Mens Health

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10 facts about men’s hair had not been known

There are legends about almost everything around us and sex to how to care for hair. And why not? Your hair is one of the first things I noticed people around you. Poetry was and still the man’s identity since the days of Samson. While taking some of the men and led by a hair as normal, others believe that wealth is not matched by the wealth and thus preserving and Firefly to his own way. This was more talk about ways to hair care, and how to prevent hair from precipitation, and how to protect the felt of gray hair, dandruff and baldness, and so fears.

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30% of infertility cases due to a defect in the husband

After months of marriage the eyes begin to search for changes in the wife’s body in search of pregnancy. It happens as if it is necessary to take a wife as long as the marriage had been, it is necessary to begin the process of reproduction.

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97.5% of men Can’t Drive Safely While Using Cell Phones

Braking Time Slowed, Memory Waned When Drivers Used Cell Phones; Only a Small Percentage of ’Supertaskers’ Were Successful.

By Bill Hendrick WebMD Health

Driving while talking on a cell phone is extremely hazardous for most people, and only a tiny fraction of “supertaskers” can do both simultaneously without any ill effect, a new study says.

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"Small Percentage of ’Supertaskers’ Were Successful. By Bill Hendrick WebMD Health Driving while talking on a cell phone is extremely hazardous for most people, and only a tiny fraction of “supertaskers” can do both simultaneously without any ill effect, a new study says."
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Another reason for baldness

There could be a lack of iron in the body which is responsible for baldness?

This question was faced by the researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, and surprisingly, the answer was yes. The researchers reviewed scientific articles related researches have been done long the past 40 years.

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Breast cancer threatens men

Recent medical reports indicate that men with links to closely related family women with breast cancer have periodic tests to verify the safety of health Urged a recent medical reports of men with links to closely related family women with breast cancer to conduct periodic checks to verify the safety of health after tests showed that the male may carry the genes of this type of cancer that may affect Otdaihm, or other areas, such as the prostate, pancreas and skin.

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Does the man have the ability and courage?

Should the man have to wait until he reachs the age of fifty to discover that he has a problem in the prostate?

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"Should the man have to wait until he reachs the age of fifty to discover that he has a problem in the prostate? What if the man knew that the chance of suffering"
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Folic acid for men, soon

Friday 22 January 2010, by Health

Men who ate a lot of vitamin traditionally recommended for pregnant women can reduce their chances of having abnormal sperm, according to the researchers.

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For men only

Fitness and propriety dream of most men who are seeking to achieve the simplest and easiest way to win the hearts of women and attract more attention and drew Onzarhn.

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Genetic defect behind the reluctance of men to marry

Men often hesitate before marriage, due to financial circumstances or because it did not find his partner, but it is no longer the case, the

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laptop usage on lap effect’s the fertility in men

It is well known and recognized that an increase in medical testicular temperature may affect the energy

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Marriage protects men from prostate cancer

New scientific research conducted by a group of American scientists and published in the Bulletin of the American Medical to increase the number of times intercourse protects men from prostate cancer Aalisabp.

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Men are entering the menopause in their thirties

Scientists said they have discovered evidence of a biological clock for men and women just like this time begin to turn with the arrival in the mid-thirties.

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Men are the least use of soap in the bathroom

According to a group of British scientists, "people who wash their hands after using the toilet, they often do so out of their sense of shame or because they feel that someone is watching."

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Psychiatric treatment to remove inhibitors and sexual delinquency of ejaculation and menopause

Young people in the third decade of life patients with chronic diabetes complain of any lack of access during ejaculation orgasm, which caused the inability to fertilization and urged him to the clutches of despair and hopelessness. Treated with several drugs to no avail and advised to undergo aspiration of sperm from the testicles and fertilized eggs for the pregnancy which was rejected and insisted

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"Young people in the third decade of life patients with chronic diabetes complain of any lack of access during ejaculation orgasm, which caused the inability to fertilization and urged him to the clutches of despair and hopelessness. Treated with several drugs to no avail and advised to undergo aspiration of sperm from the testicles and fertilized eggs for the pregnancy which was rejected and insisted"
- Psychiatric treatment to remove inhibitors and sexual delinquency of ejaculation and menopause - Eslob Health Articles, Medical Articles (نظرة على ويكي Google الجانبي)

Report: the need to intensify male circumcision to ward off HIV infection

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Sexual stimulants prove effective in improving urinary symptoms caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia

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The absence of non-obstructive sperm in the semen

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The Increment of producing milk hormone loses the sexual desire with men

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Varicocele may cause total loss of sperm or a severe shortage in the number

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Warnings from the medical use of amphetamine recreational sex

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Weight Loss more than 5 kilograms correlate with lower incidence of prostate cancer, severe slag

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What scares men from having sex?

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Why i have libel pent?

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Get some sleep: Light – or lack of it – is key

 

By the time Nancy arrived at the sleep center, she had been struggling for years to get a good night’s sleep.  Her problems began when she was laid off work, but even when she was back on a regular work schedule, she could not keep a normal sleep/wake rhythm.  It turns out that because she had trouble getting to sleep, she got in the habit of getting some work done on her laptop in bed and then she usually watches television or reads until it gets so late that she turns off the lights and tries to force herself to get to sleep.  Often she gets so frustrated she just gets up and makes herself a snack or does the laundry.

So what is typical in this story? I think that many aspects of Nancy’s story will ring true for anyone who has suffered from insomnia. One key feature stands out:  You cannot make yourself sleep and you should not try. The harder you “work” at trying to sleep, the more elusive those sweet dreams become. What you can do is try to relax.

Now, everyone knows that sleep specialists recommend removing the TV and computer from the bedroom because these things stimulate the mind and keep people from sleeping.  But we give this advice not only because it will help relax their minds but because it will also help relax their brains.  When you are watching TV at night or using the computer or walking around your house with all the lights on, you are stimulating that part of the brain that controls your sleep/wake cycle.

Light is the single strongest cue that tells your brain it is time to get up and feed the chickens — not what you want at 2 in the morning.  Because people don’t know what a powerful stimulant light is, then they don’t realize that most of the things they do late at night when they can’t sleep, like watching TV, using the computer, or reading with a bright light, all these things just keep them up later because light turns on the brain.

Think about the way insomnia suffers usually describe their problem:  “It’s just like someone flips the light switch in my brain and I am up all night.”  Metaphorically speaking, this is very close to the truth.  But the good news is, you might be able to turn off that internal light switch, if you turn off the external ones.
I recommend that people try to create a buffer zone between their hectic, daily lives and their sleep time. I encourage insomnia patients to try to set aside one to two hours before bedtime to do something calming to the mind and spirit, but also to the brain.  Listening to a Brahms lullaby might calm your mind but if you have every light on in the room, you are not calming your brain.  So turn the lights low and listen to soothing music or perhaps an audio book.  Just be sure that it is not so suspenseful that you stay awake to find out whodunit.   I tell my patients to listen to a book they know and love, perhaps one from childhood, because then they know what happens,  but also it might have a comforting effect if they associate it with happy times from the past. . . maybe a time when sleep came easy.

For people who suffer from insomnia, it is essential that they understand the powerful role that light could be playing in perpetuating their problem.   But for many people, it is often hard to carve out an hour or two  of relaxing time spent in dim light.  What I do in that case is recommend that they use special glasses that block blue spectrum light, because research has shown that light in that wavelength (450-490 nanometers) is the most potent stimulator of neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness.

Because insomnia is such a tough topic, I’ll be tackling it often as I blog about sleep for CNNHealth.  My goal is to explain some of the biggest issues with sleep and offer advice that’ll help you get better rest. Come back and see us on Mondays on The Chart.

Lisa Shives, M.D., is the founder of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Illinois. She’ll blog on Mondays on The Chart. Read more from her at Dr. Lisa Shives’ Sleep Better Blog.

Post by: Lisa Shives M.D. - sleep expert Filed under: Lisa Shives M.D. - sleep expert • Sleep

Get Some Sleep: When shift work disrupts your rest



An estimated 20 percent of the American workforce does some type of shift work. This doesn’t have to mean working the graveyard shift.  It can mean any work done between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Most sleep doctors agree that working at night, from a biologic point of view, is not natural for human beings.  We have evolved to be active in the daytime and to sleep at night.  In fact nearly every cell in our body has a circadian rhythm, meaning that biological processes have a 24-hour cycle.   And this is how we lived for thousands of years, until the invention of the lightbulb, which has allowed us to separate our activities from the rhythm of the sun, but at our own peril.

Some people can shift their sleep-wake schedule fairly easily. Others have a very hard time sleeping in the daytime and are very tired when they need to be awake.  Such people suffer from "shift work disorder," which is classified as a circadian rhythm disorder by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders-II.  Although we have good estimates for the number of shift workers, we don’t have good data yet on how many actually suffer from shift work disorder

More and more research is showing the consequences of shift work.  It has been linked to work-related and traffic accidents, to psychiatric and GI illness and even to heart disease and cancer.  In fact, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (a subcommittee of the World Health Organization) published a statement in 2007 that classified shift work as a “probable carcinogen.”

So how could shift work be linked to heart disease? Experimental studies have shown that when people sleep in the day instead of at night, they tend to have higher blood pressures during sleep.  They also reverse their normal cortisol rhythm, the ebb and flow of the body’s natural stress hormone. They have a decrease in leptin, which is the hormone that helps make you feel full. They also have increased levels of glucose and insulin to such an extent that in a matter of days, normal people can develop pre-diabetes just by staying up at night and sleeping in the day.

Cancer is thought to be linked to shift work because of the suppression of melatonin, which is normally at its highest during the biological night.  If you’re working under bright lights at night, you produce less melatonin. Melatonin, a naturally occurring “darkness hormone” secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, is a potent antioxidant, and secreting less could explain the connection between night work and cancer.

One really interesting question that’s still being studied is: If you’re a “night owl,” are you somehow protected from the apparent health consequences of night work?  In other words, if it seems “natural” to you to stay up late, then maybe you are not at the same risk as people who work against their own biology. We don't have good answers yet.

For the millions of you who do shift work, here are some tips to help minimize insomnia and fatigue.

First, remember that light is the most powerful stimulant that tells your brain it is time to be awake and alert.  So it is good to have bright light during the night while you are working, but when you are driving home in the morning, we recommend that people wear dark sunglasses with a hat or visor in order to prepare themselves for sleep when they get home. If the dark sunglasses don’t work, then I recommend glasses that filter the blue wavelength.  (I use the ones made by Lite Book for my patients).  But if you’re falling asleep driving home, then that is a different story and requires a different approach, and you should discuss the situation immediately with your physician.

It is important to make your daytime sleep environment mimic a nighttime one as much as possible.  Blackout shades are a good idea. Shut off the telephone. Disconnect the doorbell.  Family members must be encouraged to protect the sleep time of their loved one who is a shift worker.  An additional approach is to use melatonin.

Studies have shown that melatonin can be a useful sleep aid to people trying to sleep in the daytime.  In fact, it is much more successful at inducing sleep when taken in the daytime when your levels are naturally low.  It should be taken when you are already home because it will likely start having an effect in about 30 minutes.

The other big piece of advice if you’re working the graveyard shift is to try to not completely shift your sleep/wake time when you have days off.  Try to have a bedtime that is in between your nightshift bed time and the time that a day worker would go to bed. That way, you have sleep/wake times on days off that allow you to socialize or take care of your affairs, but you will still have a late bedtime so that when you go back to work, you can make the transition more easily.

Most people will be helped by these behavior changes, but some will still suffer from insomnia or excessive sleepiness, that is they will have shift work disorder that has not responded to lifestyle changes.  For these people, there is a medication, normally used for narcolepsy, now FDA-approved for use in shift work disorder:  armodafinil (Nuvigil).   Night work might not be natural, but it looks like it is here to stay and so I will try to keep my readers up to date on the latest developments in research on shift work disorder and its health consequences.

Lisa Shives, M.D., is the founder of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Illinois. She’ll blog on Tuesdays on The Chart. Read more from her at Dr. Lisa Shives’ Sleep Better Blog.

Post by: Lisa Shives M.D. - sleep expert Filed under: Lisa Shives M.D. - sleep expert • Sleep

Parents, do you know what these texts mean?

(CNN) -- Do you know what this means: %*@:-( ?

Or this: ~~#ZZZZZZ ?

If the answers are no, you're not a teenager who uses alcohol or drugs.

'Boy am I old'

Six years ago, Ryan Jones didn't know what the above terms meant either -- but that was before he became an expert in the shorthand teens use to communicate about their illicit activities.

It all began in 2004, when Jones, a software engineer, received some odd instant messages at work, using terms such as "idk" and "lyk." It was all Greek to Jones.

Jones, a computer programmer in Allen Park, Michigan, quickly realized the messages weren't from his boss -- they were from his boss' children who were hanging out at the office with their father for the day. As a joke, they'd gone into their dad's AOL account and sent silly, innocent instant messages to everyone in the office, and none of the adults could understand the shortcuts and slang.

He later learned "idk" means "I don't know" and "lyk" means "like."

"It was a real 'boy am I old' moment," Jones remembers. "But then it occurred to me the slang was actually really creative and saved time and keystrokes. I was talking to some of the other programmers, and we thought it would be a cool idea to start a website that had translations of the slang that kids use."

Jones created noslang.com in 2005, and as more readers have submitted terms related to drugs and sex, what started out as a fun little lexicon of innocuous shortcuts has become a valuable educational tool for parents to learn about what their children are up to.

Hate letters from teens

Children across the country are heading back to school, and new research from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America shows that a third of parents are concerned computers and texting make it harder to communicate with media-engrossed teens about sex, drugs, alcohol and other risky behaviors. This is a particular concern for many parents, especially considering another new report, from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, finds 5.7 million public school students attend gang and drug-infected schools.

Jones has now made it his mission to help parents detect when their children are discussing dangerous activities online.

In his online dictionary, there are thousands of slang terms related to drugs and sex (there are 88 drug shortcuts beginning with the letter "a" alone). "A- boot," for example, means someone is under the influence of drugs, "cu46" means "see you for sex," and "gnoc" means "get naked on cam," meaning a webcam.

"Whether you're a parent, teacher, law enforcement officer or simply a concerned friend -- it's important to stay up to date on the latest drug-related slang terms," Jones writes on the website.

You won't find every drug- and sex-related term on Jones' website. While readers have submitted thousands of examples of slang, he refuses to include ones that are just too disgusting.

"You should see the things I reject on a daily basis," he says. "Some of this stuff is pretty vulgar."

After they read through his dictionary, parents appreciate the education, Jones says. "Parents write me thank you notes all the time, and I occasionally get hate letters from teens," he says.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden agrees that parents need to wise up to what their kids are saying to each other online. His office has made more than 100 presentations about understanding teen online communications.

'A huge disconnect'

"There's a huge disconnect between parents and kids," says Wasden, who makes presentations to parents and teens about how to communicate safely online. "For parents, there is a mystique about technology, but texting is the standard way [teens] communicate with one another."

To demystify electronic communications among teens, Wasden suggests keeping an eye on your child's texts and online communications, whether it's via instant messages or Facebook.

You'll be in good company if you do. According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, 64 percent of parents look at the contents of their child's cell phone.

This may seem overbearing, but remember: Looking at what your child says online could keep your child out of a dangerous situation.

"I'm the parent," Wasden says. "If I have to choose between having my child upset with me or having them be victimized, I'm going to chose for them to be upset with me every time."

Of course, it doesn't help to read what they write if you can't understand it.

"There's a broad range of terms that even vigilantly monitoring parents may not recognize," says Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "Kids are developing their own language and don't want anyone to know what it is."

If you see terms that are unfamiliar to you, go to one of several translators and dictionaries that help parents decipher the terms that teens use in chat rooms, text messages and instant messaging boards.

You can find teen lingo translators from the state of Idaho, noslang.com, teenchatdecoder.com, netsmartz411.org and 1337Talk.com.

Groups such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Parents. The Anti-Drug, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Office of National Drug Control Policy have lists of street terms and slang, including those specific to drug or sexual activity.

Once you get the hang of the language, you can try your hand at translating a real message found by Susan Shankle and Barbara Melton, co-authors of the book "What in the World Are Your Kids Doing Online?"

The message reads:

"1 w45 50 j4ck3d up |457 n16h7. 1 5c0r3d 50m3 cr4ck 47 7h3 p4r7y 50 1'd h4v3 17 f0r 70n16h7 4nd 70m0rr0w, 4nd 7h3n J1mmy 700k 0ff w17h 17, 7h3 455h0|3! 1 4m 4|| j1773ry 4nd n33d 70 m337 up w17h y0u 70n16h7 4f73r my p4r3n75 7h1nk 1 4m 45|33p. c4n y0u m337 m3 47 b0j4n6|3'5 47 m1dn16h7 ju57 f0r 4 f3w m1nu735? 1 ju57 n33d 4 |177|3 4nd 1 c4n p4y y0u b4ck 0n m0nd4y, 1 pr0m153."

Translation:

"I was so jacked up last night. I scored some crack at the party so I'd have it for tonight and tomorrow, and then Jimmy took off with it, the [expletive]! I am all jittery and need to meet up with you tonight after my parents think i am asleep. Can you meet me at Bojangle's at midnight just for a few minutes? I just need a little and I can pay you back on Monday, I promise."

CNN's Sabriya Rice contributed to this report.

A lesson from Mom: Don't be a good patient

 

Elizabeth Cohen's mother, Sheila Schwartz, taught her that it's not always important to be a "good" patient.

Elizabeth Cohen shows you four powerful lessons that could save your life and the lives of those you love. Don't miss "Empowered Patient," 7 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday on CNN. Watch more about Elizabeth Cohen's "Empowered Patient" book.

(CNN) -- My mother, Sheila Schwartz, is a firecracker. As a lawyer, social worker, wife, mother of four and grandmother of 11, she's always on the go -- working, caring, loving life. About 10 years ago, when my mother was around 60, something suddenly changed. She began feeling tired, achy and dizzy, and her blood pressure was slightly high even though she was on blood pressure medication. Her internist tinkered with the dosage, but the blood pressure wouldn't budge.

The internist then told my mother her blood pressure would go down if she just stopped working so hard.

"He told me the high blood pressure and the other problems came from being so busy," she remembered. " 'Slow down,' he said, 'and you'll be OK.' "

This response sounded strange to me. My mother certainly worked hard -- and had done so happily -- but she'd worked hard her entire adult life, and until then she'd been just fine. Why all of a sudden would her long days cause her to feel ill?

My mother's condition continued to deteriorate. While vacationing in another city, she felt especially weak and went to a local doctor. He told her he thought she might have a problem with her adrenal glands, and when she returned home, she checked in with a nephrologist, who ran some tests. He found out she had an adrenal abnormality, which was wearing out her kidneys.

If my mom's internist had ordered a blood test, he most likely would have caught the problem, and it could have been treated easily with a simple surgical procedure. Since the problem was allowed to fester, she ended up needing a kidney transplant, which she received last year.

There are two lessons learned from my mother's experience. One, when a doctor tells you to just relax to get rid of real, physical symptoms, it's probably time to find a new doctor.

Second, it doesn't pay to be a "good" patient. My mother grew up in a time when doctors were authority figures not to be questioned and to be trusted 100 percent.

"That's what I was brought up to do," she said. "I was an empowered mother. I was an empowered social worker. I was an empowered student. I was not an empowered patient."

In this case, as in many others, it pays to be a "bad" patient. If my mother had pushed her doctor, asking him to re-think his diagnosis, she probably would have annoyed him, but it would have been worth it.

Click here for a quiz to tell you whether you're a "good" patient, and remember these three golden rules of being a "bad" patient.

1. Ask lots of questions. If you don't understand something, ask for clarification, and if you still don't understand, ask again. The doctor or nurse might be visibly annoyed, but that shouldn't stop you. Remember, your health depends on your ability to comprehend what the doctor is telling you.

2. Don't worry whether your doctor likes you. If you hesitate to do anything that might upset the doctor, such as asking lots of questions, you're putting your health in jeopardy. While it's a natural inclination to want to be liked, your health comes first and your popularity second.

3. Remember that this is a business transaction. You're paying the doctor for a service; you're not in a popularity contest. Of course, you're respectful of the doctor, just as you're respectful to a waitress or your car mechanic, but you don't owe it to your doctor to be the perfect patient.

The new sex issue and why more men are faking it

When it comes to men and their members, we all know that what goes up must, eventually, come down. But what about when a guy’s erection goes up and stays up? At first blush, it sounds like bedroom benefit. But delayed ejaculation (DE) is a real problem. This umbrella term describes:

• taking longer than usual to reach orgasm
• only being able to get there via masturbation
• not being able to peak at all

And it’s an issue that I'm seeing increasingly.

In the past DE was relatively rare compared with other "mechanical malfunctions" such as erectile disorder (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE), a subject I recently wrote about for this blog. Today, however, new factors are contributing to DE’s increased prevalence:

• First and foremost is the fact that millions of men of all ages are now taking SSRI-based antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, which not only have the side effect of delaying orgasm, but, in many cases, eliminate it altogether.
• The rapid proliferation of Internet porn also plays a role. Easy access to porn has made over-masturbation by men more common, which can lead to an increased latency period (the time it takes to reach orgasm) during real sex.
• With so many varieties of porn at their fingertips, men who masturbate regularly to it often become habituated to a steady flow of sexual novelty and intense visual stimulation, making it harder for them to reach peak levels of sexual arousal with their real-world partners.  Call it Sexual Attention Deficit Disorder, a topic I’ve written about for "Good in Bed" and which addresses why too much masturbation to porn can mess with a guy’s sex skills.
• When a guy masturbates, he's often applying significantly higher levels of pressure and friction than during real intercourse, so he may get used to a different kind of physical feeling. It’s called developing an “idiosyncratic masturbatory style.” There are now a lot of guys who can  get past the point of no return only via oral sex or manual stimulation (usually their own).

In addition to physical factors, psychological problems can contribute to DE. These can include not wanting to get a woman pregnant, bottled-up anger, and control issues. Lately, I've seen an increase in DE among men who are freaked out about the economy. They may get physiologically aroused, but they’re mentally disconnected and can’t focus enough to get to the point of orgasm.

But you might not be able to tell any of that from his bedroom performance. That’s right, ladies, guys fake it too! It's actually pretty easy when he's using a condom—“I just tense my body and moan a lot” says one former patient—and even if he’s going “ungloved,” he still might claim he had an orgasm and ejaculated (“It just wasn’t a lot”). Although there are no clear stats on the number of men faking it, as the factors that cause DE rise, the incidences of faking rise, too.

Here are tips for dealing with DE:

• During sex, focus more on foreplay—especially the mental stuff. Sexual arousal is the product of both friction and fantasy, and the guy who suffers from DE often needs a spark of novelty to get him over the edge.  Everything helps: sharing a fantasy, creating more anticipation during the day, etc.
• Try switching to a position that might provide more novelty and more friction.
• If you think too much porn could be crimping your sex-style, it may be time to take a break from porn and focus on real sex. Taking a masturbation break may help address the porn-induced “idiosyncratic masturbatory style" I mentioned earlier. Or he can try masturbating with his non-dominant hand, which will generally provide less friction and pressure.
• Communicate. In my experience as a sex counselor, talking about DE with a partner is not as hard as talking about erectile disorder or premature ejaculation, because guys with DE are able to get erect as well as last longer (two sources of male pride). If you’re with a guy who suffers from DE, get the conversation going by saying something like,  “Hey, so I feel like you’re a little disconnected during sex, or that you’re not enjoying being with me as much as you could. Is there anything I can do? Is there something on your mind?” When he asks you what you mean, you can say, “Well, I’ve noticed it takes you longer to reach orgasm or that you can only get there in certain ways.”

By understanding delayed ejaculation and being aware of the factors that might cause it, couples can get on the same page, strengthen their relationship and get back to enjoying an intimate sexual connection.

Ian Kerner is a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author. Read more from him at his website,GoodInBed.

Post by: Ian Kerner Ph.D. - sex counselor Filed under: Ian Kerner Ph.D. - sex counselor • Sex • Uncategorized



Men and sex: Survival of the quickest

Even though it’s often the butt of many jokes, premature ejaculation (PE) is no laughing matter. It’s the most common type of sexual dysfunction a man can have, with many  experts estimating that up to 30 percent of men have PE. In my new book Overcoming Premature Ejaculation, I use the latest research to distinguish myth from reality and offer a new approach for managing a condition that has left many men, myself included, feeling like a sexual cripple.

There’s been a lot of disagreement and discussion in the medical community about how we should define PE. But the latest, most widely accepted definition—from the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM)— says that PE is a male sexual dysfunction characterized by:

• ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration;
• inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations;
• and negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy.

To say that it’s tough to talk about PE is an understatement. Most guys don’t want to admit that they’ve got any kind of sexual problem, especially one as sensitive as ejaculating too soon. It doesn’t help that stereotypes about PE tend to label it as a problem limited to  teenagers (just take a look at movies like "American Pie" or "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") or selfish jerks (Lorena Bobbitt famously claimed, after cutting off her husband’s penis, “He always has an orgasm and doesn’t wait for me”).

The truth is that PE can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much experience you have, or how much you know about sex. What was once believed to be an anxiety disorder is now thought to include not just psychological factors but biological origins as well. Most guys with PE have chronic PE—they’ve never known any other way.

Do you suffer from chronic PE?

1.      Are you unable to control how long you last during sex?

2.      Do you climax within a minute or less of starting intercourse?

3.      Have you tried various methods to deal with PE, only to have your hopes dashed?

4.      Are you dissatisfied with your sex life?

5.      Do you often worry about pleasing your partner?

6.      Does even foreplay often lead to “end of play?”

7.      Do you avoid intimate situations because they could lead to premature ejaculation—so why even bother?

8.      Has PE damaged your relationships with women?

If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, you could have chronic PE. And you’re not alone.

Although the stereotype of PE tends to be a  teenager who can’t control himself, nothing could be further from the truth. Because lifelong PE is chronic, it’s a problem in young and old men alike. It’s true that your ejaculatory control does get a little better with age, but that’s because your body is getting older, not because your PE is improving. In fact many older men with PE face the double whammy of erectile dysfunction.

Researchers now believe there well may be a genetic basis for chronic PE, not unlike congenital heart problems and other conditions present at birth. Studies of twins show an increased risk of PE in families, and one Dutch study found that men with PE were likely to have at least one first-degree relative (such as a father or brother) with PE, too. This tells us it’s possible that PE is has a genetic basis and that your risk for it may be inherited, just as your risk for heart disease and some types of cancer.

In my book Overcoming Premature Ejaculation the  program I recommend is biopsychosocial, or combination therapy, which combines behavioral, medical, and interpersonal approaches. That means there are:

1.      Behavioral techniques - things you can do during sex. For years sex therapists have been advising men that PE can be cured with two techniques that focus on arousal-awareness and postponing climax.  But  in fact, those techniques have limited efficacy. If anything, they often interrupt sex. Instead, I suggest a unique series of sexual positions that allow men to maintain sexual interaction without the interruption of more commonly recommended techniques.

2.      Medical therapies - medications such as SSRIs that  help to delay ejaculation and other medical approaches that are on the near horizon. While pharmaceutical solutions shouldn't be relied upon on their own, they can help guys to get a jump-start on managing PE and developing sexual self-esteem.

3.      Interpersonal methods  - changes to the way you relate during and around sex. For example, many women don't understand PE and often think that men with the condition are sexually selfish. In fact, this couldn't be further from the truth. Men with PE care greatly about their partners' sexual satisfaction, and need to be able explain the issue without shame and develop alternative paths to pleasure with their partners.

For best results, you need a combination of all three. While we can’t cure PE – because there frankly is no cure – we can learn to manage and ultimately “overcome” it.

Ian Kerner is a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author. Read more from him at his website, GoodInBed.

Post by: Ian Kerner Ph.D. - sex counselor Filed under: Ian Kerner Ph.D. - sex counselor • Sex

children combat bullying

(CNN) -- When educator Susan Hendler asked 11-year-old Colin Horton how his week at school went, she heard some troubling answers.

"I keep getting bugged by this kid at school," Colin said.

"And what is he saying to you?" Hendler replied.

"He keeps saying swear words at me, and he keeps trying to punch me in the face."

Colin and his friend, 11-year-old Michael Cohen, are no strangers to bullying. But the two also have something else in common -- both have been diagnosed with high-functioning autism.

"In school we get picked on so many times," Colin said.

"Beaten up, bullied and -- most of all -- name calling," Michael added. "It usually happens at recess."

So the two are now enrolled in a program called "Sociable Kidz," which was founded by Hendler and fellow teacher Monica Weber to try to give children the tools they need to face bullies at school.

"It's a very safe environment, and they know, 'OK, I'm not the only one that's experiencing this,'" Weber said.

Hendler said autistic children can be particularly vulnerable to bullying.

"A lot of children who are on the (autism) spectrum just tend to take it," she said. "Or they'll fight back, but physically fight back. They just don't have the skills or techniques. They don't know what to do."

The bullying has been unnerving for the boys' parents, too.

"You just want to run and protect them or run to the school and scream at someone," said Michael's mother, Eileen Cohen.

But at Sociable Kidz, children practice role-playing exercises and rehearse statements to help improve their defenses.

"I don't really like what you did, so I want you to stop," Michael said into a mirror.

"Excellent!" Hendler responded.

Students speak in front of a mirror "because sometimes when you're talking to somebody, you don't know what you look like," Hendler said. "So they practice over and over."

The most important goal is for the children to gain self-esteem, the facilitators said. Not only will that empower the children to stand up for themselves, it can also help them from being targeted in the first place.

Michael has already used one tool he's learned from the program at school.

"I said, 'I don't like what you're saying,'" Michael said. "'So if you hate me a lot, why don't you leave me alone then?'"

His mother said she has seen progress from the program.

"It's really helped Michael to stop and think before he reacts," Cohen said.

Jessica Horton, Colin's mother, said her son is gaining confidence.

"They're helping him believe in himself."

CNN's Holly Yan contributed to this report

Company recalls walnuts sold in Southern California

(CNN) -- A California company is voluntarily recalling 60 packages of walnuts sold only in southern California because they may be contaminated with salmonella.

The product being recalled is: El Guapo Nuez Entera / Shelled Walnuts sold in 1-ounce packages, UPC 4498933144, date code 5527. The code date is embossed on the front of the package under the El Guapo banner.

The company, Mojave Food Corporation, said it is recalling the product because they were informed by the walnut supplier of the salmonella concern.

No illnesses have been reported.

Consumers are asked to destroy the product, and contact the Mojave customer service number at 1-800-995-8906, ext. 114, for a replacement or reimbursement.

Salmonella infections are caused by bacteria and if necessary can be treated with antibiotics, although some strains have become resistant to these drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Most people infected will develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within a few days of infection, and their illness can last up to a week.

Most recover without any treatment, but some may suffer dehydration and in severe cases require hospitalization.

The youngest and oldest patients and chronically ill people with compromised immune systems are at highest risk for severe complications, according to the National Institutes of Health.

New Alzheimer's clues?

 

Preliminary research on Alzheimer's disease suggests a protein that accumulates in the brain at very high levels in Alzheimer's patients is not being overproduced, it's just not being cleared efficiently from the brain.

The study, published in Science, measured beta-amyloid levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of twelve 74-year old patients with late-onset Alzheimer's and twelve without. Researchers looked at how fast beta-amyloid was produced and how quickly it cleared the brain.

"These findings may help point us toward better diagnostic tests and effective therapies," said study author Dr. Randall Bateman. "The next question is what is causing the decreased clearance rate."

Researchers say the study is significant because it's the first to measure beta-amyloid production and clearance–long thought to be an underlying cause of the disease–and could lead to an easier test–possibly a blood test–that will measure the protein early enough to detect Alzheimer's before symptoms begin.

"Abnormal protein deposits within the brain are a hallmark not only of Alzheimer's disease, but of many neurological disorders," said Roderick Corriveau, a program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health. "With knowledge about how these proteins accumulate, we may be able to slow that process and reduce the damage to the brain."

"For years scientists believed that it was the overproduction of beta-amyloid that led to its accumulation in the brain," said Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad, director of the Division of Neuroscience at the NIA. "These new findings shift the emphasis to clearance of beta-amyloid. This may lead to development of a diagnostic test as well as identification of new therapeutic targets."

More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. According to the Alzheimer's Association's Dr. Ralph Nixon, Vice Chair, Medical & Scientific Advisory Council,  this research adds human validation to the puzzle of how amyloid beta accumulates in the brain. "It is the first data of this kind in a human," and, as such, provides key preliminary validation to studies in animal models, which are incomplete and often give conflicting information."

Post by: Saundra Young - CNN Medical Senior Producer Filed under: Alzheimer's

WikiLeaks cable: Pfizer hired investigators to dig dirt on Nigerian AG

 

Pfizer says and allegation made in a cable given to WikiLeaks is preposterous.

CNN) -- In April 2009, U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reached a financial agreement with a state government in Nigeria on lawsuits brought over an antibiotic that had been given to children during an outbreak of meningitis.

But a U.S. diplomatic cable quotes a Pfizer executive in Nigeria as saying the company also hired investigators to dig for evidence of corruption on the part of the then-attorney general in an effort to get him to drop a similar lawsuit at the federal level. The company has said the allegation is preposterous.

The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks, was published in the Guardian newspaper in London Thursday. The antibiotic Trovan was given to children in Kano state in 1996 as part of a clinical study during a meningitis outbreak. The Nigerian government said the drug caused deaths and deformities among children, and had been used without approval from Nigerian regulatory agencies. Pfizer maintained that the trial was conducted with the approval of the Nigerian government and consent of the participants' parents or guardians, and was consistent with Nigerian laws.

The company official named in the leaked cable is Enrico Liggeri, Pfizer's country manager in Nigeria. The redacted cable says: "According to Liggeri, Pfizer had hired investigators to uncover corruption links to Federal Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa to expose him and put pressure on him to drop the federal cases. He said Pfizer's investigators were passing this information to local media."

Several articles were subsequently published in the Nigerian press detailing Aondoakaa's "alleged" corruption ties. The cable continues: "Liggeri contended that Pfizer had much more damaging information on Aondoakaa and that Aondoakaa's cronies were pressuring him to drop the suit for fear of further negative articles."

Aondoakaa left office in February this year. He is quoted in the Guardian as saying; "I was not aware of Pfizer looking into my past. For them to have done that is a very serious thing."

Aaondoakaa has not been convicted of corruption charges, but in an unrelated case a Nigerian federal court in June declared him unfit to hold public office. CNN was unable to reach him immediately for comment.

Pfizer reacted to the Guardian article with a statement late Thursday that said, "Although Pfizer has not seen any documents from the U.S. embassy in Nigeria regarding the federal government cases, any notion that the Company hired investigators in connection to the former Attorney General is simply preposterous."

In its statement Pfizer also said, "The Trovan cases brought by both the federal government of Nigeria and Kano State were resolved in 2009 by mutual agreement. Pfizer negotiated the settlement with the federal government of Nigeria in good faith and its conduct in reaching that agreement was proper." In the case of Kano state, the agreement amounted to $75 million. The size of the federal settlement was not disclosed.

A spokesman for the company would not comment on whether Enrico Liggeri was still with Pfizer, but a LinkedIn profile describes him as the country manager for Pfizer. CNN was not immediately able to contact Liggeri.

According to the cable, Liggeri had asserted that the federal lawsuits "were wholly political in nature because the NGO Doctors Without Borders administered Trovan to other children during the 1996 meningitis epidemic and the Nigerian government has taken no action" against them. Doctors Without Borders has denied using Trovan. Liggeri is also quoted as saying that the suit had a "chilling effect" on international pharmaceutical companies.

The cable also says that "Pfizer underscored that the Nigerian representatives wanted lump sum checks and that Pfizer is concerned with potential transparency issues."