Erectile dysfunction - an update of current practice and future strategies

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve and maintain a penile erection adequate for satisfactory sexual intercourse.1 Up to 150 million men worldwide suffer from ED and this figure is likely to double by the year 2025.2 A number of studies have attempted to characterise the true prevalence of ED. In a Danish study, Ventegodt reported that 5.4% of all patients had a decreased ability to achieve an erection.3 The prevalence was reported to be highest (18%) in those aged over 58 years. The Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS)4 reported the results of a regional survey of 1709 men aged 40–69 years. In this study 52% reported some degree of ED, with 10% having complete ED. Moreover, the results suggest that the probability of complete ED at age 70 was threefold compared to that at age 40; the probability of moderate ED was two-fold

The investigation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle dysfunction in low-flow priapism.

Prolonged low-flow (ischaemic) priapism results in a progressive alteration of the microenvironment within the corpus cavemosum with the development of hypoxia, acidosis and glucopenia and a reduction in the responsiveness to a-adrenergic receptor agonists. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the corporal microenvironment in patients presenting with refractory low-flow priapism and then develop an in vitro model to investigate the effects of hypoxia, acidosis or glucopenia on the tone of the rabbit corpus cavemosum. The recovery of smooth muscle contractility following exposure to these conditions was also investigated. Hypoxia, acidosis or glucopenia alone or in combination showed a sustained and significant reduction in the smooth muscle tone. This was most marked for conditions of hypoxia combined with glucopenia and the combination of hypoxia, acidosis and glucopenia. Reperfusion of tissue strips showed complete recovery of smooth muscle tone for all conditions except when hypoxia and glucopenia were combined or when hypoxia, glucopenia and acidosis were used in combination. Incomplete recovery of tone was not associated with an impairment of nitrergic relaxation responses but was associated with a significant reduction in tissue ATP concentrations and an increase in the number of TUNEL-positive nuclei. This indicates that in the presence of hypoxia, acidosis and glucopenia, failure of conventional a-adrenergic agonists in low-flow priapism is associated with irreversible smooth muscle cell dysfunction which is linked to ATP depletion and smooth muscle cell death

Monte Carlo simulation of Ising model on directed Barabasi-Albert network

The existence of spontaneous magnetization of Ising spins on directed Barabasi-Albert networks is investigated with seven neighbors, by using Monte Carlo simulations. In large systems we see the magnetization for different temperatures T to decay after a characteristic time tau, which is extrapolated to diverge at zero temperature.Comment: Error corrected, main conclusion unchanged; for Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 16, issue 4 (2005

Feasibility Study of an Integrated Safety Seat for Infants and Children Under the Age of Two Traveling in Commercial Aircraft

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of integrated safety seat for children and infants onboard commercial aircraft. The researcher collected and analyzed data on the subject of safety seats for children and infants onboard commercial aircraft. The 115 participants for this study were randomly selected from the population of parents boarding commercial aircraft with infants and/or children. The research method used was descriptive and also compared the integrated safety seats for infants and children in automobiles to commercial aircraft. The survey examined whether or not parents were interested and willing to pay for an integrated safety seat, if available to them. Eighty-six percent were interested in paying for a seat designed for their children/infants. Appropriate recommendations were made, to address safety issues involving infants and children

Unilateral abducens nerve palsy: A presenting sign of sphenoid sinus mucocoeles

Sphenoid sinus mucocoeles can stimulate a variety of pathological conditions and patients can present to a range of specialists. Because of the relative rarity of sphenoid sinus mucocoeles, diagnosis is often delayed and these lesions can progressively expand and cause direct mechanical compression on adjacent structures. We present three cases which presented with an abducens nerve palsy. Early surgical intervention is advocated and these patients' symptoms resolved following surgery. Although several conditions can present with an abducens nerve palsy, it is important to consider a sphenoid sinus mucocoele in the differential diagnosis