Monday 26 May 2014

Long term use of painkiller may decrease sexual function

Long term use of painkillers like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) that reduce inflammation and pain may cause sexual dysfunction like erectile dysfunction. Approximately 30% of the male patients taking NSAIDs reported moderate or severe erectile dysfunction. If you are taking NSAIDs and feel that your erectile function decreased then you must consult doctor.  

Reference: 
Gleason JM, Slezak JM, Jung H, Reynolds K, Van den Eeden SK, Haque R, Quinn VP, Loo RK, Jacobsen SJRegular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and erectile dysfunction.  2011;185(4):1388-93. 

Saturday 24 May 2014

Cinnamon may increase sexual function of aged male

Sexual function in aged male decreases due to endothelial dysfunction (impairment of penile blood vessel and penile smooth muscle to relax) and increase in activity of bad enzymes like arginase and Rho-kinase. Cinnamon may be helpful in increasing sexual function by inhibiting action of bad enzymes and increasing penile endothelial smooth muscle. 

As per a recently published article, methanol extract of Cinnamon increased sexual function of 2 year aged rat. Fifty percent of the aged rats had lost sexual function and another fifty percent of the rats had decreased sexual function. Cinnamon extract increased sexual function of aged rats those had low sexual function and increased sexual function of a rat that was unresponsive to sexual stimuli.  

Reference:

Goswami SK, Inamdar MN, Jamwal R, Dethe SEfficacy of Cinnamomum cassia Blume. in age induced sexual dysfunction of rats.  2013 Dec;5(4):148-53.

Cinnamon can increase sexual function


Cinnamon can increase sexual function. It has been included in Ayurvedic formulation for increasing sexual function. In a recent study methanol extract of Cinnamon increased sexual function of rats at 100 mg/kg body weight. Cinnamon inhibits enzyme called arginase and Rho-kinase those are responsible for erectile dysfunction (difficulty in penile erection for satisfactory sexual activity).

References:

Goswami SKPandre MKJamwal RDethe SAgarwal AInamdar MN.Screening for Rho-kinase 2 inhibitory potential of Indian medicinal plants used in management of erectile dysfunction.  2012 18;144(3):483-9. 

Goswami SK, Inamdar MN, Jamwal R, Dethe SEffect of Cinnamomum cassia Methanol Extract and Sildenafil on Arginase and Sexual Function of Young Male Wistar Rats 2014 Apr 23. doi: 10.1111/jsm.12535. [Epub ahead of print]


Monday 5 May 2014

Long term use of antacid may decrease its efficiency

Acids secreted by stomach helps to kill harmful bacteria in gastrointestinal (GI) tract apart from digesting food. Long term use of antacid may decrease production of acid or increase the pH in GI tract. This situation can favor development of certain harmful bacteria in GI tract.These bacteria can spread other diseases and release endotoxin that can worsen ulcer.  Therefore, do not use antacids for long time without consulting doctor.    

Fish oil can reduce stomach ulcer

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid from fish oil was reported to have protective effect on NSAIDs induced gastric ulcer in rats.  Indomethacin (3, 10, and 30 mg/kg) induced gastric ulcer as a dose dependent manner when administered orally. DHA (3, 10, 30mg/kg) administered orally 2 hours before indomethacin treatment protected gastric damage significantly. The gastroprotective effect was comparable to that of omeprazole (30 mg/kg, an antacid medicine) administered 30 minute before NSAID treatment. The effect of treatment on ulcer was tested 3 hour after NSAID treatment. The gastroprotective effect could be partially due to decreasing level of LTB4 gastric levels that was increased by NSAID treatment.  

Source:
Pineda-Pen˜a EA, Jime´nez-Andrade JM, Castan˜eda-Herna´ndez G, AE Cha´ vez-Pin˜a.  Docosahexaenoicacid, an omega-3 polyunsaturated acid protectsagainst indomethacin-inducedgastricinjury. Pulmonary, gastrointestinal and urogenital pharmacology. European Journal of Pharmacology 2012; 697: 139–143.