Many Men With Low Testosterone Levels Do Not Receive Treatment
Despitehaving access to care, many men with androgen deficiency may not bereceiving treatment, according to a report released on May 26, 2008 inthe Archives of Internal Medicine, one of theJAMAArchives journals.

Lowerthan normal levels of male hormones, including testosterone, in thebody indicate a deficiency in androgens. Symptoms of androgendeficiency can include low libido, erectile dysfunction andosteoporosis, and victims might also suffer from sleep disturbance,depressed mood and tiredness. Knowledge about and access to care forthis condition have increased in recent years, according to thearticle, but the treatment patterns for...read

Improving AIDS Prevention In Africa By Involving Partners Of Pregnant Women
According to the World Health Organization, nearly three-quarters of the worlds 40 million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people are living in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sixty-five per cent of the 4.3 million infected in 2006 caught the virus in this part of the world where women are particularly at risk. Figures for the Ivory Coast show for example that twice as many women than men are likely to be HIV-infected. In contrast to what is observed in other regions of the world, most people in Sub-Saharan Africa who are living with HIV...read

Menstrual Blood Shows Heart Repairing Stem Cell Properties
Scientists in Japan have discovered that cells taken from menstrual blood can be cultivated in the lab and used like stem cells to repair damaged heart tissue.

The initial results of the work were published last week in the journal Stem Cells. The study was the work of corresponding author Dr Shunichiro Miyoshi, a cardiologist at Keio University School of Medicine, in Tokyo, and colleagues, including scientists from the National Research Institute for Child Health and Development in Tokyo, Tokyo Womens Medical University, and Kanazawa University.

Stem...read

Los Angeles Times Examines Male Circumcision In The U.S.
The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined male circumcision in the U.S. and factors that some parents consider when deciding whether to have their infant boys circumcised, including a reduced risk of HIV. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 56% of infant boys in the U.S. were circumcised in 2005, compared with 85% in 1965. Worldwide, about 25% of men are circumcised, the Times reports.

Some experts say factors influencing the decline in male circumcision in the U.S. include immigration from Latin America and other countries...read

Key To Tackling Mens Obesity May Be Their Sexual Performance
Mens pride in sexual performance may help the fight against increasing obesity, according to internationally regarded expert on obesity, mens health and ageing Professor Gary Wittert.

Its becoming well known that there are high levels of obesity in Australian men and that this has significant consequences for chronic diseases, both physical and psychological, Professor Wittert says.

What is less well known is that not only blood vessels to the heart are affected by obesity but similar effects occur with the blood vessels to the penis with resulting erectile...read

Previously Unrecognized Testosterone Deficiency Common In Men With Type 1 Diabetes
Testosterone deficiency, previously recognized as common in men with type 2 diabetes, is also common in men with type 1 diabetes according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). These findings suggest that there is a direct link between insulin resistance and reduced testosterone levels in men.

As testosterone deficiency may contribute to impaired performance, mood, and libido, as well as have adverse impact on cardiovascular risk, these findings demonstrate the presence of a significant and unrecognized problem among men...read

Australian researchers are suggesting that older men who have lower levels of the male sex hormone testosterone in their blood, may be more prone to depression.
Depression affects between 2 percent and 5 percent of the population at any given time, with women more likely to be depressed than men until age 65, when sex differences almost disappear; several studies have suggested that sex hormones, that viagra stimulated, might be responsible for this phenomenon.

The researchers believe the hormone may affect levels of key brain chemicals.

Dr. Osvaldo P. Almeida, and colleagues from the University of Western Australia, Perth reached this conclusion after a study of 3,987 men aged 71 to 89 years, between...read

California County Board Of Supervisors Votes To Oppose FDA Policy Barring MSM From Donating Blood
The Santa Clara County, Calif., Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to oppose an FDA policy that prohibits men who have sex with men from donating blood, the San Jose Mercury New reports. The board also voted to encourage the boards federal lobbyists to work to overturn the ban, according to the Mercury News (Lohse, San Jose Mercury New, 227).

According to the FDA policy, which has been in effect since the early 1980s, MSM are barred from donating blood regardless of sexual activity, safer-sex practices...read

Its Time To Reassess The Value, Safety Of Multivitamin Use, Says Harvard Mens Health Watch
Although physician-scientists and supplement manufacturers are often at odds, they dont spend much time sparring over multivitamins. In fact, half the physicians on the Harvard Mens Health Watch advisory board report taking a multivitamin themselves. In recent years, Harvard Mens Health Watch has also endorsed these popular supplements, reasoning that even if they dont help, they wont hurt. However, the March 2008 issue of the newsletter states that a reappraisal of that advice is in order.

Harvard Mens Health Watch notes that some recent studies have...read

New York Times Examines Providing HPV Vaccine To Boys In Effort To Reduce Cervical Cancer Rates
The New York Times on Sunday examined the possibility of providing human papillomavirus vaccines to boys in an effort to reduce cervical cancer rates. According to the Times, Merck will submit data to FDA this year seeking approval for its HPV vaccine Gardasil to be administered to boys. Gardasil is already approved for boys in Australia, Mexico and the European Union (Hoffman, New York Times, 2/24).

Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause...read

Men who eat a diet low in fat and red meat but high in vegetables and lean protein and who drink alcohol in moderation may not just be doing their hearts a favor.
A new study shows that such a heart-healthy diet may also be good for the prostate.

Specifically, such a diet significantly decreases the risk of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. The bothersome condition is associated with frequent and painful urination that affects about half of all men by the time they reach 50 and nearly all men by age 70. These findings by lead author Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., and colleagues are published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The researchers found that a high-fat diet increased...read

China To Develop HIV Prevention Campaign Aimed At MSM
Chinas Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced that the country this year will develop an HIV prevention policy to curb the spread of the virus among men who have sex with men, China Daily reports (Juan, China Daily, 221).

According to the health ministrys 2008 plan for disease prevention and control, the policy will include detailed prevention methods for MSM. The methods include expanding condom use, prevention training, consultations, HIV testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted infections. A report conducted by the health ministry, the World Health Organization...read

Unexpected Link Found Between Prenatal Lead Exposure And Obesity In Males
Scientists know exposure to low levels of lead can result in learning disabilities, hearing loss, language impairments and vision loss, but a newly discovered side effect may be adult-onset obesity in men, according to a University of Houston professor.

Donald Fox, a UH professor of vision sciences, biology and biochemistry, and pharmacology, uncovered the link between lead exposure and obesity while studying the effects of lead on the retina in mice. Fox found this more subtle side effect was due to exposure to lead while in the womb, unlike...read

Active father figures have a key role to play in reducing behaviour problems in boys and psychological problems in young women, according to a review published in the February issue of Acta Paediatrica.
Swedish researchers also found that regular positive contact reduces criminal behaviour among children in low-income families and enhances cognitive skills like intelligence, reasoning and language development.

Children who lived with both a mother and father figure also had less behavioural problems than those who just lived with their mother.

The researchers are urging healthcare professionals to increase fathers involvement in their childrens healthcare and calling on policy makers to ensure that fathers have the chance to play an active role in their upbringing.

The review looked at...read

Key To Long Life
A study has shown that men who exercise, are the right weight and do not smoke during retirement increase their chances of living for another 25 years, reported The Daily Telegraph. The Guardian also covered the story and said the chances of reaching 90 were surprisingly dependent on behaviour from age 70 onwards.

Both newspapers gave a list of adverse factors and their estimated effect on the odds of a 70 year old man reaching 90. These included high blood pressure, lack of exercise, smoking, obesity, diabetes, taking...read

Beyond The Abstract: Influence Of Prostate Size On The Outcome Of Holmium Laser Enucleation Of The Prostate
High-powered holmium lasers are used for ablation, resection and enucleation of the prostate, as this laser has excellent incisional, ablative and haemostatic properties.

Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) is a recent step in enabling a true anatomical enucleation of prostatic tissue of any size. HoLEP gives results comparable to TURP and open prostatectomy, with low morbidity and a short hospital stay. In practice, a prostate of any size can be removed by this technique, once it is mastered. For the relief of BOO there is clear evidence...read

Whats Good For The Heart May Be Good For The Prostate
Men who eat a diet low in fat and red meat but high in vegetables and lean protein and who drink alcohol in moderation may not just be doing their hearts a favor. A new study shows that such a heart healthy diet may also be good for the prostate.

Specifically, such a diet significantly decreases the risk of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. The bothersome condition is associated with frequent and painful urination that affects about half of all men by the time they reach 50 and...read

Arrests, Trials Of HIV-Positive Men In Egypt Fueling Stigma Against People Living With Disease, Endangering Human Rights, Group Says
Recent arrests and trials of HIV-positive men in Egypt are endangering human rights and fueling discrimination against people living with the disease in the country, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, the APInternational Herald Tribune reports (APInternational Herald Tribune, 26). HRW documented several arrests beginning in October 2007, when two men were detained during an altercation in Cairo and taken to the so-called Morality Police after one man said that he was HIV-positive, the AFPYahoo! News reports.

According to HRW, the two men said they were beaten, handcuffed to...read

Men with prostate cancer who have their prostate removed cite sexual dysfunction as the most common side effect after surgery, but urinary dysfunction troubles these patients most, reports a University of Florida researcher. Whats more, many arent emotion
The study findings, published in a recent issue of Urologic Nursing, underscore the need for health-care practitioners to educate their patients about the physical and psychological effects the surgery will have on their everyday lives.

The effects of this treatment are quite immediate and can lead to depression and frustration, said Bryan Weber, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., an assistant professor in the UF College of Nursing and the studys lead author. After an initial diagnosis of prostate cancer, men may be so focused on eradicating the disease that they dont realize...read

Long Term Urinary Sequelae Following 125 Iodine Prostate Brachytherapy
In the early view version of The Journal of Urology, Dr. Crook and colleagues present a single practitioner series of 125I prostate brachytherapy with analysis of long-term sequelae.

Patients with low-risk prostate cancer (CaP) were initially assessed with an I-PSS questionnaire and given a short course of androgen deprivation therapy for prostates larger than 50cc. Treatment consisted of implantation of 125I seeds by the Seattle technique. Urinary function was evaluated over the long-term using the I-PSS questionnaire.

The study cohort included 484 men treated between 1999...read

Beyond The Abstract Urethral Diverticulum After Endoscopic Urethrotomy
Diverticula of the male penile urethra are rare. Recognized etiologies for acquired male diverticula include trauma, impacted stones, strictures and infection. Iatrogenic injury following endoscopic urethrotomy should also be considered. Symptoms of urethral diverticula depend on their size, location, and the degree to which they cause obstruction. Men can present with hematuria, urinary tract infection, lower urinary tract symptoms, incontinence or post-void dribbling. There may be a palpable mass from which residual urine can be expressed. Static urine in a diverticulum may predispose infection andor to calculus formation. Most diverticula...read

According to a new study when men are circumcised in adulthood they can enjoy the same level of sexual satisfaction as men who are not.
Researchers at the Bloomberg School of Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore carried out a randomized trial of almost 4,500 Ugandan men and found that as many as 98 percent of them said their levels of sexual satisfaction remained just as enjoyable.

Study co-author Ronald Gray says the trial was done because previous studies showed that circumcision, which is now recommended as an efficient way to reduce HIV transmission, came up with problematic and contradictory results.

Gray says they were often highly selective because there were medical...read

New Guidelines From Fpa To Make Contraceptive Services Men-friendly, UK
Health professionals based in general practice or specialist clinics wanting to attract men into mainstream contraceptive services can now download a free set of guidelines from fpas website about making them more men-friendly. fpa are focusing on men and contraception as part of this years Contraceptive Awareness Week. The New Man-[1] campaign is running from the 11-17 February.

The briefing sheet is full of information to help professionals think about different ways of making contraceptive services more welcoming to men, as well as reflecting on mens role...read

Estimates on the number of males in the United States who will experience prostatitis during their lifetimes range up to 50 percent.
Many urologic disease experts feel that from 5 to 10 percent of males are experiencing prostatitis at a particular time, making it one of the most common urologic diseases in the U.S.

Prostatitis is an infection or inflammation of the prostate gland that causes intense pain, urinary complications, sexual dysfunction, infertility, and a significant reduction in the quality of life Prior to the mid-1990s, very little research had occurred that could lead to improved diagnostic techniques and a cure.

Prostatitis is difficult to diagnose and treat, and has...read

Defective Sperm Cells Inside The Body Tagged By Quality Control Mechanism
Defective sperm cells do not pass through the body unnoticed. A new University of Missouri study provides evidence that the body recognizes and tags defective sperm cells while they undergo maturation in the epididymis, a sperm storage gland attached to the testis. According to researchers, only the best sperm that have the highest chance of succeeding in fertilization will survive the production process without a tag.

A small protein called ubiquitin marks abnormal sperm cells, including cells that have two heads, two tails or are otherwise misshaped. This recycling...read

Hormonal components in over-the-counter dietary supplements may promote the progression of prostate cancer and decrease the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.
The findings, which appear in todays issue of Clinical Cancer Research, reaffirm that patients should inform their doctors about any herbal or hormonal dietary supplements they are taking or considering taking. The researchers also recommend that documentation of supplement usage become part of routine health assessments for all patients, particularly cancer patients.

Physicians need to ask their patients not only about the prescription drugs they may be taking, but - perhaps even more importantly - about the over-the-counter drugs and supplements, which may have a profound impact on certain...read