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Lubricants
May Suppress Fertility
Surprising results
from a prospective controlled study of vaginal lubricants were presented
at a meeting of the American Society For Reproductive Medicine and
the Canadian Fertility And Andrology Society in Montreal.
Four products, FemGlide, Replens, Astroglide and Pre-Seed have been
routinely recommended to couples that are trying to get pregnant.
Dr.Ashok Agarwal and colleagues from the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland,
Ohio took a closer look at the effects of the four products and
their influence on donor sperm. It turned out, that FemGlide, Replens
and Astroglide all reduced the sperm motility and integrity. When
mixed in vitro (in a test tube) quality and movement of the sperm
showed a sharp decline. Activity in untreated sperm amounted to
66%. A presence of only 10% Astroglide led to a rock bottom 2% mobility.
The other product, Pre-Seed, did not slow the sperm down.
A second test measured DNA damage in sperm that had been exposed
to lubricant solution for four hours. Again, only Pre-Seed had the
lowest impact. It showed 7% more chromatin damage than untreated
sperm. KY had 10% more damage and FemGlide showed 15% of damaged
sperm.
The researchers caution that problem lubricants are likely to cause
additional hurdles for couples struggling with infertility, as chances
for fertilization decrease with certain lubricants.
Parkhurst
Exchange, page 31,Vol.14, Nr.1 January 2006
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Chronic
Pain A Cancer Risk
Chronic pain
can be an undermining force in people's well being. Often it is
more perceived as a nuisance or an inconvenience. How serious it
really is as a health risk, has been emerging only in more recent
observations.
Two well designed, population based studies in the UK are showing
that there is an increased risk in people with chronic pain to die
prematurely or to develop cancer.
In a study by J. Mc Farlane, MD individuals with chronic back pain
or patients suffering of fibromyalgia show an increased risk for
premature death and cancer. Often pain sufferers have not only one
pain condition but also multiple ones. Mc Farlane quoted an excess
risk of 30% for premature mortality in pain patients. At the same
time he states that the risk is " relatively modest".
Another study noted that patients who suffered of widespread pain
over a 10-year period had a 50% increased risk of developing cancer
than those who were pain free at the baseline. Statistically it
means that 2.5% of patients with widespread pain over a time of
10 years will develop cancer, which remains a small percentage.
The author notes that there is no reason to feel overly threatened
by these results. More research will tell more. For the practical
application the results point to the need for effective treatment
and pain control before chronic pain patterns become detrimental
to patients' health.
The Back Letter, December 2005,Vol.20, Nr.12, page 139
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Macular
Degeneration Risk Less With Vitamins
Age related
macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the more frequent reasons for
loss of vision in the ageing population. The disease is also the
most prevalent reason for blindness in developed countries.
A group of researchers from the Netherlands made it their mandate
to investigate, in which proportion antioxidants were useful in
the prevention of AMD. Supplementation with vitamins C D and E was
used and also beta-carotene and zinc. The observations were made
using questionnaires from the Rotterdam Study (1990-1993.
The group on
which the research concentrated consisted of inhabitants 55 years
of age or older living in a middle class suburb of Rotterdam. Of
5836 at the baseline with a risk of AMD 4765 had reliable data of
their dietary habits. At the end of the study 4170 participated
in the follow up.
Dietary intake of vitamin E and zinc was inversely associated with
the development of AMD: the group with an intake of vitamin E and
zinc had less macular degeneration than those whose diet was deficient.
A higher than median intake of all the four nutrients, vitamin E,
zinc, vitamin C and beta-carotene showed even more benefit. The
risk to develop macular degeneration was reduced by an impressive
31 %.
These results are of importance to the ageing population and the
elderly. A high dietary intake of the four nutrients is important
in the risk reduction of age related eye diseases like AMD.
JAMA. 2005;
294:3101-3107; Vol. 294, No. 24, December 28, 2005
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Herpes
Medication Successful In Mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis
is a common infectious disease that affects teenagers and young
adults. The nickname "Kissing Disease" sounds rather funny,
but getting sick with mononucleosis- and the affected persons may
not have been kissed at all! - is no fun. The virus can leave the
patient unwell and lethargic for several weeks. Missing study hours
or being unable to work can be a bad set back.
There is no
vaccination against the Epstein-Barr virus, which is the culprit
in mononucleosis, and as it is the case with viral illnesses, antibiotics
are of no use. The approach so far has been the treatment of symptoms:
take over-the counter medicine to bring down a high temperature,
drink fluids, use an over-the counter remedy to help against a sore
throat and rest. In time mononucleosis would resolve.
Dr. Henry Balfour, who is a herpes specialist at the University
of Minnesota, investigated the antiviral drug acylovir (Valtrex)
as an intervention for documented Epstein-Barr infections. Students
who presented with symptoms of Mononucleosis within 7 days of onset
were receiving 3g of valacylovir per day for 2 weeks. Samples of
saliva showed a two-fold decrease of the virus load in 8 out of
10patients. Only one student who had been untreated showed the same
result. This effect points to the possibility of reducing or eliminating
oral virus transmission by administering Valtrex. The other effect
was a decrease in the severity of the illness. The group on medication
got better faster. Dr. Balfour pointed out that the current study
does have some limitations, due to the small number of participants.
He hopes to study the effect of another antiviral agent, valganciclovir
(Valcyte) that has a longer intracellular half-life and for this
reason should be even more effective.
The Medical
Post, page 1, 61, January 10, 2006
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Using
Cell Phone Not Causing
Brain Cancer
Of all the common
brain tumors in adults, gliomas are the most common cancers. The
prognosis for patients who are diagnosed with this type of brain
cancer is extremely poor. Researchers are still attempting to pinpoint
the reasons why these tumors are starting to grow, as they have
a very distinct formation of cells and seem to be different from
other brain tumors.
In the recent past, a lot of attention has been focused on the aspect
of mobile telephones and a possible risk of gliomas and other brain
tumors associated with their use. The energy of the radio frequency
fields emitted by cell phones is thought to be insufficient to cause
DNA damage to brain cells that lead to the formation of cancer cells.
Epidemiologists have done studies on users of mobile telephones
and have not generally reported an increased brain cancer risk in
overall or long-term use. Individual studies have found positive
associations between high-grade astrocytoma (glioma) and phone use,
brain tumor and phone use in rural areas and use of analogue mobile
phones.
A large population based case-control study of 966 patients with
glioma in the United Kingdom was designed to investigate cell phone
use and the risk of brain tumors. It was part of the Interphone
project, which is an international collaboration of 13 countries
that concerns itself with the risks of cell phone use and tumors.
The south east of England as well as four areas to the north and
southern Scotland was the area studied with a total catchment, which
amounts to 48.3% if the UK population of 28.4 million. Cases with
intercranial tumors were ascertained from various sources, hospital
departments (neurology and others) as well as cancer registries.
The study was introduced as one to examine risks factors for brain
cancers without stressing cell phone use. During the interview those
who were mobile phone users were asked detailed questions on cell
phone use, which included the recording of all makes and models
of phone. Regular phone use was defined as a period of at least
six months in the time frame of more than a year before the patient
had been diagnosed with glioma.
When all the data had been evaluated, there was no association of
risk with lifetime years of use, cumulative use or cumulative hours.
There was also no association with cell phone use in urban or rural
areas and high or low-grade gliomas. The use of analogue phones
was also scrutinized and there were no significant odds ratios with
any exposure.
This study has nearly twice as many cases as the previously largest
study on glioma patients and the use of mobile phones. In addition
it has a large amount of comprehensive and relevant collection data.
The results are also consistent with findings from investigations
of mobile phone use in the US, Denmark and Sweden. Overall there
are no substantially raised risks of of glioma in the 10 years after
first mobile phone use. Only future studies will be able to address
longer latency periods.
Brit. Med.
Journal (doi: 10.1136/bmj.38720.687975.55; published January 20,
2006)
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