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It is not fully known what changes occur in the body during meditation; whether they influence health; and, if so, how. Research is under way to find out more about meditation’s effects, how it works, and diseases and conditions for which it may be most helpful.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the federal government’s lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It is 1 of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Some recent NCCAM-supported studies have been investigating meditation for relieving stress in caregivers for elderly patients with dementia and for relieving asthma symptoms. A study published in the April 2009 issue of Preventing Chronic Disease researched use of meditation and other complementary and alternative practices in patients suffering from arthritis.

The term meditation refers to a group of techniques which may be practiced for many reasons, such as to increase calmness and physical relaxation, to improve psychological balance, to cope with illness, or to enhance overall wellness. Most types of meditation have four elements in common:

A quiet location. Meditation is usually practiced in a quiet place with as few distractions as possible. This can be particularly helpful for beginners.

A specific, comfortable posture. Depending on the type being practiced, meditation can be done while sitting, lying down, standing, walking, or in other positions.

A focus of attention. Focusing one’s attention is usually a part of meditation. For example, the meditator may focus on a mantra (a specially chosen word or set of words), an object, or the sensations of the breath.

An open attitude. Having an open attitude during meditation means letting distractions come and go naturally without judging them.

Money management difficulties may be a sign that people with mild memory problems will soon develop Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.

It included 87 older people with mild cognitive impairment, and 76 others with no memory problems. All the participants took a money management test at the start of the study and again one year later. The test included buying groceries, counting coins, understanding and using a checkbook and bank statement, preparing bills for mailing, and identifying fraud situations.

After one year, 25 of the 87 people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had developed Alzheimer’s. Those people scored lower on the initial test than participants without memory problems and those with MCI who didn’t develop dementia, and their money management skills continued to decline over the following year.

The study appears in the Sept. 22 issue of Neurology.

“Our findings show that declining money management skills are detectable in patients with MCI in the year prior to developing Alzheimer’s disease,” senior study author Daniel Marson, of the neurology department and the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a news release from the journal’s publisher.

“Doctors should proactively monitor people with MCI for declining financial skills and advise them and their caregivers about steps they can take to watch for signs of poor money management,” Marson said.

“Caregivers should consider overseeing a person’s checking transactions, contacting the person’s bank to find money issues, such as bills being paid twice, or become co-signers on the checking account so that both signatures are required for checks written above a certain amount. Online banking and bill payment services are also good options,” he added.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is alerting medical professionals, substance abuse treatment centers and other public health authorities about the risk that substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole – a veterinary anti-parasitic drug. There have been approximately 20 confirmed or probable cases of agranulocytosis (a serious, sometimes fatal blood disorder), including two deaths, associated with cocaine adulterated with levamisole. The number of reported cases is expected to increase as information about cocaine adulterated with levamisole is disseminated.

“SAMHSA and other public health authorities are working together to inform everyone of this serious potential public health risk and what measures are being taken to address it,” said SAMHSA Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S., MPH.

Levamisole is used in veterinary medicine and is currently approved for use in cattle, sheep and swine as an anti-parasitic agent. Although it was once used in human medicine in the past for treating autoimmune diseases and cancer, it is no longer an approved drug for human use.

Ingesting cocaine mixed with levamisole can seriously reduce a person’s white blood cells, suppressing immune function and the body’s ability to fight off even minor infections. People who snort, smoke, or inject crack or powder cocaine contaminated by levamisole can experience overwhelming, rapidly-developing, life threatening infections. Other serious side effects can also occur.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration and State testing laboratories, the percentage of cocaine specimens containing levamisole has increased steadily since 2002, with levamisole now found in over 70 percent of the illicit cocaine analyzed in July. In addition, a recent analysis in Seattle, Washington found that almost 80 percent of the individuals who test positive for cocaine also test positive for levamisole.

According to the SAMHSA alert substance abuse treatment providers, clinicians, outreach workers, and individuals who abuse cocaine need to be aware of the following:

A dangerous substance, levamisole, is showing up with increasing frequency in illicit cocaine powder and crack cocaine. Levamisole can severely reduce the number of white blood cells, a problem called agranulocytosis. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS ILLNESS THAT NEEDS TO BE TREATED AT A HOSPITAL. If you use cocaine, watch out for:

* high fever, chills, or weakness
* swollen glands
* painful sores (mouth, anal)
* any infection that won’t go away or gets worse very fast, including sore throat or mouth sores -skin infections, abscesses -thrush (white coating of the mouth, tongue, or throat) -pneumonia (fever, cough, shortness of breath).”

SAMHSA is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and other federal and international organizations, as well as state agencies to monitor the levamisole issue. CDC will be publishing a case report analysis in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) and will be working with state health departments to systematically collect information on cocaine-associated agranulocytosis cases. Information from this effort will be used to guide treatment and prevention initiatives to address this public health concern.

Individuals are encouraged to report suspected and confirmed cases of agranulocytosis that are associated with cocaine abuse to their respective state health departments. Cases can also be reported to local Poison Control Centers (1-800-222-1222), these centers may also provide assistance in clinical management and additional reporting.

The need to burp and pass gas is normal. But some people feel like they’re frequently bloated and gassy.

The U.S. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse offers these suggestions to help reduce uncomfortable gas:
Cut down on foods known to cause gas, such as beans, dairy products, bran and whole wheat foods.
Limit gas-causing vegetables such as onions, broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts, and fruits such as peaches, apples and pears.
Avoid sugary fruit drinks and carbonated soft drinks. Instead, drink water.
Avoid swallowing excessive air by eating slowly and chewing thoroughly.
Keep a diary of foods that cause gas for you, and try to avoid them.

Swimming is terrific exercise and a great source of summer fun, but it’s not without its risks.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these recommendations to prevent swimming injuries:
Before jumping or diving in the water, warm up with some stretches, walking, running, biking or even some jumping jacks for a few minutes.
To prevent repetitive motion injuries of the shoulder, start an exercise program designed to strengthen shoulder and upper back muscles.
Take swimming lessons. And never swim alone.
Avoid swimming when you’re overheated, too cold or just too tired.
Don’t swim strenuously if you’re sick with a fever, an upper respiratory infection or an ear infection.
If diving, make sure the water is safe and deep enough.
Carefully clean and dry ears after swimming to prevent swimmer’s ear infection.

People who undergo screening colonoscopy in the morning rather than afternoon may be more likely to have potentially cancerous growths detected, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio found that among more than 3,600 colonoscopies performed at their center, the rate of polyp detection was higher with tests done in the morning.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends colonoscopy every ten years starting at the age of 50, as a screening test for colon cancer. Polyps are benign growths, but because they have the potential to become cancerous, they are usually removed if they are caught during screening colonoscopy.

Polyps were found in 29 percent of patients who had a colonoscopy in the morning, versus 25 percent of those who were screened in the afternoon. There was also evidence that detection rates dipped as the day wore on, according to findings published the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

It is not clear why morning-time screenings had a higher detection rate in this study, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Madhusudhan R. Sanaka. They speculate, though, that doctor fatigue could be a factor.

In some cases, physicians performing the screenings “might have been less attentive or less vigilant in the afternoons compared with the mornings,” the researchers write.

That, however, is just a theory, notes Dr. Joseph Vicari, in an editorial published with the study. “No data exist in this study to support that conclusion,” writes Vicari, of Rockford Gastroenterology Associates in Illinois.

He also points out that the morning group of patients had a higher number of men, an older average age and a greater proportion of patients with a history of polyps than the afternoon group.

All three factors, Vicari writes, could have “skewed the data” toward a higher detection rate in the morning.

Sanaka’s team agrees that no definitive conclusions can yet be drawn. “The reasons and implications of this finding should be studied further,” the researchers write.

If physician fatigue is found to be a factor, Vicari notes, then changes in how colonoscopies are scheduled — fewer in the afternoon or fewer throughout the day, for example — might improve polyp detection rates.

People with chronic respiratory disorders who receive early non-invasive ventilation after a breathing tube has been removed are less likely to suffer respiratory failure or die, a Spanish study has found.

The study included 106 people on mechanical ventilation. All of them had high levels of carbon dioxide in their blood, a condition known as hypercapnia. After their internal breathing tubes were removed, in a procedure called extubation, 54 people received non-invasive ventilation for 24 hours and 52 were given conventional oxygen treatment, the according to the study.

Respiratory failure after extubation occurred in 15 percent of those who received non-invasive ventilation and in 48 percent of people given conventional oxygen therapy. Non-invasive ventilation was associated with an 83 percent decreased risk for respiratory failure after extubation, the researchers found.

They also found that the death rate after 90 days was much lower among people in the non-invasive ventilation group (11 percent) than among those who received conventional oxygen therapy (31 percent).

“Early non-invasive ventilation after extubation diminished risk of respiratory failure and lowered 90-day mortality in patients with hypercapnia during a spontaneous breathing trial,” concluded Dr. Miquel Ferrer, of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, and his research colleagues. “Routine implementation of this strategy for management of mechanically ventilated patients with chronic respiratory disorders is advisable.”

The study appears online this week and in an upcoming print issue of The Lancet.

The drug propecia is a prescription hair loss medication designed mainly for men with mild to moderate hair loss. The effects of hair loss and propecia were studied in several clinical trials, and propecia was found to be better than a placebo.

The men in the studies, aged between 18 and 41, took propecia daily for a year. Some men took a placebo. Of the men who took the propecia, 86% either did not suffer further hair loss, or actually increased the amount of hair in the affected areas. Only 14% of men had continued hair loss.

The drug propecia has been found to be ineffective for women. This, combined with the potential danger of abnormalities to a male fetus, means that propecia is not prescribed for female pattern hair loss. Propecia has not been studied in older men, or men with complete baldness, and it has not been proved to work with a receding hairline. Propecia is not suitable for children, no doubt due to its negative effect on developing male genitals.

Generally, propecia is a very safe drug for hair loss. Most men taking it did not have any side effects, though some reported:

* erection difficulties
* reduced amount of semen
* less sexual desire

These were not permanent changes, and when those affected stopped taking propecia, their symptoms disappeared. Some men who reported these side effects were also able to continue taking propecia without the side effects continuing. The report I saw did not say whether the side effects just stopped, or if other treatment was undertaken to counteract them.

The drug propecia has only been studied on men for up to two years, and these men had no problems taking it for this period. However, based on research over a period of 32 years on men who are deficient on the enzyme that propecia suppresses, 5-alpha reductase, the mechanism by which propecia works seems to be quite safe for long term use.

Disadvantages of Taking Propecia

Propecia is not a cure for hair loss. Propecia works by interrupting the conversion process of testosterone to its metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT for short). It does this by effecting the enzyme catalyst, 5-alpha reductase, that is involved in the conversion process. In male pattern hair loss, there is an excess of DHT in the part of the scalp where hair loss occurs. So, by reducing the amounts of DHT in the scalp, propecia effectively works to prevent new hair loss, and allows hair to regrow. However, to continue the benefits of propecia, you’ll need to take it for the rest of your life. Once you stop taking propecia, the DHT levels will rise again in the scalp, and hair loss will return to pre-propecia levels.

The Drug Propecia and Pregnancy

Women should be very careful not to handle propecia if they are pregnant, as it can affect the development of the sex organs in a male fetus. So, it would be wise not to touch any open packets, or broken tablets. If you must, use a glove. Unbroken tablets are safety coated, so the active ingredient of propecia, which is the potential problem, is not present on the outside of the tablet.

For men taking propecia, if your wife is pregnant, there is no risk to her unless she is exposed to the active ingredient from a broken tablet. She, or the baby, won’t be harmed when her partner is taking it.

However, given that in some men propecia affects the amount of semen produced, if you are trying to conceive this may pose a problem. This side effect does not affect all, or most, men. But check with your doctor if you think this may be a concern.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Stelara (ustekinumab), a biologic product for adults who have a moderate to severe form of psoriasis.

Plaque psoriasis is an immune system disorder that results in the rapid overproduction of skin cells. About 6 million people in the United States have plaque psoriasis which is characterized by thickened patches of inflamed, red skin, often covered with silvery scales.

“This approval provides an alternative treatment for people with plaque psoriasis, which can cause significant physical discomfort from pain and itching and result in poor self-image for people who are self-conscious about their appearance,” said Julie Beitz, M.D., director, Office of Drug Evaluation III, in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Stelara is a monoclonal antibody, a laboratory-produced molecule that mimics the body’s own antibodies that are produced as part of the immune system. The biologic treats psoriasis by blocking the action of two proteins which contribute to the overproduction of skin cells and inflammation.

Three studies of 2,266 patients evaluated the biologic’s safety and effectiveness.

Since Stelara reduces the immune system’s ability to fight infections, the product poses a risk of infection. Serious infections have been reported in patients receiving the product and some of them have lead to hospitalization. These infections were caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that have spread throughout the body. There may also be an increased risk of developing cancer.

The FDA is requiring a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy or REMS for Stelara that includes a communication plan targeted to healthcare providers and a medication guide for patients.