Drinking coffee reduce erectile dysfunction

Guys! Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day could reduce your chances of facing erectile dysfunction (ED), claims a new study. A study by the University of Texas Health Science Centre, says men who consumed between 85 and 170 mg of caffeine a day were 42 per cent less likely to report ED, while those who drank between 171 and 303 mg of caffeine a day were 39 per cent less likely to report ED compared to those who drank zero to seven mg a day. This trend was also true among overweight, obese and hypertensive men. Experts said even though they saw a reduction in the prevalence of ED with men who were obese, overweight and hypertensive, that was not true of men with diabetes. Since diabetes is one of the strongest risk factors for ED, it wasn't surprising. The suggested biological mechanism is that caffeine triggers a series of pharmacological effects that lead to the relaxation of the penile helicine arteries and the cavernous smooth muscle that lines cavernosal spaces, thus increasing penile blood flow. Data for the study came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and ED was assessed by a single question during a computer-assisted interview. Caffeine sources in the study included coffee, tea, soda and sports drinks. The study is published in PLOS ONE.

Paracetamol in pregnancy bad for unborn male

In a fresh insight into reported links between paracetamol use during pregnancy and reproductive health problems, a new study shows that its prolonged use may reduce testosterone production in unborn baby boys. Paracetamol is the primary medicine used for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. "This study adds to existing evidence that prolonged use of paracetamol in pregnancy may increase the risk of reproductive disorders in male babies," said researchers at the University of Edinburgh. "We would advise that pregnant women should follow current guidance that the painkiller be taken at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time," they suggested.The study tested the effect of paracetamol on testosterone production in mice that carried grafts of human testicular tissue. These grafts have been shown to mimic how the developing testes grow and function during pregnancy. Testosterone, produced in the testicles, is crucial for life-long male health.The mice were given a typical daily dose of paracetamol — over a period of either 24 hours or seven days. They measured the amount of testosterone produced by the human tissue an hour after the final dose of paracetamol. They found there was no effect on testosterone production following 24 hours of paracetamol treatment. After seven days of exposure, however, the amount of testosterone was reduced by 45 per cent. The study appeared in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Depressed at greater Parkinson's risk

People with depression may be more likely to develop Parkinson's disease, a large study has revealed. "We saw this link between depression and Parkinson's disease during over a timespan of more than two decades. Depression may be a very early symptom of Parkinson's disease or a risk factor for the disease," said experts at the Umea University in Umea, Sweden. They also examined siblings and found no link between one sibling having depression and the other having Parkinson's disease. "This finding gives us more evidence that these two diseases are linked," experts added. "If the diseases were independent of each other but caused by the same genetic or early environmental factors, then we would expect to see the two diseases group together in siblings, but that did not happen," they further said. For the study, researchers started with all Swedish citizens age 50 and older at the end of 2005. From that, they took the 140,688 people who were diagnosed with depression from 1987 to 2012. People with depression were 3.2 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease within a year after the study started than people who did not have depression. By 15 to 25 years after the study started, people with depression were about 50 percent more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. The paper appeared in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

High BP driving heart diseases in India

Washington: Hypertension or high blood pressure has been found to be the most common cardiovascular risk factor in a study of outpatient care in India. Of the 68,196 patients from 10 cardiology outpatient departments included in the US-led study, hypertension was present in nearly 30 per cent patients followed by other risk factors, including diabetes, current tobacco use and high cholesterol. Researchers used the American College of Cardiology's PINNACLE India Quality Improvement Programme registry to examine performance measures and outline areas for further improvement in cardiovascular care delivery. The findings suggest that despite challenges, it is feasible to collect and study the quality of outpatient cardiovascular care in a resource-limited environment like India. "This paper demonstrates the high-potential for the American College of Cardiology and the PINNACLE registry to partner with cardiologists and help them improve the quality of outpatient cardiovascular care across the globe," said an expert at the American College of Cardiology, a non-profit medical society. There is a growing burden of cardiovascular disease in India, but only limited data is available on the quality of outpatient care for patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. As the second most populous country in the world, India is experiencing an increase in the more traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease due to a rise in behavioural risk factors, including tobacco use, physical inactivity and poor diet coupled with low levels of awareness, treatment and control of risk factors, the study noted. The PINNACLE India Quality Improvement Programme is the first cardiovascular disease care data-collection and reporting programme implemented in the country, the researchers said. The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.