Healthcare Prof:

3 (2 votes)

A new study report published within the December 2009 print issue with the FASEB Journal could 1 day give males comparable kind of manage over their fertility that females have had given that the 1960s. That is simply because scientists have identified how and where androgenic hormones work within the testis to manage regular sperm production and male fertility. This opens a promising avenue for the development of “the pill” for guys. The discovery also provides hope to those that can not have children because of low sperm counts. Although the research was conducted in mice, a comparable impact is probably to acquire in other mammals, like humans.

“This study supplies a new chance to identify how androgens control sperm production, which could offer new insight for the development of new treatments for male infertility and possibly new male contraceptives,” stated Michelle Welsh, Ph.D., co-author with the study, from the Centre for Reproductive Biology at the Queen’s Medical Investigation Institute in Edinburgh, UK.

To make this discovery, Welsh and colleagues performed studies in two groups of mice. The initial group of mice was standard, but the second group of mice was missing a gene from the peritubular myoid cells inside the testis. This gene that was missing codes for the androgen hormone receptor, and when missing, sperm production was considerably decreased when compared to the regular group. The result was infertility.

“Although ‘the pill’ arguably has been liberating for girls considering that its development in the 1960s, a comparable birth manage drug for men has been elusive,” mentioned Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. “Not only does this investigation pinpoint androgenic hormones and their cellular receptors as prime targets for the development of new birth manage drugs, but it promises to speed the development of new agents to increase sperm production.”

Details: Michelle Welsh, Philippa T. K. Saunders, Nina Atanassova, Richard M. Sharpe, and Lee B. Smith Androgen action via testicular peritubular myoid cells is vital for male fertility. FASEB J. 2009 23: 4218-4230. doi: ten.1096/fj.09-138347 ; http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/12/4218

Source:
Cody Mooneyhan
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

“The objective of my function is always to observe the impact of pornography on the sexuality of men, and how it shapes their perception of men and ladies,” says Lajeunesse. To do so, he has so far recruited and interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who consume pornography.

“They shared their sexual history starting with their very first get in touch with with pornography, which was in early adolescence. Not one topic had a pathological sexuality. Actually, all of their sexual practices were very conventional,” says Lajeunesse.

The analysis concluded that 90 percent of pornography is consumed online, although ten percent comes from video stores. On average, single men watch pornography three times a week for 40 minutes. People who are in committed relationships watch it on typical 1.7 times a week for 20 minutes.

Lajeunesse located most boys seek out pornographic material by the age of ten, when they are most sexually curious. Even so, they speedily discard what they don’t like and locate offensive. As adults, they’ll continue to look for content in tune with their image of sexuality. They also rarely consume pornography as a couple and usually decide on what they watch.

All test subjects mentioned they supported gender equality and felt victimized by rhetoric demonizing pornography. “Pornography hasn’t changed their perception of ladies or their relationship which they all want as harmonious and fulfilling as feasible. Those who could not live out their fantasy in genuine life with their partner simply set aside the fantasy. The fantasy is broken within the real globe and men don’t want their partner to look like a porn star,” says Lajeunesse.

Lajeunesse refutes the perverse impact frequently attributed to pornography. “Aggressors do not require pornography to be violent and addicts may be addicted to drugs, alcohol, gaming and asocial situations are pathological. If pornography had the impact that many claim it has, you’d just have to show heterosexual films to a homosexual to alter his sexual orientation.”

Source:
Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
University of Montreal

Healthcare Prof:

Researchers in Japan have located that female mice produced by employing genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings give the very first evidence that sperm genes might have a detrimental effect on lifespan in mammals.

The research, which is published on-line nowadays (Wednesday 2 December) in Europe’s top reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1], discovered that mice designed from two female genomes (bi-maternal (BM) mice) lived an average of 186 days longer than manage mice created from the regular mixture of a male and female genome. The average lifespan for the form of mice utilized in the study is between about 600-700 days, meaning that the BM mice lived roughly a third longer than regular.

Professor Tomohiro Kono (PhD), from the Department of Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, and Director of the Nodai Investigation Institute (Tokyo, Japan), and Dr Manabu Kawahara (PhD), associate professor at the Laboratory of Animal Resource Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University (Japan), carried out the investigation. They think the cause for the difference in longevity could relate to a gene on chromosome 9 related with post-natal growth.

Prof Kono mentioned: “We have known for some time that girls often live longer than males in virtually all nations globally, and that these sex-related differences in longevity also happen in a lot of other mammalian species. Nonetheless, the reason for this difference was unclear and, in particular, it was not recognized whether longevity in mammals was controlled by the genome composition of only 1 or both parents.”

To answer this question, Prof Kono and Dr Kawahara set out to study the life span of mice created without having sperm. To do this, they collected non-growing oocytes (eggs) from day-old mice, manipulated the genetic material in these eggs to ensure that the genes behaved like sperm genes, after which transplanted this manipulated genetic material into the completely grown, unfertilised oocytes of adult mice that had their nuclei removed (enucleated oocytes). These reconstructed oocytes created into embryos, which had been transferred into surrogate mother mice. The mice that were born as a result had been bi-maternal, having genetic material from two mothers, but no father.

The researchers created control mice via natural mating that were genetically identical to the BM mice, apart from the truth that they had been developed inside the regular way with genes from male and female mice.

There were 13 BM mice and 13 control mice born in between October 2005 and March 2006, and Prof Kono discovered that the typical lifespan was 186 days longer inside the BM mice than in the controls (841.5 days versus 655.5 days). The longest time that any of the control mice lived was 996 days, with all but one of them dying by 800 days, while the longest time alive for the BM mice was 1045 days, with all but 3 of them living for far more than 800 days. The researchers checked the weight with the mice at 49 days and 600 days (around 20 months after birth) and located that the BM mice had been considerably lighter and smaller than the manage mice. The BM mice also seemed to have far better immune systems, with a considerable increase in 1 kind of white blood cell, eosinophil.

Both sets of mice had been kept within the exact same, infection-free environments, with cost-free access to food, creating it unlikely that some external environmental factor was the cause of the distinction in life spans.

Prof Kono stated: “We think that the most probably cause for the differences in longevity relates towards the repression of a gene named Rasgrf1 inside the BM mice. This gene generally expresses from the paternally inherited chromosome and is an imprinted gene on chromosome 9 linked with post-natal growth. Thus far, it is not clear whether Rasgrf1 is definitively associated with mouse longevity, however it is among the robust candidates for a responsible gene. In addition, we can’t remove the possibility that other, unknown genes that rely on their paternal inheritance to function typically might be responsible for the extended longevity with the BM mice.”

Imprinted genes are genes which are turned on, or “expressed”, according to no matter whether they’re inherited from the mother or the father.

The researchers write: “Our outcomes are consistent with models according to sex-specific choice of reproductive methods, e.g. male people maximizing fitness by an intense investment in reproduction by way of a bigger body size to be able to achieve more breeding opportunities, resulting in shorter longevity?-. In contrast, female people typically don’t engage in such expensive male behaviours and instead often optimize their reproductive output by conserving power for delivery, offering for offspring, foraging and predator avoidance. Our results further recommended sex differences in longevity originating in the genome level, implying that the sperm genome has a detrimental impact on longevity in mammals.”

Prof Kono concluded: “The study may give an answer to the fundamental concerns: that’s, whether longevity in mammals is controlled by the genome composition of only 1 or each parents, and just possibly, why women are at an advantage over men with regard towards the lifespan.”

[1] Longevity in mice with out a father. Human Reproduction journal. doi:10/1093/humrep/dep400

Source:
Emma Mason
European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology

Healthcare Prof:

3 (3 votes)

Shift function exposures can accelerate metabolic syndrome (MetS) development among the large population of middle-aged males with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (e-ALT) is actually a common abnormality of well being examinations in middle-aged working populations. It truly is unavoidable nowadays that a large quantity of asymptomatic workers with e-ALT may be asked to do rotating shift function on 24 h production lines. In some previous studies, e-ALT and shift function had been independently assessed for their associations with MetS, which is associated with cardiovascular disease, one of the top causes of death amongst working populations.

In terms of workplace wellness management and job arrangements, a five-year follow-up study assessing the association between rotating shift perform (RSW) and MetS development was conducted in Taiwan for male workers. In some previous studies, e-ALT and shift perform had been independently assessed for their associations with MetS, which is associated with cardiovascular disease, among the top causes of death amongst working populations.

A investigation write-up written by Dr. Yu-Cheng Lin et al from Tao-Yuan General Hospital, Taiwan, which has recently been published in World Journal of Gastroenterology, took each risk factors together into consideration, and demonstrated significant findings. In Lin’s study, following a five-year interval, the workers with baseline e-ALT had significantly unfavorable changes in MetS-component abnormalities, and higher rates of MetS development, vs subjects with normal baseline ALT. Particularly, workers who had each baseline e-ALT and long-term RSW exposures had the highest rate of MetS development amongst four subgroups divided by e-ALT and RSW. Statistically, e-ALT-plus-RSW workers had a significant risk for MetS development.

Lin et al stated that, MetS development among middle-aged males with e-ALT should be carefully monitored. In terms of job arrangements, long-term shift workers with e-ALT deserve special attention for MetS development. They suggested that all workers with e-ALT should be carefully evaluated and managed for MetS. Particularly, MetS risk assessment must be emphasized for male employees with e-ALT facing long-term rotating shift perform exposures.

Public well being experts agreed that this is an important area of analysis, given the amount of shift function performed around the globe, particularly when proponents claim that shift operating is ‘beneficial’ to the health and safety of those concerned.

Lin YC, Hsiao TJ, Chen PC. Shift work aggravates metabolic syndrome development among early-middle-aged males with elevated ALT. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(45): 5654-5661 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/5654.asp

Source: Jin-Lei Wang
World Journal of Gastroenterology

Healthcare Prof:

A gene associated with a rare form of progressive deafness in males has been identified by an international team of researchers funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The gene, PRPS1, appears to be crucial in inner ear development and maintenance. The findings are published in the Dec. 17 early online issue with the American Journal of Human Genetics.

“This discovery gives exciting therapeutic implications,” stated James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director with the NIDCD. “Not only does it give scientists a way to develop a targeted treatment for hearing loss in boys with this disorder, it could also open doors to the treatment of other types of deafness, including some forms of acquired hearing loss.”

The gene is associated with DFN2, a progressive form of deafness that primarily affects males. Boys with DFN2 begin to lose their hearing in both ears roughly between the ages of five and 15, and over the course of a number of decades will experience hearing loss that can range from severe to profound. Their mothers, who carry the defective PRPS1 gene, may possibly experience hearing loss at the same time, but considerably later in life and in a milder form. Households with DFN2 happen to be identified inside the United States, Great Britain, and China.

The NIDCD-funded researchers led by Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, discovered that the PRPS1 gene encodes the enzyme phosphoribosylpyrophosphate (PRPP) synthetase 1, which produces and regulates PRPP (phospho-ribosylpyrophosphate), and appears to play a key role in inner ear development and maintenance. The four mutations identified inside the PRPS1 gene cause a decrease in the production with the PRPP synthetase 1 protein that results in defects in sensory cells (called hair cells) within the inner ear, and eventually leads to progressive deafness.

“PRPS1 is an interesting example of a human disease gene in which gain of function or loss of function mutations cause several diverse and distinct hereditary disorders,” says Dr. Liu. “Our findings emphasize the body’s need to have for tight regulation of PRPP synthetase 1 since a drop in activity can lead to deafness.” Other mutations in the PRPS1 gene have been linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Arts syndrome and a form of Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, both of which feature deafness within the constellation of symptoms.

Knowing that a reduction within the amount of PRPP synthetase 1 is what causes deafness in DFN2, Liu and his colleagues are now exploring potential enzyme replacement therapies to either restore hearing or prevent further hearing loss in boys with DFN2. They believe that since the PRPS1 mutations can be used as a genetic marker for DFN2, inside the future at-risk boys could be tested at birth and immediately put on enzyme replacement therapy to reduce or prevent the hearing loss that would ordinarily come later in life.

In addition, the expertise that scientists gather regarding the mechanisms of PRPS1 potentially could be used to develop treatments to combat acquired hearing loss, such as the hearing loss caused by drugs that are used in some chemotherapy regimens and treatments for HIV/AIDS. These are powerful and helpful medications, but they have the unfortunate side effect of damaging, even killing, hair cells within the inner ear. The results from this study open the possibility for improving these life-saving treatments by eliminating or reducing the disabling side effect of hearing loss.

In addition to NIDCD support, the following institutions collaborated in this study: Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei; Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, GuiYang, China; UCL Institute of Child Health, London; Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston; and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston.

Source: Robin Latham
NIH/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Healthcare Prof:

Boys with the sexual birth defects known as hypospadias and cryptorchidism are at risk for developing testicular germ cell cancer, but their relatives are not, based on a new study published online within the Journal with the National Cancer Institute.

Although hypospadias, the birth defect that involves an abnormally-placed urinary opening, and cryptorchidism, the lack of descension of 1 or both testes inside the scrotal sac, are associated with a risk of developing testicular germ cell cancer, it was unclear whether all 3 were part of an inheritable dysgenesis syndrome.

To study this relationship, Tine H. Schnack, M.D., with the Department of Epidemiology Analysis, Statens Serum Institute, in Copenhagen, and colleagues identified over 2 million guys born since 1953. They were followed from April 1968 by means of Might 2008. First-, second-, and third-degree relatives were identified in the Danish Family Relations Database; cryptorchidism and hypospadias patients had been identified in the Danish Hospital Discharge Register; and testicular germ cell cancer patients had been identified in the Danish Cancer Register.

Men with a personal history of cryptorchidism or hypospadias had an increased relative risk of developing testicular germ cell cancer, but their relatives didn’t. A total of 5,441 patients developed testicular germ cell cancer.

The authors write that “?-a family history of hypospadias or cryptorchidism was not associated with a general increase within the risk of developing [testicular germ cell cancer]. Thus, our data do not support the hypothesis of shared inheritability of the disorders described under testicular dysgenesis syndrome.”

Study limitations: Misclassification of legal and biological fathers since of privacy could lead to bias in coding of relatives. Diagnoses of cryptorchidism and hypospadias had been not recorded for births until 1977, and only later diagnoses made during adolescence could be used.

Source: Steve Graff
Journal with the National Cancer Institute

Healthcare Prof:

5 (1 votes)

Young hunters between the ages of 15 and 34 are the most likely to suffer significant injuries in tree stand-related incidents, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Center for Injury Sciences (CIS). The same researchers’ findings, though, suggest that such injuries are preventable.

The study, presented online in the Journal of TRAUMA? Injury, Infection and Critical Care, reports that guys had been twice as likely as women to be injured, and younger hunters far more likely than older ones. Hunters aged between 15-24 had injury rates of 55.7 per 100,000, and those aged 25-34 averaged 61 injuries per 100,000. Hunters over 65 had injury rates of only 22.4 per 100,000.

“The elevated injury rate among younger hunters is significant, since debilitating injuries in younger people are far much more devastating than for older individuals because of the potential long-term effects that create each physical and financial hardships for patients and their households,” mentioned Gerald McGwin, Jr., MS, Ph.D., associate director for investigation at the CIS and senior investigator for the study.

Using data drawn from the 2000-07 National Electronic Injury Surveillance Method established by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and also the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the UAB researchers report that the quantity of Americans hunting has remained stable over the past decade, with 12.5 million people engaging in hunting in 2006. There had been an estimated 46,860 injuries related to tree stand use between 2000 and 2007.

The study discovered that the most common injuries were fractures, mostly probably to occur inside the hip or lower extremities, followed by injuries to the trunk, shoulder and upper extremities. Head and spinal cord injuries had been less common, but still significant. McGwin mentioned such injuries are consistent with other studies that demonstrate a similar injury pattern, explained by hunters trying to land on their feet, leading to injury of the lower extremities.

McGwin mentioned younger hunters might have greater injury rates due to a willingness to take risks, much less exposure to safety information and much more time spent hunting than older hunters. He said the study reveals certain target areas for preventing tree stand-related injuries, including safety education campaigns that recommend the use of safety harnesses and regular maintenance of stands.

“In addition to a broad safety education campaign regarding the use of tree stands, the vulnerable young hunter population should be specifically targeted to decrease the quantity of preventable injuries,” he mentioned. “Manufacturers of tree stands can aid in prevention by providing much more support for the hunters, particularly for the minimalistic stands like climbing or ladder stands. Although tree stand-related injuries are a major cause of injury amongst the hunting population, they’re preventable.”

McGwin, along with study colleagues Loring W. Rue, III, M.D., Joshua Terry, BS, and Russell Griffin, MPH, stated the study was not able to determine from the data what forms of tree stands were in use when injury occurred, nor the exact mechanism of injury, be it a hunter falling from a stand, a stand improperly erected or a structural failure of a stand. Further analysis in these areas would be valuable in reducing the quantity of injuries related to hunting from tree stands, the authors mentioned.

Source: Bob Shepard
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Healthcare Prof:

2.33 (3 votes)

Circumcision, which substantially lowers HIV risk in men, also dramatically changes the bacterial communities of the penis, based on a study led by scientists in the Translational Genomics Study Institute (TGen) and Johns Hopkins University and published Jan. 6 within the scientific journal PLoS 1.

And these bacterial changes could also be associated with earlier observations that women whose male partners are circumcised are much less most likely to develop bacterial vaginosis, an imbalance between good and harmful bacteria.

The study – The Effects of Circumcision on the Penis Microbiome – could lead to new non-surgical HIV preventative strategies for the estimated 70 percent of guys worldwide (a lot more than two billion) who, due to the fact of religious or cultural beliefs, or logistic or financial barriers, are not probably to become circumcised.

“It has important public-health ramifications,” stated Dr. Lance B. Price, Director of TGen’s Center for Metagenomics and Human Health and co-lead author of the scientific paper, which describes the world’s 1st molecular assessment with the bacterial diversity with the male reproductive organ.

This new study is part of a larger effort by the U.S. National Institutes of Health to study and describe the “human microbiome” – the microbes that exist collectively on and in the human body. Other projects are focused on microbiomes involving the skin, nose, mouth, digestive and female genitourinary tract. Jointly, the goal of these projects is to define the various roles of microbes in human well being and disease.

In investigating the impact of male circumcision on the penis microbiome, a collaborative team from TGen as well as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Wellness discovered for the very first time that circumcision significantly changes the bacterial community of the penis.

Other epidemiological studies have shown that male circumcision is associated with significant reductions in HIV acquisition in guys.

The strongest evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship between circumcision and HIV risk reduction came from 3 randomized-control trials in sub-Saharan Africa, where the circumcision rate is relatively low as well as the HIV infection rate is comparatively high. All three demonstrated a more than 40 percent reduction in HIV acquisition among circumcised guys.

The largest of these 3 studies – in Rakai, Uganda – was led by Dr. Ronald H. Gray, a renowned epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins as well as the scientific paper’s senior author. Dr. Gray’s group collected penile swabs from all with the circumcision trial study participants, which provided the data for the new TGen-Johns Hopkins study.

The new study found that circumcision – the removal with the foreskin, or prepuce, from the penis – eliminates an area of mucous membrane and dramatically changes the penile bacterial ecosystem. Significantly, TGen’s analysis of much more than 40 types of bacteria, using a 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing approach, suggests that the introduction of more oxygen following circumcision decreases the presence of anaerobic (non-oxygen) bacteria and increases the amount of aerobic (oxygen-required) bacteria.

“This study clearly shows that male circumcision markedly reduces genital colonization with anaerobic bacteria in guys,” stated Dr. Gray, the William G. Robertson Jr. Professor in Population and Family Preparing in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“These bacteria, which cannot grow inside the presence of oxygen, happen to be implicated in inflammation and a quantity of infections affecting each men and women. Our randomized trials have shown that male circumcision prevents HIV infection in males and protects their female partners from vaginal infections, especially bacterial vaginosis. It truly is possible that the virtual elimination of anaerobic bacteria by circumcision contributes to these benefits of the procedure,” Dr. Gray mentioned.

Several mechanisms happen to be proposed for how circumcision reduces HIV acquisition in men:

* Circumcision reduces the amount of mucosal tissue exposed to vaginal secretions during heterosexual intercourse and thus might reduce the potential interactions between the virus and its target immune cells.

* Circumcision results in a process called keratinization, whereby the leading layer of the inner foreskin becomes thicker, which may provide additional protection for the underlying target immune cells.

* Circumcision-associated physiological changes with the penis – including lower moisture and oxygen availability around the head with the penis – might reduce the number of pro-inflammatory anaerobic bacteria that could make the target immune cells a lot more vulnerable to HIV infection.

“These potential explanations are not mutually exclusive and may function in concert to reduce HIV risk,” stated Dr. Price, an Associate Investigator in TGen’s Pathogen Genomics Division.

The new study identified that distinct bacteria taxonomically defined as anaerobic dominated the microbiota of the penile coronal sulcus before circumcision. However, following circumcision, these bacteria decreased dramatically.

“Thus, the reduction inside the putative anaerobic bacteria following circumcision may possibly play a role in protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases,” the study concluded.

Bacteria that form within the absence of, or lower levels of, oxygen might be associated with inflammation and the activation of Langerhans cells. These cells, which are part with the body’s normal immune technique, work to capture and degrade the virus when they’re in an inactivated state. But once activated, the Langerhans cells become re-directed to assisting HIV infection by presenting the virus to CD4+ cells.

Circumcision remains a controversial procedure that has ardent proponents and opponents. Those who favor circumcision point to many studies demonstrating lower risk for sexually transmitted diseases associated with circumcision. Those who oppose circumcision point to the potential dangers of the procedure itself as well as cultural concerns.

This new study shows that circumcision significantly changed the penile bacterial ecology.

“The idea that there are good and harmful bacteria is essential to studying the human microbiome. Our function showed that the profile with the penile bacterial communities changed significantly right after circumcision,” mentioned Dr. Cindy M. Liu, a medical doctor and researcher at each TGen and Northern Arizona University. She is the paper’s other co-lead author.

“With the decrease in putative anaerobic bacteria, we saw a correlated enhance within the proportion of other distinct facultative anaerobic and aerobic bacteria. This suggests that eliminating harmful bacteria might be only half of the needed action. Ensuring that the niche left by pre-circumcision anaerobic bacteria are filled with “good” bacteria will also be critical,” Dr. Liu said.

TGen and Johns Hopkins researchers plan to conduct much more studies to determine whether specific bacteria are associated with increased HIV risk and if such bacteria can be eliminated using non-surgical strategies.

Also involved in the study published today had been: the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Makerere University’s School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda.

Source:
Steve Yozwiak
The Translational Genomics Research Institute

Healthcare Prof:

One in six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Almost 30,000 males in the US die from this cancer ever year. African American men have practically twice the risk of dying from prostate cancer as all other ethnicities. Michael Haynes, NFL Hall of Famer, points to a lack of education as the reason why several males avoid screening, risking a cancer diagnosis late in the game. As a spokesperson for the American Urological Association, Haynes and his surgeon, Christopher Kane, MD, chief of urology at UC San Diego Medical Center, provide a playbook of four strategies for men’s urologic health.

Know Your Stats

“For me, learning about prostate cancer started with a free screening event hosted by the NFL along with the American Urological Association,” mentioned Haynes. “One with the doctor’s first questions to me was about my previous PSA scores. I was surprised, as that was the very first time I had even heard of a PSA. I’d never tracked my blood pressure much less a PSA level.”

PSA stands for prostate certain antigen a fluid which is present normally inside the semen. Elevated levels of PSA in blood serum are associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement) and prostate cancer. A test for PSA may be used to screen for prostate cancer and to monitor treatment of the disease.

“I recommend that every man know his wellness stats. Be proactive and track your PSA, cholesterol and blood pressure every year,” said Kane. “One with the popular misconceptions is that a normal PSA is anything under four. This is not true for everyone. PSA must be used within the context of age and ethnicity. An average PSA for a man in his 40s is .8. An average PSA for a man in his 50s is .9 to one and really should be under 2.5.”

After reviewing his PSA scores, Haynes learned that he had an elevated PSA which had spiked over a two-year period. His primary care physician referred him to a urologist who performed a biopsy which revealed cancer in nine of 12 places on his prostate gland.

“PSA velocity, the rate of change of PSA, is a very strong predictor of prostate cancer,” mentioned Kane. “PSA velocity is also correlated with grade and severity of cancer. A PSA history that suddenly changes is actually a much more valuable indicator of disease than a single elevated PSA. Know your numbers and create a benchmark to monitor your own health.”

Jokes Aside: Get the Rectal Exam

“I remember fellow NFL players joking that I would not get screened simply because of the digital rectal exam,” said Haynes. “It’s definitely not something that guys look forward to. The doctor asked me, ‘Did I mind finding the exam?’ I thought if it’s going to save my life, of course I don’t mind.”

A digital rectal examination is done to evaluate the rectum and prostate. During the examination, a physician gently puts a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum to check for growths or enlargement with the prostate gland, a walnut-sized gland in the middle of the pelvis which produces semen fluid. The process takes much less than 30 seconds.

“The toughest part is relaxing but it’s quick and painless,” stated Haynes. “As we talk regarding the exam, and normalize it, guys will start to realize it’s part of life. If it’s going to save your life, it’s definitely worth it.”

“The best argument in favor of screening is that there are much more than 30,000 men dying from prostate cancer in America,” said Kane, a nationally recognized robotics expert. “If you get screened, you can get treatment if you need to have it. Screening is gaining information about whether or not a person has prostate cancer and, if they do, the stage with the cancer. Fortunately, most guys who are diagnosed young are diagnosed at a stage where they can be cured, where there are fewer side effects of treatment, and they are far more probably to benefit from treatment.”

Kane strongly believes that doctors should actively screen, and then carefully evaluate the individual patient, his overall well being, age, ethnicity, PSA pattern, and grade and extent of cancer, to make an informed decision about treatment.

“It’s true that there are some males with very low risk, low grade prostate cancer who might not should be aggressively treated. That’s an important decision they must make with their physician,” said Kane.” However, that’s the minority-15-20 percent of newly diagnosed men-who have that very low grade, low volume, low PSA, slow-growing form of prostate cancer. There are also guys who are older or who are in poor health where it’s less important to diagnose what is often a fairly slow growing cancer.”

Open Dad’s Playbook

Haynes didn’t know about his own family history of prostate cancer until right after his diagnosis. He encourages guys to ask about their fathers’, uncle’s and grandfather’s medical histories.

“After I was diagnosed with the disease, I found out that my grandfather died of prostate cancer,” said Haynes. “I was 22 years old when he died. At that age, I definitely wasn’t thinking about cancer and my mom didn’t know to tell me to get screened later in life.”

Haynes realized that he needed to talk with other men about the disease to aid his own treatment process. In doing so, he learned that a lot of guys, himself included, needed a better understanding of the male urologic program.

“When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t talk to anybody. I did not want to involve other people or for them to feel sorry for me,” said Haynes. “The moment I started talking to my doctor and friends, the diagnosis started to be a normal thing. I remember going to Dr. Kane for a ‘man-to-man talk’ on what the prostate actually did.”

The more Haynes engaged others in conversation he learned of men who had multiple family members with prostate cancer.

“The only thing my friends knew is that they had been finding their PSA test done because their dad told them to. As men, we have to do much more. We can learn from the women’s wellness movement,” mentioned Haynes. “The Susan G. Komen Foundation has done such a good job of raising awareness of breast cancer that there’s not a man or woman adult who doesn’t know about the importance of feeling for lumps inside the breast. We have to do something similar to ensure that males know and monitor their PSA score, so that if they catch something early, it is a non-event in their lives.”

Draft Your Offensive Line

Any person who learns of a cancer diagnosis requirements a team to help navigate their treatment process. Gigi, Haynes’ wife, took a proactive role in helping her husband.

“I think it’s a given that wives or partners become involved in the decision process, especially simply because of the potential sexual side effects of treatment. It’s not like we’re talking about tonsils here. There can be complications with a man’s ability to maintain an erection at the same time as issues with continence.”

Gigi described the cancer diagnosis as overwhelming and she responded by taking on a role as an information analyst. In addition to interviewing doctors, Gigi performed extensive net study.

“Maybe I went a little over board. I created a PowerPoint presentation of treatment options and even put an anatomical model of the urologic system inside the kitchen and asked visitors, ‘Do you know the location of the prostate? Do you know what it does?’”

In addition to his wife, Haynes relied on his physician, and other guys to formulate his own treatment plan.

“I started talking to other guys and asked questions about their Gleason score, why they chose a particular therapy, and their investigation findings,” mentioned, Haynes. “Every guy I talked to loved their own method and was an advocate for his particular strategy. I had to look by way of their experiences to develop my own program. The a lot more I talked, the better I felt about my own decisions.”

Source: University of California, San Diego Health Sciences

Healthcare Prof:

3 (two votes)

A PLoS 1 study published Tuesday sheds new light on why men who happen to be circumcised are much less most likely to become infected with HIV, ANI/Times of India reports (1/6).

Pooling data from “three randomized-control trials in sub-Saharan Africa, where the circumcision rate is fairly low as well as the HIV infection rate is relatively high,” the researchers from the Translational Genomics Analysis Institute (TGen) and Johns Hopkins University found “for the first time that circumcision significantly changes the bacterial community of the penis,” according to a TGen press release. The study concluded that the reduction in such bacteria following circumcision ”’may play a role in protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases,’” based on the release.

The results with the study “could lead to new non-surgical HIV preventative strategies for the estimated 70 percent of guys worldwide (much more than 2 billion) who, due to the fact of religious or cultural beliefs, or logistic or financial barriers, are not most likely to become circumcised,” the press release adds (1/5).

“The next step is to really start to refine our understanding of what are the certain bacteria … that are altering and can those bacteria be associated with HIV,” explained co-author Lance Price, director of TGen’s Center for Metagenomics and Human Health, AZCentral.com reports. “A better understanding with the biological basis for why circumcision results in changes to bacteria could lead to ‘alternative strategies’ for disease prevention, Price stated,” the news source writes (Johnson, 1/6).

“This new study is part of a larger effort by the U.S. National Institutes of Health to study and describe the “human microbiome” – the microbes that exist collectively on and within the human body. Other projects are focused on microbiomes involving the skin, nose, mouth, digestive and female genitourinary tract. Jointly, the goal of these projects is to define the various roles of microbes in human health and disease,” based on the TGen press release (1/6).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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