Today specialists who deal with “male problems” prefer the term of “erectile dysfunction” to determine these problems.
In 1992 the urologists in the whole world came to an agreement to use the term of “erectile dysfunction” to define a condition inability of the patient to get or maintain adequate erection. Such a condition restricts or makes it impossible to have normal sexual relationship.
Unfortunately, erectile dysfunction today is a common and widely spread disease.
Very often a question arises: What is the difference between erectile dysfunction and impotence. Actually there is no difference except erectile dysfunction is a more modern and more frequently used term, especially in the US. The rest of the world usually use “impotence” to describe this condition.
Impotence (or erectile dysfunction) affects 40% of men aged 35-40. Most men feel awkward consulting a doctor about this problem; however, weak erection or loss of erection during sexual intercourse is already a reason for seeing an urologist or sexologist.
Here are the factors which may cause erectile dysfunction:
* inflammatory diseases affecting the urogenital system and pelvic organs (prostatitis, orchiepididymitis, cystitis, etc.)
*insufficient arterial blood flow in the vessels participating in the mechanism of erection
* diabetes
* hormonal dysfunction
* spinal cord injuries
* penis injuries
* pelvic organ surgeries
* some medicines
* depression, stress
So, impotence may be caused by neurological, endocrine, vascular, medical and topical reasons. Impotence caused by these reasons is considered organic form of erectile dysfunction. However, psychogenic form of erectile dysfunction which is caused by psychoneurological peculiarities is more common.
Almost always when a patient has erectile dysfunction of organic nature a psychological factor is added and very often organic impotence transforms into psychogenic one even in case the organic cause is eliminated. So, no matter whether you suffer from organic or psychogenic impotence, a complex treatment is needed.
Unwillingness of most men to consult a doctor about impotence is the greatest problem for the urologists in the whole world. Meanwhile, modern medicine disposes a huge arsenal of medicines and other means to help such patients.
Any measure aimed at normalization and enhancement of body functions may become a means for restoring erectile function. That is why along with other therapeutic measures physiotherapy, laser and magneto-therapy are recommended as well.
Types of Impotence
Organic impotence
Organic impotence is a progressive worsening of erectile dysfunction characterized by erection quality reduction. The symptoms of organic impotence include absence of nocturnal and morning spontaneous erections. The most frequent causes are various vascular pathologies of arterial or venous nature. Researchers showed that sexually healthy men experience 4-6 episodes of erection lasting 10-15 minutes in the period of fast sleep. General duration of spontaneous erections during night makes up 20% of the whole period of sleep. With age not all of nocturnal spontaneous erections are characterized by rigidity and the number of nocturnal erection episodes with decreased rigidity keeps on growing.
Psychogenic impotence
Psychogenic impotence occurs suddenly and is usually associated with some events in man`s life. In such case the nocturnal and morning spontaneous erections are preserved. Erection is often induced in response to visual stimulation and erotic fantasies.
Differential diagnostics of psychogenic and organic impotence
I. Psychogenic impotence
1. Sudden start
2. Nocturnal spontaneous erections are preserved
3. Relationship problems
4. Erection problems in some certain circumstances
II. Organic erectile dysfunction (impotence)
1. Gradual start
2. Absence of nocturnal spontaneous erections
3. Normal libido and ejaculation
4. Erection problems in any circumstances
What you should do to do to avoid erectile dysfunction (impotence)?
* lead healthy lifestyle, do sports, eat regularly and healthy, take care for your health;
* do not smoke, do not abuse alcohol or use narcotics including “poppers”;
*do not use medicines which may cause erectile dysfunction or use them strictly as your doctor prescribed and as it is recommended in the instructions for these drugs.
* lead regular sex life without long periods of continence or sexual overindulgence.
* consult an urologist if you got injury in the region of small pelvis or crotch, or if you have diabetes or hypertension.
Swine flu (H1N1) is a disease caused by strains of flu virus and characterized by epidemic spread of the disease in swine populations. It is widely spread over everywhere among pigs with the exception of Australia, greater part of Africa and naturally Antarctica. Swine flu is “well known” in North and South America, Europe, continental China, Taiwan, Japan and other countries in Asia and some regions in Africa. The virus circulates among pigs as well as among other mammals, birds and people. The virus tends to mutate with time. Swine flu is rarely transmitted from animal to human.
Swine flu outbreak in 2009
In 2009 an outbreak of a new strain of the H1N1 virus occurred, which was at once called “swine flu”. It was caused by H1N1 subtype virus which genetically resembles swine flu virus most. The viruses of this type are transmitted from human to human and cause symptoms similar to those of seasonal flu. However, this disease, which caused panic in so many people all over the world, has nothing to do with true swine flu: not a single pig caught this disease in the period when Mass Media started “swine flu” hysteria. It is believed that those were newsmen who gave the disease the name of “swine flu”. Now “new flu” is a more frequently used name for H1N1.
Geography of H1N1
The 2009 outbreak is believed to start on March 18 when the first cases of the disease were fixed in Mexico City. Then the flue has spread in Mexico (now more than 17 450 infected) and to south-west of the US. Now the number of the infected prevail in the US (43 800 patients) and Australia (29 000patients). The H1N1 virus has been detected in almost all European counties, but among the European countries the situation is most serious in Great Britain (12 500 patients) and Germany (11 100 patients).
The symptoms of H1N1
The symptoms of “swine flu” are the same as of regular flu. They include dizziness, high temperature, fever, general weakness, cough, angina, runny nose, pain in muscles, joint ache, nausea and upset stomach.
What medicines are used to treat swine flu?
World Health Organization recommends the following antiviral medicines intended for the treatment and prevention of “swine flu”: Oseltamivir and Zanamivir. They claim that H1N1strain is less sensitive to other antiviral drugs. Oseltamivir also comes under the name of Tamiflu.
However, statements that the right medicines for treating “swine flu” are Tamiflu, Triazoverin and Interferon spread by mass media are more like of marketing fad. And as an ad it works great: after mass media announced about the effectiveness of Tamiflu against swine flu, the medicine was literally snapped up despite its expensiveness. However, the effectiveness of this medicine against H1N1 has not been confirmed. In due time, this medicine was also believed to be panacea for avian flu, which occurred in 2004. However, 70% of patients who died of this disease used Tamiflu.
How to protect yourself against swine flu?
You can avoid this infection by observing regular measures taken during flu or acute respiratory disease outbreaks. Avoid busy places; do not make trips to regions where “swine flu” outbreaks have been reported. However World Health Organization considers it ineffective and inappropriate to organize quarantines or restrict people`s right to travel.
Vaccine against H1N1
World Health Organization and medics in the whole world are still trying to create a vaccine against H1N1 virus.
Is H1N1 virus that dangerous?
Both “regular “and the “new” flue pandemia could be dangerous. Every year about 10 million people in the world have flu; half a million of them die. Many doctors think that the panic about the disease is often more scary than the disease itself. Meanwhile, the statements made by mass media about “swine flu” could be described in no other way than panicky. Fresh are the memories of the audience, so frequently “intimidated” by newsmen, about the recent outbreaks of bird flu and Siberian plague which also were alleged to be dangerous for humanity. However, there were no serious consequences for humanity in planetary scale, and all the “terror” happened just on the pages of newspapers, web-sites and TV screens.
Month by month embryo development
Magic within 270 days
The course of human embryo development is a real wonder. Imagine, just within 270 days more than 200 million cells are developed out of only one cell. And the little embryo, which is initially invisible and could be discerned only through microscope, grows half a meter in height.
Every process of its development runs in a step by step mode, following the rules of nature like everything else in the universe.
The first step: the moment of ovum fertilization till the end of the second week of fetus`s life in the mother`s womb. The second step: development of the fetus from the beginning of the third week through the eighth week. In this period some important changes happen to the fetus – the embryo starts to look like human and the formation of all vitally important organs is commenced. At the end of the second step the embryo could be called a fetus. The third step is the final one. It starts from the third month and culminates with baby birth. The most interesting thing about the human fetus is resemblance of its main development processes to those of vertebrates. There are only a few differences between human fetus and that of other representatives of earth`s fauna which allow to trace the development stages of human fetus. Thus only human fetus develops inside mother`s womb within 270 days, which equals to 10 lunar months.
The first trimester of pregnancy
The first trimester or the first 13-14 weeks is the most important period in the development of a baby, since it is the period when his all internal organs start to form.
In the first 7 days after fertilization the ovum cell starts to divide. Even if this process runs without pathologies, it does not mean successful pregnancy unless ovum implantation occurs. That is why the period from the 7th through the 9th day are considered the most crucial.
In case when the ovum did not get fastened well enough or got attached too high or low, it could be a risk pregnancy. It means that the baby would be developing normally, but the threat of miscarriage will be impending for a rather long time.
Another anomaly could be considered implantation of the ovum in any of the uterine tubes. In such a case the fertilized ovum does not get enough nutrition, since there are too few vessels there. Moreover, maintenance of such a pregnancy poses hazard to woman`s life.
The next important period of pregnancy is the 2nd -through the 9th week. Any deviation in the development of the embryo in this period usually leads to spontaneous abortion. Also pay special attention to your health in the 11th-13th week, since it is time when a new stage of fetal development starts.
Now we see how important the first trimester is and how little the successfulness of this period depends on the mother. It is time when the nature by natural selection promotes birth of healthy children. Nonetheless in most cases when the mom-to-be does not abuse alcohol, smoking or some medicines and is in good health, she has greater chances to avoid miscarriage and her pregnancy would proceed without any abnormalities. First of all normal pregnancy is associated with the correct chromosome number in the egg cell.
The second trimester of pregnancy
During the second trimester the fetus continues to develop. During this period it would grow considerably. Now your pregnancy would be noticeable to others, since your stomach grows in size quite quickly. In this period the baby makes more coordinated moves, the number of which may reach 600 during one day. The baby would be most active in the 6th month of pregnancy.
By the end of the second trimester the fetus is already viable. But if the baby is born at this period, he would be able to make the first breath and cry, but unfortunately the baby is still too weak to survive.
The third trimester of pregnancy
During the third trimester of the pregnancy quite a few changes happen in the life of the baby. Most of his organs have already formed and some of them even function. Now he needs to gain some weight and grow in height. The last period of pregnancy is the most difficult for the mother. It is a period when most of complications and ailments occur. They include leg swelling, varicose veins dilatation, backache, heavy breathing, etc.
In this period the mom gets exhausted very quickly and need to rest more frequently. She is no longer able to perform same volume of activity she used to.
Alzheimer`s disease is a degenerative brain disease characterized by progressing loss of intellect. The disease first described in1907 by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer is one of the most common forms of acquired dementia. Only in the USA more than 1,5 million people suffer from Alzheimer`s disease. 30 % out of total number of 1,3 million aged in the US nursing homes make up Alzheimer`s patients.
This disease affects people independently of their nationality or socio-economic status. The youngest Alzheimer`s patent known was 28 years old, though the disease usually affects people above 40. Though very often Alzheimer`s diseases goes unrecognized, it is the fourth leading cause of death: in the US more than 100 thousand people die of Alzheimer`s disease every year.
Alzheimer’s disease was first described in patients under 65 years old; that is why earlier it was called presenile dementia. It was also wrongly considered as manifestation of aging or brain vessel sclerosis. In truth the disease is associated with degeneration of nerve cells (neurons) rather than with the affection of blood vessels.
The symptoms of Alzheimer`s disease may vary from person to person and from stage to stage. Alzheimer’s symptoms include: memory and attention impairment, thought disorder, cognition disintegration, disorientation in time and space, speech impairment, communication disorder, personality disintegration. The symptoms of dementia gradually progress leading to full inability of the patient of self-service. The process of disintegration of the psyche may last several years causing a lot of sufferings to the patient and his family.
Diagnosing Alzheimer`s.
There is no such a test which could help diagnose Alzheimer`s disease accurately. That is why the doctor should exclude other diseases causing dementia symptoms too, especially those ones which are curable, i.e. benign tumors, injuries, infections, metabolism disorders, medicine overdose and mental disorders such as depression or anxiety syndrome. Even after exclusion of other diseases the diagnose of Alzheimer’s disease is still considered hypothetical. It could only be confirmed after post-mortem microscopic examination of brain tissue. Rarely this type of examination is applied to live people. For this purpose biopsy is done (a small sample of brain tissue is removed for examination).
Changes in brain confirming the diagnose of Alzheimer`s disease are usually found in outer layer of the brain (cortex) and hippocampus, which lays deep in the hemispheres and plays an important role in the memory processes. Microscopic examination reveals neurofibrillar tangles and neuritic plaques in these region of brain of Alzheimer`s patients. The tangles consist of pathologically changed neurons containing anomalous proteins. Plaques represent are extracellular deposits of amyloid (protein and carbohydrate complexes) in the gray matter of the brain. The greater the number of tangles and plaques in the brain the more evident the intellectual disorders are.
Biochemical researches show that Alzheimer`s disease cause considerable reduction in acetyltransferase rate in brain – a ferment necessary for acetylcholine synthesis. The latter is a neurotransmitter, i.e. a substance transmitting stimulation from one cell to another and participating in memory processes.
The treatment of Alzheimer`s disease.
The disease is incurable. Tacrine is a medicine that can only suspend or decelerate the progression of the disease. That is why the treatment generally carries symptomatic nature. The patients and their families are usually helped to adjust themselves to the disease. It is important to make the patient lead an active life. In case of delirium, excitation or other behavioral changes medical therapy is recommended.
The cause of Alzheimer`s disease is yet unknown. Presently many researches are carried out in order to determine the role of viral infections, heredity, pathological immune responses, environmental factors and toxic agents in the development of the disease.
Acne should be treated correctly to avoid scars. First of all consult a dermatologist. Only the dermatologist can determine the cause of your acne break out. If you are older than 25 years old, he is likely to ask you to undergo a full examination, since acne at this age may be a consequence of some disease.
The treatment of acne should be prescribed by your dermatologist as well and may vary depending on your sex, age, duration of the break-out, clinicopathologic examination (identifying type, localization and abundance of the elements) and the results of complete examination (helps to detect concomitant diseases). The treatment course should be determined individually for each patient and may include hormonal treatment, immune system improvement or topical treatment only, etc. Self-treatment is ineffective and even dangerous, since it may worsen acne break-out and cause complications including scars.
The acne treatment approach depends on the type of acne break-out, but the common principles are the following:
* inhibition of sebaceous gland function;
* elimination of dead skin cells blocking the canals of sebaceous glands;
* elimination of bacteria causing skin inflammation.
Acne therapy consists of special skin care and medicines. The medicines for treating acne may come in a form of ointments, creams, masks, tablets for peroral administration and even injections(in severe cases). However, today most dermatologists recommend their patients to use medicines for topical use, i.e. lotions, creams, ointments, etc.