Calling all men who want to become fathers! Soy products may reduce a man's sperm count. Based on a recent study, men who consume soy products may have lower sperm counts than those who don't. The study was based on a small group of men who visited the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center from 2000 to 2006.

Even though the study found that some of the men who ate soy products on a regular basis had lower sperm counts, the researchers conducting the study are not saying that soy products were the cause of the lower sperm concentrations. The men who had soy products in their diets recorded lower sperm counts than those that didn't, but their counts were still within the normal range.

Researchers don't deny that during the study men who consumed soy products had lower sperm counts, but they want people to realize there are other factors other than soy products that may have played a role in the lower sperm counts, such as being overweight or obese. Also, some researchers say the 99 men that were involved in the study may not be a good representation of the average population.

During the study, semen samples were taken from the men and they completed a questionnaire, asking how often they consumed specific soy products and the amounts of the products containing soy they ate. Based on the questionnaire, where the men presented their eating habits over the past three months, almost 40 of the men had no soy products in their diets, 18 had eaten soy products less than a couple times, 22 said they ate soy products between a couple times a month and a couple times a week, and 20 ate soy products at least a couple times a week.

The study, led by Jorge Chavarro with The Harvard School of Public Health, can be seen in the journal Human Reproduction. The researchers state that the clinical significance of their findings still need to be determined, but Chavarro said isoflavones in the soy—hormones that have similar effects to estrogen—could be affecting the sperm counts. The study didn't find that those who ate soy products were outside of the normal range, but they were lower than those men who didn't eat soy products at all and were especially lower in those men who were overweight or obese and ate soy products.

More research seems to be needed to draw more certain conclusions, in regards to sperm count and soy products, but if you already have a lower sperm count you may want to consider removing soy products from your.

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The Road to Surviving Prostate Cancer (Part 2)

This study shows that radiation therapy for recurrent prostate cancer significantly prolongs survival, "What this new study tells us is that even men with aggressive disease that has recurred after surgery appear to benefit from radiation therapy. It also means that we may be able to give radiation selectively to those who are really likely to benefit from it," said Trock.

On a lighter side of a dark subject, approximately 30 to 40 percent of men that have prostate cancer surgery for removal of high-0risk tumors experience no recurrence of cancer. The study was designed to determine the optimal timing for therapy and if it would improve survival rates for men with recurrent prostate cancer. The probability of a 10-year survival rate was 86 percent for men that had received radiotherapy vs. 62 percent for those that did not have radiation.

"This review suggests that even patients with aggressive cancer at the time of surgery not only benefit from salvage radiation therapy, but also actually live longer without a second prostate cancer recurrence," says Theodore L. DeWeese, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences. "This is the most important news for this group of patients in a long time."

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The Road to Surviving Prostate Cancer (Part 1)

Prostate cancer, which usually occurs in older men and has a higher incidence in African American men, ranks second in cancer-related deaths for males. It is estimated that there will be over 180,000 new cases and over 28,000 deaths in the United States this year alone, even though the survival rate has dramatically increased since the advent and approval of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing.
As reported in the recent Journal of the American Medical Association, a new study has found that in cases of recurring prostrate cancer where there has been surgical removal of the prostate, that men may benefit from early radiation therapy. In a statement to Reuters Health, Dr. Bruce T. Trock said, "Our study provides the first evidence that salvage radiotherapy can improve survival."

In the study, 397 men, with rapidly rising PSA levels, were not given any salvage treatment, while 160 received radiotherapy, and 78 had radiation and hormone therapy. After the recurrence of cancer, the mortality rates from prostate cancer in the three groups listed were: 22 percent, 11 percent, and 12 percent based on a six-year study. Men that have had prostate cancer surgery stand a significantly better rate of surviving the disease long term if they have radiotherapy within two years of the recurrence. One of the most surprising facts in a ‘look-back' study found that in 635 men, the survival benefits were best where new tumors were growing fastest.

In men with a slower rising PSA, Dr. Trock explained, "They had a better prognosis already-their survival at 10 years was 75 percent without any salvage treatment-so adding salvage radiation didn't improve their survival much." Trock also added, "Our results suggest that salvage radiation may be appropriate for those men with rapidly growing tumors who previously may not have been considered for such therapy."

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Free Drug Samples May Be a Health Risk for Children (Part 2)

Also among the most widely distributed free samples were broad-spectrum antibiotics that are not used in the first line of treatment. Cutrona said that overuse of such drugs could contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. She noted that previous research has shown that free samples lead doctors to prescribe drugs that might not be the best choice. She went on to explain, “New medications are frequently released before their safety profile is fully understood, and samples tend to be newer medications. Free samples encourage the casual use of medications in our children before enough is known about potential harm.”

Although the prescription drug industry maintains that free samples fill an important role for poor or uninsured patients, the study found that these patients rarely receive the samples, as they do not have access to the doctors who distribute them. Of the children who received free samples, only 16 percent were uninsured for part or all of 2004, with less than one-third having low family incomes, which is defined as less than $38,000 for a family of four.

Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry group, responded to the study in a statement and said that free samples offer doctors “valuable firsthand experience with new treatment options and can also play a valuable role in fostering the appropriate use of medicines.” He also noted, “While it is true that poor and uninsured patients are not the only recipients of drug samples, a patient's financial situation is a factor physicians often consider when distributing such samples.”

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Free Drug Samples May Be a Health Risk for Children (Part 1)

A group of researchers from Cambridge Health Alliance and Hasbro Children's Hospital found that 1 in 20 U.S. residents under the age of 18 received at least one free drug sample in 2004. Additionally, when counting just those who were prescribed medication, 1 in 10 received at least one free sample.

In the study, the researchers analyzed data on 10,295 U.S. residents under the age of 18 to examine the use of free drug samples in pediatric patients. The data was taken from a 2004 national survey regarding medical spending.

According to lead author Sarah Cutrona, an internist at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, giving out free samples “encourages a casual attitude toward medications.” Cutrona also said that in distributing free samples, important safety checks done by pharmacists are bypassed and that samples do not include childproof caps or instructions regarding children’s doses and procedures for an accidental overdose.

The researchers also found that out of the 15 most commonly distributed free samples, 2 are medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These medications, Strattera and Adderall, are controlled and monitored by the Drug Enforcement Agency due to high potential for abuse. Both drugs also carry the strongest possible safety warnings required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, called “black box” on their labels, as do two of the other commonly sampled medications known as Elidel, used for atopic dermatitis, and Advair, for asthma.

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