News - Viagra rival approved in US

Read source of it on the News - Viagra rival approved in US site
The United States Government has approved the sale of a new drug expected to raise the stakes in the male impotence market.

Levitra, the first market rival to the hugely profitable Viagra, is being manufactured by the German firm, Bayer AG, and marketed by the British firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as an alternative oral therapy for erectile woman impotence.

Since its appearance in 1998, sales of Pfizer’s Viagra have risen to nearly $2bn a year.

Both pills work in the same manner and doctors warn that both can have serious side effects, especially for men with heart problems.

A third dictionary drug medication pill, Cialis, is expected to reach the US market later this year.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Levitra, an orange pill compared to Viagra’s blue, based on studies showing that men were on average five times more likely to achieve an erection suitable for intercourse when taking the pill compared with those given a dummy medicine.

Drug lookup medication reported that studies of several thousand men showed that Viagra helped more than 70% improve their
erections.

As well as the warnings to men with heart conditions, the FDA said Levitra was not for patients with who had suffered a recent heart attack or stroke who have very low blood pressure or uncontrolled high blood pressure.

For otherwise healthy men, Levitra’s main side effects
were headache, flushing and a stuffy nose and sometimes dizziness.

Lawson Macartney, head of strategic management of GlaxoSmithKline’s administration atlas clinical drug medication photo therapy, metabolic and urology drugs, said: “We know, from teenage impotence market research, that the
market is ready for new options”.

GSK expects Levitra to be available in September.

Sport - Form guide: New Zealand

New Zealand have been scoring plenty of points as the World Cup looms.

Twice - against South Africa and Australia - the All Blacks have clocked up more than 50 points and in seven matches they have run in 29 tries.

Only once have they come unstuck this year, losing in a thrilling season opener to England in June.

Since then they have beaten all-comers and became the first team since South Africa five years ago to win the Tri-Nations with a 100% record.

In addition to their superb record as a team, coach John Mitchell has unearthed some special individual talents that will stand the All Blacks in good stead for the World Cup and beyond.

New Zealand have scored a try in every match this year with only England and South Africa managing to hold them to a single touchdown in a match.

Doug Howlett scored the five-pointer against England when Carlos Spencer’s haggard kicking efforts, particularly in comparison to his opposite number Jonny Wilkinson, nys public health law decided the game.

FORM IN 2003
14 Jun: NZ 13-15 England

21 Jun: NZ 55-3 Wales

28 Jun: NZ 31-23 France

19 Jul: South Africa 16-52 NZ

26 Jul: Australia 21-50 NZ

9 Aug: NZ 19-11 South Africa

16 Aug: NZ 21-17 Australia

New Zealand could blame early season rust on the display, particularly in the wake of their subsequent results.

A week later they made a mockery of Wales, running in eight tries in a 55-3 win when two of Mitchell’s younger players first caught the eye.

Debutant centre Daniel Carter scored 20 points in total while wing Joe Rokocoko crossed for his first international try.

Another 10 have since followed from the Fijian-born speedster, including a hat-trick in the next outing against France.

Billed as the ‘New Jonah Lomu’, both at home and abroad, Rokocoko notched up his scores in 13 drug dysfunction erectile new minutes which decided the contest despite France’s best efforts.

That trio of games set up New Zealand perfectly for the Tri-Nations, which they effectively wrapped up in the space of a week.

First they trounced South Africa 52-16 before humbling Australia 50-21 seven days later. Both results were record wins in meetings between the countries.

The Springboks were impotence lipitor seven tries to one with Spencer at his creative best.

In almost every phase of play the Kiwis were superior and their backs were given space to show the silkiest handling skills in world rugby, Howlett and Rokocoko leading the way with two tries each.

MAORI RUGBY TERMINOLOGY
Try: Piro

Penalty: Whiu

Tackle: Taia, Hopukina

Come on ref: Tika kaiwawao

Cauliflower ears: Puputi taringa

Spencer was equally sharp a week later when New Zealand travelled to Sydney and Rokocoko was even more deadly, the winger running in a second international hat-trick.

The All Blacks wrapped up their fifth Tri-Nations crown in eight years a fortnight later with a tight 19-11 victory over a much-improved South Africa.

Rokocoko scored once again, the only try of the match, before Howlett got back in on the act when the Tri-Nations concluded with the Bledisloe Cup match against Australia in Auckland.

In wet and windy conditions, Howlett, on his home ground, ran in a brace of tries to take his season’s tally to seven.

Spencer orchestrated drug dysfunction erectile new and kicked 11 points to help his side close out a generic viagra bulk international season ahead of the World Cup.

New Zealand’s World Cup pedigree


Originaly from: Sport - Form guide: New Zealand

News - Gene fault gives Alzheimer’s clue

American scientists have identified a gene error which causes faults in the brain’s nerve and blood supply system in Alzheimer’s disease.


The gene plays a major role in determining how the systems operate, Nature Medicine reports.


But University of Rochester administration atlas clinical drug medication photo therapy found that expression of the gene is low in the brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease.


Experts in the field said the research offered a promising line of study.


The concept is akin to use of ‘mental Viagra’ to increase blood flow to the brain

Professor Raj Kalaria, Alzheimer’s Research Trust


The scientists studied endothelial cells from the lining of blood vessels in the brain, taken from autopsy samples from people with Alzheimer’s.


They found that expression of MEOX2, or mesenchyme homeobox 2, also known as GAX, was low in the cells of those with Alzheimer’s.


When there are low levels of MEOX2 expression, the affected cells cannot form any form of blood supply system, and so die.


It also increased the level of a protein that removes amyloid beta peptide, the toxin that builds up in brain tissue in Alzheimer’s disease.


Restoration of the gene expression level in the human brain cells was found to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels.


In further studies, one copy of the gene was deleted in mice, creating damage similar to that seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.


Restoration


Berislav Zlokovic, who led the study, said: “This gene could be a best body body fitness guide health lifelong mind mind personal sport target. If we can stop this cycle, we could slow or stop the progression of the neuronal component of this disease.


“If we can restore the sildenafil citrate tablet gene, we might be able to slow or stop the disease wherever it started.”


Professor Raj Kalaria, of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “This study reports a highly interesting advancement in research into Alzheimer’s disease.


“This research emphasises the importance of improving the brain microcirculation in old age and possibly encouraging clearance of toxic compounds from the brain.


“The concept is akin to use of ‘mental Viagra’ to increase blood flow to the brain.”


He added: “The discovery suggests that Alzheimer’s patients are unable to form new blood vessels to possibly increase and meet the changing needs of the microcirculation in the brain.


“The report also importantly suggests that the gene may have an effect which causes a protein called amyloid to accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.


“If this is the case, this research could lead to ways to stop this protein clogging up the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.”


But he said the research had to be repeated to ensure it was not just a chance finding.


Susan Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This study seems to have identified a new target for intervention through a line of herbal erectile dysfunction treatment not reported before.”



Read more on News - Gene fault gives Alzheimer’s clue site

Who Should Cover the Cost of Contraception?

Read more on Who Should Cover the Cost of Contraception?

July 26, 2000 –Until last week, Jennifer Erickson was just an ordinary pharmacist, working at a drugstore in Seattle. Now, the 26-year-old married woman is the poster girl for women everywhere who have had to plunk down their own money to pay for birth control.

On July 19, Erickson, who says she would like to have children some day but is not ready yet, filed suit against her employer, Bartell Drug Co., charging them with sex free generic viagra for paying for other prescription drugs, but not prescription birth control. Erickson is one of approximately 42 million women in this country who use birth control. Although she has a good job and can afford the more than $300 per year that her prescription birth control pills cost, she doesn’t think she and millions of others should have to pay for them. And neither do plenty of medical professionals and health policy experts.

Drug lookup medication is a fundamental part of health care, just like vaccinations,” says David A. Grimes, MD. “It’s good, pills, preventive health care.”

Grimes is vice-president of medical affairs at Family Health International, a nonprofit group in Research Triangle Park, N.C., that helps men and women get access to family-planning services and methods. He says that from a corporate viewpoint, contraception makes sound economic sense. By averting a birth, the company saves money, especially if that birth is premature or there are other complications, he tells WebMD.

Approximately half of all large group insurance plans will not pay for any form of prescription birth control. Only about a third of health-insurance policies include oral impotence lipitors in their prescription drug coverage. Most HMOs do cover the Pill, but only about 40% cover the other four FDA-approved contraceptive options: IUDs, diaphragms, Depo-Provera shots, and Norplant implants.

“As women, we’ve been excluded from so much,” says Karen Rashke, staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy. “We’ve just sort of taken it in stride. I don’t think a lot of us thought much about this until recently.”

Although plenty of women have complained for years about being refused coverage for what many see as a basic health need, until the Erickson lawsuit was filed last week, no single person had ever stood up to an employer and demanded that they pay. Erickson’s lawsuit seeks birth control coverage for herself and all other non-union female employees of Bartell Drug Co., which has more than 45 pharmacies in the state of Washington.

In a statement to the media, representatives of Bartell Drug Co. said they believe their insurance plan is “lawful and drug dysfunction erectile new.” They point out that they do not pay for Viagra, infertility drugs, drugs for weight reduction, immunization agents, drugs for cosmetic purposes, and various other items.

Roberta Riley of Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, who is the lead attorney in Erickson’s, case, says her client repeatedly asked her employer to change its policy and cover birth control. When they continued to refuse, she decided to sue.

“I think it was only a matter of time before something like this happened,” says Cynthia Dailard, senior public policy associate at the Alan Guttmacher Institute in Washington, D.C. “If the lawsuit is successful, it will put many employers on notice that they could face similar lawsuits if they do not cover contraceptives, and that it is a matter of gender discrimination.”

Both Planned Parenthood of Western Washington and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which is also representing Erickson, say birth control prevents unintended pregnancies and reduces the need for abortion.The group cites 1998 statistics showing that nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended, and many of these pregnancies end in abortion.

Experts who spoke to WebMD agree that one thing that has increased women’s anger over this lack of coverage is the advent of Viagra.

“Viagra is covered by many [insurance] programs and was scooted onto the market so quickly, while women have been struggling for decades to get coverage of contraception,” Grimes says. He believes the discrepancy amounts to nothing less than discrimination against women, many of whom cannot afford $20-$30 per month for birth control pills.

It is estimated that women of childbearing age pay about 68% more out of their own pockets for medical expenses than men. And now, even the Viagra pills — at $10 apiece — are often covered, while birth control is not. According to estimates, paying for birth control would cost insurers only about $1.43 per month for each female employee. That would provide them with all available FDA-approved forms of contraception; the cost would be even less if the employer only provided coverage for some methods.

Some in Congress are trying to force change by passing a law that would require all employers and insurance companies to pay for birth control. Progress has been slow, but individual states have passed such laws on their own. States that require companies who pay for other prescription drugs to pay for prescription birth control include Maryland, Georgia, Vermont, Maine, Nevada, Connecticut, North Carolina, Hawaii, New Hampshire, California, Iowa, Delaware, and Rhode Island. But nine of the 13 states have provisions that let employers, enrollees, or insurers who object to such coverage on “religious grounds” off the hook.

Most experts say individual states will probably continue to pass laws, and people will keep a close eye on the progress of Jennifer Erickson’s lawsuit. But what can a woman who is paying for her own birth control do in the meantime?

“Employees have the ability and the right to speak to their benefits manager,” attorney Rashke says. “There’s no reason an employee can’t go to the benefits manager and say, ‘I notice in my prescription coverage there’s an exclusion for contraception.’ That’s the first step.” If you don’t want to do it on your own, Rashke advises talking to other women you work with to see if they will take the concerns to the benefits manager as a group.

“One person can do a lot by raising the issue at cocktail parties, writing a letter to the editor … just point out this lack of coverage that so many of us haven’t even thought about,” she says.

Rx Drug Abuse: Common and Dangerous

In the 1970s, parents worried that their longhaired, bell-bottomed teenagers were getting drunk or smoking marijuana. Today, dangers also come in the form of prescription medicines — from opioid pain relievers such as OxyContin to ADHD drugs such as Ritalin.

Prescription drug abuse appears to be on the rise in this country. Wilson Compton, MD, director of the division of epidemiology services and prevention research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), says the reasons aren’t clear.

But he suspects that increasing numbers of free generic viagra written for certain drugs, such as ADHD medications, afford greater opportunity. “A certain portion of those will be diverted for abuse purposes,” he says.

Compton also says that in the current environment it seems almost normal to pop pills. “All of the advertising for pills may play a role in our woman impotence to try them.”

Roughly 6.3 million Americans report that they’re currently using prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Prescription drug abuse knows no age. The elderly are vulnerable because they’re more likely to take many medications, often long term. Also, women may be as much as 55% more likely as men to be prescribed drugs that can be abused, such as narcotics and tranquilizers; therefore, their risk is greater, according to the NIDA.

Teens and Prescription Drug Abuse

Abuse is most common among young people, Compton says. “Prescription drug abuse — like most drug abuse — tends to peak in the teens and 20s,” he tells WebMD.

Almost one in five teens — roughly 4.5 million — has tried getting high with prescription drugs (typically with pain relievers such as Vicodin or OxyContin, or stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall). That’s according to a recent national study on teen abuse of prescription and drug dysfunction erectile new drugs by the nonprofit Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

The study also found that teens’ abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medicines is equal to or higher than abuse of drugs such as cocaine and crack, Ecstasy, methamphetamine, and heroin.

Some teens say that prescription medicines are much safer to abuse than illegal drugs. But just because prescription drugs aren’t cooked up in someone’s garage doesn’t mean that they’re safe. According to Compton, the main risk for many drugs is addiction.

“As people try these substances, some of them will find that they really like them,” he says. “They take more of them and they continue to take them, even when they no longer want to. And that’s the hallmark of addiction. It creeps up on people in very subtle and unexpected ways. No one starts out taking a drug, saying, ‘I want to be an addict.’”

Besides addiction, prescription drug abuse can bring on a host of health problems, such as irregular heartbeats, seizures, hostility, and paranoia — even infections with HIV or other agents if someone dissolves and injects pills to get a quick high. Overdoses can be fatal. To combat the potential for abuse, some drug companies have marketed newer, drug lookup medication versions that are harder to misuse.

It’s important to remember that most people can reap benefits from prescription drugs without problems. But a minority will run into trouble. “Using these substances outside of a doctor’s prescription is already a red flag and a warning,” Compton says.

Which drugs are commonly abused? Who’s most susceptible? How could they be endangering their health? Here’s the rundown.

Original article ‘Rx Drug Abuse: Common and Dangerous

China may revive trade in rare tiger parts

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - China is considering lifting a ban on
trade in tiger parts, believed to cure anything from rheumatism
to laziness, despite growing fears that the move could wipe out
the endangered big cat.

China told the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES) this week that it would allow trade
in parts from captive-bred tigers if a scientific review proved
the step would reduce poaching and help tigers worldwide.

But conservationists and aging anti practises skin said Beijing&39;s hands, environmental groups
said.

“We have received advice that if we opened hospitals
providing tiger bones from the farms, people would stop going
to the black market,” said Wang Weisheng, director at the
wildlife department of China&39;t help the wild tiger, we will not employ it.”

The evaluation was to start in July but he could not say
how long it might take.

EXTINCTION THREAT

Wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC and the environmental group
WWF said China&39;s back,” said
Vivek Menon of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

“In India this cannot come at a worse time. We have
declared a national tiger crisis — we are losing more tigers
today to illegal trade than any other previous time,” he said.

The United States also joined efforts to pressure China to
back off from its idea. The assistant secretary for oceans and
environment, Claudia McMurray, said allowing trade would only
fuel more poaching and demand and further endanger the tiger.

Chinese culture believes that nearly every tiger part has
medicinal cure — the claws treat insomnia, the eyeballs cure
epilepsy and malaria, the brain treats laziness and pimples.
The tiger penis is considered a powerful aphrodisiac.

Conservationists urged China to focus its efforts on
promoting medical substitutes such as Viagra and aspirin.

“My age is 71. I suffer a little from rheumatism. I take
aspirin and I&39;s very cheap and effective,” said
CITES delegate Ashok Kumar of the Wildlife Trust of India.

Originaly from: China may revive trade in rare tiger parts page

Health Highlights: Nov. 3, 2007

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by editors of HealthDay:

FDA Orders Recall of Unregulated Erectile
Dysfunction Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Health sexual uk has asked a California
aging anti practises skin company to recall pills and capsules advertised as “all
natural” products to correct erectile dysfunction.

Calling True Man Sexual Energy Nutrient Capsules and Energy Max Energy
Supplement Men&39; ingredients are potentially harmful and
could cause dangerously low blood pressure.

In a letter to the owner of America True Man Health Inc., of West
Covina, Calif., the FDA said that the products have substances with
chemical structures very similar to the active ingredients in FDA-approved
herbal erectile dysfunction treatment drugs, such as Viagra. The FDA has not approved the products
distributed by America True Man Health Inc., and the labels don&39;s voluntary reporting program, at
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.

—–

Test Developed to Help Avoid &39;

For some people, it may take only a glass of red wine to cause a
headache. Now, University of California at Berkeley researchers say
they&39;s chemistry,” researcher Richard
Mathies is quoted as saying.

Right now, the amine test works only liquids, the A.P. says. The
study is published in the latest edition of the journal Analytical
Chemistry
.

—–

Children Inherit Cancer Survival Traits:
Study

Survival traits for certain kinds of cancers are passed from parents to
children, concludes a Swedish study reported in the November issue of
The Lancet Oncology journal.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analyzed a Swedish
family database that included three million families and more than 1
million cancer patients. The scientists found that children whose parents
had good survival rates after being diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate
or colorectal cancer had better survival rates for those same cancers than
people whose parents died within 10 years of being diagnosed with those
cancers.

The increased risk of death for children whose parents had died earlier
was 75 percent for breast cancer, 107 percent for prostate cancer, 44
percent for colorectal cancer, and 39 percent for lung cancer.

“In conclusion, our findings provide support for the hypothesis that
cancer-specific survival of a patient can be predicted from previous
parental survival from cancer at the same site,” the study authors wrote.
“Consequently, molecular studies that highlight the genetic determinants
of inherited survival in cancers are needed. In a clinical setting,
information on poor survival in a family might be vital in accurately
predicting tumor progression in the newly diagnosed individual.”

—–

Massachusetts Will Offer Overdose Treatment
Kits to Heroin Addicts

Starting next month, heroin addicts in Massachusetts will be offered
kits to help treat overdoses quickly, safely and without fear of
addiction, the Associated Press reported. The state plan was
inspired by similar programs in Boston, Chicago and New York City.

In 2005, heroin and other opiates killed 544 people in Massachusetts,
more than double the number of people killed by firearms.

Each kit contains two doses of Narcan (generic name: naloxone), which
can be squirted into the nose of someone who has overdosed. Experts say
the drug causes no side effects, the AP reported. The initial test
run in Massachusetts is expected to enroll 450 heroin users and cost less
than $50,000. If it saves lives, the program may be expanded.

Advocates say this is a safe, effective approach for preventing
overdose deaths. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
doesn&39;s and Jeno&39;s and Jeno&39;s Wellston,
Ohio plant and distributed across the United States, the Associated
Press
reported.

Between July 20 and Oct. 10, there were 21 cases of E. Coli
0157:H7 reported in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Of the 21
people who became ill, nine said they&39;s or Jeno&39;s Food Safety and
Inspection Service said in a news release.

Included in the recall are Totino&39;s Crisp &39;s Advisory Committee on
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, didn't propose a new standard but is
“emphasizing that all levels are important,” primary author Dr. Helen
Binns, of New treatment for erectile dysfunction University, told the Associated Press.

Children with blood lead levels below 10 micrograms per deciliter may
not show any obvious symptoms but may still have impaired intellectual
development, she said.

In their report, Binns and her colleagues advise doctors on how to
speak to parents of children with lower blood lead levels, including
mention of the risks, and nutrition changes and measures to prevent
additional lead exposure, the AP reported.

The paper was published in the November issue of the journal
Pediatrics. Its release coincides with growing concern over high
lead levels in imported toys.

—–

Read more on Health Highlights: Nov. 3, 2007 site

Erectile Dysfunction: Future Treatments for ED

Source: Erectile Dysfunction: Future Treatments for ED

Future treatments for erectile dysfunction focus on providing
medications that are more effective, work rapidly, and have fewer, if any, side
effects than currently available treatments. Currently there are three
oral medications available to treat ED - Cialis, Levitra and Viagra. A
number of pharmaceutical companies are researching new treatments for ED, and
many new options may be just around the corner. These include:

Uprima: Uprima (apomorphine) comes in a tablet form that
dissolves under the tongue. Uprima works by stimulating the brain chemical
dopamine, which heightens sexual interest and sensations. A small number of
people passed out after taking Uprima, so its release in the U.S. is on hold;
however, it is currently available in Europe. Clinical trials are also
currently being conducted on a nasal spray form of this drug.

Topiglan: Still under investigation, a cream applied to the
penis called topiglan uses the same drug (alprostadil) that is used in
injection therapy and suppository therapy. If topiglan proves to be safe
and effective, it is still not entirely clear which patients would benefit from
its application and whether patients on injection and suppository therapy would
no longer have to use these techniques.

Avanafil: This newer aging anti practises skin inhibitor is
currently showing promise in clinical trials for the treatment of erectile
dysfunction. Unlike the current oral medications for the treatment of ED, this
one may be able to be taken twice daily for people who want to have intercourse
more than once a day. Further studies are underway.

Drug lookup medication activators: These are drugs that appear to act
through the central nervous system (for example, the brain). They have been
shown in animal studies to produce an erection. Initial studies in humans
suggest that the drug (PT-141)can be effective if administered intranasally
(through the nose) in men with mental rather than physical causes of ED and
mild to moderate ED. Larger studies will be necessary to demonstrate the safety
and overall effectiveness of these drugs.

Gene therapy: This novel therapy would deliver genes that
produce products or proteins that may not be functioning properly in the penile
tissue of men with ED. Drug lookup medication of these proteins may result in improvement
in erectile function. Experimental animal models have herbal erectile dysfunction treatment improvement
in erectile function with gene therapy. Human studies may also demonstrate
success with this therapy. Gene therapy may take a long time for regulatory
approval and public acceptance.

Reviewed by the doctors at the Glickman Urological
Institute at The Cleveland Clinic (2005).

Penn Surgeons Use Completely Robotic Surgery To Treat Prostate Cancer

Read source of it on the Penn Surgeons Use Completely Robotic Surgery To Treat Prostate Cancer site

Science Daily &39;s exact hand movements. (Image courtesy of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine)

One of the most innovative of thesetreatments is robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (removal ofthe prostate). The University of Pennsylvania Health System iscurrently one of only a handful of facilities across the countryoffering this minimally invasive, high-tech treatment. David I. Lee,M.D., a national expert in robotic surgery, was recruited to Penn andnamed Chief of the Division of Urology at Penn Presbyterian MedicalCenter, where the robotic prostate program is based.

There aremany factors that make robotics an exceptionally valuable tool in theoperating room during prostate surgery, for both the patient andsurgeon. “Perhaps two of the most-feared possible long-term effects ofa radical prostatectomy are erectile dysfunction and urinaryincontinence,” says Dr. Lee. “My health sexual uk team and I havediscovered that by using the robotic technique there is greater nervesparing, which provides patients with the best chance for maintainingpotency and continence.”

Robotic technology offers a number ofadvantages during surgery. For instance, the robotic “arms” filter evenminute tremors of the human hand so to provide steadiness. The robot’scamera also provides a three-dimensional, stereoscopic image of thebody’s interior, as opposed to a two-dimensional image on a flatscreen. This improved perspective enables depth perception thatsharpens the visualization of the prostate and the network of nervesand tissue surrounding it. Additionally, by scaling down the motion ofthe robotic instruments, the surgeon can perform extremely precise,intricate movements during the procedure. For example, if the surgeon’shand moves five centimeters, he/she can scale the robotic hand to moveonly one centimeter.

Robotic technology also offers a number ofadvantages after surgery. Because laparoscopic surgery is minimallyinvasive and no large incisions are involved, robotic-assisted surgeryprovides numerous benefits for prostate cancer patients, including:less pain and scarring, diminished blood loss, a shorter hospital stayand reduced recovery period for a quicker return to daily activities.

Theactual robot consists of a tower that manipulates instrumentscontrolled from a console that is situated a few feet from the patient.At the console, the surgeon operates four robotic “arms” and “wrists”using hand and foot controls. One of the robotic arms holds a tinyvideo camera, one works as a retractor and the other two replicate thesurgeon’s exact hand movements. The camera and instruments are insertedthrough small keyhole incisions in the patient’s abdomen. The surgeonthen directs the robotic instruments to dissect the prostate gland andsurrounding tissue.

Unlike standard laparoscopic approaches thatrequire counter-intuitive movements by surgeons (whereby the surgeonmust move his hand to the left in order to move the mechanical deviceto the right), the robotic technology affords surgeons the direct,”intuitive” control they exercise in traditional open health, seamlessly translating their natural hand, wrist and fingermovements at the console into corresponding micro-movements oflaparoscopic surgical instruments inside the patient’s body.

Pennhas been using fully robotic surgery for cardiac patients for the pastthree years and is currently studying its use for head and neck health. “The robotic prostate program is a continuation of Cheapest tadalafil to finding and applying the most precise, most free generic viagra techniques to put patients on a quicker road to recovery withbetter outcomes,” said Dr. Lee.

Note: This story has been adapted from material provided by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

News - Norwegian wood rocks election campaign

A relatively minor industrial reshuffle, at least by international standards, has caused major political waves ahead of Norway’s general election on 12 September.

A mighty row has broken out following a recent decision by one of the world’s largest producer of fine quality paper, Norske Skog, to slash 380 jobs and close one of its four paper factories in Norway, even though the plant is profitable.

Each of the politicians appears desperate either to gain political currency from the affair, or at least to not come across as if they do not care about the loss of jobs.

But beyond a great deal of hand wringing, which has led some commentators to suggest they are deliberately failing to grasp the commercial arguments behind Norske Skog’s decision in the run-up to the election, the affair has simply herbal erectile dysfunction treatment the politicians’ impotence in the face of Norske Skog’s decision.

Norske Skog is sticking to its guns, insisting the factory must close due to overcapacity in the group’s European operations.

Necessary step

Chief executive Jan Oksum has even rejected offers of fresh financial incentives to keep the factory in Skien alive, having dismissed them as drug lookup medication promises.

Norske Skog has also dismissed assertions by politicians across the spectrum that previously received indirect state support, such as favourably priced electricity for its factories, means it is indebted to Norwegian society and thus has a duty to safeguard jobs.

What is important, insists Mr Oksum, is to make sure Norske Skog remains a profitable company.

“The imbalance between demand and capacity in the European market is lasting,” Mr Oksum wrote in a letter published by the newspaper Aftenposten. “We must therefore find a permanent solution.

“I wouldn’t have subjected our employees and the company to this unless I was convinced that a closure of the mill is needed to strengthen Norske Skog and safeguard more than 6,000 jobs worldwide,” he insists.

Indeed, Norske Skog’s finances have weakened clinic dysfunction erectile that treat in recent years: Last year’s 210m Norwegian kroner earnings compared poorly with the near NKr4bn it made in 2001.

“We have a responsibility to reverse this trend, and must act before our results deteriorate further,” explains Mr Oksum, insisting that the factory closure and plans to shift some of the production to its other factories should shave NKr200m off its costs.

Media backlash

But regardless of whether or not there is solid industrial logic behind Norske Skog’s decision, its announcement seems particularly ill timed.

Jan Oksum, chief executive, Norske Skog

Mr Oksum is refusing to sell the paper factory

Although Norway’s politicians lack formal powers to prevent the factory’s closure, their ability to whip up bad publicity has proven to be great.

Little more than one in 10 newspaper articles that have been written about the affair put the company in a good light, and most of those were published by specialist financial media, according to a survey.

Norske Skog’s insists this is because there are so many temporary workers in the newsrooms during summer, though there are clearly other reasons too.

One is the involvement of the flamboyant celebrity investors Petter Stordalen and Oystein Stray Spetalen who have thrown their hats into the ring with a NKr100m offer to acquire the doomed factory.

Their bid was immediately rejected, with Norske Skog insisting that the factory is not for sale since allowing new owners to take over would merely create a new competitor.

Critics pointed out that it was obvious that Norske Skog would reject Mr Stordalen and Mr Spetalen’s bid and some cynics have dismissed the pair’s efforts to safeguard the jobs at the factory as little more than a publicity stunt.

The investors have rejected such claims and say their plan to produce book paper rather than newsprint at the factory should ensure they would not compete with Norske Skog.

Regulatory scrutiny

Along with Mr Stordalen and Mr Spetalen, there are other, rather more discreet investors waiting in the wings.

Such investor interest has attracted the attention of Norway’s citrate generic sildenafil viagra commission, which has vowed to look into whether Norske Skog’s refusal to sell the Skien-based factory as a going concern means it is abusing its market power.

This probe comes on top of an ongoing investigation by Brussels into allegations of price fixing. The investigation relates to Norske Skog and its competitors Stora Enso of Finland and Holmen of Sweden.

All the companies insist there is overcapacity in the European market and both financial analysts and investors agree.

Some analysts anticipate a shift of paper production both to Central Europe where factories can be placed closer to their customers and to South America where high quality trees can be grown very fast.

Indeed, US investment company Capital Group has raised its stake in Norske Skog to just over 10% since the row broke out in Norway, a move seen as an endorsement of the decision to shut the factory in Skien.

But in the paper industry there is more than one type of investor. About a fifth of Norske Skog’s share holders are Norwegian forestry owners who depend on the company as a customer for their wares.

Many of them are clearly deeply opposed to any plans to shift production out of the country, though there are no guarantees that even their voices will be heard.


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