For anyone who has been unfortunate enough to be stuck looking up at the ceiling of their bedroom or hotel trying to sleep. But have been unable even though it maybe 3.30 in the morning. Will know that crossing time zones (jetlag) & shift work is a nightmare.
But a new drug that has been successfully tested in human volunteers may offer hope for future travellers and shift-workers.
In two clinical trials the drug tasimelteon, which helps to shift the natural ebb and flow of the body's sleep hormone, melatonin, increased the time volunteers spent asleep, helped them to get to sleep quicker and reduced the amount of time they spent awake during the night.
The research team did not test how well their subjects performed the day after taking the drug - something that would be crucial on a business trip - but it should help travellers to feel more normal.
"All the evidence suggests it would because if you have shifted your clock and you've slept well, then you should perform well the next day," said Dr Elizabeth Klerman, at Brigham and Women's hospital, Boston, who led the study.
Melatonin is released naturally by the pineal gland deep in the brain in response to light levels. It binds to receptors in the brain's circadian clock and acts to entrain the clock to the day-night cycle. "You can think of melatonin as something which quiets the awakening signal from your body clock," said Klerman. "It does not put you to sleep ... but once you drop off it prevents you from waking up early if you are trying to sleep at an unusual time."
Tasimelteon mimics melatonin and binds to the same receptors. Klerman and her colleagues conducted two clinical trials in which they studied volunteers who had their body clock advanced by five hours - the same as travelling from New York to London.
They compared sleep patterns in people given the drug and those given a placebo. Neither the researchers nor the subjects knew who had been given which.
The researchers report today in the Lancet that in the larger of the trials, volunteers on the medium dose of the drug slept for an average of 48 minutes longer. The time they spent awake during the night was also less: 140 minutes on average for the placebo group, compared with 106 minutes for people who took a medium dose of tasimelteon. The study was funded by Vanda Pharmaceuticals, which makes the drug, though it has not yet been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.
Klerman said although melatonin is available in US health food stores - it is not legal in the UK - there is conflicting evidence about how well it works. It is licensed as a supplement and does not fall under the remit of the FDA. "What you get in a health food store isn't necessarily pure and the dose isn't necessarily what they say on the bottle," she said.
To combat jet lag, the NHS recommends topping up on sleep before you travel; adjusting to your destination, by shifting your watch as soon as you get on the plane; avoiding alcohol; and by spending lots of time outdoors in the daylight. If you are considering taking melatonin supplements the NHS recommends consulting your doctor first.
Friday, December 5, 2008
New Jet lag Pill
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Study Confirms That Levitra® On Demand Is Effective In Patients With ED After Nerve-sparing Prostatectomy
A study published in the European Urology journal demonstrated that Levitra® (vardenafil, HCI) is highly efficacious in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) even shortly after radical nerve-sparing prostatectomy. This landmark study conducted by Bayer Schering Pharma was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multicentre study, the largest of its kind until. It investigated the tolerability and efficacy of Levitra taken once nightly as a prophylactic treatment versus Levitra PRN taken on demand (i.e. when needed) versus placebo after a bilateral, nerve-sparing, radical retropubic prostatectomy (BNSRRP).In the first, double-blind phase of the study, which started approximately 14 days after surgery and ended nine months later, men experienced excellent results with Levitra. 36 percent of men taking Levitra on demand (on demand vs. placebo p=<0.0001), 20 percent taking Levitra nightly (p=<0.01) and 17 percent of men on placebo reported normal erectile function (represented by an International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) of ≥ 26) measured at last observation carried forward (LOCF). Over the entire double-blind period the mean per-patient success rates for a successful intercourse were 46 percent for Levitra on demand (vs. placebo p=<0.0001), 34.5 percent for Levitra nightly, and 25 percent on placebo as measured by one question of the diary-based Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP). The study does not support its primary endpoint, the concept of maintaining erectile function by an early intervention with nightly dosing of Levitra in patients after nerve-sparing prostatectomy.....
Full article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116222.php
Sexual desire elusive for many women
It’s the biggest sexual problem women have, and the little blue pill doesn’t seem to help.
Viagra – the medication that enables male erections – doesn’t enhance sexual interest among women taking anti-depressants, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says.
The drug does help women taking the drugs have orgasms more frequently, the JAMA study reports. And it does engorge the clitoris, although this doesn’t yield higher sexual satisfaction, other research shows.
But desire, that elusive flame that propels women toward sexual partners, remains untouched, according to this new study and earlier research by Pfizer Inc., the company that makes the medication.
Viagra “doesn’t have any effect on libido," Robert Taylor Seagraves, a psychiatry professor at Case Western University, told US News & World Report.
"It doesn’t work for desire," echoed Lillian Arleque, 62, a Viagra user and the author of “When Sex Isn’t Good,” quoted in today’s Baltimore Sun. "When you take Viagra it increases blood flow to your genitals. It increases sensation."
Just how big a problem is a lack of interest in sex among women?
A study in last week’s Archives of Internal Medicine shines new light on the question.
Researchers conducted phone surveys of 2,207 women age 30 to 70 and found that 36.2 percent – or more than one out of every three women – admitted to tepid sexual desire in the last 30 days. All the women had been in a steady relationship at least three months.
The finding is consistent with earlier studies. For instance, when University of Chicago sociologist Edward Laumann asked U.S. women about sex in a landmark 1999 study, also published in JAMA, 32 percent reported having low libidos. (By contrast, 15 to 17 percent of men acknowledged a diminished sex drive.)
Another study of 1,355 Swedish woman between the ages of 18 and 74 that year found that 33 percent reported low sexual desire "quite often," "nearly all the time" or "all the time."
And two years ago, in a survey of 2,050 U.S. women published in the journal Menopause, researchers found that 24 percent to 36 percent reported a distinct lack of sexual interest, depending on their age and menopausal status.
The new Archives of Internal Medicine review also documents declining interest in sex for a significant number of women after menopause.
(The study was funded by Procter & Gamble, which wants to sell a testosterone patch for women in the U.S. It’s already available in Europe.)
Of women who entered menopause naturally as a result of aging, 52.4 percent confirmed low levels of desire. By contrast, 26.7 percent of women still getting their periods and 39.7 percent of women in menopause because of surgical interventions (removal of the ovaries) found themselves without sexual urges.
What’s going on?
Changing hormones, which are disrupted through menopause, may explain some of the falloff in sexual interest, says Suzanne West, the study’s lead author and senior public health researcher at RTI International. And clearly, the quality of women’s relationships may be a factor, although this study doesn’t examine inter-personal influences, she adds.
Particularly notable is a somewhat surprising finding: Most women who experience subdued desire don’t seem particularly perturbed about it.
Indeed, only one-quarter of the women who said they weren't inclined toward sex were disturbed by their lack of feeling. Distress levels were lowest among women in natural menopause and highest among women in surgical menopause........ Source http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2008/07/sexual-desire-e.html
Friday, July 25, 2008
Have you got an erection problem? - Erectile Dysfunction in a nutshell
Did you ever wonder what does the term "Erectile Dysfunction" stand for? You might be subject to an erection problem or Erectile Dysfunction if you have any one or all of these symptoms:
- Low sex desire
- Not being turned on
- Insufficient erection (for intercourse)
- Unable to keep an erection during intercourse
- Not having an orgasm
- Quick ejaculation
- Weak orgasm
- Having an orgasm but unable to ejaculate
- Painful sex
Erection problem can have many forms in different men:
Some men are able to get an erect penis but cannot ejaculate or have an orgasm. Some men can erect and ejaculate but experience a decline in the intensity of the orgasm. Others are able to ejaculate and have orgasm with a soft penis. Some men can attain an erection but not sustain it in order to penetrate and complete the sex act. Others can erect and penetrate but ejaculate too quickly to satisfy themselves or their partner. Some men will experience pain in the genitalia with sexual activity.
How to tell if your erection problem has an underlying psychological reason?
Impotence of short duration is very often psychologically related to a specific event or has a physical cause such as beginning a new medication or having gone through a surgical procedure. If you can achieve a fully hard erection with self-stimulation or with the help of your partner, indicates normal blood and nerve supply to your penis.
If you get a good-quality erection at any time that is sufficient to complete the act of intercourse, yet at other times you are impotent, or being able to become erect with self stimulation but not for intercourse is usually an indication of a psychological problem.
If you are impotent only with a certain partner there is not likely to be any physical problem causing impotence.
Impotence with longer duration suggests a physical cause:
If you had any of these illnesses in the past, your doctor needs to know about it because these may indicate an underlying physical cause of impotence.
- Heart Problem
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetes
- Thyroid gland disease
- Testicular disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Stroke
- Cancer
- Kidney disease
- Any Other neurological disease
Some drugs can cause Erectile Dysfunction:
Commonly prescribed medicines such as antidepressants, blood pressure pills, sedatives, hormones, drugs for peptic ulcer, and over-the-counter cold medications can contribute to erectile failure in some men. You should review your medications with your doctor.
ED Treatments:
For more information on Erectile Dysfunction, please visit the following web sites:
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleID=210
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/104740.stm
http://www.viagra-information.co.uk/