Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
European Men (european + man)
Selected AbstractsAdverse trends in male reproductive health: we may have reached a crucial ,tipping point'INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 2 2008A.-M. Andersson Summary Healthy men produce an enormous number of sperms, far more than necessary for conception. However, several studies suggest that semen samples where the concentration of sperms is below 40 mill/mL may be associated with longer time to pregnancy or even subfertility, and specimens where the concentration of sperms is below 15 mill/mL may carry a high risk of infertility. Historic data from the 1940s show that the bulk of young men at that time had sperm counts far above 40 mill/mL with averages higher than 100 mill/mL. However, recent surveillance studies of young men from the general populations of young men in Northern Europe show that semen quality is much poorer. In Denmark approximately 40 percent of the men have now sperm counts below 40 mill/mL. A simulation assuming that average sperm count had declined from 100 mill/mL in ,old times' to a current level close to 40 mill/mL indicated that the first decline in average sperm number of 20,40 mill/mL might not have had much effect on pregnancy rates, as the majority of men would still have had counts far above the threshold value. However, due to the assumed decline in semen quality, the sperm counts of the majority of 20 year old European men are now so low that we may be close to the crucial tipping point of 40 mill/mL spermatozoa. Consequently, we must face the possibility of more infertile couples and lower fertility rates in the future. [source] Silent talker: a new computer-based system for the analysis of facial cues to deceptionAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2006Janet Rothwell This paper presents the development of a computerised, non-invasive psychological profiling system, ,Silent Talker', for the analysis of non-verbal behaviour. Nonverbal signals hold rich information about mental, behavioural and/or physical states. Previous attempts to extract individual signals and to classify an overall behaviour have been time-consuming, costly, biased, error-prone and complex. Silent Talker overcomes these problems by the use of Artificial Neural Networks. The testing and validation of the system was undertaken by detecting processes associated with ,deception' and ,truth'. In a simulated theft scenario thirty-nine participants ,stole' (or didn't) money, and were interviewed about its location. Silent Talker was able to detect different behaviour patterns indicative of ,deception' and ,truth' significantly above chance. For example, when 15 European men had no prior knowledge of the exact questions, 74% of individual responses (,p,<,0.001) and 80% (,p,=,0.035) of interviews were classified correctly. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Alfuzosin 10 mg once daily for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia: a 3-year experience in real-life practiceBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 7 2008Guy Vallancien OBJECTIVES To assess the 3-year efficacy and safety of the selective ,1 -blocker alfuzosin at 10 mg once daily in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in ,real-life practice'. The influence of treatment response on the risk of acute urinary retention (AUR) and BPH-related surgery was also analysed. PATIENTS AND METHODS In all, 689 European men (mean age 67.6 years) were enrolled by general practitioners in a 3-year open-label study with alfuzosin at 10 mg once daily. They were asked to complete the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), its eighth question (bother score), and the Danish Prostatic Symptom Score for sexual function (DAN-PSSsex). Efficacy was analysed at the endpoint in the intent-to-treat population. The impact of baseline variables (age, PSA level, IPSS and bother severity) and dynamic variables (IPSS worsening of ,4 points and bother at the last available assessment under treatment) on the risk of AUR and BPH-related surgery was evaluated. RESULTS With alfuzosin, IPSS improved by 6.4 points (,33.4%) from baseline (P < 0.001), reaching ,3 points and >6 points in 71.3% and 47.2% of men, respectively. There were also significant (P < 0.001) improvements from baseline in nocturia (,0.8, ,25.5%), bother score (,1.7, ,40.7%) and DAN-PSSsex weighted scores with treatment. Symptom relief was rapid and maintained over 3 years. Overall, 78 men (12.4%) had an IPSS worsening of ,4 points, 16 (2.6%) had AUR, and 36 (5.7%) required BPH-related surgery. Symptom deterioration during treatment and high baseline PSA values were the best predictors of AUR and BPH-related surgery. Alfuzosin was well tolerated, dizziness being the most frequent adverse event (4.5%) possibly related to vasodilatation. Ejaculatory disorders were uncommon (0.4%). Changes in blood pressure remained marginal, including in men aged ,65 years and those receiving antihypertensive agents. CONCLUSION Alfuzosin administered for 3 years at 10 mg once daily in real-life practice is effective and well tolerated. High PSA values and symptom worsening under treatment appear the best predictors of AUR and BPH-related surgery in the long term. Treatment with alfuzosin might thus help to identify patients at risk of LUTS/BPH progression in order to optimize their management. [source] Assessing the attitudes to prostate cancer treatment among European male patientsBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2007Claude Schulman OBJECTIVES, To understand the attitudes of patients with prostate cancer toward the disease in general and to the use of hormone therapy as treatment; to assess unmet needs in the management of prostate cancer; and to gauge patient receptivity to a potential 6-month formulation of a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist. PATIENTS AND METHODS, Face-to-face interviews, lasting 50 min on average, were conducted during January and February 2007 with 200 European men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. RESULTS, Most patients were very satisfied with their physician, particularly with specialists, with 94% of men being satisfied with their expertise and 67% fully trusting the recommended treatment. Therapeutic efficacy was considered the most crucial aspect of treatment, although maintaining their lifestyle during treatment was also considered important (83% of patients). In all, 67% of patients believed that consideration should be given to lifestyle needs when selecting treatment; however, over half (55%) had never raised lifestyle issues with their physicians. Most patients would prefer fewer injections, with 68% (135/200) preferring 6-monthly injections over 3- or 1-monthly depots. Perceived advantages of 6-monthly injections include less discomfort/pain, more quality of life, fewer reminders of the disease and more ability to undertake activities without restriction. CONCLUSIONS, Patients with prostate cancer are generally very satisfied with their physicians and the information they receive, yet find it difficult to communicate their lifestyle needs. Most patients would prefer 6-monthly LHRH agonist therapy due to the many advantages associated with fewer injections, including its efficacy in reducing testosterone levels. Improving patients' willingness to raise lifestyle issues with their physicians, providing more effective patient-physician communication and less frequent injections might assist in achieving both optimal control of testosterone and optimal management of prostate cancer. [source] | ||||||||||