| No Sex Can Lead to Pain, Sterility and Impotence in Men
Prostatitis is hard to detect and treat, and unlike prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), it strikes young and middle-aged men. The condition is detected in urine and prostate fluid samples and thoroughly examination of the prostate, through digital rectal examination, involving the insertion of a well lubricated gloved finger into the rectum. This way, the physician can detect any prostate abnormality. A prostate specific antigen (PSA) test can be made on blood samples, but both prostatitis and prostate cancer boost the levels of PSA . Currently, prostatitis is classified as nonbacterial, acute, and chronic. The most common prostatitis is the nonbacterial type, characterized by frequent urination and pain in the lower abdomen or lower back area. It is caused by stress and irregular sexual activity.
Study Suggests Adjusting PSA Scores for Obese Men or Cancers May be ...
DURHAM, N.C. -- Doctors may be missing cancers in obese men because the telltale blood marker used to detect the disease can be falsely interpreted as low in this population, according to a new study led by Duke Prostate Center researchers. "Obese men have more blood circulating throughout their bodies than normal weight men, and as a result, the concentration of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, in the blood -- the gold standard for detecting prostate cancer -- can become diluted" said Stephen Freedland, M.D., a Duke urologist and senior researcher on a study appearing in the November 21, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Weve known for a while that obese men tend to have lower PSA scores than normal weight men, but our study really proposes a reason why this happens, and points to the need for an adjustment in the way we interpret PSA scores that will take body weight into account.
DNA test may help trace prostate cancer
The study, "Cumulative Association of Five Genetic Variants with Prostate Cancer," was presented in the January 17 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. It was based on genetic analyses of some 4,800 Swedish men, of whom 3,000 had prostate cancer and 1,800 had no such diagnosis. Every year some 10,000 Swedish men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and in Stockholm alone some 150,000 PSA tests are made each year. .
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