Professors Dr. Pedro Vendeira and Dr. Carla Costa were awarded an ESSM Award of Excellence for their study on erectile dysfunction in diabetics at Lisbon, Portugal during the 10th yearly Congress. The title of their study is Bone-marrow Derived-cell Treatment for Diabetes-associated Erectile Dysfunction.
Erectile dysfunction appears earlier due to the peripheral vascular difficulty that changes the normal blood flux to the organ. This impedes the normal erectile capacity. The study’s chief goal is to revascularize the diabetic penile tissue. This is through the use of cellular therapy which is done in diabetic rats. Healthy animal cells are transplanted to the diabetic animal’s penis.
This research was conducted at the University of Oporto’s Faculty of Medicine. The researchers received financial help for this earlier and the ESSM Award came with financial reward as well. This award was formed by the European Study for sexual Medicine to help with the development and research in sexual health.
The inability of a man to maintain an erection is called erectile dysfunction. It was formerly called impotence and considered a psychological issue but has now changed because it is more frequently caused by physical problems. It can be embarrassing to talk about but it is worth the effort to do so.
Nowadays this can be treated through medication or surgery. A heart problem or diabetes and other conditions may cause this so it is good to consider this a serious matter. As for the symptoms indicated of not being able to maintain an erection, this is so if it happens at least 25% of the time. An occasional lapse is normal.
Regarding the causes, male arousal involves hormones, brain, nerves, emotions, blood vessels and muscles so anything amiss in any of these can lead to erectile dysfunction. A chronic health problem or side effects of medication, a combination of things can lead to ED as well.
The risk factors include age, chronic health problem, medications, injuries and surgeries, smoking, obesity. stress, substance abuse, too much bicycling, and metabolic syndrome. Seek help for this condition to rule out other chronic health problems. After tests and diagnosis, there are treatment options available.
The treatment options range from medications to surgery and medical devices. The treatment of choice depends on the gravity and cause of the conditions. See if the treatment cost will be covered by your health insurance. Hope you got to know the things you want about erectile dysfunction.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Best Donor of Islets for Diabetes Treatment
The solution to the scarcity of islets for transplantation is to get the islet cells from living donors. This is according to the new report in Clinical Transplantation's new study. Samples of these cells obtained from living donors showed a 94% viability for transplantation against 42% from the dead donors. Clinical Transplantation is a journal for those who care for people requiring tissue or organ transplant.
The author of the study, Dr. Kwang-Won Kim said that the only known treatment for the diabetics who are dependent on insulin is transplantation of islet cells. The trouble is there is not enough supply from dead donors especially sometimes they need two such donors to obtain adequate cells to treat just one diabetic. Living donors will solve this problem because islet cells weakens right after death.
There is a downside to this because the procedure to obtain islet cells from live donors is not free from risk. There is a chance for the donors themselves to develop diabetes and who wants that? There is therefore a need for more research on this issue in order to make certain the donors will be safe and at the same time meet the demand for islet cells.
Last year UK's Department of Health announced funding from the government for a new type 1 diabetes treatment. It will spend 2.34 million euros the first year and increase this to a maximum of 7.32 million euros as it meets the demand for the service.
Previously, this type of service was offered to twelve patients in England which were funded from charitable organizations but chiefly by Diabetes UK. The new funding from the government will allow around 20 transplants in six centers that will be ready 24/7 to receive pancreas from donors and prepare the islet cells for transplantation. This will further expand to 80 transplants a year.
Won't it be grand if we had this option in the US as well.? I've tried to look around for this so that I can broadcast it from my website to give my readers the option to study and see if this fits their treatment plan. I did the same thing in Canada but the best I could find there was the pioneering islet transplantation in Edmonton, Alberta that paved the way to the current success.
The author of the study, Dr. Kwang-Won Kim said that the only known treatment for the diabetics who are dependent on insulin is transplantation of islet cells. The trouble is there is not enough supply from dead donors especially sometimes they need two such donors to obtain adequate cells to treat just one diabetic. Living donors will solve this problem because islet cells weakens right after death.
There is a downside to this because the procedure to obtain islet cells from live donors is not free from risk. There is a chance for the donors themselves to develop diabetes and who wants that? There is therefore a need for more research on this issue in order to make certain the donors will be safe and at the same time meet the demand for islet cells.
Last year UK's Department of Health announced funding from the government for a new type 1 diabetes treatment. It will spend 2.34 million euros the first year and increase this to a maximum of 7.32 million euros as it meets the demand for the service.
Previously, this type of service was offered to twelve patients in England which were funded from charitable organizations but chiefly by Diabetes UK. The new funding from the government will allow around 20 transplants in six centers that will be ready 24/7 to receive pancreas from donors and prepare the islet cells for transplantation. This will further expand to 80 transplants a year.
Won't it be grand if we had this option in the US as well.? I've tried to look around for this so that I can broadcast it from my website to give my readers the option to study and see if this fits their treatment plan. I did the same thing in Canada but the best I could find there was the pioneering islet transplantation in Edmonton, Alberta that paved the way to the current success.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Diabetes Study on Dog Owners with Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes study has been funded by Diabetes UK to research anecdotal records on the dogs' reaction to the changes of their owners' blood sugar levels. Researchers asked type 1 diabetics who are also dog owners to participate in the study. I am revisiting this because of my interest for the diabetics to get earlier help before the hypoglycemic episode sets in.
The researchers from University of London and Queen's University in Belfast were going to investigate whether the dogs could detect the change in their owners' blood sugar level. They were therefore looking for 100 people to take part in this study.
Dr. Deborah Wells of Queen's University said they knew of anecdotal records that show dogs that were able to notice a drop in their owners' blood sugar level. The next issue of Balance was going to feature Dr. Wells' research. It would be the highlight of that issue. I looked all over the internet but couldn't find it. Maybe you did? Let me know then at this page
where you can join for free to receive alert and tips. There at the bottom of the page, you'll also see a contact form.
Those who wanted to be part of this study would have to fill out a questionnaire by mail or through the internet. Their response to the questionnaire would be confidential. They did not have to submit their names nor any personal matter. Check out the website of the Queen's University Belfast.
I found the results of another study where 138 dog owners reported that their dog showed a behavioral reaction to at least one event of hypoglycemia. Those who reported their dog reaction to the same episode to 11 or more events are in the 31.9% group.
It looked like too that their dog's age, sex, length of ownership and breed did not play a role to the response. Around 36% of owners claim that their dogs reacted when their blood sugar level went low before the owners noticed that they were exhibiting signs of low blood glucose level.
How did these dogs react? Well the responses were varied. Around 49.2% licked them, 61.5% vocalized, 30.4% jumped on them, 40.6$ nuzzled them and 41.3% stared at them intently. There was smaller proportion of dogs responding by hyperventilating, trembling or running away from the owners.
What conclusion can we derive from these reactions? It can be said that the reaction to the hypoglycemic events of the type 1 diabetic owners of these dogs happen to dogs that are not trained. This is important as who knows what kind of reaction will these dogs show after they are trained? Let us see what is the result if not of this but of another diabetes study.
The researchers from University of London and Queen's University in Belfast were going to investigate whether the dogs could detect the change in their owners' blood sugar level. They were therefore looking for 100 people to take part in this study.
Dr. Deborah Wells of Queen's University said they knew of anecdotal records that show dogs that were able to notice a drop in their owners' blood sugar level. The next issue of Balance was going to feature Dr. Wells' research. It would be the highlight of that issue. I looked all over the internet but couldn't find it. Maybe you did? Let me know then at this page
where you can join for free to receive alert and tips. There at the bottom of the page, you'll also see a contact form.
Those who wanted to be part of this study would have to fill out a questionnaire by mail or through the internet. Their response to the questionnaire would be confidential. They did not have to submit their names nor any personal matter. Check out the website of the Queen's University Belfast.
I found the results of another study where 138 dog owners reported that their dog showed a behavioral reaction to at least one event of hypoglycemia. Those who reported their dog reaction to the same episode to 11 or more events are in the 31.9% group.
It looked like too that their dog's age, sex, length of ownership and breed did not play a role to the response. Around 36% of owners claim that their dogs reacted when their blood sugar level went low before the owners noticed that they were exhibiting signs of low blood glucose level.
How did these dogs react? Well the responses were varied. Around 49.2% licked them, 61.5% vocalized, 30.4% jumped on them, 40.6$ nuzzled them and 41.3% stared at them intently. There was smaller proportion of dogs responding by hyperventilating, trembling or running away from the owners.
What conclusion can we derive from these reactions? It can be said that the reaction to the hypoglycemic events of the type 1 diabetic owners of these dogs happen to dogs that are not trained. This is important as who knows what kind of reaction will these dogs show after they are trained? Let us see what is the result if not of this but of another diabetes study.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Insulin Resistance Cause Discovered
This new discovery could pave the way to the development of new treatment to beat type 2 diabetes. Researchers at the UCSD (University of California in San Diego) School of Medicine have discovered the cause of insulin resistance.
They say that inflammation aggravated by the immune cells cause insulin resistance which leads to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity which is the world’s most common metabolic disease. The theory for sometime now is that the inflammation related to obesity leads to insulin resistance.
Now with the use of mouse models, the scientists at UCSD provided evidence that by stopping inflammatory pathway, resistance to insulin and type 2 diabetes can be avoided. I am revisiting this issue hoping that they have been successful at finding treatment based on this discovery.
The lead investigators of this study are Michael Karin, PhD who is pharmacology professor at UCSD and Jerrold Olefsky, who is the Scientific Affairs’ Associate Dean and also a renowned professor of medicine. Their findings are featured in the Cell Metabolism‘s November 7 issue.
Olefsky said that their research demonstrates that insulin resistance can be disconnected from fatty fat increase that is linked to obesity. When immune cells get into fat, they release a substance called cytokines. These cause fat cells to become resistant to insulin which could lead to type 2 diabetes.
The UCSD research team demonstrated that by knocking out the component responsible for making the fat cells resistant to insulin, they were able to interrupt insulin resistance. They also used a control group of mice. Both groups of mice were fed with high fat diet. The control group diet resulted in obesity and inflammation. This in turn caused insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
The other group whose component that led to inflammation was knocked out also became obese. But herein lies the importance of this research. This group did not show insulin resistance at all. This led the scientists to conclude that disarming the inflammatory pathway could break off the surge that leads to insulin resistance and ultimately to type 2 diabetes.
They say that inflammation aggravated by the immune cells cause insulin resistance which leads to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity which is the world’s most common metabolic disease. The theory for sometime now is that the inflammation related to obesity leads to insulin resistance.
Now with the use of mouse models, the scientists at UCSD provided evidence that by stopping inflammatory pathway, resistance to insulin and type 2 diabetes can be avoided. I am revisiting this issue hoping that they have been successful at finding treatment based on this discovery.
The lead investigators of this study are Michael Karin, PhD who is pharmacology professor at UCSD and Jerrold Olefsky, who is the Scientific Affairs’ Associate Dean and also a renowned professor of medicine. Their findings are featured in the Cell Metabolism‘s November 7 issue.
Olefsky said that their research demonstrates that insulin resistance can be disconnected from fatty fat increase that is linked to obesity. When immune cells get into fat, they release a substance called cytokines. These cause fat cells to become resistant to insulin which could lead to type 2 diabetes.
The UCSD research team demonstrated that by knocking out the component responsible for making the fat cells resistant to insulin, they were able to interrupt insulin resistance. They also used a control group of mice. Both groups of mice were fed with high fat diet. The control group diet resulted in obesity and inflammation. This in turn caused insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
The other group whose component that led to inflammation was knocked out also became obese. But herein lies the importance of this research. This group did not show insulin resistance at all. This led the scientists to conclude that disarming the inflammatory pathway could break off the surge that leads to insulin resistance and ultimately to type 2 diabetes.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Double Use of Diabetes Drugs
Diabetes drugs have been in use but between 2002 and 2005, girls in the range of 10 and 14 years old showed a 166% increase in the use of type 2 diabetes medications. They say the reason is obesity which is linked to type 2 diabetes. This was reported at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.
The reporters were the researchers from the School of Medicine of Saint Louis University and pharmacy manager Express Scripts. They also examined patterns for cholesterol, asthma, blood pressure and depression medications.
Emily R. Cox, PhD, the senior director of Express Scripts said that in the four years they studied there was an increase use of medication. Males between 15 and 19 years old increased their blood pressure medication by 15.4% while the females of the same age group decreased their use of antihypertensives by 1.6%.
It was different though for the same females with regards to taking an anti-depressant because this increased by 6.8%. All in all, the patterns show the changing prescribing actions by physicians, the rising risk factors for chronic conditions like prescribing type 2 anti diabetics, antihyperlipidemics, more office visits and therefore screening rates especially for females. The trend is for the greater use of drugs as the preferred way to treat children with these chronic conditions.
Newer research work has shown the increase in medications prescribed for children that were usually given to adults who suffer from chronic conditions. And now more and more children are given the same medicines to treat cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
This should wake all of us up into getting into the habit of eating healthy. The children are so used to eating pastries and donuts that there is really no other way but to get fat. And where did they learn this from? Of course, they learned that from us. It is our job therefore to reverse that habit and learn to choose healthier fare among the diabetes-food-list.
The researchers said this may be due the improved awareness of these conditions being present in children including the increased risk of the factors related to heart problems due to the epidemic of obesity. It looks like that about 20% of adolescents and children are obese or overweight.
The reporters were the researchers from the School of Medicine of Saint Louis University and pharmacy manager Express Scripts. They also examined patterns for cholesterol, asthma, blood pressure and depression medications.
Emily R. Cox, PhD, the senior director of Express Scripts said that in the four years they studied there was an increase use of medication. Males between 15 and 19 years old increased their blood pressure medication by 15.4% while the females of the same age group decreased their use of antihypertensives by 1.6%.
It was different though for the same females with regards to taking an anti-depressant because this increased by 6.8%. All in all, the patterns show the changing prescribing actions by physicians, the rising risk factors for chronic conditions like prescribing type 2 anti diabetics, antihyperlipidemics, more office visits and therefore screening rates especially for females. The trend is for the greater use of drugs as the preferred way to treat children with these chronic conditions.
Newer research work has shown the increase in medications prescribed for children that were usually given to adults who suffer from chronic conditions. And now more and more children are given the same medicines to treat cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
This should wake all of us up into getting into the habit of eating healthy. The children are so used to eating pastries and donuts that there is really no other way but to get fat. And where did they learn this from? Of course, they learned that from us. It is our job therefore to reverse that habit and learn to choose healthier fare among the diabetes-food-list.
The researchers said this may be due the improved awareness of these conditions being present in children including the increased risk of the factors related to heart problems due to the epidemic of obesity. It looks like that about 20% of adolescents and children are obese or overweight.
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