4, September 2014

Exercise can stem frequent night urination in men

Exercise can stem frequent night urination in men men who are physically active are at lower risk of nocturia – waking up at night to urinate, says a study.

Nocturia is the most common and bothersome lower urinary tract affliction in men.

‘Combined with other management strategies, physical activity may provide a strategy for the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) related outcomes, particularly nocturia,’ explained Kate Wolin from the Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine.

Wolin and colleagues analysed data from a large, ongoing clinical trial called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). Men aged 55 to 74 were eligible for the trial.

The study included questions on BPH-related outcomes, including enlarged prostate and nocturia. PLCO also asked men about physical activity and other lifestyle factors. Wolin’s analysis included 28,404 men in the PLCO trial who had BPH outcomes before enrolling in the study (prevalent group) and 4,710 men who had newly developed BPH (incident group).

Among men in the incident group, those who were physically active one or more hours per week were 13 percent less likely to report nocturia and 34 percent less likely to report severe nocturia than men who reported no physical activity.

There are several possible mechanisms by which physical activity can protect against nocturia, including reducing body size and improving sleep.

The study was published online in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

04.09.2014

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan confident of eradicating kala-azar by 2015

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Monday said that India aims to eliminate dreaded vector-borne disease kala-azar by 2015. ‘We are confident to eliminate kala-azar by 2015 with a new road map,’ Harsh Vardhan said at a function here after launching non-invasive diagnostic methods for detecting kala-azar by using oral fluid and urine samples at Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences here.

Harsh Vardhan also attended a day-long meeting on kala-azar with officials and experts from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. ‘He deliberated on kala-azar with officials of four states, where it has turned endemic,’ an official of state health department Anand Kishore said.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also said that his government is ready to work to eliminate kala-azar by 2015.

‘We have taken it as a challenge to make Bihar free from kala-azar,’ he said.

‘We will support and help the central government’s measures to eliminate kala-azar in the state,’ Manjhi said adding that 70 percent of kala-azar patients in the country are in Bihar. Kala-azar is globally known as visceral leishmaniasis. Its carrier is the sand fly found in the eastern UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The disease usually strikes during the monsoon months. 

It is the second deadliest vector-borne disease after malaria. Presently, its incidence is concentrated to about 54 districts, with Bihar being the worst affected. Ninety percent of visceral leishmaniasis cases in the world occur in 5 countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

04.09.2014

Don’t make a permanent decision on temporary feelings