HIV Transmission among Men Who Have Sex with Men African American men are most likely to be infected with HIV as a result of sex with other men. In a recent study of men who have sex with men (MSM) in 5 cities participating in CDC’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance, 46% of the African Americans were HIV-positive, compared with 21% of the whites and 17% of the Hispanics. The study also showed that the participating MSM who tested positive for HIV, 64% of the African American men, 18% of the Hispanic men, 11% of the white men, and 6% of multiracial/other men were unaware of their HIV infection. Studies such as this point to a continued need for culturally appropriate prevention messages and encouragement for regular HIV testing. Heterosexual Transmission African American women are most likely to be infected with HIV as a result of sex with men. They may not know of their male partners’ possible risks for HIV infection, such as unprotected sex with multiple partners, bisexuality, or injection drug use . In a study of HIV-infected persons, 34% of African American MSM reported having had sex with women, even though only 6% of African American women reported having had sex with a bisexual man. Because of the stigma of homosexuality, a significant number of African American MSM identify themselves as heterosexual . As a result, they may not relate to prevention messages crafted for men who identify themselves as homosexual. Transmission categories for African American adults and adolescents with HIV/AIDS diagnosed during 2001–2004 Note. Based on data from 33 states with long-term, confidential HIV reporting. Source. CDC. Trends in HIV/AIDS diagnoses?33 states, 2001–2004. MMWR 2005;54:1149–1153. Substance Use Injection drug use is the second leading cause of HIV infection for African American women and the third leading cause of HIV infection for African American men. In addition to being at risk from sharing needles, casual and chronic substance users are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol . Drug use can also affect treatment success. A recent study of HIV-infected women found that women who used drugs, compared with women who did not, were less likely to take their antiretroviral medicines exactly as prescribed . Sexually Transmitted Diseases The highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are those for African Americans. In 2004, African Americans were about 19 times as likely as whites to have gonorrhea and about 6 times as likely to have syphilis . The presence of certain STDs can increase the chances of contracting HIV 3- to 5-fold. Similarly, a person who has both HIV and certain STDs has a greater chance of spreading HIV to others . Socioeconomic Issues In 1999, nearly 1 in 4 African Americans were living in poverty . Studies have found an association between higher AIDS incidence and lower income . The socioeconomic problems associated with poverty, including limited access to high-quality health care and HIV prevention education, directly or indirectly increase HIV risk MANTALK Testicular Cancer Info Testicular Cancer Faqs Testicular cancer is a concern for many men. This page attempts to address the main issues concerned with testicular cancer and discusses the symptoms, causes and treatments. Q. How common is testicular cancer? A. In 2000 (the last year for which figures are available) there were 2,000 new cases of testicular cancer diagnosed in the UK. In the USA, it is estimated that there will be 9,000 new cases diagnosed in 2004. This means it is between 1% and 2% of all cancers in men. The number of cases has been slowly increasing for some time. Q. What causes testicular cancer? A. We do not yet understand what causes this type of cancer. Q. What are the risk factors for testicular cancer? A. Unlike most cancers, testicular cancer does not get more common as you get older. Most cases occur in men aged between 25 and 45, with very few cases in men over 75. This type of cancer is most common in white Caucasian males. Men of other races have a much lower incidence, even when living in the same county. The only exception to this is the New Zealand Maoris, who have a high rate of testicular cancer. Within Europe, this cancer is up to five times as common in some northern countries (eg Denmark, Sweden and UK) than in many southern countries (Italy, Spain and Greece). Babies born with undescended testicles are known to have a 5 to 10 times higher risk of testicular cancer. There are a few medical conditions, which if present during childhood, also increase the risk. These include an inguinal hernia, mumps infection of the testicles and testicular torsion. Having a vasectomy does not increase the risk of testicular cancer. Q. Are there different types of testicular cancer? A. The vast majority of testicular tumours are called germ-cell tumours. There are two main types of germ cell tumour: seminomas and teratomas. Younger patients are more likely to have seminomas and older patients to have teratomas. Q. How dangerous are testicular cancers? A. There are relatively few deaths from testicular cancer, because it is one of the easiest to cure. In the year 2002, only 74 men died of this cancer in the UK and, in the USA only 360 are expected to die in 2004. This means it is a very rare cause of death. Q. Does the diet affect the risk of testicular cancer? A. There is no evidence that diet affects the risk of getting testicular cancer. Q. Does testicular cancer run in families? A. Research has found that an increased risk of testicular cancer can run in families. If you have a brother with testicular cancer, you are between 6 and 10 times more likely to get it than normal. If your father had it, you are 3 or 4 times more likely than normal to also suffer from it. Q. What are the symptoms of testicular cancer? A. The most common symptom of testicular cancer is a painless swelling or lump in one of the testicles. Other, less common, symptoms include enlargement of a testicle, a pain in one testicle and an ache in the lower stomach. Q. Is there screening for testicular cancer? A. Men can screen themselves by feeling for lumps in their testicles. Men between 25 and 45 should do this every few months. If a lump is found on one testicle, check the other one to see if the same lump is present. If there are similar lumps on both, then it is almost certainly a normal part of the testicles. If the lump is only on one testicle, you should consult your doctor. Q. How is testicular cancer diagnosed? A. First, your family doctor will check your testicles and, if there is any cause for concern, he will refer you to a specialist. An ultrasound scan of the testicles is used to check for any growths. If any are found, an operation is performed to take a tissue sample from the lump. This is examined by a pathologist, to determine if the lump is cancerous or not. Blood test will also be done to check the levels of HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin) and AFP (alpha fetoprotein), which indicate how advanced the cancer is. Q. How is testicular cancer treated? A. The exact treatment used will depend on the type of testicular cancer and how advanced it is. An operation to remove the affected testicle is normal in all cases. The loss of one testicle does not affect a man's ability to have an erection or father children and an artificial testicle can be put in the scrotum to restore a normal appearance. If the cancer has gone beyond the testicle, radiotherapy or chemotherapy are also used. Radiotherapy is more effective for seminomas. Chemotherapy is used for both types of testicular cancer, even if it has not spread. In advanced cases, chemotherapy is given at a very high dose, which kills not only the cancer cells but also the bone marrow cells as well. However, the patient is given a stem cell or bone marrow infusion to restore the bone marrow cells. Q. What are the side-effects of treatment? A. Radiotherapy can cause nausea, tiredness and diarrhoea. However, these are not severe and can be helped or prevented by drugs. Chemotherapy can cause loss of appetite, tiredness, ringing in the ears, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, mouth ulcers, infections, kidney problems and hair loss. The higher the dosage, the more severe the side effects. Patients on high-dose chemotherapy are monitored carefully by their doctors. Q. How effective are the treatments? A. The current treatments are very effective. If the tumour is diagnosed early, a complete cure is achieved in nearly 95% of cases. The later tumours are more difficult to treat, but even in advanced testicular cancer over 50% of pateints are cured. For these figures, a complete cure is defined as surviving ten years after the first diagnosis. Q. Is early diagnosis important? As with all cancers, the earlier the diagnosis, the easier the cancer is to cure MANTALK Prostate Cancer info There are a number of plausible biological mechanisms whereby obesity could promote the development and progression of cancer.The evidence for a connection between obesity and common forms of cancer is drawn from studies of populations, animal experiments, and limited clinical research on humans. However, this research largely provides biological proof of principle. With the exception of non-melanoma skin cancers, where a low fat diet led to a reduced incidence of tumors and modest weight loss, there are no definitive large-scale clinical intervention studies demonstrating that weight loss or dietary changes reduce the incidence of cancer. Nonetheless, there is a broad base of evidence that is sufficient to warrant advising cancer survivors to follow current dietary advice to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in the diet while reducing fats. The balance of this article presents an overview of this evidence. Statistical Evidence There is a worldwide epidemic of common forms of cancer including prostate cancer in those countries and socioeconomic groups within countries eating a so-called Western Diet. This chaotic “diet” is characterized by a dietary pattern rich in fat, sugar, and red meat, but poor in fiber, fruits and vegetables. Since age is the primary risk factor for cancer, all such associations are based on age-adjusted incidences that can be up to five times higher in so-called high risk countries (e.g. U.S.) compared to low risk countries (e.g. Japan). Moreover, individuals migrating from low risk to high-risk countries increase their risk of cancer substantially within a single generation. Obesity is also associated with a number of common forms of cancer. These data have implicated environmental and lifestyle factors including diet in the etiology of cancer. There is also evidence that obesity is associated with an increased rate of progression of cancer following initial treatment.6 There is an ever-increasing population of cancer survivors and an increasing incidence of obesity. If patients with diagnosed cancer who have survived initial treatment are treated for obesity, it may improve outcomes and increase median survival. Even if these efforts had no effect on any remaining cancer cells, treating cancer survivors for obesity improves their quality of life and reduces the risk of other chronic diseases including heart disease and diabetes. As sedentary men age, they often experience an increase in fat mass, a decrease in lean body mass, and a change in hormone levels. These factors have been shown to increase the risk of prostate cancer. In a study of Seventh-Day Adventists, obesity was shown to significantly increase the risk of fatal prostate cancer compared with ideal weight. This association was also noted in the American Cancer Society's study of 750,000 individuals. With aging, the prevalence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) increases; this is an androgen-dependent chronic disorder. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) formed from testosterone in the prostate and in the testes appears to promote hyperplasia in humans, dogs and rats. Horton et al found increased levels of circulating DHT in elderly men compared with young men (89 ng/dl vs. 49 ng/dl); in this study, nearly all the elderly men had BPH. Since the prostate can convert testosterone to DHT, some have hypothesized that increased metabolic conversion of testosterone to DHT may account for the increased DHT levels in elderly men. Therefore, the effects of a high-fat diet on prostate cancer are partially explained by the changes in hormones resulting from that diet and by a decreasing lean body mass. Although there is no clinical trial data available to define the benefits of weight reduction, there is a clear association of obesity with cancer risk, incidence, or progression for a number of common forms of cancer. Evidence is much stronger for certain forms of cancer than others, but clearly, the endocrine and immune systems may play an important role in mediating the effects of increased adiposity on cancer risk based on the hormones and adipocytokines produced by fat cells. Many of the changes observed in these systems among obese patients are related but secondary phenomena of unknown significance, but others may be important in cancer development, promotion, or progression. Abnormalities in adipocytokine production and action are central to many of the observed metabolic changes in the obese patient, and may play a role in the cause and maintenance of the obese state as well as in associated forms of cancer. . MANTALK Mens Health - Men and Vitamins Dr. Earl Mindell Pat is the kind of person who takes an active role in his personal health. He keeps his fat and sugar intake low, eats lots of fresh vegetables, and runs a few miles three or four times a week. But it wasn't always that way. Pat used to be plagued by low level fatigue caused by chronic allergies, and could never quite pinpoint what was causing them. Pollen. Mold. The cat. Maybe dust mites. He wasn't exactly sure what allergen was on the loose, but he did know that when he awoke in the morning his nose was stuffy and his eyes were swollen and itchy. Then in the course of a conversation with a marathon runner friend, Pat learned about sulfur. The runner told Pat that he takes sulfur before and after races to prevent muscle soreness, joint pain and post-race fatigue. I don't know where Pat's friend learned about sulfur but horse trainers have been administering it to million-dollar race horses for years and for the very same reasons. At the urging of his runner friend, Pat started taking MSM. After only a few days his allergy symptoms virtually disappeared. Sulfur...you cannot survive without it. Are we talking about that stuff in matches? Yes, sulfur the mineral. It's in every living cell. It's the fourth most plentiful mineral in the body and you cannot survive without it. But the form I'm talking about is organic sulfur--the kind your body can absorb and use. It's known as--are you ready for this?--methylsulfonylmethane. That's quite a mouthful so it's referred to as MSM for short. MSM helped alleviate Pat's allergic responses because it competes for receptor sites located along mucous membranes. When sufficient MSM is present to occupy these sites, the harmful aIlergens that caused Pat's reactions have no place to hang around. MSM also binds with some proteins related to allergies and produces inactive waste which the body then excretes. Pat's marathon-running friend was helped by the MSM supplements he took in part because sulfur compounds provide the flexible bond between proteins which make up the tissue in your body. As old cells die off, new cells are created. Without the necessary amount of sulfur, the new cell would become rigid. When tissue loses its flexibility, the result is pain and inflammation. In a study of seven human subjects with respiratory deficiency, all were given MSM to take orally. Five had emphysema, and two had lung tumors plus fluid accumulation. Before and during the MSM supplementation, at two-week intervals, the five subjects with emphysema were tested for their ability to walk a specific distance. Within four weeks, all emphysema sufferers had at least doubled their walking distance. The two subjects with lung tumors were assessed by attending physicians, nurses and their family as being more alert and with an improved attitude. The lung fluid disappeared during the first months of the test period. MSM is also being used to treat intestinal parasites. Some estimates are that 80 percent of humans are walking around with intestinal parasites. It's more than likely you are sharing your food with tapeworms, hookworms, roundworms or pinworms. You can pick up parasites from food, water, or just from kissing or shaking hands. Parasites are in there absorbing the very nutrients you need, draining your energy, and possibly causing itching around the eyes, ears or anus, unexplained gas, sudden blurred vision, a burning sensation in the stomach, digestion difficulties, diarrhea, unexplained menstrual problems, sexual dysfunction, slower reflexes, heart pain, chronic fatigue and loss of appetite or overeating. MSM puts down a coating on the walls of your intestines like paint that parasites find impenetrable so they can't get attached to you. When they can't get attached, they can't chow down at your expense, can't excrete toxins, and can't reproduce. Unable to hang on, the parasites are simply flushed out of your system. It appears MSM also boosts the immune system, which enhances its ability to fight parasitic infection. The sulfur amino acids our bodies need are available in animal protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk. Grains, legumes and fresh, unprocessed vegetables like onions, garlic, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and broccoli contribute lesser amounts of this important mineral. Vegetarians in particular may be deficient in sulfur, and should be encouraged to eat raw vegetables. MSM is usually prescribed for 3-4 weeks at a time, at 1000 mg three times daily with meals. There appear to be no undesirable side effects with MSM as long as it is taken with meals. Because sulfur works synergistically with vitamin C to build healthy cells, it is ideal to take it in combination with vitamin C and bioflavonoids. Editor's Note: This article was excerpted from Dr. Mindell's book, Earl Mindell's MSM Miracles, Methysulfonylmethane, The Mitey Sulfur Supplement, Keats Publishing. Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D. is a renowned author, lecturer and consultant in health, nutrition and pharmacology. Dr. Mindell is internationally recognized for his books on nutrition, drugs, vitamins and herbal medicines, including the national best-seller, Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible, and his newly released book, The Diet Bible. Utilizing his three decades of experience combined with the latest scientific nutritional research, he formulates a nutritional line of supplements. Contact Dr Mindell for information at (888) 345-6709 or www.drearlmindell.com. Dr Earl Mindell BACKGROUND: In the mid 1980's, Dr. Mindell published the all-time best selling book on the subject of nutrition. It was called Dr. Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible. The book has sold 11 million copies and been translated into 30 languages. The book stated what is now becoming common knowledge among the world's leading health practitioners: Nutritional supplements do matter! Prevention through proper nutrition is vitally important! People can take control over their health and well-being, naturally! Dr Earl Mindell is the world's highest selling author on nutrition (50 best-selling books, including The Vitamin Bible) and a regular guest on Oprah, David Letterman and Larry King. He also has over 300 sundry other radio and television shows per year. His client list reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood and has addressed the United Nations regarding the subject of anti-aging.