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Another Look at Testosterone-Prostate Cancer Link
ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2011) — The long-standing prohibition against testosterone therapy in men with untreated or low-risk prostate cancer merits reevaluation, according to a new study published in The Journal of Urology.
“For many decades it had been believed that a history of prostate cancer, even if treated and cured, was an absolute contraindication to testosterone therapy, due to the belief that testosterone activated prostate cancer growth, and could potentially cause dormant cancer cells to grow rapidly,” says Abraham Morgentaler, MD of Men’s Health Boston. “Generations of medical students and residents were taught that providing testosterone to a man with prostate cancer was like pouring gasoline on a fire.”
This study, involving 13 symptomatic testosterone deficient men who also had untreated prostate cancer, suggests this traditional view is incorrect, and that testosterone treatment in men does not cause rapid growth of prostate cancer. It is the first to directly and rigorously assess changes in the prostate among men with prostate cancer who received testosterone therapy.–The men received testosterone therapy while undergoing active surveillance for prostate cancer for a median of 2.5 years. Median age was 58.8 years. The initial biopsy Gleason score was 6/10 for 12 of the men, 7/10 for the other (Gleason score grades the aggressiveness of prostate cancer by its microscopic appearance on a scale of 2-10. Gleason 6 is generally considered low to moderately aggressive, and Gleason 7 moderately aggressive).–Mean testosterone concentration increased from 238 to 664 ng/dl with treatment, yet neither prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentrations nor prostate volume showed any change. Follow-up biopsies of the prostate were performed in all men at approximately yearly intervals, and none developed cancer progression. In fact, 54 percent of the follow-up biopsies revealed no cancer at all.[U1]—Although the number of men in the study was small, and none had aggressive or advanced prostate cancer, Morgentaler observed, “These men were rigorously followed. The cancers in these men were typical of the prostate cancers for which men have undergone invasive treatment with surgery or radiation for 25 years. Clearly, the traditional belief that higher testosterone necessarily leads to rapid prostate cancer growth is incorrect.”–In a Journal of Urology editorial comment, Martin M. Miner, MD, of the Miriam Hospital and Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University notes the conclusions represent “a remarkable shift in thinking from only five years ago. … If testosterone therapy was not associated with disease progression in men with untreated prostate cancer, how concerned must we be about testosterone therapy in men with treated prostate cancer?”–“An increasing number of newly diagnosed men with prostate cancer opting for active surveillance, and with many of them also desiring treatment for their signs and symptoms of testosterone deficiency, the results suggest a reevaluation of the long standing prohibition against offering testosterone therapy to men with prostate cancer,” says Morgentaler.–Refraining from testosterone therapy due to unmerited prostate cancer fears may have adverse lifestyle and health consequences, since testosterone therapy in testosterone deficient men has been shown to improve symptoms of fatigue, decreased libido, and erectile dysfunction. Testosterone therapy may also improve mood, blood sugar control, increase muscle, decrease fat, and improve bone density. Four recent studies have shown that men with high testosterone levels appear to live longer than men with low levels, although it has not yet been shown that treating men with testosterone increases longevity.–Morgentaler commented on an Italian study that showed that low levels of testosterone were associated with aggressive prostate cancer. The risk of aggressive cancer was reduced for men with normal testosterone compared with men with low testosterone.-In an editorial in the journal Cancer, “Turning Conventional Wisdom Upside Down: Low Serum Testosterone and High-Risk Prostate Cancer Morgentaler wrote, “After seven decades of circumstantial evidence pointing us in the wrong direction, perhaps it is time to consider the once unthinkable — conducting a testosterone therapy trial of sufficient size and duration to determine whether normalization of serum testosterone in older men many reduce the risk of prostate cancer, particularly high-risk prostate cancer.”—In addition to Morgentaler, a member of the Division of Urology in the BIDMC Department of Surgery and an associate clinic professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, the study was co-authored by Michael Sweeney, MD of Harvard Medical School and Larry I. Lipshultz, MD, Richard Bennett, MD, Desiderio Avila, Jr., MD, and Mohit Khera, MD, of Baylor Medical College.
The authors reported financial interests and/or other relationships with Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Slate Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Allergan, Inc., American Medical Systems and Repros Therapeutics.- Story Source-The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.–Journal Reference-Abraham Morgentaler. Turning conventional wisdom upside-down. Cancer, 2011; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.25975
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Forgetfulness, Disorientation, Confusion and Statins
By Dr. Duane Graveline, M.D., M.P.H.
The advent of the stronger statin drugs in the past decade has contributed to a flood of reports of impaired cognition. These complaints range from transient global amnesia, to aggravation of pre-existing senility to forgetfulness, disorientation and confusion.—
In the first of his double blind placebo controlled trials, Muldoon assessed cognitive function and psychological well being in 194 healthy adults. Subjects were 24 to 60 years old and had LDL cholesterol levels of 160 mg/dl or higher. Each subject was randomly assigned to receive 20 mg/day of lovastatin or placebo for 6 months. Serum lipid levels were measured throughout the study. —
At baseline and at completion of treatment, comprehensive neuropsychological tests were conducted for attention ( digit vigilance, letter rotation, digit span, recurring words ), psychomotor speed ( grooved pegboard, maze, digit symbol ), mental flexibility (strobe interference, trail making, digital vigilance, letter rotation), working memory ( associated learning, digit span ) and memory retrieval ( controlled word association, digit symbol recall, verbal recall and complex figure testing ).—Psychological well being was assessed by daily diaries and subject interviews. At 6 month follow up, the placebo group had improved significantly in all five domains of cognitive function. The lovastatin group did poorly by comparison. Three years later Muldoon and his group repeated this study using simvastatin. The results were similar to the lovastatin study.—The mechanism of this side effect is clearly rooted in the biosynthesis of cholesterol and fundamental to neurophysiologic mechanisms. Only in the past several years have we learned the importance of cholesterol in brain function. Imagine, cholesterol, the same cholesterol we have been led by the pharmaceutical industry to be public health enemy number one, now proven to be absolutely vital in the formation and function of the trillions of synapses in our brains. —
Explanation for statin drugs’ effect on cognition came on 9 November 2001, when Dr. Frank Pfrieger of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science announced to the world the discovery of the elusive factor responsible for the development of the highly specialized contact sites between adjacent neurons in the brain known as synapses. Not surprisingly to specialists in the field, the synaptogenic factor was shown to be the notorious substance cholesterol.[U2]—The so-called glial cells of the brain, long suspected of providing certain housekeeping functions, were shown to produce their own supply of cholesterol for the specific purpose of providing nerve cells with this vital synaptic component.
Since the lipoproteins that mediate the transport of cholesterol, including both LDL and HDL, are too large to pass the blood-brain barrier, the brain cannot tap the cholesterol supply in the blood. The brain must depend upon its own cholesterol synthesis, which the glial cells provide. The highly lipophilic statin drugs more easily cross the blood/brain barrier and interferes directly with glial cell synthesis of cholesterol. –Millions of patients are now taking this class of drug and are at significant risk for cognitive side effect. Transient global amnesia is just the tip of the iceberg. For every report of TGA there are hundreds of reports of impaired memory, disorientation and confusion among an older group of patients that rarely get mentioned. All too frequently, this group is willing to accept old age, “senior moments” or incipient senility as the cause, particularly when their physicians are also ignorant about this side effect of the statin drugs.
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Workshop Video Recipes
Blood Purifier—Add Beets ( 2 Peeled or one big one and pre chop for the blender ) add 1 ½ cup of red wine—then blend for about 10 minutes-when done stop Blender and pour through a cloth filter ( use anything –handkerchief-pillow case-a thin sheet –etc ) ring well and add to a glass container—Use 1 oz as needed—or if trying to purify blood use this in conjunction with teas or juices that will assist in this—Use extra Vitamin C when using this remedy due to the oxalates that some of you maybe more sensitive to and will give gout or a painful joint feeling—
Waxing- this is where we take wax and melt down and add any essential oil of choice ( 1-2 drops of each oil adding) –heat up another container so that when pouring the wax inside it will maintain the heat of the wax for a longer period of time and when the wax is melted pour into the heated container and then using a sponge apply carefully and gingerly the wax on the area you wish to pull out toxins or even microbes or pest that may have penterated the skin
Ear Candle Making and Utilizing- you will need a1) knitting needle 2)wax of choice( for the demo we use a paraffin but normally we would use bee’s wax) wrap of choice whether an old pillowcase to a handkerchief to cheese cloth ( we used cheese cloth ) 3)wrap the cheese cloth around the Needle at least 3 times and contain the wrap so it does not come undone—4)in the interim you will be heating wax and in a container of choice and use Glass when doing this— 5)have wax paper on hand and fold it over several times so it is thick—6)Once the wax is liquefied then dip the form in the wax—when pulling out be careful not to splatter the wax- then when it is removed use the wax paper to further shape and smooth out the candle—then set to cool off –nip of the excess and you have an ear candle
Ear Candling—Once the candle has cooled then get an old pie plate and put a whole in the center big enough to slide the candle through once inserted light the opposite end of the candle and then insert into the ear –make sure it is secured not to allow a leak –you need a vacuum –this will draw out clogged materials in the ear—ONLY ALLOW the CANDLE TO GO HALF WAY OR JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW HALF—t Each ear will need 2 candles—you will hear either a crackling Noise or a vacuuming type of sound—Once done allow for the ears to adjust to noise due to he fact you have nothing causing a blockage
Egg Protein- take several Eggs and boil them once boiled then shell them so all you have is the egg—split the white and remove the yolk ( you can do both but the yolk has fat in it –lecithin- and will go rancid if left out to long once dried-then once you have separated the yolk then mush down the eggs and then insert into a toaster oven or a regular oven for about 10 hours—heat at about 80 cel or about 165 degrees fahr—when dried poder in a blender and store in jar and use with gelatin
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TOP H
[U1] This study could actually imply that a lack of testosterone could be the cause or at the least contributing factor of cancer or at the least an indicator of prostate cancer
[U2]Here they are being sarcastic —Cholesterol is required for the brain to be normally operating and functional