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Men’s Health News
Heart attacks kill more than 100,000 people annually in the UK and cost the NHS more than ?3billion every year.
Scientists know that heredity plays an important role in causing heart attacks. However the exact genetic mechanisms that transmit the risk of heart attacks from generation to generation still elude them.
A research project at the University of Leicester employs state-of-the-art molecular technology to map genetic patterns in healthy young men with a strong family history of heart attacks.
Blood samples were collected from two groups of healthy young men - those with and without a history of heart attacks in the family. Proteins were then added to the blood samples to simulate the changes that occur within blood vessels at the time of a heart attack.
This activated cells known as monocytes, which have a central role in the build up of cholesterol and subsequent narrowing of blood vessels which lead on to heart attacks. The group tested whether such activation would reveal genetically inherited mechanisms in monocytes that increase the risk of heart attacks.
The cell nucleus is the control centre containing genes which instruct protein building units within cells. Genetic information is released from the nucleus in packages called messenger RNA (mRNA). Such messengers were intercepted within monocytes and the messages which regulate monocyte function were ‘read’. This allowed the team to focus on ’spelling errors’ in the genes which may contribute to heart attacks.
Postgraduate researcher Unni Krishnan, who is working on the project, commented: "Identification of genetic variations which increase the risk of heart attacks is an important strategy in tackling this major health-economic burden. Further research into specific molecular mechanisms and functional pathways may help us to find new ways to reduce the risk of heart attacks and improve treatment strategies."
Unni Krishnan is a specialist trainee in cardiology who is currently pursuing a higher degree (MD) focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic risk of myocardial infarction. He is employed on a project grant from the EU (Bloodomics) which investigates the role of platelets and monocytes in coronary artery disease.
kaufen cialis soft Ohne Rezept The research is being presented to the public at the University of Leicester on Thursday 26th June. The Festival of Postgraduate Research introduces employers and the public to the next generation of innovators and cutting-edge researchers, and gives postgraduate researchers the opportunity to explain the real world implications of their research to a wide ranging audience.
More information about the Festival of Postgraduate Research is available at: www.le.ac.uk/gradschool/festival

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Men’s Health News
Normal developmental changes during the teenage years leave young adult men at higher risk of heart disease than their female counterparts, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
"Women’s protective advantage against heart disease starts young," said Antoinette Moran, M.D., lead author of the study and professor and division chief of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.
In adults, a constellation of factors increases the risk of heart disease. They include high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, abnormal cholesterol levels and insulin resistance (a pre-diabetic condition in which the body can’t use insulin effectively).
To track the emergence of these risk factors, researchers followed 507 Minneapolis school children from ages 11 to 19, when they had all reached sexual maturity. Fifty-seven percent of the children were male, 80 percent were white and 20 percent were black.
During the study, the researchers made 996 observations on the group, noting blood pressure, insulin sensitivity (opposite to insulin resistance), body mass index and other body composition measures, blood glucose and cholesterol measurements.
"We wanted to see which risks emerge first and how they relate to one another in normal, healthy school kids without diabetes or other major illnesses," Moran said.
At age 11, boys and girls were similar in their body composition, lipid levels and blood pressure, researchers said.
Boys and girls became heavier during adolescence, increasing in body mass index and waist size. As expected during puberty, changes in body composition differed sharply between genders, with percentage of body fat decreasing in boys and increasing in girls.
During the study, changes in several cardiovascular risk factors or risk markers differed significantly between boys and girls:
Triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood) increased in males and decreased in females.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol decreased in males and increased in females.
Systolic blood pressure (the first number in the blood pressure reading, measuring the pressure when the heart contracts) increased in both, but significantly more in the males.
Insulin resistance, which had been lower in the boys at age 11, steadily increased until the young men at age 19 were more insulin resistant than the women.
Buy generic clomid Researchers found no gender difference in two other cardiovascular risk factors, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol.
"By age 19, the boys were at greater cardiovascular risk," Moran said. "This is particularly surprising because we usually think of body fat as associated with cardiovascular risk, and the increasing risk in boys happened at the time in normal development when they were gaining muscle mass and losing fat."
Although girls gained cardiovascular protection when their proportion of body fat was increasing, excess fat is still a cause for concern.
"Obesity trumps all of the other factors and erases any gender-protective effect," Moran said. "Obese boys and girls and men and women all have higher cardiovascular risk."
The researchers said further studies are needed to better understand the development of cardiovascular protection during adolescence.
"That the protection associated with female gender starts young is fascinating and something that we don’t understand very well," Moran said. "That this protection emerges during puberty and disappears after menopause suggests that sex hormones give women a protective advantage. There’s still a lot that needs to be sorted out in future studies - estrogen may be protective or testosterone may be harmful."
Moran noted that this is normal physiology and not something that is influenced by lifestyle factors.

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A new survey shows that only ten per cent of men in their early to mid 40s know they may experience erection problems in the next decade, even though evidence suggests that the problem affects 40 per cent of men over the age of 40.
Most men surveyed were unaware that erectile dysfunction (ED) may be a warning sign that they could have a serious underlying condition, such as diabetes or heart disease. Surprisingly, three times as many survey respondents in their 40s rated hair loss ahead of losing their erections as a major health concern.
A common problem
ED or impotence (the inability to achieve or maintain an erection for sexual intercourse) is one of the most common sexual problems experienced by men. Over half of all men with diabetes may experience it and the problem usually increases with age. Although it is perfectly normal, ED can trigger anxiety and, in turn, make matters worse.
The good news is that ED is a widely recognised problem and many people understand what you are going through. In fact, there is much more help available now than in the past.
New campaign to highlight ED
The survey was commissioned by Lilly UK as part of a new awareness campaign called 40over40. The campaign highlights that ED is common in early middle age as well as in older men, and informs men about the potential dangers of ignoring ED at any age. Kaufen viagra soft pillen mastercard It also tells men they can be optimistic about finding a solution - as 95 per cent of men with ED are now treated successfully. 40over40 encourages men to take a ‘4t Action Plan’: talk, test, treat, today.
See the related links to our Sex and Diabetes section and to the 40over40 website.
Diabetes UK
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Men’s Health News
Among patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, the addition of hormone therapy following vaccine treatment improved overall survival compared with either treatment alone or when the vaccine followed hormone treatment, according to recent data published in the July 15 Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Philip M. Arlen, M.D., director of the Clinical Research Group for the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, at the National Cancer Institute, said the findings have important implications for guiding treatment decisions for prostate cancer patients.
"Vaccines, if and when they are approved, can be safely and effectively combined with other therapies, including hormones," said Arlen. "There appears to be an advantage in overall survival."
Arlen and colleagues enrolled 42 patients who had castration-resistant prostate cancer. These patients were randomly assigned to receive either a poxvirus-based prostate-specific antigen vaccine or hormone therapy with nilutamide. At progression, patients received the other therapy and continued to receive their original therapy.
For all the patients enrolled in the study, the three-year survival probability was 71 percent and the median overall survival was 4.4 years. Patients randomized to the vaccine had a three-year survival probability of 81 percent and an overall survival of 5.1 years, while patients taking nilutamide had a three-year survival probability of 62 percent and an overall survival of 3.4 years.
Of the 42 patients in the study, 12 patients who were originally assigned to vaccine switched to nilutamide plus vaccine and eight patients who were originally assigned to nilutamide switched to vaccine plus hormone, due to rising levels of prostate-specific antigen with no evidence of metastasis. generishe levitra online kaufen mastercard For patients who received vaccine and then nilutamide, the three-year survival probability was 100 percent with a median overall survival of 6.2 years. For patients who switched to the vaccine after hormone, the three-year survival probability was 75 percent with a median overall survival of 3.7 years.
Arlen said the hormone therapy in combination with the vaccine works in two ways.
"By using hormone therapy in prostate cancer you can help enhance your T-cell response to where the cancer is in the prostate gland, and you are also more likely to achieve a better immune response," said Arlen.
Building on the results of this phase II study, researchers have developed another generation of this vaccine by adding molecules which boost T-cell responses.
Based on the current pace of vaccine research overall, Arlen predicts that men with prostate cancer could potentially see an effective, new treatment vaccine within the next several years.
"Phase II trials such as this one are adding to our knowledge, and other phase III trials are getting ready to publish their data," said Arlen. "If the phase II data hold up in phase III trials, we could see a new treatment vaccine within a few years."

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Men’s Health News
Men who take up cycling in an effort to stay fit, do their bit for the environment or avoid spiralling motoring costs, could be harming their health if they don’t choose the right bicycle.
That’s the stark warning from consultant urological surgeon Mr Vinod Nargund from St Bartholomew’s and Homerton Hospitals, London, in the urology journal BJU International.
He says that the problems to look out for include genital numbness, erection problems and soreness and skin irritations in the groin area.
Men who cycle a lot can also experience changes to their sperm function, because of the excessive heat generated in the pelvic area. No general link between cycling and male infertility has been established, but it is still recognised as a possible side effect and has been noted in a number of male cyclists.
Regular cyclists also run a higher risk of testicular damage and impaired testicular function.
Mountain bikers run a particular risk, says Mr Nargund, as studies have shown that they exhibit higher levels of scrotal abnormalities than on-road cyclists.
"The bicycle saddle is in direct contact with the perineum and its underlying structures" he explains. "It makes contact just behind the scrotum where the nerves and blood vessels enter the back of the scrotum and penis.
"This area is sensitive, with hair follicles and sweat and sebaceous glands, which are all good breeding grounds for infection.
"Abrasions, chafing, damaged hair follicles and bruising are among the most traumatic cycling injuries. Sweating in this area can also cause soreness and skin problems."
He points out that more than 60 per cent of male cyclists who have taken part in research studies have reported genital numbness.
"Numbness is common because the pressure of the saddle can impair the blood supply to this area and put pressure on the nerves in the penis" says Mr Nargund. "This can also affect the man’s ability to get an erection.
"There is a greater incidence of numbness and erectile problems in men who cycle regularly and over longer training distances. That is why it is important to rest intermittently during prolonged and vigorous cycling."
Generic levitra pills no prescription Choosing the right bike is essential, stresses Mr Nargund.
"The male cyclist should know his bicycle well and a proper fit is particularly important for high-performance cycling" he says.
"The level of pedal resistance is also very important, because riding a bike using too much resistance is a major cause of health problems in the groin area.
"Cyclists can also help to ease saddle-related injuries or skin irritations by adjusting the saddle height and fore and aft position.
"Padding in the saddle and shorts are also important if cyclists want to avoid saddle-related problems."
Mr Nargund’s comment piece has been published online on the BJU International website in advance of its hard copy publication later this year.

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