Collagen Injection

Collagen injection is a type of cosmetic procedure that augments skin and soft tissue to make them firmer and younger looking. The benefits of collagen injections are that collagen is a natural substance to be in the body so it incorporates with the body and doesn’t degrade as quickly over time, there aren’t serious complications or side effects, and it is a non-invasive procedure. Collagen injections are used to improve unsightly scars and fill in cheeks that have sunken in.

Different types of collagen fillers have different advantages. Zyderm is a bovine collagen that lasts for six to ten months and is used for shallow scars.

Zyplast is another bovine collagen, but is crossed with a heavier filler so it lasts longer than Zyderm (nine months to a year.) These two are easy to implant and are not often abused but certain patients can have allergic reactions to the collagen.

Fibrel is a filler containing gelatin, amino caprotic acid and plasma or saline and lidocaine. Its effects are seen for one to five years and is a good alternative for people who are allergic to Zyderm and Zyplast.

Artecoll is a synthetic filler consisting of polymethyl methacrylate microspheres (PMMA), collagen, lidocaine and saline. After the collagen degrades, the PMMA spheres are left. It has been shown to be reliable and long lasting in European markets but has yet to be released in the United States.

Hylan B gel is another filler made from substances in rooster coxcombs. It lasts nine months to a year but requires a series of injections rather than just one session and, again, has not yet been released in the United States.

Resoplast is another bovine collagen similar to Zyderm and causing the same allergic reactions.

Autologen is a filler made from autologous collagen which resists enzymatic degradation and allergic reactions and has been shown to last for over a year. Similarly, Isolagen is autologous collagen taken from the patient and prepared for intradermal injection. Isolagen has not been fully tested yet. AlloDerm is, in fact, not an injection at all, but is a dermal sheet and has been used mostly for burn victims and patients undergoing oral surgery.

Finally there are fat injections. These take time and careful preparation before they can be used. The fat is removed from a region such as the abdomen, thighs, knees, or backside. The fat has to be purified, washed, separated, centrifuged and prepared before use.

Prostate Cancer – What Every Man Needs to Know

What Is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in men. Prostate cancer is often found in elder men and the risk of prostate cancer increases with age. It occurs mostly among the male population of 50 years and above. In prostate cancer, cancerous cells are primary formed in the prostate that then gets transferred to other cells through the process of metastasis. Prostate cancer spreads to other parts of your body like bones.

Causes of Prostate Cancer:

Scientists still do not know the exact cause behind prostate cancer. No one knows why some people suffer with prostate cancer while others do not. Clinical researchers and scientists are working hard to find the answer of this basic question. However they are optimistic to come out with a ‘prostate cancer cause’ report very soon.

Prostate Cancer Symptoms:

There are no definite prostate cancer symptoms that can be easily noticed by the patients. Prostate cancer does not show any cancer symptom or sign at the initial stage. However, few prostate cancer symptoms have been identified by the National Cancer Institute.

These specific prostate cancer symptoms are given below:

1) Frequent urination.
2) An interrupted or weak urine flow.
3) Trouble while urination.
4) Sensation of pain while ejaculation.
5) Inability to urinate.
6) Burning sensation or pain during urination.
7) Blood in the urine or in the semen.
Stiffness or frequent pain in the upper thighs, lower back or hips.

These symptoms are however, not specific for prostate cancer. Therefore if you experience any of these symptoms, don’t panic- just consult a doctor. Prostate cancer treatment: Treatment of prostate cancer depends upon factors such as the location of the tumor, general health condition of the patient, age of the patient and size of the tumor. Prostate cancer can be treated with help of following treatment methods.

1) Surgical castration by orchidectomy: the cheapest and simplest prostate cancer treatment is orchidectomy. The only disadvantage is a psychological effect of the loss of testicles.

2) Prostate cancer can be treated with the help of oestrogen hormone and LHRH-analogues. This is a “medical castration.” This prostate cancer treatment is very expensive. Oestrogen can be taken orally but oestrogen prostate cancer treatment can give rise to thrombotic complications.

3) Hormone therapy can also be used as prostate cancer cure.

4) The chemical found in black pepper, which causes the tongue to burn, sweat to pour out and eyes to water commonly called as capsaicin is thought to be helpful in prostate cancer cure. US researchers have found that capsaicin can cause human cancer cells to kill themselves. This study is guiding to the way for a new prostate cancer cure.

5) Radiotherapy can also be used for prostate cancer cure. Radiotherapy just destroys cancer cells by radiation. The method is absolutely painless. But treatment of prostate cancer with the help of radiotherapy can cause some side effects like impotence and diarrhea.

6) Brachytherapy can also be applied to cure prostate cancer. Here radioactive elements inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells.

How Excessive Testosterone Leads To Your Hair Loss

Hair loss has been observed and studied for ages, and some interesting discoveries were made in ancient times. It was noticed that eunuchs:

* those males without genitals-never went bald

* men who were castrated as a result of accidents in battle also never went bald

This was the first sign that testosterone had something to do with hair loss. It has also been found that the more recessive the hair gene, the chances you have of becoming bald.

Androgens Testosterone and Adrenaline

What exactly are androgens? Androgens are sex hormones mainly produced by males. The main male androgen is testosterone. Androgens are produced by your adrenal glands – testosterone and adrenaline – which protect your body in stressful situations and give you the power to respond to dangerous situations.

When you are under constant stress, you have adrenals that are overactive. Under this stress, you are are producing both testosterone and adrenaline. The excess testosterone, you create can be a cause in your hair loss. Also if you constantly over eat fatty foods and red meat, this will cause an overactive adrenal gland.

Hair Loss and Prostate Gland

There is a definite connection between Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) and the prostate gland. The prostate gland is actually a cluster of small glands in males surrounding the urethra, located just below the bladder. There is not a lot known about all the functions of the prostate, except that it serves to squeeze seminal fluid into and through the urethra during ejaculation.

Prostate problems can cause serious problems with urination if it becomes enlarged, and sometimes the prostate becomes cancerous. Non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

DHT is responsible for the division of cells in the prostate, and is normally expelled by the prostate. However, when the prostate fails to expel the DHT, it builds up and causes enlargement. It has been confirmed that typical North American and northern European diets lend to the perpetuation of BPH and prostate cancer, whereas these are uncommon phenomena in other lands and was even uncommon here in the past.

This is significant since the overproduction of DHT is responsible for BPH and prostate cancer, and is also responsible for MPB or androgenetic alopecia.

The findings in research for BPH cures have usually simultaneously produced benefits in hair growth.

So to minimize the genetic tendency for hair loss be aware of excess stress in your life and work on reducing it. Learn what kind of diet is necessary to keep your prostate healthy.

Two additional facts about hair loss are:

* If you are blond-haired, you have a greater tendency toward hair loss than darker-haired people. But if you are Caucasian, then you have a greater tendency toward hair loss than non-Caucasian people.

* Beyond the genetic tendency of certain people for hair loss, diet seems to play a factor in hair loss. This is good to know, since this is one additional you can make changes to you to your lifestyle.

Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

For prostate cancer treatment we give the patient hormones that will suppress the male hormones (andrones) in their body. Androgens (male hormones) are produced mainly in the testicles. Sometimes androgens will stimulate the growth of prostate cancer and speed up the growth of the cancer cells. If the levels of the androgens is lowered then the cancer will grow much slower and possibly shrink. Hormone therapy is not meant to cure the cancer in the prostate but if used in conjunction with other therapy such as radiation or surgery if their is a risk of recurrence.

There are numerous ways that the androgen levels can be lowered in the bloodstream:

Orchiectomy – is the surgical removal of one or both of the testicles which are the main source of androgen production in the male body. By removing the testicle or testicles the levels of male hormones will drop enough to slow the growth of the cancer

Luteinizin hormone-release hormone analogs (LHRH) – often chosen instead of having an orchiectomy, LHRH analogs are injected or inserted as small implants underneath the skin. These injections are usually given every month or ever 3, 4, 6 or 12 months. The LHRH analogs that are used most of the time are Lupron, Viadur, Eligard, Zoladex or Trelstar.

Antiandrogens – are given to block the action of the androgens (production of male sex characteristics). Antiandrogens are given in daily pill form and the drugs used are Eulexin, Casodex, and Niandron. Antiandrogen treatments is often used in conjunction with an Orchiectomy because even after the orchiectomy there are sill androgens that will be produced by the adrenal glands.

Estrogens – largely replaced by LHRH therapy because of severe side effects, the use of estrogens (hormones that produce female sex characteristics) was often used in the past as a substitute for Orchiectomy

Side Effects of Hormone Therapy

The side effects for Orchiectomy and LHRH treatment are basically the same:

-reduced or no libido (sexual desire)

-impotence

-hot flashes (these may go away with time)

-breast tenderness and growth of breast tissue

-osteoporosis (weakening of bones) leading to bone fractures

-anemia (low red blood cell counts)

-decreased mental acuity

-loss of muscle mass

-weight gain

-fatigue

-decrease in HDL (“good”) cholesterol

-depression

The Side Effects of Antiandrogen Treatment

-diarrhea

-nausea

-liver problems

-tiredness

*Note that the biggest difference between the side effects of LHRH treatment and Antiandrogen treatment is when Antiandrogens treatment is given alone their are less sexual side effects. The patients libido and potency can still be maintained.

Many of the side effects noted above can be treated so if they do arise consult with you doctor about what can be done to reduce them.