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Academic Journal
Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Also Included In: Back Pain;  Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 16 May 2013 – 4:00 PDT

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Erectile Dysfunction Tied To Long Term Painkiller Use

Patient / Public:
Healthcare Prof:

A new study suggests that long term use of opioid prescription painkillers for back pain is tied to a higher risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). The findings are published in the 15 May online issue of the journal Spine.

Lead author Richard A. Deyo, an investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research says in a statement:

“Men who take opioid pain medications for an extended period of time have the highest risk of ED.”

With his colleagues, Deyo, who is also Professor of Evidence-based Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, found the link by analyzing electronic health records of over 11,000 men enrolled in a health plan.

They believe theirs is the first study to find such a link using electronic health records.

The reason they did the study was because men with chronic pain sometimes experience erectile dysfunction because of depression, smoking, age, or opioid-related hypogonadism (low testosterone due to painkiller use).

But little is known, they note, about how common ED is in men with back pain, and which risk factors may be important.

So they searched the electronic records to find out if men taking prescription painkillers were also the ones most likely to be prescribed testosterone replacement or medications for ED.

Editor’s Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Also Included In: Pain / Anesthetics
Article Date: 15 May 2013 – 11:00 PDT

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Prescription Painkillers Linked To Erectile Dysfunction In Men

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Healthcare Prof:

Regularly taking prescription painkillers, commonly called opioids, is linked to a greater risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, according to a new study published in Spine.

Over 11,000 men suffering from back pain were involved in the research. The health records of the participants were analyzed to determine whether males taking prescription opioids were more likely to also receive prescriptions for testosterone replacement or ED medications.

The investigators found that over 19% of males who took high-dose opioids for 4 months or more were also given ED prescriptions, while fewer than 7% of males who did not take painkillers received prescriptions for ED.

Over 12% of men who took low-dose opioids for four months or more also received ED prescriptions or testosterone replacement.

Age was the factor most notably linked to receiving ED prescriptions. The men in the study over the age of 60 had a much higher probability of receiving ED prescriptions.

“Men 60 to 69 (years old) were 14 times more likely to receive prescriptions for ED medication than men 18 to 29,” the researchers said.

Depression, other health problems (other than back pain), and use of sedative hypnotics, such as benzodiazepines, also raised the probability that men would receive prescriptions for ED.

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Article Date: 03 Apr 2013 – 0:00 PDT

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Sildenafil Helps Turn ‘Bad’ White Adipose Tissue Into ‘Good And Healthy’ Brown Adipose Tissue

Patient / Public:		5 (1 votes)
Healthcare Prof:		5 (1 votes)
Article opinions:	1 posts

Although sildenafil is best known for promoting erections, it may also serve as a weight loss aid by coaxing our bodies to store more healthy “brown fat” relative to unhealthy “white fat” than it would otherwise do on its own. According to new research published online in The FASEB Journal, this is because sildenafil inhibits the breakdown of cyclic GMP, which has been well known as a messenger molecule used by the body to control blood pressure and flow, and has now been shown to play an important role determining which type of fat – white or brown – the body stores.

“There is a growing need for novel treatments against obesity,” said Alexander Pfeifer, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Bonn, Biomedical Center in Bonn, Germany. “Finding new positive effects of existing drugs, such as sildenafil, in adipose tissue might help to bridge the period until novel drugs against obesity have been developed.”

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Article Date: 03 Apr 2013 – 0:00 PDT

Current ratings for:
Sildenafil Helps Turn ‘Bad’ White Adipose Tissue Into ‘Good And Healthy’ Brown Adipose Tissue

Patient / Public:		5 (1 votes)
Healthcare Prof:		5 (1 votes)
Article opinions:	1 posts

Although sildenafil is best known for promoting erections, it may also serve as a weight loss aid by coaxing our bodies to store more healthy “brown fat” relative to unhealthy “white fat” than it would otherwise do on its own. According to new research published online in The FASEB Journal, this is because sildenafil inhibits the breakdown of cyclic GMP, which has been well known as a messenger molecule used by the body to control blood pressure and flow, and has now been shown to play an important role determining which type of fat – white or brown – the body stores.

“There is a growing need for novel treatments against obesity,” said Alexander Pfeifer, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Bonn, Biomedical Center in Bonn, Germany. “Finding new positive effects of existing drugs, such as sildenafil, in adipose tissue might help to bridge the period until novel drugs against obesity have been developed.”

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Article Date: 03 Apr 2013 – 0:00 PDT

Current ratings for:
Sildenafil Helps Turn ‘Bad’ White Adipose Tissue Into ‘Good And Healthy’ Brown Adipose Tissue

Patient / Public:		5 (1 votes)
Healthcare Prof:		5 (1 votes)
Article opinions:	1 posts

Although sildenafil is best known for promoting erections, it may also serve as a weight loss aid by coaxing our bodies to store more healthy “brown fat” relative to unhealthy “white fat” than it would otherwise do on its own. According to new research published online in The FASEB Journal, this is because sildenafil inhibits the breakdown of cyclic GMP, which has been well known as a messenger molecule used by the body to control blood pressure and flow, and has now been shown to play an important role determining which type of fat – white or brown – the body stores.

“There is a growing need for novel treatments against obesity,” said Alexander Pfeifer, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Bonn, Biomedical Center in Bonn, Germany. “Finding new positive effects of existing drugs, such as sildenafil, in adipose tissue might help to bridge the period until novel drugs against obesity have been developed.”