Arthritis

PUBERTAL HORMONES AND SEXUALITY

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:58:43 +0000

During puberty, rising hormone levels contribute to an activation of sexual sensations and erotic thoughts and dreams for boys and girls. John Money in ig8o described the role of hormones as follows: “the correct conception of hormonal puberty is that it puts gas in the metaphorical tank and upgrades the model of the vehicle, but it does not build the engine nor program the itinerary of the journey.”
The relationship between pubertal hormones and sexual behavior is shown in the finding that boys who undergo “late” puberty (around ages fifteen or sixteen) generally have less and later teenage sexual activity — including masturbation and intercourse — than boys who have “early” puberty (around ages twelve or thirteen). Kinsey and his colleagues pointed out this pattern and we have some preliminary data showing that it is probably true. If testosterone levels of the pubertal boy increase the frequency or intensity of erections, for example, he may possibly have a heightened awareness of sexual sensations. Increased testosterone in the blood may also influence the brain, itself to activate sexual feelings or thoughts or to lower the threshold for external triggers that activate such feelings or thoughts. Boys with higher testosterone levels, then, are more likely to be more physically developed and sexually active. Shorter, less muscular, later-maturing boys may experience a social handicap. While having sexual feelings, they may feel less confident about their abilities and therefore “lag” in sexual behavior.
In parallel fashion, girls who undergo “late” puberty seem to have a lower rate of early adolescent sexual activity than girls who complete puberty at ages twelve or thirteen. Although a lower frequency or later age of participation in sexual activity might be explained by purely psychological or social factors (e.g., less physically developed girls may be more shy or self-conscious about sex with a partner), it appears that masturbation is less frequent and occurs later in late-maturing compared to early-maturing adolescent girls. Recently, a large cross-cultural study found similar evidence. According to Udry and Cliquet, data from five different countries show that girls who are younger at menarche tend to have intercourse and to give birth at earlier ages than girls with later menarche.
In contrast to the findings linking sexual activity to “early” puberty, when pubertal changes occur before age nine — a condition called precocious puberty — there is usually no accompanying change in sexual behavior. This is probably because the hormonal stimulation alone is not enough to initiate new behavior patterns without a state of psychosexual readiness that the younger child simply hasn’t attained.
While precocious puberty is usually a rare condition, occurring in about one in 10,000 children, there has recently been an epidemic of early sexual development among children in Puerto Rico. Premature breast development in infants and preschoolers, sometimes accompanied by the onset of periods, is the most common problem, with an estimated 3,000 Puerto Rican children (about one in fifty) having been affected between 1972 and the end of 1983. Many physicians suspect (but have been unable to prove) that the problem is caused by eating chicken that contains estrogen. Despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of estrogen to stimulate growth of food animals over a decade ago, tests have shown that some chickens raised in Puerto Rico contain high levels of this hormone. In addition, a majority of the children who stop eating , chicken (a relative staple of the Puerto Rican diet) have had a major reduction of their abnormal anatomical development.
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Men’s Health Erectyle Dysfunction

PREGNANCY: SIGNS, PRENATAL CARE, DIET AND BIRTH OF BABY

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:55:23 +0000

The time from conception until birth; the average pregnancy is 280 days. Every organ and tissue of the body of the mother is affected by pregnancy. The time when a woman is most likely to become pregnant is the period between the sixth and eleventh days after the first day of menstruation.

Signs of Pregnancy
The breasts begin to enlarge as early as the second month, and with a first baby, even, sometimes, as early as the second or third week. Among the most definite signs of pregnancy are cessation of menstruation, morning nausea, and vomiting which begins usually during the second month and rarely lasts beyond the fourth month. Another symptom is increased emotionalism, with peevishness, fretfulness and irritability. Cravings for strange foods may appear. Fluttering (called “quickening”) is experienced between the sixteenth and eighteenth week. The usual changes in the shape and size of the body are well known. X-ray will show the presence of the child and, later, its position. The doctor can hear the heartbeat of the child between the eighteenth and twentieth weeks and sometimes even earlier. Laboratory tests like the Aschheim-Zondek test, made on rabbits and on frogs, are accurate determinations of the presence of pregnancy.

Prenatal Care
The modern doctor is careful about prenatal care in pregnancy. Just as soon as a woman believes she is to become a mother, she should consult her doctor. He will make a complete physical examination, laboratory studies of the secretions and excretions of the body, and a record of the past history of the patient. He will study the blood, the blood pressure, the work of the kidneys. He will make accurate measurements of the organs concerned in childbirth, and thus anticipate any difficulties that may arise. Examinations continue at intervals of a month, and later even at intervals of two weeks or oftener, depending on the development of various symptoms.

Diet
The prospective mother may gain about 15 per cent in weight during the nine months previous to the birth of the child. A gain of anything more than 20 pounds is a sign for additional studies of the diet and health of the prospective mother. The prospective mother must have enough vitamins, calcium and phosphorous to provide for the needs of the child. Milk and milk products provide most of the calcium. Diets ordinarily are low in iron, and iron is absolutely necessary for the building of the red blood cells. Among mineral salts, iodine is of great importance. The prospective child makes demands upon the body of the mother, and iodine is needed for the prevention of simple goiter.

Birth of Baby
The Birth of the Baby Before the baby comes, the mother should assemble the materials required at childbirth, depending on whether she is going to the hospital or having the baby at home. Today, in the United States, more than 85 per cent of all babies are born in hospitals. In most cases the time required for childbirth for a first baby will be between sixteen and eighteen hours, and for later babies, between eight and ten hours. But many women have them faster, others slower. A common belief holds that more babies are born at night than in the daytime. Actually, there is no such variation.
The body of the woman, in most instances, returns to normal in six to eight weeks after childbirth. During this period, rest and diet are important. About the fourth day, in most cases, the mother may begin light exercises, sit up in bed and increase her activity. The tendency nowadays is to get the mother up much earlier than formerly.
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WOMEN’S HEALTH

SYPHILIS DURING PREGNANCY

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:54:27 +0000

Prevention and detection of congenital syphilis depends on serologic screening of the mother during pregnancy. Women should be screened for syphilis with serologic testing at the first prenatal visit. Women at high risk for syphilis should be screened at 28 weeks’ gestation and at delivery, in addition to the routine early testing. Screening at delivery is also mandated in some states. In addition, a woman who delivers a stillborn infant after 20 weeks’ gestation should be screened for syphilis. All pregnant women with syphilis should also be tested for HIV. Treatment during pregnancy with penicillin is effective in preventing maternal-fetal transmission and in treating an infected fetus. Pregnant women should receive the same penicillin regimens as non-pregnant patients, appropriate for the stage of syphilis, and the same serologic follow-up testing. No alternatives to penicillin have proven efficacy for syphilis in pregnancy. Erythromycin does not reliably cure syphilis in the fetus, and there are insufficient data for the use of ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Tetracycline and doxycycline should not be used in pregnancy. Therefore, all pregnant patients with syphilis who have a history of a penicillin allergy should be desensitized and treated with penicillin, with or without the use of skin testing.

The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction develops in up to 45% of pregnant women treated with penicillin and may precipitate uterine contractions, preterm labor, and fetal heart-rate decelerations during the second half of pregnancy. Routine hospitalization for fetal monitoring after treatment is not currently recommended, however, unless the fetus has evidence of fetal syphilis on ultrasonogram. Women being treated in early pregnancy should be counseled to stay well hydrated and to take acetaminophen for uterine cramping, pain, or fever, whereas those at greater than 20 weeks’ gestation should seek obstetric evaluation for fever, decreased fetal movement, or symptoms of labor. Treatment is largely supportive and may require continuous fetal heart rate monitoring. There is not enough evidence to recommend prophylactic therapy to prevent this reaction.
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WOMEN’S HEALTH

SURGERY ANDRHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:52:55 +0000

Sometimes, despite timely medical therapy, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) continues to cause inflammation and joint damage. When other therapies haven’t been successful, surgery may be necessary. Surgical techniques are constantly being improved, providing new alternatives to help people with RA.
Surgery is recommended for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is to control severe pain caused by inflammation or damaged joints. Surgery may also be advised to repair ruptured ligaments or tendons or to remove inflamed synovial tissue that has not responded adequately to other therapy and which threatens to cause joint damage. Finally, surgery may be the recommended treatment to retain or restore function in a specific joint.
Some surgical procedures are intended to provide temporary relief and to prevent damage over the long term. Others are corrective measures aimed at improving the function of joints that have already been damaged.
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ARTHRITIS