Responsible Art

Archive for September, 2011

Unlike Hollywood and the science fiction writers who invented telepathy years ago, real humans can’t tell what each other are thinking or feeling. So, at one end of the scale, this limits the experience of sex to whatever is going on in our own heads. At the other end of the scale, doctors have no way of knowing exactly how much pain is being experienced by their patients. All they can do is ask. But asking is where the real problems begin. As we grow up, we learn all about pain when we fall over or bump into furniture. Our parents and anyone else around us show us how we are supposed to respond. Boys may be encouraged to get up and fall over again. Girls may be cuddled until they stop crying. Stereotypes can be reinforced from the earliest of ages. So when we are all grown up, how do we react to pain? As men do we smile as if nothing has happened? If asked, do we deny feeling anything? As women, do we immediately admit pain, possibly shedding tears to prove the point? We may all have our own scale from 1 to 10 where ten is the worst pain we have ever felt. But how does that scale compare to your scale? If I say the level of pain I feel is a 5, is that a 3 or maybe even a 7 for you? So what dose of painkillers is the “right” dose? Well, modern technology is trying to produce a more scientific way of measuring pain using brain scans. If this research is a success, it should reduce overprescribing potentially addictive opiate drugs.

Although there are nerve endings all over the body, all the messages signaling pain are processed in the brain. That’s why painkillers target the neurotransmitters and block the messages before they reach the conscious levels of the brain. There’s a new technique using an MRI scan. It’s called arterial spin and it seems to show changes in brain activity associated with pain. Now comes the difficult part. The brain is like a computer with massive processing power and memory storage capacity. Scientists know roughly where different functions are carried out, but the effective use of this technology requires a precise map showing exactly which parts of the brain deal with pain messages from different parts of the body. So far, the researchers think they have found the bit that registers lower back pain. In a study involving 32 people, half of whom had chronic lower back pain, the participants were asked to move in the same way or were subjected to heat. The patients then assessed how much pain they felt and these subjective findings were matched to their brain scans. The results are encouraging and may lead to the development of a more objective method of measuring pain.

Future tests are being planned before and after treatment. So, for example, patients will be assessed before and after taking the Tramadol dosage suggested by the subjective reports of pain and body weight. If the level of blood flow and neuron activity changes as predicted, this will allow doctors to give individual dosages rather than dosages based on averages. Tramadol is a great drug so it’s only right you should get it in the best dosage.

For many of use exterior and looks play a very important role in everyday life. We really depend on the way we look because we are social beings and it really matters to us how other members of the society see us. The looks can communicate a lot of information about us even if we don’t want it. This especially applies to such aspect of human exterior as thin hair and baldness. While there’s nothing wrong about loosing hair and it isn’t necessarily a sign of poor health, many people still perceive balding as an unpleasant detail in a man’s exterior. So what’s the problem all about and should one get worried if he notices the first signs of a rather common problem – male pattern hair loss.

Male pattern hair loss is characterized by hair thinning and balding that starts in the crown area and the hairline and gradually progresses towards complete baldness or partial baldness when there’s still hair on the sides of the scalp while the front and top parts of it are left completely bald. This type of hair loss is much more common in men – thus the name – yet it can sometimes be observed in women as well.

Previously it was believed that male pattern hair loss primarily stems from the process of aging. This belief was widespread for a very long time because of the simple observation that this type of hair loss usually progresses in men who reach their 40′s and 50′s. Yet there were also many cases of much younger people dealing with the same problem so the initial theory was seriously questioned when the time came for new developments in medicine. There should be another reason for male pattern hair loss to occur and it was actually discovered as closer studies on the nature of hair loss have been undertaken.

As it turns out the main cause of male pattern hair loss is not aging nor is lack of nutrition or hygiene, although these factors can still influence the development of the problem. It was found that this type of hair loss primarily stems from delicate hormonal balance, to be more precise it is triggered with the accumulation of a specific androgen called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This hormone results from conversion of testosterone and gets accumulated in the body with age. Yet, the rates at which the amount of DHT gets accumulated is different in each person that’s why some men never experience problems with hair while others get bald spots in their 20′s.

Now it becomes evident that the most effective way to overcome male pattern hair loss is to prevent the build up of DHT in the body. And that’s exactly how drugs like Propecia work – they eliminate the cause of the problem from the inside instead of trying to overcome the consequences externally like most hair loss drugs do. Yet, the only problem with Propecia is that it is intended to be used only by men and shouldn’t be even handled by women. Still, there’s a long way to go and who knows maybe very soon there will also be Propecia for women who struggle with hair loss problems.

For many people, it’s easy to forget pain is not just a medical problem in the sense you see a doctor. Dental problems can cause severe pain and the management of that pain is a matter for the dentist. This does not mean the two professions are independent. There’s no reason why one cannot learn from the other. Pain is pain no matter what the cause.

Let’s start with a slightly unusual gender difference. For most practical purposes, there’s no physical difference in the way the sexes respond to pain. There may be cultural differences with the macho males being less willing to admit feeling pain but, once the messages from the nervous system reach the brain, we all feel pain in the same way. Except the research team at the University of Washington has discovered that the pain associated with some dental conditions changes through the menstrual cycle. It seems the pain grows increasingly severe, reaching its peak during ovulation, and then declines as the hormone levels fall. This led some dentists to believe the pain could be managed through the use of oral contraceptives. The results of a recent trial have now been published. Researchers recruited a group of women with the same dental problem. They were divided in unequal groups. One received oral contraceptives intended to stabilize the hormone levels. The other two received different types of advice. One was specific to the management of pain associated with the menstrual cycle. The final group received a more general cognitive behavioral therapy designed to help them manage all their pain.

There was follow-up at six and twelve months. At both points, the groups receiving continuing support for pain management reported significant improvement over the contraception group. There was no measurable difference in response between behavioral therapy specific to the menstrual cycle and the general advice. It seems any regular contact between patient and a trained therapist is beneficial when combined with literature to teach self-management techniques. This exactly matches the results of comparable studies carried out into the effectiveness of “medical” cognitive behavioral therapy both in the US and the rest of the world. There’s a mountain of evidence that all patients respond well to continuing personal support in the community. All it takes after training sessions is regular telephone contact with a trained therapist offering encouragement and practical tips. All people report a reduction in pain through their own efforts.

This is not to deny the use of a drug therapy may be effective in the short term. Indeed, the sole point of the research into the use of oral contraceptives was to test whether the use of a freely available drug might reduce dental pain. That there was no measurable reduction in pain was a “good” result. It suggests more work needs to be done on proving the exact link between the hormone fluctuations during ovulation and sensitivity to pain. It’s entirely possible this work will lead to more general benefits in both the medical and dental fields. While we wait for the results, using Tramadol for pain relief is the standard option if cognitive behavioral therapy is not available or affordable. In the short-term, Tramadol will eliminate the pain.

When a man starts to experience problems with the quality of his erection there’s a certain cause for concern to be taken into consideration. Earlier people believed that male impotence is a matter of aging and you can do nothing about it. However, the advancements of modern medicine have shed light unto the problem of erectile dysfunction and it was found that the condition is actually caused by different health problems rather than the process of aging. And it’s hard to find a person with good health who experiences erectile problems no matter what is their age. So it’s evident that the best way to prevent erectile dysfunction is to prevent health problems in general. And without a doubt the most effective solution to improving one’s health is exercising.

It may seem like there’s no link between physical activity and erectile dysfunction. But if you look into the problem a bit closer there’s a precise connection between how active the man is and the quality of his erections. So let’s investigate the problem.

Erectile dysfunction primarily results from conditions that affect the quality of blood circulation in the body. Such conditions as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, alcohol abuse and heart diseases have different effects on the body yet they share the same devastating effect on the quality of blood vessels all over the body. Because veins and arteries become deteriorated there’s less blood flowing into different parts of the body, including the penis. And when this happens men start experiencing problems with erection.

Any sort of physical activity, whether it’s working out at the gym, jogging every morning, doing yoga, mountain climbing, studying martial arts and so on, has different effects on our body. The primary effect of course is the strengthening of muscles and joints, which is very important for the overall well-being and metabolic processes. However, there’s also a very profound effect on the cardiovascular system, which tends to get stronger and function much better when there’s regular physical activity involved in the lifestyle of a man.

Even if you have come to the point when it’s hard to get an erection without the help drugs like Levitra it doesn’t mean that it’s completely senseless to start exercising. In fact, if you want to make drugs like Levitra work more effectively you should consider incorporating regular physical activity into your daily schedule. Of course, there’s no sense in getting fanatic about it right from the start. If you’re not used to exercising on a regular basis – start out slow with milder and shorter sessions of physical activity with a gradual increase in intensity and duration. As said before, it really doesn’t matter what kind of physical activity you choose to employ. The main aim when looking it from the ED perspective is giving your cardiovascular system a good boost. This is achieved by any activity that pushes your heart rate higher than your usual heart rate in a relaxed state. Just try exercising regularly for some time and you will definitely notice that drugs like Levitra will start working more effectively up to the point when you won’t even need their help for getting an erection.

Diabetes is an increasingly common problem as more people carry too much weight around from ever younger ages. Untreated there are two major problems that follow. There’s a reduction in the flow of blood around the body and there’s increasing damage to the nerve endings. As a result, about three-quarters of all diabetic men suffer some degree of erectile dysfunction. The national health agencies confirm a steady statistical trend. All men begin to lose some degree of sexual function as they age but sexual dysfunction shows up in diabetic men ten to fifteen years before healthy men. As a general warning, if the diabetes is not treated and there’s damage to the nerve endings, sexual function does not return. Nerve endings do not regenerate. It’s therefore always in your interests to have the tests for diabetes if you are overweight and then begin to suffer erectile dysfunction. Although it takes several years for the nerve endings to be damaged, it’s foolish to take any risks.

A recent study in Australia has offered the encouraging news that, if you lose 5% or more of your body weight, this is likely to restore sexual function and can also help with the bladder problems likely to afflict diabetic men. The study divided the participants into two groups who tried different diets. The results show the nature of the diet to be irrelevant. As soon as the body weight was reduced, all the participants reported improved sexual performance. The previous studies have examined the use of surgical procedures to reduce weight. Not unnaturally, with a band in place, more weight is lost. This is the first study to show that an ordinary diet producing not less than 5% weight loss is equally effective.

This is a dramatic result because it suggests major invasive surgery may not always be necessary. The decision should depend on a detailed consideration of all the health problems affecting the overweight man. There’s just one problem. The study only involved thirty-one men. This is nowhere near enough participants to produce scaleable results. So, unless and until there’s a properly designed trial involving at least 500 men, we cannot rely on these results. So will there be any further research?

This is difficult to predict but, when you consider how much money surgeons and hospitals make out of bariatric surgery, it seems unlikely there will be any enthusiasm to research diet as an effective alternative. So, for now, the standard advice will continue to be that all men reporting erectile dysfunction at a young age should be tested for both diabetes and heart disease. There are well-established treatments for preventing the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For the erectile dysfunction, we have Cialis which has an excellent track record in restoring sexual function. You have the choice of taking the drug as needed or on a once-daily basis. No matter what the criteria, this drug produces a strong response to sexual stimulation over the longest time. However, as the cost of all this treatment is transferred to your health plan, remember one lone voice from Australia. For those who are overweight, losing at least 5% of body weight restores sexual function. Eating less usually costs less. Cialis costs more. Your choice.

Over the last century there were impressive developments in the field of medicine, which has advanced to the point where it’s really hard to find a health condition that can’t be treated effectively. Some people even state that the medical industry is actually making up new diseases just to be able to produce new drugs and make more money on it. While this statement can be argued about there’s simply no running from the fact that today’s medical assistance relies heavily on medications and doesn’t involve such professionalism of doctors as it was back in the day when they didn’t have many drugs to rely on. These days you simply go to your doctor, get a prescription and use the drug to treat the condition. Simple as that.

If you take the time to study the people around you there will definitely be people with hair loss problems. If operating with more precise figures it is estimated that about 30 million men deal with hair loss problems of various kinds in the US alone. Though it was usually believed that hair loss occurs in older men we see a lot of younger males with bald spots or even completely clear scalps on the street. So the problem is definitely not in the process of aging.

Now there were a lot of theories about the nature of hair loss in men, Starting from poor genetics that tried to link balding between generations through lines that you would never expect to poor nutrition and hair hygiene that seems very rare these days with the abundance of shampoos and the overall culture of being tidy. Apart from that there were many methods for overcoming male pattern hair loss offered by the industry, the most infamous of which would definitely be hair implants.

The procedure of hair implanting is very costly and complicated. If described simply, doctors take some hair from the part of the head (or the body) where it grows without problems and transplant them to the bald area through the means of surgery. This procedure requires high professionalism and experience, but what’s more important is that it doesn’t provide full guarantee on the results achieved. You may get an infection in the area of surgery or the implanted hair may simply fall off and you will end up with more bald spots on your head. So the popularity of this method has rapidly decreased after the initial wave of enthusiasm when many people found it ineffective.

These days doctors heavily rely on medications when treating hair loss in men. The most popular medication would be Propecia as it was the first to be actually approved by the FDA for treating male pattern hair loss in men. With this medication the approach to resolving the problem is much smarter than with hair implants, which strive to overcome the consequence but not the cause. Propecia, however, addresses the primary cause for hair loss in men – hormonal imbalance. By taking Propecia on a regular basis you can actually stop and reverse the process of hair loss and many people will tell you that the drug really works! So if it comes to the point when you will start to consider hair implants ask your doctor if Propecia might actually work better for you.