It is theorized that compounds called phytoesterols, found in saw palmetto, might prevent prostate enlargement. Experts believe that prostate swelling may be caused by a rise in dihydrotestosterone (DHT) — a testosterone derivative involved in prostate growth — over a male’s lifespan, especially during middle age. Scientists are unclear as to what causes the hormone to rise with time. However, escalating estrogen within the body has been correlated with, but has not been proven to be, directly promoting BPH. Like a basketball player blocking a shot from going into a basket, phytoesterols in saw palmetto might block natural estrogen from binding to receptors in the body.

 Physician-scientists are studying now an herbal supplement that might aid in reducing the symptoms of an enlarged prostate in men. Recent figures show that benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) occurs in an estimated 50 percent of men over the age of 50 and in 75 percent of men 80 and older.

A daily dose of an investigational drug, known as MK-677, which stimulates growth hormone secretion in the body can boost muscle mass in older adults, report researchers at the University of Virginia Health System.

Published in the November 4, 2008 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the study showed that levels of growth hormone (GH) and of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF- I) in seniors who took MK-677 increased to those found in healthy young adults.

The drug restored 20 percent of muscle mass loss associated with normal aging.

The search for anti-frailty medications has become increasingly important because the average American is expected to live into his or her 80s, and most seniors want to stay strong enough to remain independent as they age.

Approximately 21 million Americans - 9.5 percent of adults 18 and older - either visited or called a doctor for a prescription to reduce arthritis pain in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis. It is usually associated with aging and most often causes pain and stiffness in the fingers, knees, and hips. A less common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis, occurring when the body’s own defense system doesn’t work properly, causing pain in the joints and bones. Rheumatoid arthritis may also affect internal organs and systems.

AHRQ’s data found that in 2005:

Some 9.5 million adults sought treatment, but women did it more often than men - 12 percent vs.7 percent.

More whites sought treatment for arthritis (10.5 percent), followed closely by blacks (just under 10 percent), compared to Hispanics (6 percent), and Asians (4 percent).

A study appearing November 5 in the journal Cell Metabolism demonstrates that a synthetic new chemical entity protects against diet-induced obesity, improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and enhances exercise endurance by enhancing fat utilization in certain target tissues.

Reducing calorie consumption by about 20%, the new chemical has been shown to slow down the aging process, improve endurance and protect against diet-induced obesity and metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

A year ago, researchers demonstrated that these metabolic benefits can also occur with large doses of resveratrol, a substance naturally occurring in red wine. Researchers hypothesized that these beneficial effects result from activation of SIRT1, an enzyme that is involved in regulating certain key cellular processes, notably the efficiency and number of mitochondria - the energy powerhouses of our cells.

Because dietary management and exercise rarely succeed by themselves in curbing obesity and associated metabolic disorders, interest has increased in using the SIRT1 pathway as a target for possible pharmacological intervention.

The new chemical entity was developed by Sirtris, a a GSK company, and the research study was led by EPFL professor Johan Auwerx, MD.

In children and adolescents with high-risk conditions, flu can lead to severe illness, hospitalization and even death. By conswequence, influenza vaccination has been recommended for adolescents with high-risk conditions for well over a decade.

A newest study finds few American adolescents with asthma and other high-risk illnesses are getting flu shots.

Researchers analyzed vaccination rates from 1992 to 2002 for 18,703 adolescents with asthma, cardiac disease, immune system disorders and other conditions.

During the study period, vaccination rates improved, but only from 8 percent to 15 percent. From 1999 to 2002, only 11 percent of the patients received vaccinations during all four seasons, and more than 56 percent received no flu shots during those four years.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is  one of the most common mental disorders that develop in children. It occurs twice as commonly in boys as in girls.

Recent research published in the November 4, 2008 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that ADHD affects the motor skills of boys more than girls.

This study found that the motor skills of typically developing children steadily improved with age, but boys with ADHD continued to show motor skills deficits through adolescence. The motor skills of girls with ADHD improved at a rate more similar to their typically developing peers

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study indicates that not only do human hands harbor far higher numbers of bacteria species than previously believed, women have a significantly greater diversity of microbes on their palms than men.

The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise, and so was the greater diversity of bacteria we found on the hands of women. The study also showed that the diversity of bacteria on individual hands was not significantly affected by regular hand washing.

Researcher speculated that that skin pH may play a role in the higher bacterial diversity on women’s hands, since men generally have more acidic skin, and other research has shown microbes are less diverse in more acidic environments. The findings also could be due to differences in sweat and oil gland production between men and women, the frequency of moisturizer or cosmetics applications, skin thickness or hormone production.

In the online edition of Psycho-Oncology, a group of American investigators reported on the link between personality and prostate cancer (CaP) decision-making and satisfaction. This intriguing paper evaluated the optimist’s ability to engage more fully and effectively in coping with or meeting an important challenges and how optimism may also positively impact CaP decision-making outcomes.

The group hypothesized that patients with greater optimism in CaP decision-making would be more satisfied and experience less difficulty with the process and that these effects would be partially mediated by their self-efficacy for making treatment decisions. In the research, they controlled for covariates to include the importance of treatment side effects, demographic characteristics and levels of agreement between preferred and perceived levels of decisional control.

CANCER patients will be allowed to buy drugs privately without giving up their right to free NHS care, the government is poised to announce tomorrow.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson is expected to bow to patient power by ripping up rules that forbid payments for “top-up” drugs not available on the health service.

Currently, patients who opt to pay for drugs privately are told they must pay for all subsequent NHS services, such as blood tests and scans.

Recently, Department of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA estimated the risk of secondary bladder cancer and rectal cancer after prostate radiotherapy using a contemporary population based cohort.

The relative risk of bladder cancer developing after external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy-brachytherapy compared to radical prostatectomy was 1.88, 1.52 and 1.85, respectively.

The standardized incidence ratio for rectal cancer developing after radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy-brachytherapy was 0.91, 0.99, 0.68 and 0.86, respectively.

The analysis concluded that men who receive radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer have an increased risk of bladder cancer compared to patients undergoing radical prostatectomy and compared to the general population. The risk of rectal cancer is increased in patients who receive external beam radiotherapy compared to radical prostatectomy. Patients should be counseled appropriately regarding these risks.