201 Survey on Sexuality in Manhood in Japan Using an Internet Questionnaire

ABSTRACT Objective Research on erectile dysfunction and the development of medications for erectile dysfunction has been actively carried out both in Japan and overseas. However, studies on the sexuality of Japanese men. such as the actual situation concerning intravaginal ejaculation disorder, masturbation, and the foreskin status. have been insufficient. One reason for this is because obtaining responses to questionnaires about such matters is difficult, as these are sensitive subjects. We therefore conducted a survey on sexuality in manhood in Japan using an internet questionnaire and report the findings. Methods Using Macromill's internet survey tool, 110 men each 20-29 (20s), 30-39 (30s), 40-49 (40s) and 50-59 (50s) years old (440 in total) were asked whether or not they had any intravaginal ejaculatory disorders, whether or not they masturbated and in what position if they did so (lying on their backs while stretching their legs or lying face-down [called prone masturbation]), the status of their foreskin (incomplete or complete phimosis) and whether or not they had ever been reluctant to associate with a partner. Results 8.1% of respondents in their 20s, 6.8% in their 30s, 7.0% in their 40s and 8.4% in their 50s answered that they had experienced intravaginal ejaculation disorders more than once every two instances of intercourse. Regarding the position adopted for masturbation, as prone masturbation can cause intravaginal ejaculation disorder, the frequency lying on the back was 29.1% in respondents in their 20s, 30.0% in those in their 30s, 27.3% in those in their 40s and 25.5% in those in their 50s, and the frequency of prone masturbation was 6.3% in respondents in their 20s, 6.3% in those in their 30s, 0.9% in those in their 40s and 4.5% in those in their 50s. Adopting the position of lying on one's back was more prevalent than prone masturbation for each generation. However, regarding the degree of awareness of intravaginal ejaculation disorder, those who masturbated while lying on their backs accounted for 18.7% in those in their 20s, 29.4% in those in their 30s, 29.1% in those in their 40s and 40.9% in those in their 50s, while those who masturbated in the prone position accounted for 42.8% in those in their 20s, 57.1% in those in their 30s, 100% in those in their 40s and 80.0% in those in their 50s. These findings indicate that prone masturbation was significantly more associated with intravaginal ejaculation disorder than lying on one's back while stretching the legs. Regarding the foreskin status, 19.1% of respondents in their 20s, 29.1% in their 30s, 36.7% in their 40s and 40.9% in their 50s answered that the foreskin was always peeled back. Conclusion Despite the difficulty guaranteeing the accuracy of data obtained through questionnaire surveys using the internet compared to individually administered questionnaires, this approach seems to be very useful for surveys involving sensitive content, as in this study. Disclosure Work supported by industry: no. </jats:sec

The effect of hormone replacement treatment on thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor activity levels in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis

PubMed ID: 19252348Background: Hypothyroid patients have increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, and several mechanisms have been considered responsible in these patients. Although, a few studies demonstrated fibrinolytic system changes in hypothyroid patients, there is no study demonstrating TAFI activity in hypothyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate TAFI activity status and the effect of L thyroxin hormone replacement treatment on fibrinolytic system in this patient group. Methods: Thirty patients with hypothyroid Hashimoto thyroiditis (all were female and the mean age was 44.3±14.6 years, ranging between 17-68 years) were enrolled to study. Their TSH levels were high (27.2±5.2 mU/L) and Free T3 and Free T4 hormone levels were below than normal. In this study, euthyroid 20 healthy volunteers (mean age 32.5±4.9 years, range 26-42 years) were adopted. L-thyroxin treatment before and after TAFI activity levels were measured in patients. Results: In the control group, TAFI activity levels were 9.6±0.4 µg/mL. In patients with L-thyroxin before and after treatment there were high levels of TAFI activity value of 14.2±0.9 and 12.9±0.8 µg/mL, respectively. In the patient group, after L-thyroxin treatment TAFI activity levels were decreased but they were not statistically significant (p=0.187). When compared to the control group, high levels of TAFI activity were observed in the patient group (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that in Hashimoto thyroiditis, patients have high levels of TAFI activity compared to controls. A high level of TAFI activity suggests fibrinolytic deficit or thrombotic tendency in hypothyroid patients and this deficit is persistent after L-thyroxine replacement. © 2009 The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine

Enoxaparin (E) and warfarin (W) differentially regulate tissue factor (TF), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and thrombin activatable fibrinolytic inhibitor (TAFI) in cancer patients with thrombosis.

41st Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Clinical-Oncology -- MAY 13-17, 2005 -- Orlando, FLWOS: 000230326601011Amer Soc Clin Onco

Augmentation of methylprednisolone-induced differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells by serine threonine protein phosphatase inhibitors

WOS: 000080219400010PubMed ID: 10374865To elucidate the roles of serine/threonine protein phosphatases type 1 (PP1) and type 2A (PP2A) in methylprednisolone-induced differentiation of HL60 cells into granulocytes and K562 cells into monocytes, we examined the effect of serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitors, okadaic acid and Gal-A on the proliferation/ differentiation of HL60 and K562 cells. Okadaic acid and Gal-A augmented methylprednisolone induced granulocytic differentiation and cell death of HL60 cells and monocytic differentiation and cell death of K562 cells in different dose ranges, respectively. These data suggest an important role of PP1 and PP2A in the mechanism leading to differentiation of leukemic cells. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. AU rights reserved

Augmentation of methylprednisolone-induced differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells by serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitors

PubMed ID: 10374865To elucidate the roles of serine/threonine protein phosphatases type 1 (PP1) and type 2A (PP2A) in methylprednisolone-induced differentiation of HL60 cells into granulocytes and K562 cells into monocytes, we examined the effect of serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitors, okadaic acid and Cal-A on the proliferation/differentiation of HL60 and K562 cells. Okadaic acid and Cal-A augmented methylprednisolone induced granulocytic differentiation and cell death of HL60 cells and monocytic differentiation and cell death of K562 cells in different dose ranges, respectively. These data suggest an important role of PP1 and PP2A in the mechanism leading to differentiation of leukemic cells