Sociocultural considerations in aging men's health: implications and recommendations for the clinician

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jomh.2009.07.00

Understanding preventive behaviors among mid-Western African-American men: a pilot qualitative study of prostate screening

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jomh.2011.03.00

Punção aspirativa com agulha fina guiada por ultrassom e biópsia por videolaparoscopia em próstata de cães

Onze cães, sem raça definida, machos, adultos, não castrados e hígidos foram submetidos à punção aspirativa com agulha fina da próstata guiada por ultrassom para avaliação citológica e, após um período mínimo de sete dias, à videolaparoscopia para obtenção de fragmento prostático para avaliação histológica. Nos exames citológicos, dois animais apresentaram alterações celulares compatíveis com hiperplasia prostática benigna. Durante a videolaparoscopia, a colheita do fragmento prostático foi realizada de maneira rápida, não sendo observada hemorragia significativa após o procedimento. Os animais não apresentaram nenhuma complicação no período pós-operatório. Verificaram-se, ao exame histológico, morfologia e estrutura celulares e teciduais nos padrões normais do parênquima prostático em 10 animais; um único cão apresentou alterações celulares e teciduais sugestivas de hiperplasia prostática benigna

“The Times They Are A-Changin’” at Diabetes Care

Every five years or so, the editorial team leading Diabetes Care turns over with the appointment of new leadership. This issue of volume 46 represents the first of a new editorial team, making it the tenth group to be responsible for the scientific content of the journal. Starting in 1978 with Jay Skyler as its first editor, Diabetes Care has gone from strength to strength with new initiatives and a steady increase in its influence. This impact has been in line with the charge given at the journal’s founding by the then president of the American Diabetes Association Norbert Freinkel when he wrote, “The new journal is designed to promote better patient care by serving the expanded needs of all health professionals committed to the care of patients with diabetes.

Hepatitis C Virus Infection in San Francisco's HIV-infected Urban Poor: High Prevalence but Low Treatment Rates

OBJECTIVE: To measure Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) prevalence, incidence, and initiation of HCV therapy in a representative HIV-infected cohort of the urban poor. DESIGN: Cohort analysis. SETTING: The Research and Access to Care for the Homeless (REACH) Cohort is a systematic sample of HIV-infected marginally housed individuals identified from single-room occupancy hotels, homeless shelters, and free lunch programs in San Francisco. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred forty-nine participants with 28.9 months (median) of follow-up were studied. Mean age was 44 (range 24 to 75, standard deviation 8.4) years. Eighty-two percent were male, 43% were African-American, 64% were lifetime injection drug users, and 24% had been on the street or in a shelter in the prior month. INTERVENTIONS: We measured HCV testing and treatment history with structured interviews; additionally, participants were tested for HCV antibodies (EIA-2) with RNA viral load confirmation. MAIN RESULTS: At baseline, 172 (69.1%) were HCV-positive and 182 (73.1%) were HCV-positive at follow-up, including 155 (62.2%) with viremia. HCV-positive status was associated with having injected drugs, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase, homelessness in the last 1 year, and more severe depressive symptoms. The incidence of new HCV infection was 4.63% per person-year (ppy; 95% confidence interval, 2.31 to 8.13) in the entire cohort and 16.77% ppy among injection drug users. The prevalence of HCV antibody-negative HCV-viremia was 13.2% (10/76). Nonwhites were less likely to receive HCV testing and subspecialty referral, controlled for drug use and other confounders. Sixty-eight percent (123/182) were aware treatment was available; however, only 3.8% (7/182) or 1.16% ppy received HCV treatment. CONCLUSIONS: While HCV infection is common, HCV treatment is rare in the HIV-HCV coinfected urban poor. Urban poor, nonwhite individuals are less likely to receive HCV testing and subspecialty referral than their white counterparts. Antibody-negative infection may complicate screening and diagnosis in HIV-infected persons

Association between Vitamin D Levels and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Potential Confounding Variables

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), historically considered to be the hepatic component of the metabolic syndrome, is a spectrum of fat-associated liver conditions, in the absence of secondary causes, that may progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Disease progression is closely associated with body weight or fatness, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Recently, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the pathogenesis and severity of NAFLD because of vitamin D "pleiotropic" functions, with roles in immune modulation, cell differentiation and proliferation, and regulation of inflammation. Indeed, several studies have reported an association between vitamin D and NAFLD/NASH. However, other studies have failed to find an association. Therefore, we sought to critically review the current evidence on the association between vitamin D deficiency and NAFLD/NASH, and to analyze and discuss some key variables that may interfere with this evaluation, such as host-, environment-, and heritability-related factors regulating vitamin D synthesis and metabolism; definitions of deficient or optimal vitamin D status with respect to skeletal and nonskeletal outcomes including NAFLD/NASH; methods of measuring 25(OH)D; and methods of diagnosing NAFLD as well as quantifying adiposity, the cardinal link between vitamin D deficiency and NAFLD