Sexual Health
Soy-based foods may lower sperm count: study
Eating a half serving a day of soy-based foods could be enough to significantly lower a man’s sperm count, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
The study is the largest in humans to look at the relationship between semen quality and a plant form of the female sex hormone estrogen known as phytoestrogen, which is plentiful in soy-rich foods.
“What we found was men that consume the highest amounts of soy foods in this study had a lower sperm concentration compared to those who did not consume soy foods,” said Dr. Jorge Chavarro of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, whose study appears in the journal Human Reproduction.
Mate or hibernate? That’s the question worm pheromones answer
If worms could talk, they might tell potential suitors, “I like the way you wriggle,” complete with that telltale come slither look. But worms send their valentines via signals known as pheromones, a complex chemical code researchers are now cracking, according to a study published Wednesday (July 23) in the journal Nature.
Scientists from the University of Florida, Cornell University, the California Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have discovered the first mating pheromone in one of science’s most well-studied research subjects, the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans. But perhaps even more interesting is what the newly discovered pheromone also directs worms to do — hibernate.
At lower levels, the pheromone signals the male C. elegans to mate with its partner. But when the worm population grows and the food supply dwindles, the chemical signal increases and the cue changes from mate to hibernate. This discovery could help researchers find ways to combat more harmful worms that destroy crops and provide clues for scientists studying similar parasite worms, said Arthur Edison, Ph.D., a UF associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the College of Medicine and one of the study’s senior authors.
Study Links Herpes with Widespread Neuropathic Pain
Reactivation of genital herpes is linked in some cases with the emergence of widespread neuropathic pain, according to a Finnish study reported in The Journal of Pain.
In the clinic at the University of Helsinki, 17 patients were examined who presented widespread chronic pain with no visible lesions in brain magnetic imaging. Because the majority had herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections, the researchers studied a possible association between herpes and neuropathic pain.
They hypothesized that in HSV-positive patients, the active virus may alter pain processing at different levels of the central nervous system (CNS).
As Viagra Controversy Heats Up on Campaign Trail, Real Issue May be Sexual Inequality Says Expert
Republican Sen. John McCain resisted being dragged into a discussion last week about insurance companies that will cover erectile dysfunction drugs but not birth control products.
“I certainly do not want to discuss that issue,” the presidential candidate said when a reporter asked him about it on his campaign bus, the “Straight Talk Express.” Carly Fiorina, a top McCain supporter, stirred talk about the topic at a recent Washington breakfast with reporters. The former Hewlett-Packard chief executive discussing consumer-driven health insurance, mentioned something “I’ve been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice.”
“The underlying problem here really may be that there is no female equivalent of Viagra, so women may be using birth control as the closest comparison, “ says Stephen M. Simes, CEO of BioSante Pharmaceuticals. “It is shocking to some that 10 years after Viagra’s introduction, there is currently no FDA approved product to treat women who suffer from low sex drive, which may affect as many as 30-40% of American women. This is the real inequality that should be addressed. Women also would like and are entitled to a choice just like men have had for 10 years.”
New study points to agriculture in frog sexual abnormalities
A farm irrigation canal would seem a healthier place for toads than a ditch by a supermarket parking lot.
But University of Florida scientists have found the opposite is true. In a study with wide implications for a longstanding debate over whether agricultural chemicals pose a threat to amphibians, UF zoologists have found that toads in suburban areas are less likely to suffer from reproductive system abnormalities than toads near farms – where some had both testes and ovaries.
“As you increase agriculture,” said Lou Guillette, a distinguished professor of zoology, “you have an increasing number of abnormalities.”
Tap water chemicals not linked to penis defect
Though some research has linked chemicals in chlorinated tap water to the risk of birth defects, a new study finds no strong evidence that the chemicals contribute to a common birth defect of the penis.
The defect, known as hypospadias, occurs when the urinary outlet develops on the underside of the penis rather than at the tip. Genetics are thought to play a large role in hypospadias risk, but the other potential causes are not fully understood.
Some past studies have suggested that certain chemicals in tap water—byproducts of the chlorination process used to kill disease-causing pathogens—may contribute to the risk of birth defects and miscarriage. Other studies, though, have found no such links.
Many may ‘trust’ their partner is a low STD risk
Too many people may consider themselves at low risk of sexually transmitted diseases simply because they trust their partner, a new study suggests.
The study of patients at an STD clinic found that many people relied on subjective measures in judging their partner’s “safety”—such as how long they had known the partner or how intelligent or well-educated he or she was.
The findings suggest that when people feel they “just know” their partner, they may consider their STD risk to be low even in the absence of any STD/HIV testing, the researchers report in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
Promoting sexual and reproductive rights
Elsevier announced today Reproductive Health Matters’ May 2008 issue on the theme of “Conflict and Crisis Settings: Promoting Sexual and Reproductive rights”. Under conditions of global economic and ecological crisis as well as rampant militarism, growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) find themselves stripped of ordinary rights or even ‘the right to have rights’. By the end of 2006, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that nearly 33 million people worldwide qualified for humanitarian assistance – representing an increase of 56% from 2005. The great majority of these were IDPs who do not qualify for the rights and benefits conferred by refugee status.
Disaster has a strongly gendered dimension related to sexual and reproductive health. Camps and shelters which are intended to provide refuge often become places of violence and dehumanisation, especially for women and girls. This issue of Reproductive Health Matters attests to the great distance that remains between the official recognition of the sexual and reproductive rights of IDPs and refugees and their safeguarding on the ground.
The long-term duration of armed conflict in many countries means that IDPs and refugees may find themselves displaced for years or even decades. Conditions of unequal power, dependency, crowding, sub-standard housing and lack of privacy make rape and abuse a constant threat.
Int’l. Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) Details New Definition of Premature Ejaculation
Dr. Ira Sharlip, President of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) detailed a new definition of premature ejaculation. He addressed the audience of the American Urological Association during the ‘late breaking science forum’, a session designed by AUA to premier newsworthy developments in clinical urology.
The ISSM convened a panel of world experts who met in Amsterdam in the fall of 2007. Each of the 21 members of the panel was selected through a peer review process for their expertise in ejaculatory physiology, pharmacology and dysfunction. The panelists were tasked with creating a new definition of premature ejaculation (PE) based on currently available clinical evidence. Definitions of PE have previously been based on group consensus and not meeting new standards for evidence-based medicine. These definitions of PE include the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, 2002) and the AUA definition of (2005).
PE affects 20-30% of men. Although less commonly reported than erectile dysfunction, PE may co-exist in a third of men complaining of ED. (Lauman EO, JAMA 1999;281:537-544.) The etiology of PE is multifactorial with both biologic and psychologic factors.
Low Testosterone May Cause Health Problems that Lead to Erectile Dysfunction
Men with erectile dysfunction should be examined for testosterone deficiency and the metabolic syndrome, because these conditions commonly occur together, a new study shows. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
“Erectile dysfunction is a portal into men’s health,” said the study’s senior author, Aksam Yassin, MD, PhD, of the Clinic for Urology and Andrology of the Segeberger Clinics in Norderstedt, Germany. “It is becoming clear that obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and erectile difficulties are intertwined, and a common denominator is testosterone deficiency.”
Yassin’s research, performed with scientists from The Netherlands, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, aimed to determine in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) the prevalence of hypogonadism, the scientific term for testosterone deficiency.
Overweight Does Not Decrease Sperm Production
Overweight men are not more likely to be infertile, as past research has shown to be true in obese women, according to a new study. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Findings of the study, performed in New York in nearly 300 very overweight men, were unexpected, said coauthor Nanette Santoro, MD, an Albert Einstein College of Medicine obstetrician-gynecologist who is trained in reproductive endocrinology.
“We see pretty significant deficits in fertility in women due to obesity, so we thought we’d see an effect in men,” Santoro said. “But that wasn’t the case.”
Study: Premature ejaculation defined
Experts from 10 countries, including Australia, the United States, Germany and Egypt, say they have defined life-long premature ejaculation.
Co-author Dr. Chris G McMahon of the University of Sydney says they developed the first-ever evidence-based definition of lifelong premature ejaculation in the hope it will aid future diagnosis, treatment and research.
The definition was developed after lengthy critical evaluation of the evidence presented in more than 100 studies on the sexual problem published over the last 65 years. It was unanimously agreed by the experts that the definition of lifelong premature ejaculation should be a combination of three key factors:
Most teens don’t choose oral sex over intercourse
Many U.S. teenagers have had oral sex, but usually not as a “substitute” for intercourse, a new study suggests.
Using data from a 2002 national survey, researchers found that just over half of 15- to 19-year-olds said they had ever had oral sex. But it was much more common among teens who had already had intercourse than among virgins.
The findings counter the common idea that many teens use oral sex as a stand-in for intercourse, according to the researchers.
Legislation needed to provide coverage for ED treatment after prostatectomy
Men who have developed erectile dysfunction (ED) following surgery for prostate cancer usually do not have insurance coverage for ED treatment even though their insurance policies cover surgery for prostate cancer, according to an analysis presented today at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association. In contrast, federal law requires that insurance companies which cover mastectomy for breast cancer treatment also cover breast reconstruction.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common side effect of radical prostatectomy, though not always permanent, and almost all men experience some degree of ED following this surgery. The impact of ED on self-esteem and body image to prostate cancer patients can be as detrimental as the loss of a breast can be to a woman. However, the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act, passed by Congress in 1998, requires that third-party payers who cover mastectomy for breast cancer also cover the costs of breast reconstruction.
“There is compelling evidence that ED treatment leads to improved quality of life for the man and his partner,” said Ira D. Sharlip, M.D., a spokesman for the AUA. Therefore, as in the case of breast reconstruction for women, the cost of ED treatment should most certainly be covered for men.”
Female sex offenders often have mental problems
Women who commit sexual offences are just as likely to have mental problems or drug addictions as other violent female criminals. This according to the largest study ever conducted of women convicted of sexual offences in Sweden.
Between 1988 and 2000, 93 women and 8,500 men were convicted of sexual offences in Sweden. Given that previous research has focused on male perpetrators, knowledge of the factors specific to female sex offenders has been scant.
A group of researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now looked into incidences of mental illness and drug abuse in these 93 convicted women, and compared them with over 20,000 randomly selected women in the normal population and with the 13,000-plus women who were convicted of non-sexual crimes over the same period.
