchers.

Treatment does not have any positive benefits for mother or child, and may cause problems by increasing bleeding in the mother.

Findings from a major new trial could lead to less use of the anti-clotting drug heparin, which involves a woman injecting herself in the belly during pregnancy.

Although the practice is widespread, a large study has never before demonstrated whether it actually works.

Findings from a major new trial could lead to less use of the anti-clotting drug heparin, which involves a woman injecting herself in the belly during pregnancy. File picture

Professor Marc Rodger, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Canada, who led the study, said ‘These results mean that many women around the world can save themselves a lot of unnecessary pain during pregnancy.

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‘Using low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) unnecessarily medicalises a woman’s pregnancy and is costly.’

“While I wish we could have shown that LMWH prevents complications, we actually proved it doesn’t help.’

Up to one in 10 pregnant women has a tendency to develop blood clots in their veins, a condition called thrombophilia. File picture

Up to one in 10 pregnant women has a tendency to develop blood clots in their veins, a condition called thrombophilia.

Prof Rodger’s clinical trial, which involved 292 women with thrombophilia in 36 centres in five countries, is published online in The Lancet medical journal (must credit).

It took 12 years to complete because half the women taking part had to be given no treatment – and the majority of women with thrombophilia are automatically treated with LMWH.

Altogether 143 women taking part were assigned to daily injections up to 20 weeks’ pregnancy, and twice daily until 37 weeks of pregnancy, while 141 women had no treatment (three women were not able to take part).

Regular drug treatment did not reduce the risk of major complications including loss of the baby and blood clots.

The occurrence of major bleeding did not differ between the two groups.

But minor bleeding was more common in the group assigned to injections.

This could cause pregnant women some minor harm because bleeding increases their rates of induced labour and may mean they cannot have anaesthesia during childbirth.

The study concluded there is still one type of thrombophilia known as anti-phospholipid antibodies for which blood thinners may be effective in preventing recurrent miscarriage.

Some women are advised to take low-dose aspirin while pregnant to help prevent pregnancy complications - was not the subject of the trial - and all women with thrombophilia need blood thinners to prevent blood clots after delivery.

Prof Rodger said ‘These findings allow us to move on, to pursue other, potentially effective, methods for treating pregnant women with thrombophilia and/or complications from placenta blood clots.’

Dr Duncan Stewart, chief executive officer and scientific director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, said ‘Dr Rodger’s findings will benefit many women in many countries who will be spared from hundreds of unnecessary and painful injections.

‘They also underscore the importance of conducting rigorous, well-designed clinical trials.’

There was no comment available from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaccologists.

Married Chinese man suffering from stomach ache goes to the doctor and learns he is actually a female

The man went to his doctor in China complaining of severe stomach ache

Doctors discovered a full female reproductive organs and a penis

The man claimed that he had enjoyed an active sex life with his wife

A Chinese man was left stunned after he went to the doctor experiencing stomach aches and blood in his urine – only to discover that he was a woman on his period.

The married 44-year-old man from Zhejiang province, China, visited his local doctor with his wife in Yongkang where he made the shocking discovery that he had, all along, in fact been a woman.

After a full examination, doctors discovered that he had a full set of female reproductive organs along with a penis - which he said had given him an active sex life with his wife of ten years.

Tests: A man in Zhejiang province, China made the shocking discovery that he was a woman

PMT: Doctors told him that his stomach ache was actually his monthly period

But doctors doubted this.

Doctors found that his genitals were different from other men and he did not possess an Adam’s apple.

A spokesman for First People’s Hospital of Yongkang said that doctors doubted that Mr Chen was a female at first.

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He said: ‘He was wearing men's clothes with short hair, so we didn’t think that he would be a female at the beginning’.

However, Mr Chen said that he had known that something was wrong with him after he found himself constantly feeling fatigued with swollen face and legs.

Even worse, he constantly found blood in his urine.

A CT scan soon revealed that he had a uterus and ovaries.

Female reproductive system: The man had a full set of female reproductive organs along with a penis

Meanwhile, a chromosome examination showed that Mr Chen had a pair of XX sex chromosomes, making him genetically female.

INTERSEX: RARE CONDITION MAKES PEOPLE NOT TOTALLY MALE OR FEMALE

The condition of being 'Intersex' affects one in every 2,000 births in the UK (although figures may be much higher) and there are an estimated 30,000 intersex people in the UK.

There are several known abnormalities that can lead to specific sexual ambiguity.

So called 'XX male syndrome' occurs in people who have two X chromosomes - one of which contains a significant amount of genetic material from a Y chromosome.

These people appear to be male, but are, in fact, genetically female. Typically, they will possess male sex organs, but these will often be underdeveloped.

They will also often develop breasts and maintain a high-pitched speaking voice.

In fact, biologists now recognise a host of conditions, both genetic and otherwise, which are labelled under the umbrella term 'intersex' - which replaces older terms such as 'hermaphrodite'.

Intersex people may be genetically female, but physiologically male. Some will be true hermaphrodites, producing both eggs and sperm.

Mr Chen was also suffering from Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a genetic disease that causes the adrenal glands to swell due to a decrease in stress hormone and an increase in male sex hormones.

A lump was later surgically removed from his adrenal glands.

This type of medical case is extremely rare and doctors have not confirmed whether Mr Chen was a hermaphrodite or intersex. But he did appear to have two types of genitalia.

Doctors said it was too late for Mr Chen to seek medical treatment for his unusual problem as it was only effective for younger people.

Could aspirin give you a heart attack? Gene found which doubles the risk for millions who take painkiller thinking it will ward off cardiac problems

Nearly a quarter of adults - 23% - have been found to carry particular gene

When combined with aspirin, it nearly doubles risk of suffering heart attack

U.S. study is the first to link dangers from the painkiller with gene variations

Government figures show there were 30.9 million NHS prescriptions for aspirin last year for those at risk of heart attacks and strokes

Risk: Millions of adults taking a daily dose of aspirin to ward off heart attacks may be significantly increasing their risk, new research shows

Millions of adults taking a daily dose of aspirin to ward off heart attacks may be significantly increasing their risk, new research shows.

Nearly a quarter of adults – 23 per cent – have been found to carry a gene which, when combined with the painkiller, makes them nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack.

It means about one in 100 with the gene who take the drug may suffer from heart problems that could have been prevented, researchers say.

While past studies have shown taking aspirin can increase the risk of potentially life-threatening internal bleeding, this study, by scientists at Harvard University in the US, is the first to link dangers from the drug with gene variations.

Dr Kathryn Hall, the report’s lead author, said: ‘We need to look at ourselves as individuals, a certain constellation of genes, and to take that into consideration. If the research is validated in further study, it would be the logical next step to test everyone for these genes before giving them aspirin.’

Government figures show there were 30.9 million NHS prescriptions for aspirin last year for those at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The latest study involved nearly 40,000 women over a ten-year period. Of those, 23 per cent carried a variation of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene, which helps the body process stress hormones, linked to heart problems and stroke.

The research found that those who had the gene were naturally protected and were 34 per cent less likely to have heart attacks.

However, taking aspirin removed this protection and increased their risk of heart problems by 85 per cent – and, in some cases, by as much as three times.

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In contrast, another group who carried a different variation of the same gene were more likely to have a heart attack than those who did not carry the gene, but aspirin protected against this, cutting the number of heart attacks by 47 per cent.

Study co-author Joseph Loscalzo, chairman of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School, said: ‘Rather than give aspirin to all patients with risk factors for heart disease, we need to use modern genomics and genetics to identify those individuals for whom aspirin has the greatest benefit and the lowest risk of adverse effects.’

Discovery: The Harvard University study found that nearly a quarter of adults - 23 per cent - carry a gene which, when combined with the painkiller, makes them nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack (file picture)

Tests for the genes are not currently available on the NHS.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘There is a long way to go before personalised medicine is routinely used for people with cardiovascular disease.’

Previous studies have cast doubt on whether healthy people should take aspirin as the risks could outweigh the benefits.

They have also found some do not appear to benefit from it, and while the risk of non-fatal heart attacks is reduced by 20 per cent, deaths from strokes and heart failure are not cut.

Anyone prescribed aspirin should continue to take it, experts advised.

A spokesman for the Government’s medicines watchdog, the MHRA, said: ‘As with all medicines we keep them under constant review.’

Thursday, July 24, 2014

More US girls now getting cervical cancer vaccine -- but not enough, CDC says

More teen girls are getting a controversial cervical cancer vaccine but the increase isn't much of a bump, the government reported Thursday.

Last year's rise follows a couple of years when the girls' HPV vaccination rate was flat and health officials worried that it wouldn't budge. For girls ages 13 to 17, the rate is now up to about 38 percent of girls, from 33 percent.

"It was better than nothing. But we really need to do better moving forward," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vaccine protects against human papillomavirus, or HPV. The sexually transmitted bug can cause cervical cancer, genital warts and other illnesses.

A three-dose series of HPV shots was introduced in 2006. The government recommends the vaccine for girls ages 11 and 12 because it works best if given before a teen starts to have sex.

Some have worried that taking a child for the vaccination implied green-lighting sexual activity. But health officials have tried to push doctors and parents to see it as just another disease-prevention measure for pre-adolescents, like the recommended shots against meningitis and whooping cough. It takes time for new vaccines to become widely used, but the HPV vaccine has lagged behind other shots.

There's some good news: Campaigns in Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico and South Carolina paid off with increases last year of at least 12 percentage points for girls who got at least one dose, the CDC reported.

Nationally, vaccination rate increases were larger for boys. About 35 percent got at least one dose last year, up from 21 percent in 2012. The three-dose number doubled to 14 percent, from 7 percent.

The government only began recommending the vaccine for boys in 2011, and the increases mirror those seen in girls five years earlier. It's not clear if the trend will flatten out after the early rush - like it did for girls.

The CDC numbers come from a random phone survey of parents of about 18,000 adolescents, followed by a check of medical records. But many declined to be in the survey and it's possible that those who agreed to participate were more likely to embrace HPV vaccinations. That could make the actual HPV rates lower than the CDC report suggests, Schuchat said.

Sex and infertility: Commitment to one another is key

From the moment a couple decides to have a baby together, their perspective on their sex life changes. For most couples, there is a new tenderness and intimacy between them that comes with the shared intention to start a new life together.

However, for the 10 to 15 percent of American couples struggling with infertility, sex takes on a whole new meaning altogether that’s too often laced with shame, blame and anxiety. Even when the infertility journey results in a healthy baby, the nature of their sex life seems inextricably altered to feel awkward and forced. This often results in lower libidos or avoidance of sex altogether.

However, this doesn’t have to be the case. With some conscious shifts in perspective and behavior, there is no reason an infertile couple can’t come out the other side of their journey with a closer, richer and more intimate sexual connection than they had before their struggles began.

Going through infertility treatment is one of the most difficult things you will face as a couple. But it will likely be only one of many challenges you will face together throughout your lives. Couples that are very clear that their relationship is the main priority are those that make it through infertility treatment— as well as life’s other challenges— in tact.

Making each other more important than the treatment outcome will be the glue that holds you together. This means that you are committed first to each other’s happiness, then to becoming parents. If you are each putting the relationship first, you will find the decisions you have to make throughout the treatment process much easier and your romantic connection will remain a priority.

It may seem like a no-brainer that anyone who receives an infertility diagnosis is going to feel angry, scared, ashamed or some combination of all three at times. But that doesn’t have to determine how you are going to feel together.

Those difficult feelings are going to arise. But you can make it clear that you are also going to work to also feel connected, playful, joyful, silly, loving, romantic, even sexual too. Then it’s a matter of seeking opportunities to have experiences regularly that create those feelings in you, apart and together. Maybe it’s making sure that you take that new cooking class together or making a spontaneous decision to go rock wall climbing. When you don’t let the infertility struggle define you or dictate how you feel (at least most of the time), you are going to be much more successful maintaining an emotional and sensual connection between you.

Finally, separate baby-making sex from regular sex. That’s right, have both kinds! Perhaps you are having baby-making sex during ovulation or certain phases of treatment. But you can and should also have non-baby-making sex as well.

Make sure to distinguish the two. Perhaps have “baby-making” sex in the bedroom and “regular” sex everywhere else or in different positions. That way, your whole sex life isn’t defined by the stress of infertility. When your treatment is done, sex will still have many positive associations for you and there will be many fewer awkward or negative associations with sex.

The bottom line is that infertility isn’t easy, no matter what the outcome. But it doesn’t have to define you or your relationship. It’s the deepest connections that are built through the hardest times, and your relationship is no exception. We will all be faced with struggles in our life but with the right perspective you emerge stronger individually and together.

Laura Berman, PhD, is a world renowned sex and relationship educator and therapist; popular TV, radio and Internet host; New York Times best-selling author; and assistant clinical professor of ob-gyn and psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr. Berman is a New York Times best-selling author of many books on sexual health and pleasure, a weekly columnist for the Chicago Sun Times, and host of the radio program “Uncovered with Dr. Laura Berman.”

Half-hour breast cancer treatment can replace weeks of radiotherapy: Thousands of women could benefit from treatment given during surgery

Intrabeam radiotherapy will be given to breast cancer patients in surgery

Treatment has been given provisional go-ahead for use on NHS by NICE

Up to 36,000 women with early breast cancer could benefit from technique

The new treatment, which is called intrabeam radiotherapy, will be given to breast cancer patients under anaesthetic during surgery (file picture)

Tens of thousands of women with breast cancer could soon be offered a single 30-minute shot of radiotherapy, sparing them weeks of exhausting treatment.

The new treatment called intrabeam radiotherapy is delivered during surgery, while the patient is still under anaesthetic.

It has been given the provisional go-ahead for use on the NHS by the ‘rationing’ watchdog NICE because it is more convenient and improves quality of life.

NICE estimates up to 36,000 women with early breast cancer could benefit, with the technique being offered as early as next year.

International trial results show that it is at least as good as standard radiotherapy, and widespread use might save the NHS £15million a year.

Although the machines are around £435,000 each, running costs are lower than standard radiotherapy, freeing up staff and equipment in hard-pressed departments.

At present, conventional radiotherapy is offered to all women who have breast-conserving surgery, where only the lump is removed rather than the whole breast.

Conventional external beam radiotherapy, which irradiates the whole breast, involves many hospital visits for patients, often spread over several weeks to reduce side effects such as tissue shrinkage.

Professor Carole Longson, of NICE, said the new treatment has the potential to be much more efficient. ‘With the Intrabeam Radiotherapy System only one dose is required,’ she said.

‘This single dose is given at the same time as surgery, eliminating the need for numerous hospital visits.

‘Regular radiotherapy typically requires numerous doses over a three-week period – although some people may receive it for longer – and is performed weeks or months after surgery or chemotherapy.’

She said NICE’s appraisal committee concluded that ‘while current evidence was not extensive, this type of radiotherapy was more convenient for patients and can improve a person’s quality of life’.

Further consultation on draft guidance will culminate in a final decision in November and if approval is confirmed the NHS will be obliged to offer the service three months later.

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NICE draft guidance suggests around 6,000 women a year might opt for treatment out of 36,000 eligible patients.

It has imposed conditions, saying the NHS must explain the pros and cons to women and men offered treatment, and include their details on a national register. Doctors must also commit to collecting data.

Professor Longson added: ‘So far, only six centres in the UK have used the Intrabeam Radiotherapy System to treat early breast cancer. Because it is still relatively new it is only right to recommend its use in a carefully controlled way.’

Professor Michael Baum, professor emeritus of surgery at University College London, is one of the trial leaders who carried out the first procedure using intraoperative radiotherapy in 1998.

INTRABEAM RADIOTHERAPY: 'IT WAS A GODSEND... I HAD NO SIDE EFFECTS'

Thankful: Marcelle Bernstein with her husband Eric

Marcelle Bernstein had intrabeam radiotherapy after screening picked up a rare type of invasive breast cancer in 2012 at a very early stage.

The writer and teacher, 71, who lives in London with husband Eric, 76, was treated at a private hospital that was pioneering the therapy.

She said: ‘It was a godsend. It meant I could avoid the trauma and exhaustion of travelling to hospital daily for weeks of radiotherapy.

'I suffered none of the side effects of standard radiotherapy, such as local tenderness, swelling, reduced range of movement or change in breast appearance. I spent one night in hospital and then I walked away, all treatment completed. I was back at work within weeks.’

She takes a drug to prevent recurrence and is thankful that ‘for me, I effectively felt I had breast cancer for only two months’.

He said: ‘It’s wonderful news for breast cancer patients but it’s been a long time coming. This innovation was pioneered in Britain but we’re lagging behind and almost the last to take it up. It’s already offered in 200 countries.’

Spokesmen for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Campaign welcomed the move but said women should be made fully aware of the pros and cons of the treatment. Jackie Harris, clinical nurse specialist at Breast Cancer Care, called it an exciting development but added: ‘There is not yet evidence of its long-term benefits.

‘It’s also worth remembering that single dose intrabeam radiotherapy will only be suitable for a small number of women having breast-conserving surgery.’

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Monday, July 28, 2014

Sunday, July 27, 2014

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INTERSEX: RARE CONDITION MAKES PEOPLE NOT TOTALLY MALE OR FEMALE

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Thursday, July 24, 2014

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INTRABEAM RADIOTHERAPY: 'IT WAS A GODSEND... I HAD NO SIDE EFFECTS'