Regardless of the stage of disease, Gleason grade, previous treatments or PSA level at diagnosis or initiation of vitamin D therapy, this paper recently published in the British Journal of Urology International documents significant improvement with Vitamin D. The authors conclude: “Vitamin D therapy is an effective and well tolerated treatment for patients with asymptomatic progressive prostate cancer, and is a useful addition to the therapeutic options.”
Archive for the ‘Men’s Health’ Category
Vitamin D benefits prostate cancer—more evidence
Saturday, December 19th, 2009Watchful waiting for prostate cancer
Thursday, December 10th, 2009A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology compared hazard ratios (HRs) for time to metastasis or death “between patients who deferred treatment and those who underwent immediate treatment within 1 year of diagnosis.” This was a large prospective study that included 51,129 men. The authors concluded: “Older men and men with lesser cancer severity at diagnosis were more likely to remain untreated. PCa [prostate cancer] mortality did not differ between DT and active treatment patients.” DT = deferred treatment (watchful waiting).
Men, alcohol may help prevent coronary heart disease
Saturday, November 21st, 2009Don’t let this research go to your head, but an interesting study was just published in Heart, the journal of the British Cardiovascular Society. The investigators followed 15,630 men and 25,808 women for 10 years and found that moderate, high and very high alcohol consumption (1 to 6 standard drinks per day) was associated with 30% less CHD (coronary heart disease). The authors conclude: “In men aged 29-69 years, alcohol intake was associated with a more than 30% lower CHD incidence.” Sorry ladies, the data did not show a similar benefit for you. Gentlemen, before rushing to the liquor cabinet bear in mind that there are also important reasons for individuals to limit or abstain from alcohol (such as high insulin levels, etc). This is what the data in this study shows, but discuss it with your functional medicine doc.
Eosinophilic cystitis: a cause of urinary symptoms in males
Saturday, November 21st, 2009Men, difficulties with urination including pain, retention, even bleeding are sometimes not from the prostate. In a paper published in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine the authors state: “Eosinophilic cystitis (EC) is an inflammatory condition of the bladder that has been linked to food allergens, infectious agents, drugs, and other genitourinary conditions…[it] represents a response to a variety of agents and may often be overlooked.” As described in this paper published in Urologia Internationalis, “The clinical presentation of EC is varied. When the lesion is located at or near the bladder neck, it may present as urinary retention.” (Ladies, this condition afflicts you and children as well.)
Serum insulin, not glucose, linked to prostate cancer
Thursday, November 19th, 2009Here we have another study linking insulin resistance and higher serum insulin to prostate cancer. This recently published article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concludes: “Elevated fasting levels of serum insulin (but not glucose) within the normal range appear to be associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer.” Gentlemen, it is important to know that insulin levels rise in the background while glucose appears normal for years before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed. Make sure you know how to keep insulin receptors healthy.
Insulin receptor expression by human prostate cancers
Friday, November 13th, 2009There’s much more to prostate cancer prevention than finasteride. Here is another recent study published in the journal Prostate that documents the presence of insulin receptors on primary human prostate cancers. “The findings are relevant..to the hypothesis that obesity-associated hyperinsulinemia mediates the adverse effect of obesity on prostate cancer prognosis.” Important: Finasteride works by blocking the enzyme that converts testosterone to the more potent metabolite dihydrotestosterone. It, and natural agents that also inhibit the same enzyme, are helpful if dihydrotestosterone is too high—but this is not always the case. Lowering it too much can result in common adverse reactions that include decreased libido, impotence, and decreased ejaculatory volume. The functional approach to prostate disorders always includes lab assessment of the biologically active free fraction testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, estradiol, and the pituitary hormones LH and FSH that stimulate their production.
Erectile dysfunction and insulin resistance
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Here is more evidence of the strong correlation between erectile dysfunction and insulin. This paper recently published in the Journal of Andrology clearly discerns the “correlation between erectile function and IR and abdominal obesity.” [IR = insulin resistance. Waist circumference is a metric for abdominal obesity.] Moreover, “IR also appears to alter testosterone production.” Important: a careful reading of this paper also discloses what functional medicine practitioners and Lapis Light patients know: “a negative correlation [with erectile function] was shown only between BT (biologically active fraction) and abdominal obesity. (BT is also termed free-fraction testosterone, measured in our salivary profiles. Total testosterone is not a reliable indicator.)
Gamma tocopherol arrests growth of prostate cancer cells
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009This paper elucidates the mechanism by which gamma tocopherol, a form of Vitamin E, reduces inflammation and arrests the growth of prostate cancer cells. Remember that ordinary Vitamin E which contains only alpha tocopherol suppresses gamma tocopherol levels (see the post Do Not Take Ordinary Vitamin E).
Insulin & estrogen are risk factors for prostate disease
Monday, November 2nd, 2009Here is a paper in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases that is more evidence for what I have been telling Lapis Light patients for years: insulin and estrogen are both proliferating hormones that in excess promote prostatic hyperplasia (enlargement). No prostate assessment is complete without evaluating insulin regulation, free fraction steroid hormones (including estrogen in men) and Vitamin D levels.
