08.17.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:09 am by hope
Harvard Med School says just letting nerves heal can take too long
The traditional advice given to men after surgery to remove the prostate - to wait for erectile function to return on its own - may not be adequate. Simply put, erections seem to work on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. To prevent the secondary damage that may occur if the penis goes too long without erections, researchers now think it’s better to restore erectile function soon after prostate removal.
The prostate is the gland below a man’s bladder that produces fluid for semen. Prostate cancer, which sometimes requires removal of the prostate, is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages, although it primarily occurs in older men.
Erectile dysfunction after surgery to remove the prostate (radical prostatectomy) has traditionally been attributed to nerve damage that theoretically should heal over time. But it can take as long as two years for the nerves to recover enough for a man to have an erection without the aid of drugs or devices. By that time, other damage may have occurred, according to an article in the latest issue of Perspectives on Prostate Disease.
The Harvard Medical School bulletin notes that when the penis is flaccid for long periods of time, it is deprived of a lot of oxygen-rich blood. Recent research suggests that this low oxygen level causes some muscle cells in the penis’s erectile tissue to lose their flexibility. The tissue gradually becomes more like scar tissue, interfering with the penis’s ability to expand when it’s filled with blood.
Treatment options to restore erectile function include using a vacuum pump device or taking erectile dysfunction drugs by mouth or by injection into the penis.
According to Dr. Marc Garnick, editor in chief of Perspectives on Prostate Disease and a Harvard oncologist, “Although the evidence supporting this ‘penile rehabilitation’ isn’t perfect, you may want to ask your doctor about the options. Such early intervention may help increase the odds that you will regain erectile function.”
Source: Seniorjournal
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08.10.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:39 pm by hope
Cancer of the liver is very difficult to detect, and it is a major cause of death in Asia and Africa, with rising incidence in Western countries as well.
Now, VIB researchers connected to Ghent University, in collaboration with research centers in Beijing and Shanghai in China, have developed a test to detect liver cancer in an early stage. A small blood sample is the only requirement for the test. The new test enables accurate detection of liver cancer in over 50% of the cases for which previous diagnostic tests have not been able to provide a definitive answer.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent primary liver cancer. The disease most often appears following a chronic inflammation of the liver as a consequence of a hepatitis B or C virus infection or cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis of the liver comprises a group of liver diseases in which the normal liver cells become damaged and are replaced by scar tissue. This reduces the amount of healthy liver tissue, and the accumulation of scar tissue disrupts the development and functioning of this complex organ. Cirrhosis of the liver has various causes, including: excessive use of alcohol, chronic viral hepatitis B, C and D infections, diseases of the bile ducts, and parasitic infections.
Half a million patients die every year in China because of cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer. 60% to 80% of the patients with liver cancer have a previous history of cirrhosis of the liver. In Belgium as well, 350 new cases of liver cancer occur each year. Transplantation often offers the only possible remedy. Detection methods that would detect HCC in an early stage would save many lives.
Methods of detecting malignant growths are often based on the concentration of particular substances called 'markers' present in the blood. For the detection of HCC, only one marker (AFP) is generally used. However, this marker has a low specificity and is frequently inadequate because of false-positive results.
A new test for detecting HCC was developed by Xue-en Liu, Liesbeth Desmyter and colleagues under the supervision of Cuiying Chen (Chitty) in collaboration with scientists in China. This test is based on previous work of Prof. em. Roland Contreras and Nico Callewaert.
By examining blood concentrations in Chinese patients with cirrhosis of the liver due to a hepatitis B virus infection, they found that the quantities of two particular sugar groups that appear on the blood proteins varied according to the stage of the disease. Furthermore, these values correlated with the size of the tumor. The ratio of these values forms the basis of the new blood test. The researchers were able to make the correct diagnosis in 70% of the cases - a success rate that equals that of the AFP tumor marker currently being used in the clinic.
When the AFP test is used in combination with the new test, the accuracy of HCC diagnosis rises dramatically. The new test succeeds in detecting liver cancer in more than half of the patients with cirrhosis of the liver for which the AFP test provides no answer. This test would allow frequent and non-invasive analyses to be carried out on cirrhosis patients, which would enable scientists to detect liver cancer in an earlier stage and to closely monitor the development of the disease.
At the moment, the researchers are working on implementing this test for the diagnosis of liver disease in compliance with clinical practice. The new results concerning HCC diagnosis provide an extra incentive for pursuing this development as intensively as possible.
http://www.vib.be
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:39 pm by hope
UK estimates of 'drug-related deaths' (DRDs) include mortalities of drug abusers and non-drug abusers.
So these figures may not be the best way of monitoring the performance of Drug and Alcohol Action Teams, a study published in the online open access journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy suggests.
DRDs are currently used to help evaluate the success of Drug and Alcohol Action Teams in England and Wales, but the term's exact meaning varies according to European and national definitions. This means it is hard to know what sorts of deaths are included, the demographic profile of those who died, and whether or not individuals were tapped in to services designed to assist drug abusers.
Dr. Caryl Beynon from Liverpool John Moores University and colleagues studied details of 70 DRDs that occurred over an 18 month period in Liverpool - the UK city with the highest recorded number of DRDs in 2004.
They found their sample included drug abusers and non-drug abusers. The latter tended to be older, had no recent contact with drug-related agencies, and had different post-mortem drug profiles - they were more likely to have died from the toxic effects of anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and analgesics than from taking 'problematic' drugs (e.g. heroin, crack cocaine/cocaine). Generally the figures also excluded deaths related to drug misuse, such as those caused by bacterial and viral infections via sharing drug injecting equipment or contaminated drugs. DRD figures don't capture the true burden of drug-related mortality as the figures include a wide range of disparate deaths and exclude others which are clearly related to the abuse of drugs, the authors conclude.
http://www.biomedcentral.com
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:39 pm by hope
Many common diseases exhibit gender bias and gender differences have been observed in the development of high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart (cardiovascular) disease.
Previous studies have reported that gender may affect vascular physiology and the body's response to some types of blood pressure medications. Although gender is usually accounted for in association studies, newer research has focused on identifying autosomal (not on the X or Y chromosomes) genes that contribute differentially to complex traits (blood pressure) or diseases (hypertension). In a new study, researchers examined the differential contribution of genetic factors involved in regulating blood pressure based on samples drawn from a large community. They found significant differences in genetic contributors to blood pressure in males versus females.
The study was conducted by Brinda Rana and Nicholas Schork, Department of Psychiatry; Paul Insel, Department of Pharmacology; and Daniel O'Connor, Department of Medicine; University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA. It is entitled, "Population Extremes-Based Approach Defines Gender Differences in Adrenergic and Renal Genes Contributing to Blood Pressure." The research is one of more than 100 presentations being offered at the conference, Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophyiology, being held August 9-12, 2007 in Austin, TX. The event is the second scientific gathering to be sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS; www.The-APS.org) this year.
Methodology
The researchers used a study design in which they sampled age-matched Caucasian Americans (611 male and 656 female) within the top and bottom fifth percentile of blood pressure against blood pressure measured in more than 53,000 people during routine health exams in a major health maintenance program in Southern California. This approach provides over 90 percent statistical power to detect genes contributing as little as three percent to blood pressure variation. The research team also scored over 60,000 genotypes at 35 gene locations involved in two major pathways regulating blood pressure, kidney or adrenergic or regulation. The genotyping was confined to the top and bottom fifth percentile participants.
Results
The researchers found significant differences in genetic contributors to blood pressure in males versus females. For example, common genetic variants of the b1-adrenergic and 2A adrenergic receptor genes contributed to blood pressure (BP) variation in females while variants at the 2 adrenergic receptor and angiotensinogen genes contributed to BP variation in males.
Conclusion
The researchers leveraged the power of using the extremes (highs and lows) of a trait (blood pressure) measured in a large community-based population with the strategy of assessing genetic variants of genes involved in two major blood pressure regulation pathways to identify gender differences in genetic contribution to blood pressure. The results reinforce previous observations of the role of gender in cardiovascular traits and imply that the development of genetic diagnostic and therapeutic indices for hypertension must take gender into account to provide an accurate assessment and treatment of hypertension.
http://www.the-aps.org
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:39 pm by hope
At menopause, women lose hormone protection against heart (cardiovascular) and kidney (renal) diseases, and are likely to become obese. A research team has tested the idea that estrogen deficiency in aged females may trigger the development of high blood pressure and obesity.
The results of their study, using an animal model, suggest that estrogen depletion can have these effects.
The study is entitled, "Role of Estrogens in Postmenopausal Obesity and Hypertension." It was conducted by Lourdes A. Fortepiani and Huimin Zhang, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), San Antonio, TX. The team will discuss its findings as part of the upcoming conference, Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology, being held August 9-12, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Austin on Town Lake in Austin, TX. The event is the second scientific gathering to be sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS; www.The-APS.org) this year.
To test their theory the researchers used 24 aged female rats. The ovaries were removed from two-thirds of the group (ovariectomized; ovx) while the ovaries of the other third of the group remained intact and served as controls. The researchers subdivided the ovx rats, giving half of the ovx group estrogen while the other half remained estrogen depleted.
Among the ovx rats, those that did not receive estrogen had significantly higher blood pressure than the control rats (126.2 versus 110.6 mmHg). The rats receiving estrogen had the lowest blood pressure levels of all (102.6 mmHg).
The researchers also noted that the rats which had their ovaries removed and did not receive estrogen compared to the intact rats:
- gained twice as much weight as the controls
- increased their leptin level by 70 percent
- increased their blood glucose level by 35 percent
- increased RAS and renal SNS by 16 and 39 percent
- experienced no change in kidney function
All the hormonal and metabolic effects were completely abolished with estrogen replacement. In other words, the rats whose ovaries were removed and received estrogen replacement did not undergo any of the changes mentioned above.
With increased life expectancy, women spend more than a third of their life in menopause. In addition, obesity is increasing dramatically in all populations and is a major cardiovascular risk factor in women after menopause. Despite the controversial data about estrogen therapy in clinical studies, the results of this study performed in aged rats suggest that the loss of estrogens after menopause may contribute to the development of obesity and hypertension, opening new therapeutic approaches to postmenopausal hypertension.
http://www.the-aps.org
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