IN THE PUBLIC EYE
Title: IN THE PUBLIC EYE , Urology Times, 00939722, Nov2001, Vol. 29, Issue 11
What’s on your patient’s minds? Likely, it’s what’s in the news about urology. Be prepared to answer their questions by reading these summaries of articles from consumer magazines, web sites, and other news sources.
Bicycling link to impotence rests on disputed evidence
Many experts retain doubts about the evidence suggesting that bicycle seats may cause impotence , which was first brought to light by Irwin Goldstein, MD, professor of urology at Boston University. But his findings have not been reviewed and assessed by his peers, published in an academic journal, or tested and replicated by other researchers, according to a news article in The Washington Post.
While other studies suggesting a link between cycling and genital numbness or impotence have been published in scholarly journals, experts say these reports are flawed. Biking on a narrow, rock-hard seat may numb the genitals, but there is no clear proof that temporary discomfort or lack of feeling is linked to impotence .
Urologists say that, while it is possible for male cyclists to damage sexual organs in an accident, especially by smashing the crotch against the horizontal bar between the seat and the handle-bars, the chances of doing lingering damage by just sitting tight and pedaling are very low.
“It’s safe to bicycle,” said William D. Steers, MD, chairman of the department of urology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville. “This whole [ impotence -cycling] thing is really out of proportion. In China, 90% of the male population cycles, and they don’t seem to have a problem maintaining the population.”
The cycling- impotence question, Dr. Steers says, has diverted attention from behavioral factors — like smoking, overeating, and inactivity-that are far riskier to male reproductive health.
“I find it disconcerting that attention to unhealthy behaviors hasn’t been raised, when a healthful activity is getting this huge scrutiny,” he said.
Over the last two decades, more than a dozen studies examining the relationship between cycling and impotence have been published in medical journals. Dr. Steers says all of them have problems, such as an inadequate control population of non-cyclists of the same age and physical condition, and small sample size.
“To power a study, you need thousands of men,” Dr. Steers said.
The largest of the published reports included 160 men. The Washington Post August 28, 2001
New form of male birth control inserted under skin
A fertility update on Men’s Health magazine’s web site reports that a new form of male birth control is currently in development in the United Kingdom. The implantable rods, which are inserted under the skin of the arm and remain effective for up to 3 years, contain a hormone that blocks sperm production without altering the intensity of orgasms.
Men’s Health web site (www.menshealth.com) October 9, 2001
Plant fiber, new blood test, may prevent cancer
The following cancer updates have been reported on the Men’s Health web site:
- Pectin, a plant-based fiber, may prevent prostate cancer. Texas A&M researchers found that pectin improves the transmission of signals between cells. Miscommunication *between cells is one of the factors that often lead to the growth of tumors. Apples and oranges are among the best sources of pectin.
- Researchers have discovered a new blood test that will allow doctors to diagnose cancer during its earliest stages. In clinical trials, DR-70 was 84% effective at detecting more than 12 different types of cancer.
The test works by measuring levels of compounds that are released into the bloodstream as tumors grow and destroy surrounding tissue. Doctors in the United Kingdom recommend that anyone who is over the age of 40 years or who has a family history of cancer get the test, which costs under $100. Men’s Health web site (www.menshealth.com) October 9, 2001
Study looks at cancer prevention with soy
Investigators at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, are recruiting men with early stage prostate cancer to determine if a daily soy supplement will slow their cancer. It is one of several clinical trials nationally that are attempting to determine if soy has cancer-fighting or prevention properties.
The study, which seeks 64 men between the ages of 50 and 80, follows a small pilot study at Moffitt with promising results: prostate cancer patients who ate more soy had marked reductions in PSA levels.
“If we can affect the disease from progressing, we’ve done something there” said Nagi Kumar, PhD, director of the department of nutrition and investigator in the cancer-control division at Moffitt.
The goal is to prevent the cancer from becoming a “huge prostate cancer, where the prostate has to be removed, and all the consequences of that,” she said. “It’s a chemo-prevention trial.”
Scientists quickly noted the differences in Eastern and Western diets, and a landmark study from the University of Helsinki in Finland found that nowhere was the difference more marked than in the consumption of soy.
In men, soy appears to bind with free testosterone, reducing its level in the blood. This testosterone does not affect the sex drive, muscle mass, or hair growth, but can encourage prostate growth. Reducing its levels should slow or prevent prostate cancer, Dr. Kumar said.
“It has a lot of promise. And by this we don’t mean take a tablet or anything, but introduce soy in your diet as much as possible, maybe even two or three times a week,” Dr. Kumar said.
Good sources include miso, tofu, and soy nuts, she said.
Men in the study must be in the “watchful waiting” group of prostate cancer patients. Half will take a daily soy supplement by mixing a powder provided by Moffitt into a glass of milk. The other half will take a placebo. Doctors will measure PSA levels at the start of the study, then again 12 weeks later.
The study is being paid for with $100,000 from the Department of Defense and $140,000 from the American Institute for Cancer Research.
St. Petersburg Times
August 21, 2001
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Source: Urology Times, Nov2001, Vol. 29 Issue 11, p24, 1p
