Prostate Natural Cures - Larry Clapp

Low testosterone linked to long-term risk of death in over-50s

2007-06-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Low testosterone linked to long-term risk of death in over-50s

The results of a study presented on June 5, 2007 at The Endocrine Society for publication in their ENDO 07 Research Summaries Book determined that men over 50 whose levels of the hormone testosterone are low had a greater risk of dying within an eighteen year period than men with higher levels.

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine chief of the Division of Epidemiology Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD and colleagues evaluated data from nearly 800 men aged 50 to 91 who enrolled in the Rancho Bernardo Heart and Chronic Disease Study in the 1970s. Twenty-nine percent of the participants had testosterone levels at the lower limit of the normal range for their age at the beginning of the 1980s. These men experienced a 33 percent greater risk of dying from any cause over the ensuing 18 years than men with higher levels. Participants with decreased testosterone had a greater incidence of elevated inflammatory cytokines, as well as greater waist girth and other metabolic syndrome risk factors.

"Conventional wisdom is that women live longer because estrogen is good and testosterone is bad," Dr Barrett-Connor stated. "We don’t know. Maybe the decline in testosterone is healthy and comes with older age. Maybe the decline is bad and is associated with chronic diseases of aging."

"The new study is only the second report linking deficiency of this sex hormone with increased death from all causes, over time, and the first to do so in relatively healthy men who are living in the community," announced coauthor Gail Laughlin, PhD, who presented the findings. "We have followed these men for an average of 18 years and our study strongly suggests that the association between testosterone levels and death is not simply due to some acute illness."

New EPCA-2 blood test for PCa 94% Accurate

2007-05-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

New, EPCA-2, blood test for Prostate Cancer 94% Accurate

A new prostate test that relies on measuring levels of a blood protein called EPCA-2 accurately found cancer 94% of the time, according to a study released Wednesday.

By Susan Brink
Times Staff Writer

April 26, 2007

A new prostate test that relies on measuring levels of a blood protein called EPCA-2 accurately found cancer 94% of the time, a significant improvement over the current PSA test, according to a study released Wednesday.

Each year, about 1.6 million men undergo biopsies because they test positive on a PSA test — but only about 230,000 of them actually have cancer.

The new test for EPCA-2 — or early prostate cancer antigen — not only detected prostate cancer but also determined whether it had spread to other parts of the body, according to the study published in the journal Urology.

"It could allow us to help patients decide if they need a biopsy or if it's tame or has the ability to invade outside the prostate," said Robert H. Getzenberg, director of research at the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a coauthor of the study.

The test still faces large-scale clinical trials and review by the Food and Drug Administration, but it could be available in early 2008, said Getzenberg, who is a consultant to Seattle-based Onconome Inc., which is developing the test technology.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. About 27,000 die from prostate cancer a year, the society said.

Rectal examination and the PSA — or prostate specific antigen — test, which was approved in 1994, have been the primary methods of detecting the cancer.

But questions about the accuracy of the PSA test have been building. It has a high level of false positives and misses about 15% of prostate cancers.

Many false positive results require patients to undergo a biopsy, an unpleasant surgical procedure where prostate samples are taken for analysis.

Another problem is that the PSA test does not distinguish between the cancer's aggressive form, which is frequently fatal, and a slow-growing form that patients can safely live with.

"The PSA is a flawed marker. Everybody agrees with that," said Dr. Laurence Klotz, chief of urology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto. "The search for a better marker is intense."

In hunting down a new marker, Getzenberg said his team found that the EPCA-2 protein was structurally different in cancerous and normal prostate cells.

The researchers measured the EPCA-2 levels in the blood of 385 men who were known have cancer or were free of it.

Men who had an elevated EPCA-2 test indeed had cancer 94% of the time, compared with only about 19% of men with an elevated PSA result, reported in previous studies. The test falsely sounded an alarm 3% of the time, according to the report.

The EPCA-2 test missed about 6% of existing cancers. The PSA test misses about 15% of existing cancers, according to previous studies.

"It's pretty exciting," said Dr. Mark Scholz, a Marina del Rey oncologist specializing in prostate cancer. "PSA testing has led to over-treatment. With a more accurate test like this, one of the big pluses right away would be fewer biopsies."

But Scholz said the PSA still has value. "If you do two tests, you have a greater likelihood of finding the truth," he said.

Other prostate tests are in the pipeline, including a urine-based genetic test and another blood test.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

susan.brink@latimes.com

Prostate Biopsies may cause Metastases

2007-04-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

Inflammation caused by Biopsy may be involved in prostate cancer metastasis

A report published online on March 19, 2007 in the journal Nature described the findings of University of California San Diego researchers that the inflammation associated with the immune system's attack on prostate tumors could be involved in their metastasis. It has been hypothesized that genetic changes within the cancer cell result in metastasis, but this does not explain metastases that occur years after the primary tumor.

Working with a mouse model of prostate cancer, professor of pharmacology in UCSD's Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Michael Karin, PhD, and his colleagues discovered a signaling pathway that increased prostate tumor metastases. They found that a cytokine called RANK ligand, produced by inflammatory cells, initiates a chain reaction in which a protein kinase known as IKKa is activated to enter the cancer cell nucleus and reduce the expression of the antimetastatic gene Maspin.

"An excellent inverse correlation between IKKa activation and Maspin production was detected, such that advanced prostate cancer cells contain high amounts of activated IKKa in their nuclei and express little or no Maspin," Dr Karin stated. "Maspin is a very potent inhibitor of metastasis; in a patient with metastasis, cells have found a way to turn off Maspin, which may depend on invasion of the tumor with RANK ligand-producing cells that activate IKKa."

"Our findings suggest that promoting inflammation of the cancerous tissue, for instance, by performing prostate biopsies, may, ironically, hasten progression of metastasis," Dr Karin observed. "We have shown that proteins produced by inflammatory cells are the 'smoking gun' behind prostate cancer metastasis. The next step is to completely indict one of them."

Research team member Steven L. Gonias, MD, PhD, added, "This study helps explain the paradox that, in certain types of malignancy, inflammation within a cancer may be counterproductive."

A major cause of Prostate Cancer-Bisphenol-A, in everything

2007-03-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE
WHAT IT'S IN
Products that might contain bisphenol-A:
• Hard, clear plastic baby bottles
• Hard, clear, sometimes tinted plastic water bottles
• Hard, clear plastic bowls, tableware and storage containers
• Liners inside food and drink cans
• Dental sealant to prevent cavities
• Electronic equipment
• Sports-safety equipment
• Medical devices
• Pet carriers
• Spray-on flame retardants
Source: American Plastics Council
SAFETY TIPS
Polycarbonates can be identified by the recycling No. 7, which often appears with arrows in the shape of a triangle on the bottom of containers. Bottles that show wear, are cracked, or are cloudy should be discarded. Exposing these products to high temperatures should be avoided.
Although its name may not be familiar, bisphenol-A is everywhere. It's in the lining of your soup can, the clear plastic of your baby's bottle and the sealants covering your teeth.
But it might be harmful to your health.
An expert panel of endocrinologists, statisticians and biologists was called together last week by a federal agency to review a report on this ubiquitous chemical. The final review, which was supposed to be announced earlier this month, was postponed.
For several years, scientists have been concerned about bisphenol-A. Hundreds of papers have shown that it can be toxic in extremely low doses.
Traces of bisphenol-A have been found in nearly every American tested for it.
The chemical mimics estrogen and binds to estrogen receptors on cells. In more than 100 experiments conducted on lab animals, it has been shown to cause genetic changes leading to prostate cancer, as well as decreased testosterone, low sperm counts and signs of early female puberty.
Work also has been done on human tissue, with results showing that exposure can cause changes in prostate and breast tissue.
The National Institutes of Health's Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, which was charged with drafting the report, may be compromised, critics say. The environmental organization Environmental Working Group has evidence showing that a private consulting firm with close ties to the chemical industry did much of the work on this report, as well as for the center itself.
The firm, Sciences International, has had clients including BASF and Dow Chemical — companies that manufacture bisphenol-A — as well as DuPont, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, 3M, Union Carbide, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Chemistry Council.
Since allegations were made public earlier this month, Sciences International has been removed from the review. But questions remain about its role within the federal center and in the report it compiled for the expert panel's review.
However, the reason for the delay in the expert panel's conclusions was not any association with Sciences International, said Allen Dearry, the interim associate director of the NIH's National Toxicology Program, which is also associated with the reproductive-health center.
The delay, he said, is the result of the enormous volume of material required for the panel to review.
"They are reviewing 600 studies," said Christine Bruske-Flowers, spokeswoman for the federal National Institutes of Environmental Health Science, which is also involved with the center. "They haven't been able to get through them all."
The panel will reconvene in two or three months, officials said.
Sciences International referred all questions to the center.
Bisphenol-A is the raw material of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Plastic manufacturers value this polymer for its ability to withstand high temperatures, its durability and its transparency. It is because of these characteristics that manufacturers use it for making drinking vessels such as water and baby bottles.
Epoxy resins are used on the inside of tin and aluminum cans to prevent corrosion.
According to Rudolph Deanin, a professor of plastics engineering at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, bisphenol-A will leach from polycarbonate if exposed to hot liquids or alkaline material.
Other studies have suggested it can leach into water at lower temperatures.
The chemical has been highly controversial. Industry groups have claimed that human exposure levels are too low to cause harm. Indeed, they have provided about a dozen of their own studies to support this contention.
But researchers, including Patricia Hunt, a reproductive biologist at Washington State University, beg to differ.
Hunt became interested in bisphenol-A research after all of her laboratory mice started showing high levels of genetic abnormalities in 2003. She discovered the animals had been exposed to bisphenol-A that was leaching from their polycarbonate cages — and it was this chemical that had caused the abnormalities.
Since then, she has conducted experiments showing that at low doses, the chemical can cause problems. In a recent study, she demonstrated that bisphenol-A, when exposed to pregnant female mice, affected not only the pregnant mice, but the egg production of the female pups.
That's an effect that spans three generations — the pregnant mouse, the fetal mouse and the eggs of the fetal mouse.
"I fell into this by accident," she said. "But I'm pretty committed because I'm horrified by what I see."
Hunt said the chemical is more likely to leach as the product ages. Bottles that show wear or are cracked or cloudy should be discarded. And exposing these products to high temperatures should be avoided.
Polycarbonates can be identified by the recycling No. 7, which often appears with arrows in the shape of a triangle at the bottom of a bottle or container. Baby-bottle manufacturers are not required to label their bottles.
"I'm trying to walk a fine line," Hunt said, "between making consumers aware and freaking parents out and making them unable to sleep at night."
But she's concerned enough that she now stores her food in glass containers and never microwaves plastic.
WHAT IT'S IN
Products that might contain bisphenol-A:
• Hard, clear plastic baby bottles
• Hard, clear, sometimes tinted plastic water bottles
• Hard, clear plastic bowls, tableware and storage containers
• Liners inside food and drink cans
• Dental sealant to prevent cavities
• Electronic equipment
• Sports-safety equipment
• Medical devices
• Pet carriers
• Spray-on flame retardants
Source: American Plastics Council
SAFETY TIPS
Polycarbonates can be identified by the recycling No. 7, which often appears with arrows in the shape of a triangle on the bottom of containers. Bottles that show wear, are cracked, or are cloudy should be discarded. Exposing these products to high temperatures should be avoided.

Prostatitis Pain can be Intestinal Gas

2007-03-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

sci.med.prostate.prostatitis

I know that you'all are going to have a hard time
believing this.
cp is the most misdiagnosed disease in the world.
cp is nothing more than trapped gas in the intestines.
large amounts of gas do not bother most people,
but people with what has been diagnosed cp have a
severe sensitivity to trapped gas and suffer severe
pain which is radiated into the groin and lower back.
it is a known fact that cp patients fart very little
especially during what is called a cp flare-up.
a cp flare up is nothing but gas trapped in a persons bowels.
this gas build up can last several hours or several days and even
months in some people.when you have low gas your cp goes into
remission, until it builds up again to the severe level.
one of the best ways to help relieve the gas is to
drink a lot of water and see your dr. about getting some
medication to relieve the gas.
away goes your gas and away goes cp.
i know one person who has to take a pill
everytime he eats because of severe gas ,but can't
recall what it is.anyway he suffered severe ,disabling pain
from gas everytime he ate.
get rid of your gas and you will have no more trouble with cp

Negative Prostate Biopsies cause Sexual Problems

2007-03-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

Reactions to 'false-positive' prostate cancer screenings assessed

University of Iowa study, Reported in Urology Online, February 2007

Men who get a "false-positive" prostate cancer result -- an abnormal screening test followed by a biopsy indicating no evidence of cancer -- appear more likely to worry about their subsequent risk of cancer and report more problems with sexual function compared to men with normal screening results, according to a University of Iowa study. The study findings, based on telephone surveys of 210 men, appear in the February online issue of the journal Urology. Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin malignancy diagnosed in men in the United States. The majority of men in the United States are screened beginning at age 50 with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. "This study emphasizes the importance of doctors' discussing the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening with patients," said the study's lead author David Katz, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, and of epidemiology in the UI College of Public Health. "Because screening affects a large number of men relative to those who are expected to benefit from treatment, even a small adverse effect of apparently false-positive results on cancer-related worry and quality of life could have a substantial impact on public health," said Katz, who also is a staff physician and researcher with the Department of Veterans Affairs Iowa City Health Care System and its Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies and Practices.

The study team interviewed 101 men who had normal PSA levels and 109 men who had an abnormal PSA reading or abnormal digital rectal examination, but whose biopsy for prostate cancer then was negative. Men with false-positives were about three times as likely to report being at least somewhat worried about getting prostate cancer and nearly twice as likely to report being bothered by their sexual function. Katz said that the increased problems with sexual function reported by men with false-positives could be a residual effect of the biopsy, which can cause short-term pain or other side effectsterm, or it could be an effect from worry about the possibility of still having cancer. "This finding warrants further investigation," he said. "Men's perceptions following a false-positive prostate screening test are parallel to those of women who have an abnormal mammography exam but whose follow-up biopsy shows no breast cancer," Katz said. "It's understandable that false-positive prostate exams could affect men's outlook on their health." As with other prostate cancer screening studies, the UI-led study raises the question whether men without any prostate cancer symptoms should receive PSA testing. Katz said that given the lack of definitive evidence that PSA screening saves lives in asymptomatic men, deciding whether to have a PSA screening test needs to be an individualized decision that considers the patient's current health status and risk factors, such as being African-American and/or having a family history of the disease. "Men can discuss the pros and cons of getting a PSA test with their doctors. However, once a man decides to go ahead and get a PSA test, if its results are abnormal, he typically should have ongoing follow-up and surveillance for prostate cancer," Katz said. Katz said that a strength of the UI study was that it did not rely on volunteers. "Volunteers who sign up for a prostate cancer screening study represent a different type of population than that comprised by the individuals in our study, who were patients seen in the usual course of care," he said. However, Katz noted, a limitation of the study is that the researchers were not able to obtain baseline data on how the men originally felt about their health prior to screening. In addition, the study focused primarily on Caucasian men.

BPH treatments-Global Update

2007-02-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

What is BPH?
The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut that is only present in men. It is located just below the bladder and surrounds the urethra. One of its main functions is to produce an important liquefying component of semen, which allows the sperm to move freely. An enlarged prostate is caused by an overgrowth of prostate cells, and leads to a constriction of the urethra. This in turn reduces the flow of urine, making it increasingly difficult to empty the bladder.

BPH is very common, affecting about one-third of men aged 50+, and may be treated with drugs and surgery. As any treatment can have unwanted effects, however, some men with mild symptoms opt for “watchful waiting”, where no treatment is undertaken, but they are closely monitored. If symptoms deteriorate, it is then possible to opt for treatment.

Current drug treatments
Two main classes of drugs are prescribed for BPH: alpha-blockers and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.

Alpha-blockers (or alpha-1 antagonists) work by relaxing the muscles at the neck of the bladder and in the prostate. In this way they reduce the pressure on the urethra and so help increase the flow of urine. They do not cure BPH but help to alleviate some of the symptoms. Around 60% of men find symptoms improve significantly after 2-3 weeks of treatment with an alpha-blocker, which are also used for hypertension. Common side-effects include tiredness, dizziness and headaches.

Major drugs in this class include:

tamsulosin – marketed by developer Astellas as Harnal, and licensor Boehringer Ingelheim as Flomax or Alna. Abbott will co-market Flomax in the US until the end of 2005
alfuzosin – sanofi-aventis’ Xatral. A long-acting version is available as UroXatral/Xatral OD
doxazosin – Pfizer’s Cardura
and terazosin – Abbott’s Hytrin
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors inhibit production of the hormone dihydrotestosterone, produced from testosterone, which contributes to prostate enlargement. Merck & Co’s Proscar (finasteride) is the main drug of this type for BPH, although it is now being challenged by a newer product, GlaxoSmithKline's Avodart (dutasteride). Proscar was first launched in the US in 1998 and is also used for the treatment of male-pattern baldness.

Unlike alpha blockers, 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors are able to reverse BPH to some extent and so may delay the need for surgery. Potential side-effects of finasteride, however, include a reduced sex drive and difficulty in maintaining an erection. In addition, it takes several months of treatment before any benefit is noticed.

Certain plant-based products are also used in the treatment of BPH and there is some evidence that an extract of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) can be beneficial. Pierre Fabre markets this plant extract as Permixon, and it was the sixth best-selling product in the class for the 12 months to June 2005, according to IMS.

Tamsulosin dominates the market
The major compound used in the treatment of BPH is the alpha-1 antagonist tamsulosin, originally developed by Yamanouchi (now Astellas). In the 12-month period to the end of June 2005, tamsulosin had almost half the G4C BPH market. It was first launched in Japan in 1993 as Harnal, and in 1994, Yamanouchi licensed it out to BI for co-marketing in certain European countries and in North and South America. Astellas co-markets with BI in France, Italy and Greece. BI mainly sells it as Flomax, which is also co-promoted in the US by Abbott, though this agreement is due to cease at the end of 2005. Astellas claims that tamsulosin has high selectivity for the lower urinary tract, making it better suited to BPH therapy than previous alpha-1 antagonists.

Global BPH therapy sales (G4C therapy class)

Source: IMS MIDAS Quantum

Behind tamsulosin in terms of sales is Merck & Co's Proscar, the leading 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, with an 18% market share. Its share has fallen since 2001, perhaps because of the launch of GSK’s similar product, Avodart, which hit the major markets in 2003. Avodart was number five in the G4C class for the 12 months to June 2005, with a 4% share, but 150% fixed-rate US dollar growth. Number four in the class was sanofi-aventis' Xatral, with 10% of the market.

The top five products together accounted for 80% of the BPH market. The remainder is mainly made up by plant-based products such as Pierre Fabre's Permixon and older alpha-1 antagonists. Also, the alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist, naftopidil, is used for BPH in Japan. Originally developed by Roche, it is sold by Asahi Chemical and Akzo Nobel in Japan as Flivas and Avishot, but development outside Japan has stopped.

New products in R&D

Various new compounds for BPH are in research and development. In addition, some compounds marketed for other indications are in trials for BPH, notably Lilly Icos’ tadalafil, which is marketed for erectile dysfunction as Cialis.

Major new compounds in R&D for BPH
Compound Mechanism of action Developer(s) Phase
silodosin alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist Kissei, Watson, Recordati Filed (Japan); III (USA)
lonidamine indazole-3-carboxylic acid Threshold III
lemuteporfin photosensitizer QLT II
NX 1207 unknown Nymox II
BXL 628 vitamin D3 analogue BioXell II

Source: IMS LifeCycle R&Dfocus /IMS Company Profiles

Of the new BPH compounds in development, the most advanced is Kissei and Watson's silodosin, which was filed for approval in Japan by originator Kissei in 2004. Watson has rights in the US, Canada and Mexico and Recordati holds European rights. It is in Phase III studies in the US with Watson, with an FDA filing forecast in 2008, and in Phase II trials in Europe.

Threshold is investigating lonidamine, an old compound (first patented in 1972), which was launched in 1987 by the Italian firm Angelini for the treatment of a variety of cancers, but was withdrawn in 2003, when Threshold acquired the regulatory dossier for the compound. Threshold initiated a European Phase III trial in BPH in August 2005.

QLT uses photodynamic therapy (PDT) to make lemuteporfin, a ‘light-activated’ drug. An instrument is put into the urethra to inject lemuteporfin into the prostate, and then another is used to shine light into the urethra and activate the therapy. When the cool laser light activates the lemuteporfin, the overgrown prostate tissue is destroyed.

BioXell announced in July 2005 the initiation of a Phase IIb trial of BXL 628 in BPH, to take place at 60 urology centres across Italy, enrolling more than 500 patients. BioXell is also planning to evaluate BXL 628 for an additional indication of non-bacterial chronic prostatitis. The company expects to initiate a proof-of-concept study in this indication by the end of 2005. BioXell has also confirmed that Phase IIa trials are ongoing, in Italy, in patients with over-active bladder.

In October 2005, Lilly and Icos announced positive results from a Phase II study of tadalafil in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms in men with BPH. The companies have a joint venture to develop tadalafil and are reported to be planning Phase III studies for this new indication. Lilly Icos notes that many men with BPH also suffer from erectile dysfunction, so it is well-poised to capitalise on Cialis’ existing marketing and promotional tactics.

This article was written by Susan Murray, Senior Editor of IMS Company Profiles.

To make any comments on this article, or to ask a question of the author, please contact the publisher. If you would like to submit an article, please contact the editors.

The opinions expressed in the articles published in this section do not necessarily reflect those of Pharmalicensing or Bridgehead International. No actions including proposals to or agreements with other companies should be taken by any reader without obtaining specific business or legal advice. Neither the publisher nor the authors accept any liability for any actions or activities undertaken by any reader or other third party as a consequence of these articles or for any errors or omissions therein.

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> Log in | Register BPH - a market due for enlargement as the population ages?
IMS Health (18 November 2005)

In the 12-month period to the end of June 2005, according to IMS, the global benign prostatic hypertrophy/hyperplasia (BPH) treatment market (G4C ATC therapy class) was worth almost $4 billion and grew by 12% in fixed-rate US dollar terms.

ZYFLAMEND reducing inflamation, including the prostate

2007-02-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDY SUGGESTS BENEFITS OF ZYFLAMEND® IN THE EARLY TREATMENT OF PROSTATE CANCER
By nightsurfer
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDY SUGGESTS BENEFITS OF ZYFLAMEND® IN THE EARLY TREATMENT OF PROSTATE CANCER -. Tags: ZYFLAMEND, COX-2, COX-1, inhibitor, herbs, herbal, prostatecancer, prostate, cancer, PCa, treatment, prevention, edu, ...
Ma.gnolia: Recent Bookmarks - http://ma.gnolia.com/rss/full/bookmarks

ZYFLAMEND, a natural supplement, is reducing inflamation, including the prostate, prostatitis.

Prostate90 experience with patients corroborates the general and specific reduction of inflammation, especially when combined with 3T Cod Liver oil/day and 400MG Magnesium citrate (without calcium).

Lupron, etc Cause heart attacks?

2007-02-25T10:01:00.000-08:00

Prostate cancer therapy may increase risk of death from heart ...
eMaxHealth.com - Hickory,NC,USA
Androgen deprivation therapy - one of the most common treatments for prostate cancer - may increase the risk of death from heart disease in patients over ...

BOSTON-Androgen deprivation therapy - one of the most common treatments for prostate cancer - may increase the risk of death from heart disease in patients over age 65, according to a new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital and other institutions.

The study results were based on data from CaPSURE, a national registry of men with prostate cancer. Although the findings need to be confirmed in clinical trials, the study authors state that oncologists should weigh the benefits of androgen deprivation therapy, or ADT, against the risk of heart problems in older prostate cancer patients.

For Natural Prostate cures that work, without side effects See: www.prostate90.com

Prostatitis - Un-natural, ineffective treatments

2007-02-25T09:42:00.000-08:00

Cholesterol drugs for prostatitis

About 3 weeks ago my dr put me 80mg of zocor because of my high cholesterol. Within 4 days i was unable to stand up and the cp symptoms went out of control Called her and she changed me to 20 mg of fluvastatin. the cp pain dropped significantly but still severe ...
sci.med.prostate.prostatitis - Feb 24, 06:03am by - 1 message - 1 author

For natural prostate treatments that work, see: www.prostatitis60daycure.com

When you should never treat prostate cancer

2007-02-22T00:08:00.001-08:00

"When you should never treat prostate cancer"

Conventional treatments for prostate cancer, such as surgery to remove the prostate gland or radiotherapy, are dangerous. The good news, though, is that they may not be necessary for most men diagnosed with a low-grade of the disease.

Prostate cancer surgery can result in serious problems. These include incontinence and impotence.
Radiation treatment is not effective and can lead to major problems in your bladder and colon.
Unfortunately, few medical professionals in this country will admit there's a better way. But the British are making headway.

Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in England found something I've been telling you for years. They discovered that men whose cancer is detected early by a PSA screening are not likely to die from the disease. They are far more likely to die from something completely unrelated.

The study followed men between the ages of 55 and 59 with low-grade cancer. It showed that men in this age group have only a one in 100 chance of dying from the disease within 15 years. This was true even when they didn't receive any treatment at all. Treatments, such as surgery and radiation, are not likely to prolong survival in low-grade cases. Yet your urologist will jump to relieve you of your gland (and possibly your sex life) if cancer is present, no matter the grade.

The PSA test measures levels of prostate-specific antigen. Your prostate gland produces this protein.
Doctors believed for years that it provided an earlier detection. However, now we know that most elevated PSA levels are due to benign enlargement of the prostate.

The British researchers are testing a new technique for prostate cancer called Active Surveillance. This technique will help ensure that doctors give treatment only to men who will benefit. Men who have high-grade, advanced, prostate cancer, for instance, would be more likely to benefit from treatments.

As you can see, not all cancers are the same. All men will get prostate cancer. Should we go chopping and slicing on small chances that these cancers will be lethal? I think not. At last we're seeing some enlightenment in the medical industry. Too bad it's coming from Europe and hasn't had an effect in the U.S. yet. I predict it will be years before the sickness industry in this country looks itself in the mirror.

The chances you'll die from prostate cancer are slim, especially if you have the more common slow-growing cancer. If you're in this group, don't submit to surgery or radiation. There are plenty of alternatives that work well and don't have any negative side effects. You can find these on my website at www.secondopinionnewsletter.com .

Yours for better health and medical freedom, Robert Jay Rowen, MD

Prostatectomy Approaches Have Similar Continence Impact

2007-02-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

Prostatectomy Approaches Have Similar Continence Impact
By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 14 - Open radical retropubic prostatectomy and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy to do not lead to significantly different rates of urinary incontinence postoperatively, Canadian researchers report in the February issue of the Journal of Urology.

"Recently," lead investigator Dr. Niels-Erik B. Jacobsen told Reuters Health, "laparoscopic and robotic prostatectomy have become popular among urologists and patients alike based on improved visualization, meticulous dissection and shortened convalescence. Critics of the laparoscopic technique question its oncologic efficacy and functional outcome."

Nevertheless, Dr. Jacobsen and colleagues at the University of Alberta, Edmonton note that numerous studies have demonstrated that the laparoscopic technique at a minimum provides comparable perioperative outcomes relative to the open approach in regard to postoperative blood loss, transfusion, analgesic requirements, hospitalization and convalescence.

To investigate whether there might be any advantage in regard to urinary incontinence, the researchers analyzed data prospectively obtained from 172 patients treated with open radical prostatectomy and 57 who underwent the laparoscopic procedure. All had clinically localized prostate cancer.

At 1 year, 13% of those who underwent the open procedure remained incontinent compared with 17% of those who underwent laparoscopic prostatectomy -- a nonsignificant difference. There were also no difference between groups in measures such as 24-hour urinary pad weight and urinary symptom scores.

Thus, continued Dr. Jacobsen, "the incidence and severity of incontinence 12 months postoperatively was similar between the two surgical groups. Functional equivalence was maintained despite the fact that the laparoscopic group represented our initial experience with this technically demanding procedure. We hypothesize that postoperative continence rates will improve -- and perhaps surpass open radical prostatectomy -- as our experience with laparoscopic or robotic prostatectomy expands."

In fact, he pointed out that he and his colleagues are currently comparing more recent groups of patients. "Until this data becomes available," he concluded, "we can assure our patients with prostate cancer who seek surgical treatment that the postoperative continence rates of laparoscopic prostatectomy are at the very least equivalent to that of open radical retropubic prostatectomy."

J Urol 2007;177:615-619.

Dental Causes of Disease Finally Recognised by Insurers

2006-09-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal: Health Plans Expand Dental Benefits

Health Plans Expand Dental Benefits

Studies Linking Gum Disease
To Health Problems Spur New Focus
On Preventive Treatments

By M.P. MCQUEEN
September 19, 2006; Page D1

Amid mounting evidence linking poor oral hygiene to a range of expensive medical problems, health plans are starting to cover more dental treatments and preventive services.

The idea, insurers say, is that paying for certain services now, such as additional cleanings, gum treatments and prescription mouth washes, can reduce the incidence of other health problems down the road. A number of studies suggest that early prevention and treatment of gum disease may result in significantly improved outcomes for pregnancy, heart disease and diabetes, often leading to substantial medical-cost savings.

Many of the insurers' enhanced benefits are focused on people with these health risks. Cigna Corp.'s Oral Health Integration Program, implemented earlier this year, covers additional deep cleanings known as scaling and root planing during pregnancy at no extra cost, or an additional regular cleaning (over the usual two a year) for pregnant women who don't require scaling and root planing. A similar benefit is available for patients in Cigna's diabetes and cardiac-care disease-management programs.

In March, Washington Dental Service, a member of the Delta Dental Plans Association, introduced enhanced benefits, including coverage of antimicrobial mouthwashes for pregnant women, to its members in 2,000 companies in the state. Aetna Inc., with 8.8 million members who have both dental and medical coverage, has conducted pilot programs designed to get pregnant women and people with chronic disease to visit a dentist. The company expects to offer a third regular cleaning each year, or additional deep cleanings as needed, to all such at-risk patients next year.

"We can save medical costs by getting people to have dental care at the right time in their lives," says Glenn Melenyk, dental consultant at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in Detroit. The insurer, with 1.1 million dental members, started pilot programs in 2005 that cover an additional regular cleaning per year for diabetics and heart patients. In July, it expanded the pilots to include pregnant women who obtain a coupon from their obstetrician.

The enhanced benefits come at a time when many employers are under pressure to cut medical costs. But some big employers are signing on. Ford Motor Co. and Kellogg Co. are among those offering benefits in Michigan via Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Pacific Research Laboratories and KCTS Public Television are participating in Washington Dental's enhanced benefits. Some health plans, including Michigan Blue Cross, Washington Dental and MetLife Inc., are offering the extra coverage at no additional cost to employers or employees. Washington Dental says it achieved this by cutting back coverage of other services for which there is less evidence of benefits, such as routine X-rays. (Currently, insurers say, dental care makes up only about 4% of employers' overall health-care budget.)

Costco Wholesale Corp. of Issaquah, Wash., earlier this year participated in a pilot with Aetna Medical & Dental, in which nurses called employees with diabetes or heart disease or who were pregnant, to encourage them to visit a dentist. Donna Sexton, Costco's director of employee benefits, says nurses reached about 2,200 of Costco's more than 153,000 Aetna members. About 36% of them have indicated they would go see a dentist as a result. That is "pretty good compared to other types of outreach," Ms. Sexton says. "The bottom line is, if it helps the health of the baby, or the health of an employee or dependent improves, there will be an overall reduction in costs."

Insurers who offer both dental and medical-care coverage say they expect that spending more on preventive dental care will yield big savings on the medical treatment of costly chronic illnesses. Insurers that offer only dental coverage expect to save money on periodontal surgery. Stand-alone plans also say they want to be more attractive to workers, who increasingly have to pay all or part of their dental-insurance costs themselves as more employers make group dental a voluntary rather than an employer-paid benefit.

The emphasis on preventive care is the result of an increasing number of studies linking oral health to general health and well being, dental specialists and insurers say.

The reasons for the connection aren't fully understood. In the case of preterm births, bacteria around the tooth root may cause the body to produce a substance that induces labor. The evidence suggests that the same bacteria in the mouth can provoke the body into producing factors that clog arteries, worsening heart disease and stroke risk. With diabetes, any inflammation in the body makes controlling blood sugar more difficult, according to Kenneth Krebs, president of the American Academy of Periodontology.

A two-year study of 144,000 insured patients by Aetna and the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine released in March found that earlier periodontal treatment reduced overall medical-care costs by 9% for diabetes, 16% for coronary artery disease, and 11% for cerebrovascular disease, or stroke.

Another recent study of pregnant women with a serious gum disease published in the Journal of Periodontology found that early treatment with scaling and root planing (which removes plaque and tartar from around the tooth root) reduced preterm births by 84%. Additional research is under way to try to explain the association between these illnesses and periodontal disease.

[Ounce of Prevention]Gum disease is a common health problem in the U.S. More than three-quarters of the adult population over the age of 35 eventually suffer from some type of it, ranging in severity from inflammation and sensitivity, to advanced periodontitis, a serious gum infection that can lead to tooth loss. Some insures are also now covering topical or injected antibiotics for gum disease.

In addition to preventive treatments, some insurers have also begun offering more coverage of costlier advanced treatments for missing or damaged teeth. Some employers are looking to offer dental implants and newer filling materials, say the insurers, because workers are demanding the latest technologies. Principal Financial Group Inc. will introduce new supplemental benefits by mid-2007, including coverage for dental implants, for employers who pay for it, according to company officials.

A number of insurers, such as Guardian Life Insurance Co. and Cigna, have created new ways for consumers to increase their coverage limit for extraordinary expenditures such as root canals and dentures -- for instance by allowing consumers to "roll over" unused dental allowance from previous years. More plans also cover composite or "white" fillings at the same level as metal fillings, says Sally Cram, a periodontist in Washington, D.C., and spokeswoman for the American Dental Association.

Some insurers, including Guardian, Cigna and Principal Financial Group, are offering to cover dental implants as an alternative to traditional partial dentures or bridges. Titanium dental implants, which are tooth-root replacements surgically placed in the jaw, have been regarded as experimental though they have been used for more than 20 years, and rarely were covered by most health plans. Many plans have based payments on the least-expensive treatment that can be used. A single tooth implant costs $4,000 to $5,000 with surgical placement and restoration; traditional bridgework to replace a missing tooth costs about $3,000, according to Richard Goren, national and group dental director of Guardian.

But implants are in increasing demand because they work better for people who have lost bone mass, or who have only one or two missing teeth, and they last longer than bridgework, dentists say. "More than half our new customers [employers] have requested it since June 2005," says Dr. Goren. Most insurers that include implants cover them at 50% of cost, says the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very consistent with our clinical experience, which has shown in 100s of patients and a pilot study, over 11 years, the connection of Dental problems to Prostate Cancer and Prostatitis. We have seen, without exception, patients' prostate cancer, BPH, Prostititis heal when the mouth is cleaned up by a Biologocal dentist, followed by committed detoxing, and conversely prostates that won't heal until the mouth is cleaned up, removing all infections, especially infected root canals. Root Canals are often dubbed the biggest single cause of Proatate Cancer and really need to be looked at carefully. For more info see: prostate90.com

Prostate cancer treatments up risk for diseases and non-cancer mortality

2006-09-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Prostate cancer treatments up risk for diseases and non-cancer mortality

BOSTON, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Men with prostate cancer have high five-year survival rates, but they also have higher rates of non-cancer mortality, finds a U.S. study.

Study author Dr. Nancy Keating of Harvard Medical School says that the principal systemic therapy for prostate cancer involves blocking testosterone production -- either by removal of the testes or, more commonly, by regular injections of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH. GnRH agonists are the main therapy for metastatic prostate cancer and may also improve survival for some men with locally advanced cancers.

"Our study found that men with local or regional prostate cancer receiving a GnRH agonist had a 44 percent higher risk of developing diabetes and a 16 percent higher risk of developing coronary heart disease than men who were not receiving hormone therapy," says Keating, who is also a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Given the number of men receiving GnRH agonists, often for many months or years, these increased risks can have important implications for the health of prostate-cancer survivors, says Keating.

Additional studies are needed to fully understand the biological mechanisms responsible for these increased risks, according to the study published in Clinical Oncology.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very consistent with our clinical experience which has also shown that men without adequate Testoterone are not very happy, have no sex life, get osteoporosis, brain fog, skin problems, have very low energy and a shortened life expectancy. At least as important, is our experience and the increasing evidence that low testosterone means higher estrogen, which is the real cause of prostate cancer. Men with high testosterone do not get prostate cancer, men with high estrogen do. Natural Prostate Treatments do not have these problems, in fact, result in a healthier, happier man with extended lfespan and higher quality of life. For more info see: www.prostate90.com and www.prostate90.com/HormoneBalancing.htm

2006-09-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Internet tools help men predict, cope with prostate cancer

Last Updated Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:07:33 EDT

CBC News

New website tools can help men predict the likelihood that they have prostate cancer and determine how advanced it might be, as well as steering them through testing and treatment options.

The Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada launched the feature on its website in English and French this week. The foundation said it hopes the tools will help men cope with a disease that will be diagnosed in an estimated 20,700 Canadian men this year and kill another 4,200 of them.

The foundation also hopes the Prostate Cancer Assessment Tools will cut down the number of biopsies. About 80 per cent of biopsies bring back negative results, but the procedure can be uncomfortable and carry a small risk infection and bleeding.

"We'd like to prevent as many biopsies as possible that aren't needed," said Dr. Robert Bristow, the chair of the foundation's scientific advisory committee.

The foundation adapted an interactive online program used by doctors. Unlike other prostate cancer websites, which offer a general overview, these tools give information specific to each man, are more comprehensive and are based on extensive data from clinical trials.

The foundation said it has made the program more user-friendly for patients.

Dr. Pierre Karakiewicz, who helped developed the Prostate Cancer Assessment Tools, said the tools can predict the probability of whether a man has prostate cancer based on:

His age.
The results of his rectal examination.
The results of blood tests that measure the levels of a prostate specific antigen (PSA).

Based on the data entered, the program will help the patient and his doctor decide whether the results should be confirmed with a biopsy.

Can help determine what to ask doctors

For men who are already diagnosed with prostate cancer, the web tools can help a man understand his diagnosis and treatment options over time.

Karakiewicz, a urologic oncologist at the University of Montreal Hospital Centre, said the patient can use the information to ask his doctor critical questions.

When asked if the diagnostic tools should be left in the hands of doctors alone, he replied, "We most certainly should rely on doctors."

But Karakiewicz also told CBC News: "Doctors [don't] always have the time and don't always have the opportunity of accessing these tools to provide these most objective and evidence-based answers to patients. So this is a means of facilitating the patient-doctor interaction."

The foundation said the program will be updated as new research becomes available.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-Yea for the Canadian effort to avoid/reduce biopsies and for the recognition that biopsies result in ongoing problems for patients! For more info and alternatives to biopsy, see: www.PhoenixSonograms.com/

Prostate Hormone Treatments shown to cause Heart Attacks and Diabetes

2006-09-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Prostate cancer treatment has health risks-Diabetes and Heart Attacks

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
For the first time, research shows that hormone therapy, a common treatment for prostate cancer, can raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Experts say the study suggests that doctors should be cautious when prescribing the drugs, especially to men with limited disease and a long life expectancy, who may have the least to gain and the most to lose from the treatment.

Hormone therapy, which lowers levels of the testosterone that feeds prostate cancers, is a mainstay of treatment for prostate cancers that have spread to the bone. The drugs, typically given as injections every one to four months, can't cure prostate cancer. They may slow its growth, however, and relieve pain. Many men in advanced stages of the disease choose to have the shots, in spite of their side effects: osteoporosis, muscle loss, fat gain, hot flashes and impotence, says the study's main author, Nancy Keating, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

Research has never proved that hormone therapy can help men with less extensive disease, Keating says. Yet more and more men treated with surgery or radiation for "local" or "regional" tumors — those confined to the prostate or nearby lymph nodes — are taking hormone therapy if blood tests suggest their cancer may have returned, she says. Many of these men have no signs of the disease other than a cancer-related protein in their blood, called PSA.
>
Some of these men may need no further treatment, says Otis Brawley, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta who was not involved in the study. Men with this type of cancer live a median of about a decade before their tumors cause any symptoms. That makes it important to preserve their long-term health.

Keating and her colleagues were concerned to find the risk of diabetes and heart disease rise in as little as a few months. Researchers examined the records of 73,000 Medicare participants diagnosed between 1992 and 1999. Doctors were able to follow the men's progress for an average of 4.5 years, according to a study released Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. According to the study, if doctors treat 1,000 men with hormone therapy for a year, doctors would find 29 cases of diabetes, eight more than among men not treated; 14 heart attacks, three more than among men not treated; and 13 sudden cardiac deaths, four more than among men not treated.

"It raises the question that maybe this is not the right drug for these early-stage cancers," Keating says. "If the prostate cancer isn't going to progress on its own, why are we giving them other diseases? For pure prevention, we probably shouldn't be giving potentially toxic medication until we know there is a clear benefit."

Brawley says the study's design and size make it very powerful, even though doctors did not conduct a true experiment, one in which patients who are assigned the drugs are compared with patients who don't take the therapy. Such a study would be too difficult and expensive, he says.

Because Keating's study is the first to find these increased risks, she says researchers should try to confirm her results. Still, Howard Scher of New York's Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center says the study probably will change the way doctors talk to their patients about risk.

Scher suggests that doctors should consider patients' heart health before prescribing hormone therapy. Physicians also should help patients reduce their risks through diet and exercise and carefully monitor patients' blood sugar, cholesterol and other measures.

Brawley says he will show the study to patients who are considering hormone therapy. Many such patients might be better served through watchful waiting.

Brawley says doctors are learning more about which patients may get the most from hormone therapy. Research shows that men whose PSA level doubles in a short amount of time, for example, are at very high risk of a life-threatening relapse and may benefit most from the therapy.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very consistent with our clinical experience which has also shown that men without adequate Testosterone are not very happy, have no sex life, get osteoporosis, brain fog, skin problems, have very low energy and a higher death rate. At least as important, is our experience and increasing evidence that low testosterone means high estrogen, which is the real cause of prostate cancer. Men with high Testosterone do not get prostate cancer, men with high Estrogen do. For more info see: www.prostate90.com/HormoneBalancing.htm

Heated seats in cars blamed for low male fertility and prostate problems

2006-09-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

Heated seats in cars blamed for low male fertility

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday September 5, 2006

Dusseldorf- Heated seats in cars may be more to blame for declining male fertility than tight trousers, a urologist warned Tuesday, two days before a German conference on men's illnesses. Herbert Sperling, who is to chair the meeting in Dusseldorf, said electrically heated seat covers, which are popular in wintry places, could reduce the growth of sperm.

Slow and mis-shapen sperm were also more common in drivers who spent long periods on hot seats.

"I think heated seats are a bigger risk than tight trousers," said Sperling, referring to common guidance that loose clothing may promote male fertility. The seats heated the temperature of the testicles to 38 degrees celsius, 3 degrees more than normal, he said.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur<br>

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very consistent with our clinical experience which has shown that fertility and prostate health are closely related. For more info see: ww w.pro state90.com/

SMRI to Sarasota (We find PCD Sonograms to be far Superior).

2006-09-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Sarasota to get new prostate cancer detection center

Tampa Bay Business Journal - 11:03 AM EDT Monday

The Diagnostic Center for Disease will be opening its headquarters in Sarasota in December. The center offers advanced detection imaging technology and interpretation for prostate disease, a release said.

The new scanning equipment, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Spectroscopy, will eliminate the need for biopsies in many cases and will stop the "over treatment" of prostate cancer, the company said.

"The MRIS is a non-invasive diagnostic technology that gives the patient and the doctor a clear road map for treatment while tailored to the individual patient; doing what is necessary and nothing more," said Hedvig Hricak, chairman of the Department of Radiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, in a release.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-Our clinical experience, over 10 years with 1,000s of prostate sonograms, has shown that the PCD Sonogram shows a clearer image and mesures blood flows to any tumor. For more info see: www.prostate90.com/ See also: www.PhoenixSonograms.com

Prostate Imaging-SMRI No Benefit over std MRI, for staging

2006-09-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Combined MRI and MR Spectroscopy of the Prostate Before Radical Prostatectomy

Axel Wetter¹, Tobias A. Engl², Darius Nadjmabadi¹, Klaus Fliessbach³, Thomas Lehnert¹, Jessen Gurung¹, Wolf-Dietrich Beecken² and Thomas J. Vogl¹

¹ Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60389 Frankurt, Germany.
² Department of Urology, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
³ Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a routine protocolfor combined MR and spectroscopic imaging of the prostate forstaging accuracy.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Fifty patients with biopsy-proven prostate carcinomawere examined with our sequence protocol, which consisted of T2-weightedfast spin-echo sequences and a pelvic T1-weighted spin-echo sequence.For spectroscopy, we used a 3D chemical shift imaging (CSI) spin-echosequence. Image interpretation was performed by two radiologists. Thetotal number of tumor voxels and tumor voxels per slice werecounted to estimate the tumor volume in every patient. The potentialof MR spectroscopy to differentiate between T2 and T3 tumors,based on the estimated tumor volumes, was compared with thestaging performance of MRI.

RESULTS. The MR measurement time was 19.01 minutes, and thetotal procedure time averaged 35 minutes. Seventy-six percentof the spectroscopic examinations were successful. Statisticallysignificant differences in the number of tumor voxels per sliceand tumor volumes were found between T2 and T3 tumors. The descriptiveparameters of MRI and MR spectroscopy did not differ significantly;sensitivity and specificity were 75% and 87%, respectively,for MRI and 88% and 70%, respectively, for MR spectroscopy.The combination of both methods resulted in only a slight improvementin staging performance and was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION. Combined MRI and MR spectroscopy of the prostatehas no diagnostic advantage in staging performance over MRIalone. The mean tumor volumes, estimated by MR spectroscopy,differ statistically significantly between T2 and T3 tumors.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very consistent with our clinical experience which has also shown that PCD Sonograms are far more effective, at amuch lower cost, to image and measure any tumors and measure any blood fows to tumors, reflecting it's agressivity, very clearly. For more info see: www.PhoenixSonograms.com and www.prostate90.com/

Plastics Causing Prostate Cancer - L A Times

2006-09-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

Chemical in Plastics Is Tied to Prostate Cancer - BPA Leeches from Containers - California attempt to ban defeated

By Marla Cone
Times Staff Writer

June 1, 2006

Linking prostate cancer to a widespread industrial compound, scientists have found that exposure to a chemical that leaks from plastic causes genetic changes in animals' developing prostate glands that are precursors of the most common form of cancer in males.

The chemical, bisphenol A, or BPA, is used in the manufacture of hard, polycarbonate plastic for baby bottles, microwave cookware and other consumer goods, and it has been detected in nearly every human body tested.

Scientists and health experts have theorized for more than a decade that chemicals in the environment and in consumer products mimic estrogens and may be contributing to male and female reproductive diseases, particularly prostate cancer.

The new study of laboratory rats suggests that prostate cancer, which usually strikes men over 50, may develop when BPA and other estrogen-like, man-made chemicals pass through a pregnant woman's womb and alter the genes of a growing prostate in the fetus. One in every six men develops prostate cancer, a rate that has increased over the last 30 years.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Cincinnati exposed newborn rats to low doses of BPA and found the structure of genes in their prostate cells was permanently altered, a process of reprogramming in early life that promotes cancer in adulthood. One key gene was switched on, producing too much of a cell-damaging enzyme that has been detected in cancerous prostate cells but not normal cells.

Also, as the rats aged, they were more likely than unexposed animals to develop precancerous lesions, or cellular damage, in the prostate that have been known for years to lead to prostate cancer in humans.

"The present findings provide the first evidence of a direct link between developmental low-dose bisphenol A … and carcinogenesis of the prostate gland," according to the researchers. Results from the team, led by Gail S. Prins, associate professor of andrology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Shuk-mei Ho, chair of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati, are reported today in the journal Cancer Research.

Exposure to the chemical "may provide a fetal basis for this adult disease" in humans, the report said.

Dr. Rebecca Sokol, a USC medical school professor who specializes in male hormone research, called the study "cutting-edge." She said it added to a growing body of research, called epigenetics, that suggested environmental chemicals could alter how DNA sequences turned on and off in a fetus, permanently imprinting the genes of a child and sensitizing him or her to disease in adulthood.

Such findings could have major implications for human disease and could, in part, explain why the prostate cancer rate has surged. BPA, used for about half a century, is a key building block in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic and ranks among the world's most widely used industrial chemicals.

Prins, Ho and other researchers cautioned that the study was conducted on rats, which sometimes reacted differently to chemicals than humans did. Replicating the work in humans is virtually impossible because 50 or more years usually pass from exposure in the womb to the onset of prostate cancer.

"You can't say from the results of this study that this is going to affect humans," Sokol said. But she said the results were in line with previous animal research that showed chemicals could induce genetic changes that altered sperm and other reproductive functions.

The prostate gland, which develops in human males when they are fetuses, is extremely sensitive to natural estrogen. As a result, scientists have long theorized that prostate cancer could be increasing in men because of their exposure to estrogen-like chemicals in the womb.

Unlike carcinogenic chemicals that can cause profound damage to DNA, BPA seems to inflict subtle changes that are passed from one generation to the next, Sokol said.

"The big focus today is whether or not environmental toxicants will induce heritable changes in gene function…. In other words, is there something that happens to alter genes without actually altering the genetic code?" asked Sokol, who studies the effects of chemicals on sperm. "This [new study] is cutting-edge research in this field and the role that environmental toxicants may play in altering the genetics of exposed offspring."

Steve Hentges, a representative of the American Plastics Council, called it "fascinating research, a good piece of research" that should be studied further. But he said the "real question is what does this mean for human health," because there are too many limitations in the study for it to apply to humans.

"No one has actually observed prostate cancer after any treatment with BPA," he said.

The study's authors said the animals developed the precancerous lesions and genetic changes when exposed to low concentrations of the chemical similar to the amounts found in human blood and fetuses.

But Hentges said the rats were injected with doses 100 to 1,000 times higher than the most recent human testing done by federal officials in 2004.

In recent years, evidence has been building that BPA causes changes in the hormones and reproductive tracts of male and female animals. Lower sperm counts, decreased testosterone and enlarged prostates were reported in male animals, and early puberty and disrupted hormonal cycles in female animals.

Of more than 100 studies that examined low doses of the chemical, 94 funded by government agencies found harmful effects in lab animals, and 11 funded by industry reported no effects, according to a 2005 review by Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri.

Polycarbonate, which cannot be manufactured without BPA, is a clear and shatter-free plastic. In addition to beverage bottles, utensils and food packaging, it is used in automobiles, medical equipment and compact discs.

Small amounts of the chemical can leach from plastic containers, especially when heated, cleaned with harsh detergents or exposed to acidic foods or drinks. It also is used in children's dental sealants and as a resin lining metal food cans.

Last year, the California Legislature considered a bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D-Oakland), that would have banned children's products that contained BPA or other plastic compounds called phthalates. It died in an Assembly committee after sparking a scientific debate and intense lobbying by the plastics industry.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very consistent with our clinical experience which has focused on healing prostate cancer by cleansing past toxins, rebuilding the immune system and careful nutrition to reduce/eliminate new toxins. These toxins are known to raise estrogen, which is the real cause of BPH and prostate cancer. Men with high testosterone do not get prostate cancer, men with high estrogen do. For more info see: www.prostate90.com/

New prostate test to replace PSA

2006-08-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

NewsTarget.com printable article
Originally published August 24 2006
New EPCA-2 prostate cancer test far more accurate than discredited PSA test
(NewsTarget) The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test is the primary method of determining whether a male patient has prostate cancer or not, but it can generate false positives -- elevated levels of PSA without any cancerous cells -- so Johns Hopkins University researchers have developed a test that may be more accurate because it searches for the blood protein early prostate cancer antigen-2 (EPCA-2).
The researchers measured EPCA-2 levels in 330 patients, and then divided them into groups determined by their prostate cancer and PSA status. The scientists determined that an EPCA-2 level of 30 or more indicated an elevated risk for prostate cancer, and all of the men with no evidence of the disease -- regardless of PSA levels and any other cancers or benign conditions they may have -- had an EPCA-2 level of less than 30.
Ninety-seven percent of the patients who did not have prostate cancer tested negative in the EPCA-2 test. Seventy-seven percent of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is often linked to false positives in PSA tests, tested with EPCA-2 levels less than 30.
Ninety percent of study participants who were known to have prostate cancer, and 98 percent who had cancers outside the prostate, showed EPCA-2 levels greater than 30. The test even identified 78 percent of patients known to have cancer despite normal PSA levels.
"This is good news from the diagnostic front," said Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate. "The traditional PSA test has been widely denounced as an accurate measure of prostate cancer, so it's a relief that a more accurate test has emerged. Yet countless doctors around the world continue to rely on the outdated PSA test, which delivers unacceptably high rates of false positives."
The Johns Hopkins scientists said they hope to run bigger clinical trials of the EPCA-2 test, and if these trials generate promising results, the test could be available in approximately 18 months.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-This is very encouraging and so badly needed. The PSA has proved to be so unreliable, that Dean Stamey at Stanford was quoted as saying a million prostates were removed erroneously at Stanford alone. For more info see: www.prostate90.com//a>

Prostate Nano Calcification Study

2006-08-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

To ALL- with calcification, (stones) in their prostates- (documented by Sonogram).
Are you interested in reducing/eliminating prostate calcification, accompanying BPH, prostatitis symptoms, at no cost to you, except for travel, twice to Tustin, CA? Send me an email, please. lclapp@prostate90.com
This FDA approved study will be widely published to assist millions of men suffering now and in the future, with these problems. The Study is sponsored by The Prostate90 Foundation, http://www.prostate90fndn.org/ and World Health Products, LLC, Draper, Utah, http://www.detoxamin.com/
1. Goal- to measure reduction/elimination of calcification, (30 men) primarily by before and after sonograms, symptomology, blood and Fecal analysis.
2. Protocol- 3 months EDTA Chelation, utilizing suppositories, mineral replacement and Tetracycline (FDA approved IRB)
3. Timing- Sept 9 to Dec 9, 2006
4. Requirements- Be present for Sonograms, in Tustin, CA, on Sept 9 and on Dec 9.
5. Pre-requisite- Prior sonogram documenting prostate calcification and/or stones.
6. Safety-
a. A similar pilot study, (12 men), has been conducted by The Cleveland Institute, Weston, FL, Daniel Shoskes, MD (well respected, UCLA Urologist), published in the Journal of Urology, Feb 2006. 68% reduction/elimination of prostatic calcification. See attached.
b. Dr. Rita Eliathorpe, MD, http://www.tlcmd.net/ our study doctor and Principal Investigator, regularly uses this protocol with her patients, with outstanding success and no negative side effects, now totaling in excess of 200 patients, over the past 2 years. Dr. Rita is a very caring clinical physician, has a very extensive, up to date natural hormone balancing, practice for men and women, in a small very friendly clinic.
c. Over 20,000 patients have successfully completed the Detoxamin protocol without any reported problems.
d. The Proastate90 Foundation is conducting an informal pilot study of the protocol, no problems, in month 2 now.
e. I will be a full participant, to clean up my remaining calcification, which has been reduced over the years, providing I qualify, on the 1st sonogram, as having sufficient remaining calcification, to be a valid testee.
7. Compensation/benefits (upon completion):
a. 2 fecal heavy metal tests, by Doctors Data Laboratories, Value $300
b. 2 PCD Prostate Sonograms, Value $1,000+
c. 3 months Chelation treatments, with replacement minerals, equivalent to 30 IV, Chelation treatments, Value $3,000+
d. Copies of reports on the above.
e. A free additional, 3 months, supply of Detoxamin, Supplementary Vit/Mineralsl and Tetracycline. Value $3,000+
We are very excited to finally have this study approved, funded and underway, looking forward to on (or preferably off list) volunteers. To: lclapp@prostate90.com A copy of your last sonogram report is requested.
Volunteers will receive full documentation of the study, scheduling and travel map/directions.
Meanwhile read the book, Calcium Bomb, available on http://www.amazon.com/
THANK YOU!! J
Healthy regards,
Larry
Larry Clapp, PhD, JD
http://www.prostatehealth90days2006.com/
http://www.prostatitis60daycure.com/
The latest successful Alternatives for Prostate Cancer and Prostatitis
http://www.herbal-self-cleansing.com/
The Ultimate for any health problem.

Prostate Medical Treatments-HIFU - U.S. Trials

2006-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

HIFU - U. S. trials
Filed under: Treatments-Medical — lclapp @ 10:37 pm
HIFU, trials are only being offered to failed seed guys, do we have any in pralt? The trials seem mainly geared to selling HIFU out of the U.S.
HIFU is being hyped by the machine manufacturer, some Docs, including Bard, has great promise in theory and rumored in Europe, however 6 out of 6 in this group have reported disasters, including no improvement. Do we know any successes? Bard, others clam up, when asked for contacts of successes.
Lumpectomy for prostate is already successful in International trials, HIFU may emerge as a part of that picture, in a year or 2, but RFA seems more controllable/promising. All must be guided by cutting edge, PCD, 3D Sonography, which medicine, so far has not been willing to embrace. Will be very interesting! A new generation of technology is emerging, encompassing 3D PCD and treatment modality in the same machine.
So far, I would not recommend HIFU to anyone, trial or otherwise. Why take the risk when PCa is easy to heal naturally, for those willing work through the basics. Natural results in a healthy body for all other purposes. All these “treatments” are limited to symptoms, weaken the body’s ability to deal with the real causes.
More, later. Let’s see if we can find some successes, to actually communicate with-
Larry Clapp, PhD, JD
www.prostate90.com
http://www.prostatehealth90days2006.com/
http://www.prostatitis60daycure.com/
The latest successful Alternatives for Prostate Cancer and Prostatitis
http://www.herbal-self-cleansing.com/

Prostate Healing Inflamation

2006-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is interesting, however see more natural treatments on http://www.prostate90.com

Why symptoms of prostate inflammation can be misleading Dr Thomas Stuttaford
Your health questions answered
A 39-year-old faithfully married man has e-mailed about his diagnosis of prostatitis. Unfortunately, he doesn’t describe his symptoms in detail, but tells us that he suffers “discomfort”. Presumably this refers to the usual symptoms of prostatitis: low back ache, radiating into his loin, inner thighs, genitalia and the area between his scrotum and anus (the perineum).
The reader didn’t mention it, but the discomfort would also probably have been associated with difficulty and/or frequency when passing urine. Not all symptoms occur in every case. The start of his condition coincided with a stressful job demanding long hours in the office and a three-hour commute, beginning at 5.15am. The sedentary life that resulted from this lifestyle had caused his weight to increase by almost two stone. His self-prescribed treatment — self-prescribed because none of that offered by doctors over the past two years had helped — was to lose 6lb in weight and to increase his intake of broccoli and berries.
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Prostatitis is a term that strictly means the inflammation of the prostate, although this is not always demonstrable, and is picked up either from the girlfriend or the bladder. It is one of the subjects that medical writers approach with trepidation. The subject is so contentious that whatever they write will produce angry correspondence from experts (most of whose opinions will differ), disgruntled patients who are still suffering and alternative practitioners. Unsurprisingly, our reader writes that he has been unable to obtain clear answers to his questions, either in this country or the United States. One American source suggested that the symptoms could follow too much sitting when tense.
Dr Eric Dunlop, my mentor at the Royal London Hospital, has heavily influenced my opinions about prostatitis. He was the man who overcame widespread professional ridicule by battling to gain acceptance of his research that chlamydial infections were important and were the cause of pelvic inflammatory disease. His work and persistence has saved the fertility of countless women.
Another of Dr Dunlop’s causes was to achieve more precision about the diagnosis of prostatitis. He was sceptical about the diagnosis in most of the cases of prostatitis that were presented to him, unless its bacterial origins were obvious. In many of the cases that he saw, he suspected that the prostate was healthy and that the trouble lay elsewhere. Bacterial prostatitis can be acute or chronic. Both types may be difficult to eradicate with antibiotics and often need exceptionally long courses of these.
Another of the Dunlop teachings was that, even if the bacteria was sensitive to a specific antibiotic, it didn’t necessarily follow that it could penetrate prostatic tissue easily. The antibiotic needed to be chosen with care. The organisms involved include chlamydia as well as those that haunt the urinary tract. These include E.coli, proteus and klebsiella. Often the presence of bacteria can be established only by prostatic massage and analysis of the prostatic fluid, or by the analysis of urine taken before and after prostatic massage.
The controversy surrounding prostatitis centres on those patients who have such symptoms as low back ache, pain in the thighs and genital pains, but are without evidence of a bacterial infection. These cases are sometimes diagnosed as prostatodynia, a pseudoclassical term that means no more than a painful prostate.
Two cases that are typical of the many that had been incorrectly diagnosed as non-bacterial prostatitis were those of the machinery manufacturer and the travel courier. Both had had months, if not years, of treatment after some very uncomfortable investigation.
The manufacturer travelled north about once a month to supervise the running of the equipment that his factory had installed. These visits were followed by pain in his lower back, worse after sex, that radiated to his perineum, inner thigh and genitalia. He was convinced that his girlfriend up north had something nasty. Dr Dunlop and I were equally convinced that she hadn’t. An MRI scan of his back showed a disc lesion that was pressing on his spinal cord at a level that would account for his pain. Disc pain is often made worse by sex and by long car drives, hence its association with the journeys north by the manufacturer. Intervention by the orthopaedic surgeons enabled him to continue to visit his friend, and to keep his factory’s machinery working.
The courier developed his “prostatic” symptoms every time he took a party overseas. He too had a clearly demonstratable disc lesion. Once he had been told to leave the carrying of heavy cases to others, he lost his symptoms of “prostatitis”.
It is not surprising that a popular American textbook not only recommends long courses of the appropriate antibiotics for bacterial prostatitis but also muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory drugs and tranquillisers for those in whom there is little evidence of infection.
Incidentally, the reader is on the right track. His spine will be helped by weight loss, and as a precautionary measure tomatoes, berries and pomegranate juice are excellent for prostate health.

Dr Larry Clapp Comment-It is refreshing to have the Doctor deal with back pain, which often is a cause of prostatitis, because most Doctors will not. Medicine still believes that if a prostatitis patient takes enough antibiotics for long enough, (months-years) he will be healed. We find the opposite, the more antibiotics, the worse the symptoms become and the more tenacious the ptostatitis becomes, because the imune system is severely crippled by the antibiotics. Also the more antibiotics the more candida, which is always a major component of prostatitis. We find that cleansing and rebuilding the immune system has a far better track record of permanently healing the prostate. For more info see: www.prostatitis60daycure.com/