LOS ANGELES, May 17 (UPI) -- A surgical technique can lessen the likelihood of erectile dysfunction and incontinence in men with prostate cancer who had surgery, U.S. researchers say. Lead author Dr. Jim Hu, director of minimally invasive surgery in the department of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues recommend that men undergoing robotic-assisted surgery for prostate removal should look for a doctor who has performed at least 1,000 surgeries. "It would be helpful for men who seek a surgical cure for their prostate cancer to appreciate the nuances required by a surgeon to successfully protect erectile function," Hu said in a statement. "Like improving a golf swing, a technique for nerve-sparing surgery has many subtleties that are influenced by training, talent, a desire to improve, and meticulous review of technique and outcomes." The research team looked at nerve-sparing techniques and maneuvers used in the operating room in 400 surgeries performed by Hu over a two-year period at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Hu tracked his patients' erectile-potency recovery outcomes up to one year after surgery. The study, scheduled to be published in the journal European Urology, found … Continue reading →

May 16, 2012 Updated May 16, 2012 at 9:17 AM PDT This may not have been the type of "stimulus" feds intended. Two grants totaling nearly $1.5 million were distributed to the University of California San Francisco, NBCBayArea.com has discovered. The money was part of the federal stimulus program and went to studies into the erectile dysfunction of overweight middle aged men and the accurate reporting of someone's sexual history. And investigation by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit into who got federal stimulus dollars, and why some projects did not break ground more than two years after receiving the grant uncovered the grant. The Investigative Unit looked closely at the federal government's decision to spend nearly $1.5 million of taxpayer money, money that came here to California. Grant number 1R01HD056950-01A2 was among the thousands of grants funded, receiving $1.2 million. This grant studied how to improve the accuracy of how people responded to questions about their sexual history. "I don't think most tax payers would think that would be a justified spending of stimulus money to conduct a sex study over fixing bridges and roads that are crumbling every day," said Scott Amey, the general council for POGO, the … Continue reading →

Young men who take erectile dysfunction drugs for fun may damage their sex lives, a new study suggests. Don't miss these Health stories To a very vocal online contingent, cilantro is the very worst. On "I Hate Cilantro" websites and Facebook pages they gripe that the herb tastes like soap, mold, or dirt. Cilantro haters not only despise its flavor, they also detest its smell. Nearly 6 percent of the sexually active college men involved in the study reported taking drugs for erectile dysfunction (ED) without a prescription. Yet an analysis of these students' sex lives unveiled a paradox: The more ED drugs men took, the worse they felt. "Using ED drugs recreationally has the potential to negatively influence one's confidence," said Christopher Harte, lead author of the study published this month in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Men who abused ED drugs reported the same level of physical sexual functioning as non-users did, but Harte found that they were less confident about their abilities to get and maintain an erection. The recreational users also were less satisfied with their sex lives overall, even if they were satisfied during intercourse. "One needs to be careful when they are frequently using … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (May 16, 2012) Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in the U.S., and radical prostatectomy, the surgical removal of the prostate gland, remains the most popular therapeutic option, accounting for half of treatments. The procedure, however, is not without possible side effects, primarily erectile dysfunction and incontinence. But a good nerve-sparing surgical technique can lessen the likelihood of these undesirable outcomes, as can the skill and experience of the surgeon, according to a new UCLA study that focused on robotic-assisted prostate surgery. The study findings are published in the June 2012 print edition of the international peer-reviewed journal European Urology. Based on their research, the study authors recommend that men undergoing robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer should look for a doctor who has performed at least 1,000 surgeries and who actively seeks to improve and enhance his/her surgical skills to help ensure a successful post-surgery recovery of erectile function. The authors also found that new, refined techniques that prioritize the gentle handling of the delicate nerves around the prostate also make a difference in improved erectile function. The study is one of the first to characterize a surgeons' learning curve for improving erectile-potency outcomes and to … Continue reading →