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LONDON – For men with fertility problems, some doctors are prescribing a very conventional way to have a baby: more sex.
In a study of 118 Australian men with damaged sperm, doctors found that having sex every day for a week significantly reduced the amount of DNA damage in their patients’ sperm. Previous studies have linked better sperm quality to higher pregnancy rates.
The research was announced Tuesday at a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam.
Dr. David Greening of Sydney IVF, a private fertility clinic in Australia, and colleagues looked at 118 men who had damaged sperm. Greening and colleagues told the men to have sex every day for a week. After seven days, the doctors found that in 81 percent of the men, there was a 12 percent decrease in the amount of damaged sperm.
Many fertility experts suggest men abstain from sex before their partners have in-vitro fertilization, to try to elevate their sperm counts.
Sperm quality can also be improved if men don’t smoke, drink moderately, exercise, or get more antioxidants.
Since concluding the study, Greening says he now instructs all couples seeking fertility advice to start by having more sex. “Some of the older men look a little concerned,” he said. “But the younger ones seem quite happy about it.”
Experts think sex helps reduce the DNA damage in sperm by getting it out of the body quickly; if sperm is in the body for too long, it has a higher chance of getting damaged.
Some experts said that while Greening’s research is promising, it doesn’t prove that daily sex for men with fertility problems will actually produce more babies.
Greening said he and his colleagues are still analyzing the study data to determine how many women got pregnant.
“Looking at sperm DNA is just one part of the puzzle,” said Bill Ledger, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Sheffield, who was not connected to the research. “Maybe this will improve pregnancy rates, but we still need to do more studies.”
Ledger said instructing couples with infertility problems to have more sex could stress their relationship. “This may add even more anxiety and do more harm than good,” he said. He said couples shouldn’t feel pressured to adjust their sex lives just for the sake of having a baby.
Greening said the study’s findings were ultimately very intuitive. “If you want to have a baby, our advice is to do it often.”
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OTTAWA (AFP) – A Canadian federal court on Thursday upheld pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s patent for Viagra, dashing generic drug maker Novopharm’s longing for sales of cheaper erection drugs.
Judge Michael Kelen said in his decision that Novopharm failed to demonstrate the Pfizer patent was invalid.
He ordered Canada’s health minister not to grant the generic drug maker’s request for special permission to manufacture a Viagra knock-off until the Pfizer patent expires in 2014.
Pfizer had filed the application to prohibit Novopharm from introducing a generic version of the hugely popular drug.
Sildenafil, the key ingredient in Viagra, was initially developed by Pfizer in the mid-1980s as one of a number of compounds for the treatment of hypertension and angina.
Angina patients unexpectedly experienced erections while being treated with sildenafil to lower their blood pressure, and so it was marketed to treat erectile dysfunction.
In its submissions, Novopharm, a subsidiary of the world’s largest generic drug-maker Teva Pharmaceutical, questioned the timing of patent filings around Pfizer’s discovery of the active ingredient in Viagra.
But in his decision, Judge Kelen said: “The court concludes that the applicants have met their legal burden to establish the validity of the patent.”
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Levitra (generic name: vardenafil) is a prescription drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) - which is an inability in men to achieve penile erection. This embarrassing situation of failing to maintain an erection until ejaculation is often referred to as impotence. Whatever its underlying physiological and psychological causes are, this condition was once a taboo subject.
Thanks to recent heavy advertisements on drugs in this category, and much publicity of high-interest stories, taking remedial medications such as Levitra has become a more accepted norm.
Levitra is an FDA-approved oral medication that is available only by prescription. It works by relaxing your muscles to increase blood flow to the penis. The extra flow of blood will engorge the penis thus helping men get a harder erection. Moreover, Levitra works by preventing blood from flowing out of the penis. This helps you keep a longer-lasting erection. Generally, after the sexual activity ceases, the erection will go away. If the penis persists in staying erect for more than 4 hours, seek medical attention to avoid long-term injury.
Certain other medications can work to inhibit the elimination of enzymes that are stimulated by Levitra. People who are on medications such as erythromycin, ketoconazole (Nizoral), itraconazole (Sporanox), indinavir (Crixivan) and ritonavir (Norvir) are recommended to take lower dosages of Levitra. In addition, the time between each dosage may need to be extended. Normally a minimal initial dosage of 10 mg per day is recommended.
Common Levitra adverse drug reactions include nausea. Infrequent ADRs include abdominal pain, back pain, photosensitivity, abnormal vision, eye pain, facial oedema, hypertension, palpitation, tachycardia, arthralgia, myalgia, rash, itch, and priapism. (Rossi, 2004). The side effects reported in clinical trials include headache, flushing and stuffy or runny nose. In extremely rare cases, report to doctor immediately, if you have a sudden decrease or loss of vision, in one or both eyes.
However, what is special about Levitra is that people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and even diabetics, have been found to be safely taking this medication. These health factors don’t seem to impede these men from enjoying increased sexual activities after taking it. As with taking any new medications, it is always best to ask your doctor about drug interactions with your existing medications, and with your present medical conditions.
So before taking Levitra, talk to your doctor if you have or have had a history of heart disease such as irregular heart rhythms or angina, or congestive heart failure, or heart attacks. Make your doctor aware of any history of stroke, blood clots, blood pressure problems, kidney disease, liver disease, blood cell disorder, bleeding disorder, stomach ulcers, retinitis pigmentosa, penis deformity, or if, for health reasons, you cannot engage in sexual intercourse.
If any of those conditions apply to you, your physician may choose one of three options. First, he or she may decide to seek an alternative to Levitra all together. He or she may also reduce the regular dosage for your case, or continually observe and test your health during treatment.
Disclaimer: This article should not be substituted for medical advice. Please talk to a qualified professional for more information about Levitra.
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The word Viagra is synonymous to strong penile erection in the sexually enlightened world community. Business giants have already sensed the pulse of ED market and challenged Viagra with equally efficient erectile dysfunction treatments. Not that the small fishes in the market are sitting idle - the market is flooded with many generic versions of branded ED pills along with those called Herbal Viagra. But the name itself confuses me, how can Viagra be herbal?
This question erects from the sheer fact that the so-called herbal Viagra contains undeclared ingredients, and the most risky affair about it is, most of the time it is Sildenafil. Ridiculously, it is named after ?herbal? and that too with the marking of VG on it! Medsafe investigators have tested the products named Meng Rong and pills with marking of VG and results revealed the fact that it contained Sildenafil, the main ingredient of Viagra.
A health warning has been issued under Section 98 of the Medicines act 1981 in the month of May, 2006 against so called herbal products containing undeclared prescription medicines. Yixinjiaonang which contains Tadalafil (main ingredient of Cialis) and Reduce Weight containing Sibutramine an FDA approved weight loss pill, are also included in that list.
Sildenafil is never prescribed to those who have glaucoma, and harmful to the patients with heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. At the same time it could have fatal reaction with heart medications containing nitrates. Same goes to Yixinjiaonang, which contains Tadafil, a PDE5 inhibitor for treatment of erectile dysfunction. At the same time Sibutramine which is found in so-called herbal weight loss medicine named Reduce Weight, increases blood pressure and interferes with glaucoma, mental illness as well as liver or kidney problems.
According to Medsafe investigators, the products are supposedly sold through an herbal product retailer and are manufactured in China or in a country where Chinese language is used on the labels of medicinal products. Normally, we, the English speaking lot of Americans, cannot read Chinese labels if available by any fair chance. That is why it is all the important for us to know the other ways to identify the so-called herbal Viagra. Let us know how to identify those five so-called herbal products detected by Medsafe investigators;
The crux of the matter is to know your medicine. We, as consumers, are actually at the most vulnerable point in this whole affair, as we are spending our hard-earned dollars on drugs that are dangerous for our lives. This is a very bad deal indeed! Government is doing its best for the protection of consumer rights as well as lives. But it is also our duty not to be always tempted by the words like under-the-counter and cheap particularly when dealing with health related issues. Do not let yourself bamboozled by the money-monger frauds of the medicine market. Be vigilant and protect life, because it is precious.
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