Conception confounded by declining semen quality
Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Feodor Vassilyev (17071782) fathered 69 children with one wife — she gave birth to 16 twins, seven triplets and four sets of quadruplets. That’s the largest documented number of children born to one mother. Clearly, fertility wasn’t an issue for that pair!
But these days, one in three couples has a hard time conceiving because of poor semen quality. That may be because of environmental pollutants, such as hormone-disrupting phthalates, according to a 2013 study that showed French men’s sperm concentration declined 33 percent between 1989 and 2005.
It also looks like burgeoning obesity rates are a big part of the problem. Another study found that men with waistlines 40 inches and up had a 22 percent lower sperm count than those with waistlines under 37 inches. Seventy-four percent of men in the U.S. are overweight or obese! No wonder fertility levels have declined in the U.S. over the past 30 years!
Whatever the issue, a new study in the journal Reproduction shows that if you get yourself in shape, your sperm will follow. Researchers had sedentary men give semen samples before starting one of four, 24-week routines (moderate-intensity continuous training; high-intensity continuous training; highintensity interval training; or remaining sedentary). The biggest improvements happened in the moderate intensity group (running on a treadmill for 30 minutes, three to four days a week). They had 8.3 percent more semen volume; 12.4 percent higher sperm motility; 17.1 percent improved sperm shape; 14.1 percent more concentrated sperm; and 21.8 percent more sperm cells, on average!
Targeting successful psoriasis treatment
Americans spend over $71 billion a year on lottery tickets — and scratchoff games are a huge favorite. But that’s nothing compared with the $112 billion that’s spent annually to deal with the itchy skin condition psoriasis and its associated health problems, such as arthritis, depression and cardiovascular disease.
Fortunately, these days the chronic inflammatory skin disorder can be controlled. But fully 50 percent of patients say they’re dissatisfied with the treatment they receive! Well, that’s made the National Psoriasis Foundation itch to improve sufferers’ lives. So they’ve defined, for the first time, targeted treatments for plaque psoriasis that specify what improvement you should expect to see from proper treatment.
■ At minimum, an acceptable response to three months of treatment should see skin lesions reduced to 3 percent or less of the body’s surface area, or an overall improvement of 75 percent from baseline.
■ The optimal goal of three months’ treatment should have skin eruptions confined to 1 percent or less of the body’s surface; and an evaluation every six months should reveal that this level is maintained.
If you have psoriatic plaques, don’t gamble with your health and happiness. Make an appointment with a dermatologist and discuss your treatment options, including topical corticosteroids, retinoids, salicylic acid and vitamin D analogues; anthralin (it normalizes DNA activity in skin cells); phototherapy (there are many versions); and oral or injected immune modulators and biologics, such as methotrexate and etanercept. And
Question: I can’t believe the news I’m hearing about how unhygienic day-care facilities and school cafeterias are! What can I do to make sure my children aren’t being made sick by their day care and schools? — Maureen G., Jacksonville, Florida
Answer: You may get sick reading the answer to this question, so reader discretion is urged! Two current reports have brought this issue to the forefront: A recent report on school cafeterias in New York City turned up the presence of vermin, rodents and other hazards, such as schools without any soap or cold water for lunchroom staff to wash their hands! And it’s not just NYC; this kind of situation is not uncommon. In 2009, USA Today reported that over 8,500 schools across the country failed to have their kitchens inspected at all in the previous year, and another 18,000 fell short of a requirement in the Child Nutrition Act for cafeteria inspections at least twice a year.
Then there was another, more recent study that’s important for the more than 32 million younger kids in child-care facilities. It found that only 30 percent of day-care workers and only 4 percent of par- ents helping at those facilities followed hand-washing guidelines. That may be one reason the risk of infection is two to three times greater for children cared for at an early-childhood center than at home.
The standards for handwashing include: Always washing hands before and after food and drink preparation and handling, eating and diapering — and always washing after handling a cellphone, contact with bodily fluids, taking out or touching garbage, cleaning and touching sand.
To make sure your child’s day care or school cafeteria is up to par: Discuss hygiene with the staff at the day care; review inspection reports; work with parents/PTA to stay on top of inspection findings; if facilities are lacking, contact the school board and/or start a fund-raising initiative (car washes? food sales?) to help pay for upgrades.
Q: My sister just went through chemo after breast cancer surgery, and now she’s getting major hot flashes. Someone suggested electroacupuncture to help her get through it. What do you think? — Margaret H., Syosset, New York
A: Many women experience hot flashes after breast cancer treatment, because some breast cancer treatments trigger menopause. We think trying acupuncture to control the symptoms is a smart move; hormone treatments are generally ruled out, even for women who didn’t have estrogen-dependent cancer. Fortunately for your sister, the results of a recent study showed that for women who had hot flashes, electroacupuncture was just as effective — and in some cases more effective — than gabapentin, a non-narcotic, non-hormonal anti-seizure drug sometimes prescribed to ease menopausal symptoms.
At Dr. Mike’s Cleveland Clinic Wellness Center and the Center for Integrative Medicine, acupuncture is one of the most utilized services, and is most effective with regular and frequent treatments. Acupuncture’s been a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 3,500 years, and there are almost no downsides when done by a licensed practitioner.
But if traditional acupuncture doesn’t reduce or eliminate your sister’s symptoms, she might try electroacupuncture, an amped-up version of the traditional form. It’s been around since the mid1900s, and it is applied by using a slight electric current passing between a pair of needles inserted along meridians and on trigger points. While traditional acupuncture tries to get your qi (energy) flowing again, electroacupuncture aims to jump-start stagnating qi. The frequency and intensity of the electricity used varies, based on the patient and the condition being treated.
The only reasons someone shouldn’t try electroacupuncture is if he or she has a history of seizures, epilepsy, heart disease or stroke, has an infection near the acupuncture point, is pregnant or wears a pacemaker. And electroacupuncture shouldn’t be used on someone’s head or throat, or cross over the midline from nose to bellybutton. So find a licensed acupuncturist/electroacupuncturist — your sister’s oncologist should be able to recommend someone — and get her jump-started.