A new study at the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center in North Carolina shows that PSA levels were reduced after starting statin medications and that this decline was proportional to the decline in LDL cholesterol.

The results of this study indicate that cholesterol and PSA are valuable indicators of overall health for men and should continue to be monitored together.

The study was presented at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association.

A study that appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Physiology published by The American Physiological Society, suggests that eating less can significantly increase lifespan instead of a regular exercise regime. Based on mice observation, the scientific team showed that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly could extend the lifespan of rodents.

The team concluded that DNA damage increases with age and is accelerated by obesity but could be slowed by caloric restriction and/or exercise. The study suggested that caloric restriction created beneficial changes in the body’s hormone levels which exercise does not. The researchers concluded that these metabolic changes play a role in extending life.

Physiologists have been trying to unravel the reasons for this, and two major theories have emerged. One theory is that exercise places stress on the body, which can result in damage to the tissues and DNA. Another theory is that caloric restriction leads to physiological changes, which benefit the body.

However, the team leader did warn that the study applied only to rodents, which are different in some key ways from humans. Previous studies using mouse model had shown that exercising did prevent an early death from disease, but does not extend the maximal lifespan.

A recent study found a promising new gene therapy that is likely to raise the hopes and more of those suffering erectile dysfunction (ED). This locally administered gene-transfer technology has been validated by data from participants suffering from ED that failed to respond to any known therapy or treatment.

Researchers called this therapy the Maxi-K therapy and observed dramatic changes after Maxi-K therapy, including increases in the number of partial and full erections and a two-fold increase in erection duration. In some men, the effect lasted up to six months. The gene therapy appears safe as no adverse events were reported more than two years after the transfer in some subjects.

Findings of the study are to be presented at the ongoing 103rd Annual scientific meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA).

A gastric bypass surgery is a procedure that reduces calorie intake by reducing the size of the stomach and bypassing small intestines. The patient feels full faster and learns to reduce the amount of food that he eats.

Researchers from Boston and Philadelphia Universities suggest that this procedure not only helps morbidly obese shed unwanted kilos, but also enables them regain sexual functioning.

These findings are to be presented at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA).

According to the Boston Area Community Health Survey (BACH), people who are obese and lead unhealthy lifestyles are more likely to suffer from a larger number of urinary problems.

Other health issues that increase the risk of multiple lower urinary tract symptoms include diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Women who have had hysterectomies and other gynaecological surgery also face an elevated risk, as do men who have undergone prostate or bladder surgery. People who are older and have a lower social economic status are also more likely to experience complex problems.

The study findings were published in the May issue of the UK-based urology journal BJU International.

France may be the first country in the EU to see signs of a levelling off in the national prevalence of childhood obesity, according to the results of two new surveys.

The research, unveiled at the European Congress on Obesity in Geneva, does not explain why the prevalence may be levelling off, but the change comes after the introduction in 2001 of a National Nutrition and Health Programme that includes a comprehensive package of obesity-fighting public health initiatives.
The prevalence of childhood obesity in France is among the lowest in Europe, but as in other countries, it has been increasing in recent years. Overweight rates have been rising faster in children than in adults for the last three decades in France.

A recent study at University of Rochester Medical Center found that vitamin D protects healthy prostate cells from the damage and injuries that can lead to cancer by inducing a specific gene to increase expression of a key enzyme.

The research team discovered one mechanism involving vitamin D that protects cells from oxidative stress. According to researchers, the findings reflect what they saw in those studies and demonstrate that vitamin D not only can be used as a therapy for prostate cancer, it can prevent prostate cancer from happening. The reported in a previous study that vitamin D can inhibit the spread of prostate cancer by limiting the ability of cancer cells to invade healthy cells by reducing the activity of two specific enzymes, proteases called matrix metalloproteinase and cathepsin.

The International Journal of Cancer published the findings in its June 15 issue.

With recent studies claiming that vitamin D deficiency is leading to chronic health problems such as cancer and heart ailments, Health Canada has decided to review how much of this nutrient is needed every day by an average Canadian who doesn’t get enough of it from sunshine - its most natural source.

Some Canadian health organisations have even claimed that the lack of vitamin D is leading to heart problems, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.

In fact, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Pediatric Society have gone to the extent of prescribing up to ten times bigger doses of vitamin D than the current standard recommended by Health Canada.

Radical prostatectomy is currently the most common treatment in the United States. Men can choose between a minimally invasive procedure (introduced in 2000, which includes both robotic surgery and conventional laparoscopic surgery) or traditional surgery, which, these days, still involves only a small incision.

A recent study found that many prostate patients are getting a newer, minimally invasive surgery, because they think it is better than conventional surgery, even though there is little data on actual differences in outcomes between the two.

Surprisingly, use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy (MIRP), still a new procedure, nearly tripled during the time this study was conducted, from 12.2 percent of procedures in 2003 to 31.4 percent in 2005. This happened despite scant evidence on how MIRP compared with more traditional surgery, the investigators stated.

An Irish study found that high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels not only are bad for your heart, they may also harm your eyesight.

According to background information in the report published in the May issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, the two conditions appear to increase one’s risk for retinal vein occlusion, a condition that leads to vision loss. It results from one or more veins carrying blood from the eye to the heart becoming blocked and causing bleeding or fluid build-up.

This recent report suggests that that people with high blood pressure had more than 3.5 times the risk of developing retinal vein occlusion than those without it. People with high cholesterol levels had an approximately 2.5-fold higher risk of retinal vein occlusion.