Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Increases Cardiac Risk!

Androgen-deprivation therapy, which is a common treatment for prostate cancer, has been tentatively linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study solidifies these concerns.

Prostate cancer needs testosterone to grow and thrive, so androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is designed to reduce the amount of testosterone in the body to close to zero, thereby helping to slow cancer's growth.

Although the findings are controversial, some studies have shown that ADT combined with radiation therapy is more successful at treating prostate cancer than just radiation alone.

Currently, ADT is recommended for advanced prostate cancer. But it is increasingly being used to treat localized prostate cancer, despite minimal evidence for its efficacy.

At the same time, the number of localized prostate cancer cases has increased dramatically over recent years, due in part to the more widespread use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.

Side effects of ADT — including erectile dysfunction, diabetes, bone loss, and swollen breast tissue, or gynecomastia — can be fairly substantial. Added to this, there is growing evidence to suggest that low testosterone levels might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

A common prostate cancer treatment comes under scrutiny in a new study.

Read more: Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Increases Cardiac Risk!

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Source: MedicalNewsToday

Male Birth Control Shot Shows Promise

When it comes to birth control methods, women have more options than ever before. However, for men, the choice is limited to condoms, withdrawal, and vasectomy. A new study - published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism - has established that a male birth control shot is effective at preventing pregnancy.

In the last 40 years, studies have demonstrated that reversible hormonal suppression of spermatogenesis - the process of sperm cell development - in men can prevent pregnancies in their female partners, although the commercial development of the product has been stalled.

In previous studies, testosterone management in men demonstrated birth control efficacy comparable with female methods. However, participants had to be given much greater doses than are typically found in the body and the method caused long-term adverse effects in healthy men.

While giving progesterone alongside can reduce the dose of testosterone, there have been few studies that have evaluated the efficacy and safety of such a combination. With 40 percent of all pregnancies worldwide unintended in 2012, better birth control options are required for men.

Read more: Male Birth Control Shot Shows Promise

The male birth control shot may provide more choice for controlling male fertility in the future.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Testosterone therapy by Shots and Gel Protects Men With Coronary Artery Disease from Heart Attack Risks.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration required manufacturers of testosterone products to add new label information warning of a possible increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. A new study suggests this may be both unnecessary and unhealthy for some men. Testosterone therapy or T therapy helped men with preexisting coronary artery disease reduce their risks of strokes, heart attacks, and even death.

In fact, the men who did not receive testosterone as part of their treatment were 80 percent more likely to suffer an adverse event, such as a heart attack, than those taking T.

Testosterone is a sex hormone that is commonly thought to regulate sex drive, bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength, and to be responsible for the production of sperm and red blood cells in men. As men age, they generally make less testosterone at a rate of about 1 to 2 percent per year. A man in his 70s may have half the testosterone he had at age 20.

Though this may be normal, some men feel the effects more strongly than others. Low testosterone levels may contribute to depression, decreased bone density, increased body fat, insomnia, and diminished sexual desire.

Read more: Testosterone therapy by Shots and Gel Protects Men With Coronary Artery Disease from Heart Attack Risks.

Source: medicaldaily