More Benefits Of Exercise In Men, For Prostate And Sexuality

Benefits Of Exercise In Men
Protection against heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, memory loss, colon cancer, fractures, and depression should be enough to get men exercising.
But those who need extra motivation should consider the added benefits to their prostates and sexuality, reports the May 2007 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch.
A 2006 study from Sweden reported that regular exercise is associated with a reduced risk of moderate and severe symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). After taking other risk factors into account, the most active men were 28% less likely to have substantial lower urinary tract symptoms than the least active men. The Harvard Men's Health Watch notes that the effect of exercise on prostate cancer is less clear. Some studies suggest that exercise can reduce risk, while others do not.
Although erectile dysfunction is not life-threatening, it can surely impair quality of life. A Harvard study linked regular exercise to a 41% reduction in the risk of erectile dysfunction -- all it took was about 30 minutes of walking a day. And in 2004, a randomized clinical trial reported that moderate exercise (averaging less than 28 minutes a day) can help restore sexual performance in obese, middle-aged men with erectile dysfunction.

Scientists Find Cell Growth Protein Potential Drug Target For Treatment-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Scientists at Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have found that a signaling protein that is key to prostate cancer cell growth is turned on in nearly all recurrent prostate cancers that are resistant to hormone therapy. If the findings hold up, the protein, called Stat5, may be a specific drug target against an extremely difficult-to-treat cancer.
In addition, the researchers, led by Marja Nevalainen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Cancer Biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, also showed that the convergence of two biological pathways could be responsible for making such hormone-resistant prostate cancers especially dangerous. They have found that a synergy between Stat5 and hormone receptors in recurrent prostate cancer cells helps each maintain its activity. Dr. Nevalainen and her co-workers report their findings January 1, 2008 in the journal Cancer Research.
“These findings validate Stat5 as a potential drug target in prostate cancer, and in particular, in a form of prostate cancer for which there are no effective therapies,” Dr. Nevalainen says.
Men with primary prostate cancer usually have either surgery or radiation, whereas subsequent disease is frequently treated by hormone therapy. But if the cancer recurs again, years later, it can be more aggressive and typically fails to respond to hormone treatment. In previous work, the researchers showed that when Stat5 is turned on in primary prostate cancer, men are more likely to have recurrent disease.
In the current study, the team examined human prostate cancer cells of 198 patients with prostate cancer recurrence. They found that Stat5 was active in 74 percent of all recurrent prostate cancers. Of these patients, 127 had been treated with androgen deprivation therapy. The researchers found Stat5 was active in 95 percent of these hormone resistant tumors, meaning it was more likely to be active if the patient had been treated with hormone deprivation therapy.
Dr. Nevalainen shows that Stat5 interacts with the androgen receptors and keeps them “transcriptionally active.” Next, the scientists would like to conduct tests in animal models to see if this synergy promotes androgen-independent prostate tumor growth, and whether or not Stat5 synergizes with androgen receptors activated by adrenal androgens, which are present in the absence of testicular androgens during the hormone therapy of prostate cancer in patients.

Health Canada Warns Against Viapro

Health Canada is advising consumers not to use the following product listed in the table below due to concerns about possible side-effects.
Product Description
Viapro is promoted as a dietary supplement for men used for sexual enhancement. The product comes in 375 mg capsules packaged in a 1- or 2-capsule blister pack, or in 10-capsule bottles.
Reason for Warning
The FDA warned consumers not to buy or use Viapro after it was found to contain an unauthorised substance with a structure similar to sildenafil (thio-methisosildenafil). A U.S. nationwide recall for all lots of the product was conducted voluntarily by the manufacturer at the request of the FDA.
Sildenafil is a prescription drug used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and should only be used under the supervision of a health care practitioner.
Possible Side-Effects
Unsupervised use of sildenafil by patients with heart disease can result in serious cardiovascular side-effects such as sudden cardiac death, heart attack, stroke, hypertension, chest pain and abnormal heartbeat. Additionally, use of sildenafil may be associated with other side-effects including temporary vision loss, seizure, prolonged erection, headache, flushing, nasal congestion and abdominal pain. Products containing sildenafil should not be used by individuals taking any type of nitrate drug (e.g., nitroglycerine) due to the risk of developing potentially life-threatening low blood pressure.

Environment and Genes Shape Homosexual Behaviour

Homosexual behaviour is largely shaped by genetics and random environmental factors, according to findings from the world’s largest study of twins.
Writing in the scientific journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, researchers from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm report that genetics and environmental factors (which are specific to an individual, and may include biological processes such as different hormone exposure in the womb), are important determinants of homosexual behaviour.
Dr Qazi Rahman, study co-author and a leading scientist on human sexual orientation, explains: “This study puts cold water on any concerns that we are looking for a single ‘gay gene’ or a single environmental variable which could be used to ‘select out’ homosexuality – the factors which influence sexual orientation are complex. And we are not simply talking about homosexuality here – heterosexual behaviour is also influenced by a mixture of genetic and environmental factors.
The team led by Dr Niklas Långström at Karolinska Institutet conducted the first truly population-based survey of all adult (20-47 years old) twins in Sweden. Studies of identical twins and non-identical, or fraternal, twins are often used to untangle the genetic and environmental factors responsible for a trait. While identical twins share all of their genes and their entire environment, fraternal twins share only half of their genes and their entire environment. Therefore, greater similarity in a trait between identical twins compared to fraternal twins shows that genetic factors are partly responsible for the trait.
This study looked at 3,826 same-gender twin pairs (7,652 individuals), who were asked about the total numbers of opposite sex and same sex partners they had ever had. The findings showed that 35 per cent of the differences between men in same-sex behavior (that is, that some men have no same sex partners, and some have one or more) is accounted for by genetics. Rahman explains:
“Overall, genetics accounted for around 35 per cent of the differences between men in homosexual behaviour and other individual-specific environmental factors (that is, not societal attitudes, family or parenting which are shared by twins) accounted for around 64 per cent. In other words, men become gay or straight because of different developmental pathways, not just one pathway.”
For women, genetics explained roughly 18 per cent of the variation in same-sex behaviour, non-shared environment roughly 64 per cent and shared factors, or the family environment, explained 16 per cent.
The study shows that genetic influences are important but modest, and that non-shared environmental factors, which may include factors operating during foetal development, dominate. Importantly, heredity had roughly the same influence as shared environmental factors in women, whereas the latter had no impact on sexual behaviour in men.
Dr Rahman adds: “The study is not without its limitations – we used a behavioural measure of sexual orientation which might be ok to use for men (men’s psychological orientation, sexual behaviour, and sexual responses are highly related) but less so for women (who show a clearer separation between these elements of sexuality). Despite this, our study provides the most unbiased estimates presented so far of genetic and non-genetic contributions to sexual orientation.”

Don't Mix Erectile Dysfunction Pills With These Medications

Group warns impotence drug users by listing 56 medications that may cause dangerous interactions or alter the effectiveness of erectile dysfunction drugs.
People who take three well-known erectile dysfunction medications should be extremely careful if they take any of 56 other drugs, including many commonly prescribed anti-angina and certain blood pressure medications, grapefruit juice and St. John’s Wort, Public Citizen writes in a new January article posted on its WorstPills.org Web site.
The three erectile dysfunction drugs are Viagra (chemical name sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil). The 56 drugs fall into three categories: 1) those that can cause a life-threatening drop in blood pressure when taken with erectile dysfunction drugs; 2) those that prevent the body from eliminating erectile dysfunction drugs, thereby leading to an overdose; and 3) those that speed up the metabolism of the erectile dysfunction drugs, thereby reducing their effectiveness. Grapefruit juice also is listed in the second category because it acts like a drug in this circumstance.
“Those who take erectile dysfunction drugs are generally older men, who are more likely to be taking other medications as well,” said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen. “It is critical that they be aware of the potential for dangerous interactions.”
Erectile dysfunction drugs cause blood vessels to dilate, an effect that is magnified when taken with blood pressure medications, which also dilate blood vessels. So men who take blood pressure medications such as Flomax and Cardura should avoid erectile dysfunction drugs, Wolfe said. The combination can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure that could lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Other drugs, such as erythromycin and nefazodone, inhibit an enzyme that metabolizes erectile dysfunction medications, thereby causing a build-up of the erectile dysfunction drugs to higher levels. Still other medications, like nafcillin, phenobarbital and 13 other drugs, increase the activity of the enzyme, rendering the erectile dysfunction drugs less effective. St. John’s Wort, an herbal supplement, also falls into this third category because it has a negative, drug-like effect when used with erectile dysfunction drugs.
The complete list of 56 drugs is at Public Citizen’s WorstPills.org, along with an explanatory article from Worst Pills, Best Pills, a monthly newsletter available in print and electronic formats through the subscription site WorstPills.org. The article about harmful interactions with erectile dysfunction drugs will be available free for the next seven days. The site has other searchable information about the uses, risks and adverse effects associated with prescription medications.
WorstPills.org is an unbiased analysis of information from a variety of sources – including well-regarded medical journals and unpublished data obtained from the Food and Drug Administration – that allows Public Citizen to warn the public about potentially dangerous drugs long before they are banned or adequately regulated by the federal government. For example, Public Citizen warned consumers about the dangers of Vioxx, ephedra, Baycol and Propulsid years before they were pulled from the market.