Safe sex ring tone sings 'Condom, condom!'

A cell phone ring tone that sings "Condom, condom!" has been launched to promote safe sex in India, where condoms carry a strong social stigma and HIV and AIDS are growing problems, health experts said Tuesday

The a cappella ring tone features a professional singer chanting the word condom more than 50 times, a playful approach that public health activists hope will spark discussion and make condoms more socially acceptable.

"We've made a conscious effort to move the concept of the condom away from negative association, like HIV and sex work," said Yvonne MacPherson, country director of BBC World Service Trust India. "Condoms are actually health products and if you have a condom and you use it, you are seen to be smart and responsible."

Nearly 2.5 million people in India are infected with HIV and the disease is still largely taboo.

The BBC group, which is funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes the condom ring tone can make people in India more comfortable with safe sex issues.

More than 270 million people use mobile phones in India and ring tones, especially those featuring hit Bollywood songs, are extremely popular.

"A ring tone is a very public thing," she said. "It's a way to show you are a condom user and you don't have any issues with it."

The ring tone was launched Aug. 8 and has been downloaded 60,000 times, MacPherson said.

source: yahoo news

ED Drug Relieves Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

A daily dose of the erectile dysfunction drug tadalafil (Cialis) helped relieve lower urinary tract symptoms in men with signs of enlarged prostates, according to a new study.

More than 50 percent of men age 50 and older have lower urinary tract symptoms, including increased urination frequency and urgency, straining, intermittence, incomplete emptying or a weak urinary stream. Current drugs used to treat the condition can produce side effects such as dizziness, low blood pressure and sexual dysfunction.

In this study that included 1,056 men in 10 countries, the men were randomly divided into five groups that received either a placebo or tadalafil doses of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 or 20.0 milligrams a day. All doses of the drug were superior to a placebo for relieving lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), with statistically significant effects at four, eight and 12 weeks

source: yahoo news

Regular chlamydia tests urged for young people

Young sexually active people should get themselves tested annually for the infection chlamydia and again every time they change partner, the Health Protection Agency said on Tuesday.Everyone should use a condom with a new partner until both have been screened, the agency warned as it published figures showing the number of sexual diseases diagnosed in Britain rose 6 percent last year.

Young people were disproportionately affected, said Peter Borriello, Director of the HPA's Centre for Infections.

"Substantial numbers of young people remain undiagnosed, untreated and unaware of the risk they pose both to their own health and that of their sexual partner," he added.

People aged 18-24 form just one in eight of the population but account for around half of all newly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the UK.

This age group suffered 65 percent of all chlamydia cases, 55 percent of all genital warts and 50 percent of gonorrhoeae infections diagnosed in genito-urinary clinics last year.

The total number of STIs diagnosed reached 397,990 in 2007, up from 375,843 the year before.

Borriello said one reason for the rise could be an increase in the number being screened.

More than one million sexual health screens were conducted in 2007, ten percent more than in 2006.

"If sustained, this could have a significant impact on the control of sexually transmitted infections," said Borriello.

"However, we cannot rely on prompt diagnosis and treatment alone -- a shift in behavior is the only way that we will bring down this continued increase in infections."

Nearly one in 10 sexually active young women tested by a chlamydia screening programme in England last year were found to have the infection, which can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.

One in 12 men was also found to be carrying the disease, the world's most common sexually transmitted infection.

A study by University College London last November showed that one in five young Britons has sex with a new partner when traveling abroad.

Viagra helps depressed women get satisfaction, too

Viagra, a popular anti-impotence pill, may help some women on antidepressants have better sex, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.They found women on antidepressants who took Viagra had fewer sexual side effects than those who took a placebo. Sexual dysfunction can prompt many people to stop taking drugs to treat depression.

While other studies have hinted that Viagra might help these women, the latest research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is one of the first scientifically rigorous studies to show this benefit.

"By treating this bothersome treatment-associated adverse effect ... patients can remain antidepressant-adherent, reduce the current high rates of premature medication discontinuation, and improve depression disease management outcomes," Dr. H. George Nurnberg of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and colleagues wrote.

The research was funded by Pfizer Inc, known generically as tadalafil, and Levitra or vardenafil, sold by GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer AG and Schering-Plough, work in a similar way to Viagra.

"These findings are important not only because women experience major depressive disorder at nearly double the rate of men and because they experience greater resulting sexual dysfunction than men, but also because it establishes that (drugs such as sildenafil) are effective in both sexes for this purpose," they wrote

Viagra helps depressed women

The erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has proven effective at combating sexual dysfunction in depressed women, according to a study published Tuesday.Sexual dysfunction is a common side effect of antidepressants and a major reason why people stop taking medication for their depression.

This is particularly problematic given that twice as many women as men are prescribed antidepressants but the most effective drugs used to combat sexual dysfunction in men are not approved for use in women, the authors wrote.

Researchers tested Viagra on 98 women whose depression was in remission but were still experiencing sexual dysfunction such as lack of arousal or pain during sex.

The women were told to take a pill one to two hours before sex for eight weeks. Half were given placebos pills which had no pharmacological effects.

Some 73 percent of the women given placebos reported no improvement with treatment while only 28 percent of the women taking Viagra said they did not notice an improvement, the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found.

Some of the women experienced headaches, flushing and indigestion but none of them withdrew from the trial because of side effects.

"By treating this bothersome treatment-associated adverse effect in patients who have been effectively treated for depression, but need to continue on their medication to avoid relapse or recurrence, patients can remain antidepressant-adherent, reduce the current high rates of premature medication discontinuation, and improve depression disease management outcomes," wrote lead author George Nurnberg of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Women on antidepressants may benefit from Viagra

Viagra's effect in women has been disappointing, but a new small study finds those on antidepressants may benefit from taking the little blue pills. The research involving 98 premenopausal women found Viagra helped with orgasm. But the benefits did not extend to other aspects of sex such as desire, researchers report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association."For women on antidepressants with orgasm problems, this may provide some wonderful relief," said psychologist Stanley Althof, director of the Center for Marital and Sexual Health of South Florida in West Palm Beach, who was not involved in the study. "But it will not improve their desire or arousal."

Antidepressants can interfere with sex drive and performance even as the drugs help lift crippling depression. Switching drugs or reducing the dose can help. But many people, men and women, stop taking them because of their sexual side effects.

The complaints are common. More than half the people who take antidepressants develop sexual problems, prior studies have found, especially for people taking Prozac, Paxil, Celexa and other drugs that work by increasing the chemical serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is thought to slow down orgasm, perhaps by diminishing the release of another brain chemical, dopamine. Viagra increases blood flow to sex organs.

Pfizer Inc. spokeswoman Sally Beatty said the company currently has no plans to pursue FDA approval for using its drug Viagra as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction. The company ended its internal research on Viagra for women in 2004. While Viagra was found to be safe, the results were inconclusive, Beatty said in an e-mail.

The search for a Viagra equivalent for women has been disheartening. A testosterone patch was sent back for more safety study by the Food and Drug Administration. A handheld vacuum device that increases blood flow to the clitoris does have FDA approval, and BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. is testing a testosterone gel called LibiGel.

The new Viagra findings are based on an eight-week experiment. The 98 women were using antidepressants successfully but were having sexual problems. Their average age was 37.

The women agreed to attempt sexual activity at least once each week. Each time, they took a pill, not knowing whether it was Viagra or a matching dummy pill.

While 72 percent of the women taking Viagra reported improvement on an overall scale, only 27 percent of the women taking the placebo reported improvement.

Althof said it's "worrisome" that 43 percent of the women on Viagra experienced headaches, compared to 27 percent of the women on dummy pills. Indigestion and reddening of skin (flushing) also were reported more often by the women taking Viagra.

Psychologist Leonore Tiefer of New York University School of Medicine said industry-funded research has oversimplified women's sexual experience. She noted the new study, funded by a Pfizer grant, found more side effects than benefits.

"Where's the question to the women: Is it worth it?" Tiefer said.

An earlier study in men taking antidepressants found more pronounced sexual benefits with Viagra than the benefits found for women, said lead author Dr. George Nurnberg, a psychiatrist at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

But the message for men and women who need antidepressants is that Viagra may help them stay on the drugs, he said.

"We're not talking about a lifestyle issue. We're talking about a medical necessity issue," Nurnberg said.

Pfizer had no influence on the design, findings or manuscript, Nurnberg said. He and several of the other authors disclosed financial ties to Pfizer and other drugmakers.

Viagra May Boost Female Libido in Some Cases

The drug that turned around the sex lives of many older men has proven in a small trial to also help women on antidepressants who experience sexual dysfunction.The eight-week study found that Viagra, also known as sildenafil, helped women achieve orgasm.

"In this study population, sildenafil treatment of sexual dysfunction in women taking SRIs was associated with a reduction in adverse sexual effects," the study's authors wrote.

Results of the study are in the July 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The lead author of the study, Dr. H. George Nurnberg, of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, in Albuquerque, declined to be interviewed for this article.

Selective and nonselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Effexor, comprise up to 90 percent of the 180 million antidepressant prescriptions filled in the United States each year, according to the study. But while these medications are very effective at treating clinical depression, one of their known drawbacks are sexual side effects.

Nurnberg and his colleagues previously reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, that Viagra was helpful for men who suffered from erectile dysfunction associated with the use of antidepressant medications.

In the current study, undertaken at seven research centers, they turned their attention to women. The study included 98 women -- half of whom received Viagra and half who received a placebo -- who were told to take the pills before sexual activity.

Women taking Viagra reported an improved ability to reach orgasm and increased orgasm satisfaction, according to the study authors.

But 43 percent of the women taking Viagra also reported headaches, versus 27 percent of those on placebo. Almost one-quarter of those using Viagra reporting flushing, while none of the women on placebo did. And 37 percent of women taking Viagra reported nasal congestion compared to 6 percent of women on placebo. Nausea and anxiousness were reported more often in the group taking placebo.

"The libido response in women is such a complex problem. If women are unhappy in a relationship, it can affect libido. If it hurts, it can affect libido. If she doesn't feel good about herself, it can affect libido. It's hard to tease all of those factors out," said Dr. Judi Chervenak, a reproductive endocrinologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

And, she added, "There's no definitive answer to date on how antidepressants cause a lack of libido. It could be because they're affecting dopamine, and women may be experiencing changes in dopamine that indirectly affect vaginal lubrication and arousal and cause decreased blood flow."

Of the current study, Chervenak said, "It's an enticing study, and it makes me want to know more. Does it make me want to prescribe Viagra right off the bat? Not at this point. I'd suggest first that patients keep a symptom diary, so we can figure out what their issue is. Is it arousal? Is it decreased blood flow? Is it an orgasm problem?"

"Another possibility might be to work with their psychiatrist," she added. "Would it be better to change the antidepressant or to taper the dose? What about a drug holiday? Although you have to be careful, and people can't do that on their own, because there can be potentially devastating problems if you come off these medications too quickly."

"This study has opened up many questions, and hopefully, we'll learn more in the future," concluded Chervenak.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra, told the Associated Press that the company has no plans to seek approval for using the drug as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction. The company ended its own research on Viagra for women in 2004, she added.