Researchers from the University of Edinburgh Centre for Reproductive Health have suggested taking testosterone supplements may help older obese men in cutting their excess weight.

In a study, hormone-deficient men were given testosterone supplements in a similar way to HRT for older women.

An article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) states that screening younger men and men at risk of prostate cancer can be beneficial in reducing metastatic cancer and deaths and should not be abandoned.

The study authors write that the decision to screen or not to screen should be individual as screening is not appropriate for every man. For elderly men with several medical issues, screening may be more harmful than beneficial, but for younger, healthy men, screening can reduce death from prostate cancer. Healthy younger men also are at lower risk of complications from biopsies and treatments compared with older men.

A recent study at the UCL Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, looked at how genes on sex-linked chromosomes are passed down generations and linked to fertility, using the specific example of the W chromosome in female chickens.
The results confirm that although these chromosomes have shrunk over millions of years, and have lost many of their original genes, those that remain are extremely important in predicting fertility and are, therefore, unlikely to become extinct.
Acording to researchers, Y chromosomes are here to stay, and are not the genetic wasteland that they were once thought to be. W chromosomes in female chickens are entirely analogous to Y chromosomes in men in that they are sex-limited and do not re-combine when males and females reproduce, as the other regions of the genome do. Recombination allows chromosomes to break up linked genes, which makes selection more effective and helps get rid of faulty mutations. Some scientists think that Y and W chromosomes are doomed because of this lack of recombination.

A new study at the University of Chicago department of cancer research says an over-the-counter natural remedy derived from beehives slows down the growth of prostate cancer cells and tumours in mice

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, or CAPE, is a compound isolated from honeybee hive propolis, the resin used by bees to patch up holes in hives. Propolis has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for conditions ranging from sore throats and allergies to burns and cancer.

But the compound has not gained acceptance in the clinic due to scientific questions about its effect on cells, the journal Cancer Prevention Research reports.

New research suggests that breast cancer in men is much less common than it is in women, but it may be more deadly.

Study has found survival rates for men with breast cancer, overall, are lower than those for women, at least when it is diagnosed in the early stages. Men with breast cancer don’t do as well as women with breast cancer, they were less likely to get the standard treatments that women get. However, there are opportunities to improve that

A study at the University of Edinburgh’s Endocrinology Unit, suggests low levels of testosterone in men could increase their risk of developing diabetes.

Testosterone is present throughout the body. Low testosterone levels are linked to obesity, a known risk factor for diabetes. Scientists have found that low testosterone levels are linked to a resistance to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels.

According to a new study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, young men who play volleyball, basketball or other load-bearing sports for four hours a week or more increase bone mass and might gain protection from developing osteoporosis later in life.

Researchers concluded sports that involve jumping or fast starts and stops and increase the load put on the body’s bones seemed most associated with the enhanced protection for men. They also found that basketball and volleyball seemed the best kinds of activities for building bone mass, followed by soccer and tennis. Such load-bearing sports seem to push the body to form new bone tissue. Activities that do not put an increased load on the bones, like swimming and bicycling did not seem associated with the building of bigger bones or more bone mass, even though they offer other health benefits.

A Wesley Hospital urologist has developed in collaboration with international prostate cancer expert from the Netherlands a new imaging technology that will reduce the number of men needing painful and invasive biopsies by two-thirds.
Currently, tests for prostate cancer involve a blood test to screen for the chemical PSA. Men who have high PSA levels may be required to undergo biopsies where 12 needles are inserted into the prostate to locate the cancer.
The advanced screening technology is said to detect prostate cancer with an accuracy rate of 90 per cent.

New hopes of a cure for baldness have been sparked after Japanese researchers claimed to have successfully grown hair on hairless mice.
The creatures eventually grew hair, which continued regenerating in normal growth cycles after old hairs fell out. When stem cells are grown into tissues or organs, they usually need to be extracted from embryos. However, professor Takashi Tsuji, who led the team, found hair follicles can be grown with adult stem cells.

It is now hoped that people could possibly use their own cells for implants that will give them their hair back.

According to a recent review operations to treat prostate cancer are little more effective in saving lives than ‘watchful waiting’.

This will have be particularly difficult news because the surgery leads to impotence in half of all men and incontinence in one in ten.

The only rational response to these results, when presented with a patient with prostate cancer, is to do?nothing. In fact, the practice of watchful waiting, or active surveillance, as it is known, doesn’t mean just doing nothing.

Patients should be aware that regular surveillance scans can detect any spread of cancer cells so they can be treated, and even fully removed. Scanning technology is also indispensable in diagnosing musculo-skeletal disorders and spinal cord injuries, as well as stroke, heart defects and brain tumours.