Does Finasteride Limit Risk of Prostate Cancer

Posted April 3rd, 2011. Filed under Men's Health

Prostate Cancer

A drug that has been used to fight baldness and enlarged prostate glands might also protect men against prostate cancer.

Sold as Canadian Propecia for baldness and as Proscar generic for benign prostatic hyper-plasia (a noncancerous condition), finas-teride (Merck) lowers levels of testosterone, a form of the male hormone that promotes the growth of prostate cells. In a massive study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the drug reduced the risk of prostate cancer by nearly 25%. The trial was stopped a year early because the results were so striking.

Although the trial suggests that prostate cancer might be partly preventable, experts urged caution, because although the drug appeared to reduce the overall number of cancers, patients might be at greater risk for more aggressive tumors.

Alprostadil for Erectile Dysfunction

Posted December 15th, 2010. Filed under Men's Health

Erectile Dysfunction

Sildenafil citrate (Generic Viagra, Pfizer) is still the front-line treatment for men with erectile dysfunction (ED), but for men who do not respond to it, intraurethral alprostadil (Caverject®, Pfizer) might be a good next choice.

Researchers observed 44 men for up to 15 months. In 10 patients, ED was a result of radical retropubic prostatectomy. Nine patients also had hypertension, seven had diabetes, and eight had both conditions. Six men had drug-induced ED. In all, 13 patients (30%) responded well to intraurethral alprostadil.

Because the study was small, no statistically significant conclusions were able to be drawn. However, five of the 10 men who had undergone earlier radical retro-pubic prostatectomy reported improved erectile function: two who had received 500 mcg and three who had received 1,000 mcg.

Two patients with ED secondary to nonoperative factors improved with the lowest dose (250 mcg), but none who had undergone radical retropubic prostatectomy responded satisfactorily.

Intraurethral alprostadil acts directly to promote the inflow and retention of blood within the corpora; it does not rely on sexual stimulation or intact penile innervation. Because drug sildenafil and intra-urethral alprostadil work differently, they may be complementary treatments for patients who have not responded to one or the other. The researchers cite a study in which 90% of 65 patients experienced satisfactory results with combination therapy after monotherapy had failed.

One drawback of the study is that patients tried sildenafil tablet only five times before the treatment was considered unsuccessful (mainly because of cost). Other reports suggest that at least eight attempts should be made.

CialisIn an international study, tadalafil (Cialis drug, Eli Lilly) improved erectile function in men with spinal cord injury.
After a four-week run-in period, 186 men (mean, 38 years of age) were randomly assigned to receive ondemand tadalafil or placebo for 12 weeks. The tadalafil dose was maintained at 10 mg/day or was titrated to 20 mg/day.

Most of the patients had had erectile dysfunction (ED) for at least one year; 69% had moderate-to-severe ED. The majority of men (78%) had a neurological injury at or above the T11 level. Yet despite serious baseline conditions, all primary efficacy variables improved significantly with tadalafil treatment improved ED from moderate at baseline to mild.

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Chlorhexidine Cleans Up Bloodstream Infections

Posted February 4th, 2010. Filed under Men's Health

BloodstreamThe use of no-rinse 2% chlorhexidineimpregnated cloths to bathe patients in the medical intensive-care unit has been found to reduce primary bloodstream infections by 61%, compared with soap and water.

In a 12-month study from Rush Medical Center and Cook County Bureau of Health Services in Chicago, 391 patients were assigned to receive antiseptic skin preparation with chlorhexidine gluconate, and 445 received daily baths with soap and water. The researchers found 31 primary bloodstream infections in 27 patients. Using central-line (IV catheter) days as the denominator, patients in the chlorhexidine arm were at lower risk for primary catheter-associated bloodstream infections (6.4), compared with patients bathed with soap and water (16.8) per 1,000 central-line days.

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penis enlargement

The dominant male penis enlargement system consists of penis extender device, exercise program, penis enlargement pills and volume enhancement pills with the aim of enlarging your penis and enhancing your penis functions in a safe, easy and healthy manner.

The penis extender device and the exercise program ensure that you gain increase in both length and girth of your penis naturally. The exercises are easy to carry out and the prosizer extender is safely worn on the penis and gives maximum comfort as it enlarges your penis. What the male enhancement extender and the exercises do is to enlarge the corpus cavernosa to hold more blood when you are aroused. On erection, your member holds more blood which makes your phallus thicker and your erection harder.

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