Cataracts linked to prostate cancer treatment

Prostate cancer treatment may be tied to cataracts: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older men who opt for hormone-blocking therapy to treat prostate cancer might be slightly raising their risk of developing cataracts, hints new research.

After accounting for other risk factors for cataracts, they found that men treated with the hormone drugs had, on average, a 9 percent increased risk of developing a cataract compared to those not treated with ADT (androgen deprivation therapy). The risk rose by around 26 percent for the far smaller proportion of men who had their testicles removed.

The increased risk is relatively small but because so many men use ADT, it is estimated that about 5 percent of cataract cases in men with prostate cancer might be blamed on the therapy.

With ADT so commonly used as part of a patient's treatment for prostate cancer, it is important to have a complete understanding of the negative consequences of therapy.

Patients should be monitored carefully while on ADT for new diagnoses of diabetes, and potentially cataract.

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PSA test can be made more accurate with gene markers

Gene markers may make prostate test more accurate: "LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found a way to personalize a common prostate cancer test by looking at genetic variations, which should make it more accurate in predicting a man's risk of developing the disease.

Screening using PSA blood tests is controversial because cancer is missed in some men while others get false positive results.

An Icelandic-led team said they had discovered several DNA variations that affect background blood levels of PSA.

In the future, testing for these gene variations may be able to create much more accurate individual PSA thresholds.

"By using these markers ... we believe we have made the PSA test both more specific and more sensitive," Kari Stefansson said. However, Kate Holmes, research manager at Britain's Prostate Cancer Charity, said more research on a large number of men was needed to investigate the accuracy of the new approach.

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Sperm-Producing Cells May One Day Cure Diabetes

Sperm-Producing Cells Coaxed to Produce Insulin
(HealthDay): "HealthDay - SUNDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have been able to
prod human cells that normally produce sperm to make insulin instead and,
after transplanting them, the cells briefly cured mice with type 1
diabetes."

Once the cells were coaxed into becoming insulin-producing cells, the researchers transplanted them into the mice.

The goal is to coax these cells into making enough insulin to cure diabetes. These cells don't secrete enough insulin to cure diabetes in humans yet.

A benefit of the technique developed by Gallicano and his team is that the cells are coming from the same person they'll be transplanted in, so the body won't see the cells as foreign.

The only side effect of concern, said Gallicano, is a certain type of tumor called a teratoma. But, he said, it appears with these cells it would take significantly more transplanted cells than would likely be needed before such a tumor might potentially be created.

Semen Quality Not Affected by Vitamin D Levels

Low vitamin D not linked to semen quality: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vitamin D deficiency is taking blame for a growing list of health problems. Weak sperm, however, may not be one of them, hints new research.

Researchers were surprised to find that the sperm-filled fluid of men with low blood levels of vitamin D was of no less quality than the semen from men with normal or high vitamin D levels.

Still, a relationship between vitamin D and semen quality can't yet be ruled out. Ramlau-Hansen pointed to some limitations of the study, including the small number of subjects who were actually vitamin-D deficient

Until further studies strengthen and refine the findings, Ramlau-Hansen can only say that more vitamin D "may not be important" for semen quality in men with vitamin levels already in the optimal range.

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Sperm health not affected by most forms of excercise

Most exercise not linked to sperm health: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For most men, exercise appears to have no relationship to either the quality or quantity of sperm, according to U.S. researchers.

But they found one exception: Men who biked for at least five hours per week had fewer and less active sperm than couch potatoes.

Looking specifically at exercise, they found that men who exercised regularly -- even vigorously -- were no more likely to have problems with the quality or quantity of their sperm than men who never exercised.

However, they saw that men who said they spent at least five hours per week biking were twice as likely to have both a low sperm count, and relatively few sperm with healthy movement.

It's possible that trauma or temperature increases in the scrotum may explain the relationship between biking and semen health, "but more research is needed to investigate these mechanisms further."

It's also too early to say that regular biking caused the sperm problems, Wise cautioned. "More studies are needed to replicate our findings before they can be considered causal."

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Wait-and-see OK for some mid-risk prostate cancers

Wait-and-see OK for some mid-risk prostate cancers: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More men with prostate cancer may be able to safely put off treatment in favor of monitoring the disease over time, a study of patients at one U.S. medical center suggests.

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HIV transmission may not be reduced by circumcision

Circumcision may not curb gay HIV transmission: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While circumcision has been shown to lower a man's risk of contracting HIV through heterosexual sex, a new study indicates that the value of circumcision for gay and bisexual men remains questionable.

In a study of more than 1,800 men from the U.S. and Peru, researchers found that overall, the risk of contracting HIV over 18 months did not significantly differ between circumcised and uncircumcised men.

The results "indicate no overall protective benefit from male circumcision" when it comes to male-to-male HIV transmission, write the researchers.

Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend routine circumcision for newborns, citing insufficient evidence of overall health benefits.

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Protein That May Help Control Prostate Cancer Found by Scientists

Scientists Find Protein That May Help Control Prostate
Cancer
(HealthDay): "HealthDay - FRIDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A protein that regulates
prostate stem cell self-renewal and also plays a role in the
transformation of healthy cells into prostate cancer cells has been
identified by U.S. scientists."

The findings could prove important in efforts to one day find ways to control cancer growth and progression.

Testosterone boost does not last

Testosterone boost no lasting help : "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Testosterone gels may offer frail, old men a chance to regain some of their youthful vigor, but the effects fade away as soon as they stop treatment, British researchers report.

Testosterone is not approved for treating frailty, but a handful of studies suggest short-term treatment increases muscle mass, strength and quality of life in older men.

Other work has hinted that treating middle-aged and older men with the hormone might increase their risk of heart disease and prostate problems, however, making short treatments all the more attractive.

But the idea that a brief treatment would provide long-term benefits appears to be wishful thinking.

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FDA Panel Votes Against Drugs Said to Prevent Prostate Cancer (HealthDay)

FDA Panel Votes Against Drugs Said to Prevent Prostate
Cancer
(HealthDay): "HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A U.S. Food and Drug
Administration advisory committee on Wednesday voted against approving
two drugs for the prevention of prostate cancer, the third-highest cancer
killer of men."

The panel voted 17-0, with one abstention, that the risks of Merck's Proscar outweighed its benefits, according to the Associated Press. And in a similar vote, the panel voted 14-2, with two abstentions, against GlaxoSmithKline's Avodart. Both drugs are already approved to treat enlarged prostates.

Watching and waiting may be best for prostate cancer

Watching and waiting may be best option for prostate cancer: "CHICAGO (Reuters) - Because most men have at least one side effect from treatment,  older men with low-risk prostate cancer may be better off getting regular check-ups that rushing to get surgery or radiation, researchers using a computer model suggested on Tuesday.

Active surveillance was associated with the highest benefit in terms of quality adjusted life expectancy (by at least 6 additional months) compared with other treatment options

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Study links finger length to prostate cancer risk

Prostate cancer risk linked to finger length: "LONDON (Reuters) - Men with long index fingers have a lower risk of prostate cancer, British scientists said on Wednesday, a finding that could be used to help select those who need regular screening for the disease.

Men whose index finger is longer than their ring finger were one-third less likely to develop the disease than men with the opposite pattern of finger lengths.

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Issues seen with drugs to curb prostate cancer: FDA

FDA is concerned about new uses of existing prostate drugs: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulatory staff have raised concerns about data for two drugs by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Merck & Co Inc and their effect on reducing the risk of prostate cancer in certain men.

Both drugs are already approved to treat symptoms in men with enlarged prostate

Food and Drug Administration staff, in documents released ahead of a public advisory meeting on Wednesday, said overall, large trials for each of the drugs showed benefits after four years with Avodart and seven years with Merck's drug, Proscar -- mostly in men with certain grades of the cancer.

They noted that "neither trial was adequately designed and conducted to characterize the ultimate outcomes of interest," such as death. "In both trials, there was also an unexpected finding of an increased incidence of high-risk prostate cancers among men receiving" the drugs

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Treating a common testicle problem early may save fertility

Treating testes trouble early may save fertility: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infertility is probably the last thing on teenage boys' minds. However, a new study out of Brazil suggests that early treatment of a common testicular condition could preserve future fatherhood potential for some adolescents.

A varicocele is like a varicose vein in the scrotum which houses the testicles and is estimated to affect 15% of men over 15 years of age. In men diagnosed with primary infertility, however, over 33% of men are found to have a varicocele.

Although varicoceles may not be the sole cause of infertility in all those cases, the close association with infertility and apparent worsening of the effect over time suggest early surgical correction of the flawed veins could have important benefits later on

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Eat more protein, fewer refined carbs to stay slim

Eat more protein, fewer refined carbs to stay slim: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A team of European researchers confirms what many weight-loss gurus have claimed: eating more protein and fewer refined carbohydrates helps to keep the pounds off.

People can definitely try this at home. "Adding a serving of nuts and beans to the diet every day and cutting back on the refined grains will produce at least as much dietary change as they obtained in the study," "If everyone in America could cut back on two servings of refined grains and substitute that with one serving of nuts and one serving of beans, the impact on public health would really be potentially enormous, and that's a change within everyone's reach."

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Once-daily pill helps prevent HIV infection in men

Once-daily pill helps prevent HIV infection in men: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A once-a-day pill combining two Gilead Sciences Inc AIDS drugs reduced the HIV infection rate by nearly 44 percent in high-risk gay and bisexual men, researchers reported on Tuesday.

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