Erectile Dysfunction ‘increases the risk of early death by 70%’

Often thought of as just an embarrassing and unwanted problem hindering the man’s performance in the bedroom, there could be something much more serious to erectile dysfunction than an inability to achieve or sustain an erection satisfactory for sexual intercourse.

A US study recently published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that men who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) have an estimated 70% higher chance of premature death.

The study, carried out by a team of researchers at the University of Mississippi, discovered that poor cardiovascular health is the most common cause of ED – a disorder which affects 18 million men in the US and half of all men between the ages of 40 and 70 will have it to some degree.

Due to the findings, the researchers involved in the study are calling for men suffering with impotence problems to be screened and possibly treated for complications – such as cardiovascular disease – that may cause an early death.

Even though ED has long been associated as being an older man’s condition, the researchers say that almost 20% of men under the age of 40 are also afflicted with the problem too. Indeed, many of the males that have sought help from Medical Specialists® Pharmacy for ED have been of varying ages.

Erectile dysfunction has already previously been associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors such as type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, high blood pressure (hypertension), obesity and smoking.
Scientists said that a connection between erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular risk could exist because of endothelial cell dysfunction and impaired production of nitrous oxide.

For the study, researchers looked at 1,790 men between the ages of 20 to 85 who had been involved in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They then compared and matched then data to death certificates from the National Death Index through December 21, 2011.

Whether or not men actually had ED was determined by the question: ‘How would you describe your ability to get and keep an erection adequate for satisfactory intercourse?’ and those men who answered ‘sometimes able’ or ‘never able’ were determined to have the disorder.

It was discovered that 557 of the 1,790 men had erectile dysfunction. Following an 8 year follow-up, researchers learned that 244 of the original group had died. From the 244 deaths, 61 were caused by cardiovascular disease, 64 from malignant neoplasms, 12 from chronic lower respiratory diseases and the remainder were from a different range of causes.

Results were then manipulated to take into account the men’s age, physical activity, race-ethnicity, waist circumference, poverty-to-income ratio, cotinine and comorbid illness.

It was determined that the survey participants who suffered with ED have a 70% higher risk of premature overall mortality.

The study said: ‘This finding should, however, be interpreted with caution as among the evaluated sample of 1,790 adults, only 61 adults between 20 to 49 years had erectile dysfunction, and among these 61 patients, only four died during the follow-up period.’

The scientists also said results could have been hindered by the self-report assessment of erectile dysfunction. On the flip side, they added that major strengths of the study were its novelty and utilisation of a national sample.

Further research is needed to see the long-term results over a longer follow-up period, the researchers concluded.

The study said: ‘These findings have major public health and clinical implications in that erectile dysfunction is a strong predictor of premature mortality.’

Erectile Dysfunction linked to undiagnosed type 2 diabetes

It can be a daunting prospect for people to pluck up the courage to go and speak to their doctor about problems related to sex, especially maybe if said doctor treats the whole family or is regarded as a friend.

This explains somewhat why Medical Specialists® Pharmacy have a patient base spanning tens of thousands; people that have come to them primarily to use the online consultation service for erectile dysfunction treatments, or for the treatment of premature ejaculation. The benefit with this service is the whole process can be done online, confidentially, efficiently, securely, without a face-to-face visit to your doctor, as everything is processed in-house at Medical Specialists® and no information passed to third-parties.

However, men suffering with problems in the bedroom should take these problems more serious, as they could be a predictor for other undiagnosed conditions, such as diabetes. Gum disease and erectile dysfunction has already been linked in previous studies.

In addition, studies have also demonstrated that erectile dysfunction could be an early warning of cardiovascular disease. However, researchers have now shown that a possibly link exists between erectile dysfunction and undiagnosed hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, as well as undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

This according to the results from a cross-sectional survey which is featured in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, with researchers involved in the study arguing men – especially those in middle-age – with impotence problems should be able to receive diabetes screening.

The Study’s lead researcher Dr. Sean Skeldon, from the University of Toronto in Canada, says the risks were higher in middle-aged men aged 40 to 59 years old. He commented: “The probability of having undiagnosed diabetes increased from one in 50 in men without erectile dysfunction, to one in 10 in men with erectile dysfunction.”

Results were attained by collating the data from more than 4,500 men from the United States; all over the age of 20 and participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 and 2004. The study was conducted with the aim of trying to find if associations existed between male impotence and blood pressure, cholesterol, in addition to blood sugar. Interestingly, the researchers couldn’t seem to find a link with problems achieving or sustaining an erection to undiagnosed high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

However, the findings showed that 11.5% of the men with undiagnosed diabetes had also stated they suffered with impotence problems, with an even bigger proportion for men between the ages of 40 to 59 years old – 19% showing unusually high blood sugar.

All men– particular those middle-aged– have some degree of risk of type 2 diabetes even without a diagnosis and the researchers suggest that doctors should get not only screenings, but also the sexual histories of middle-aged men.

Type 2 diabetes has been strongly linked with both genetics and ethnicity, but an incredibly large percentage of cases of type 2 diabetes are caused by poor diet that leads to being overweight or due to obesity. With early enough lifestyle changes such as improving your diet, regular exercise and weight loss, it may just be enough to slow down or even prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Erectile Dysfunction prescriptions soar 25% in a year

Just a week ago Medical Specialists® Pharmacy dramatically lowered the prices on ALL erectile dysfunction treatments, such as Viagra, generic sildenafil, Cialis, etc., and the response in the subsequent seven days has shocked even those at Medical Specialists®.

With this huge price crash, thousands of male patients from all over the UK suffering with impotence – and indeed other countries around the globe – have been using the online consultation service to submit orders for various erectile dysfunction treatments. To give an example of the price drop, 4 x Viagra 100mg tablets were previously priced at £55.95 (Inc. delivery to mainland UK), but are now priced at just £34.95.

Perhaps many have suffered in silence for too long and finally decided to seek help from Medical Specialists®, or were simply deterred by the cost of the medications, either way it seems our staggering cost reduction to patients has resulted in a soar in requests for erectile dysfunction treatments.

It is not just at Medical Specialists® though where requests for male impotence medications are coming in thick and fast, with new figures showing that prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra soaring by over 25% within a year in the UK, as costs reduced by 85.9% with the availability of generic versions from 2013.

According to statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), last year there was found to be 1.7 million prescriptions dispensed for sildenafil (often sold as the branded Viagra), but is also obtainable under other trade names.  The HSCIC report analyses prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, dispensing doctors and in GP practices.

In comparison, there were 1.4 million prescriptions of sildenafil dispensed during 2013, and just one million back in 2004. For purely sildenafil alone, it was found that prescriptions increased by 21% during the previous year.

However, drugs for other conditions have seen a large increase in prescriptions too, with HSCIC figures showing that antidepressants, which includes medications for depressive illness, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic attacks, increased by 7.2%, with 57.1 million dispensed last year, compared to 53.3 million in 2013. That means the number of dispensed prescriptions for antidepressants has almost doubled from the 29 million dispensed in 2004.

Other HSCIC stats show that in excess of 1.06 billion drugs were prescribed across England in 2014, a rise of 3.3% on the number prescribed during 2013 and an incredible rise of 55.2% on 2004.
Another finding was that the overall net ingredient cost of prescriptions in 2014 stood at £8.85 billion, representing a 2.6% rise of 2013 and 9.6% increase over the previous 10 years.

For the eighth successive year, the most amount of money went on diabetes drugs, with a 7% increase – rising by £55.3 million from 2013 to 2014, to reach £849.1 million.

Popular cholesterol drug Atorvastatin, a treatment that helps to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes, was discovered to have the biggest rise in the number of items dispensed, with a four million rise since 2013.

Male impotence drug Viagra makes it hard for Malaria to spread

The hugely popular erectile dysfunction medication Viagra (sildenafil citrate) has been taken by men all around the world for over 15 years to help stiffen erections for sex, and it seems this very stiffening prowess has been found to be the key element in aiding a decreased risk in the transmission of the mosquito-borne malaria parasite Plasmodium from humans to mosquitoes. In turn, this would then prevent a further passing of the virus to other people.

The findings have been laid bare in a study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the CNRS, INSERM, Université Paris Descartes at the Institut Cochin and the Institut Pasteur.

How the malaria transmission can be blocked through then use of Viagra was explained by study co-author David Baker, Professor of Malaria Parasite Biology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

He said: “In this new study we show that Viagra, a drug shown to be safe in humans, can make the sexual forms of the malaria parasite stiff.

“This causes them to be inactivated in the spleen and so prevents transmission of the sexual malaria parasites to mosquitoes. This is an interesting proof of concept which gives us hope that new drugs could be developed that specifically target the malaria parasite phosphodiesterase enzymes and block malaria transmission,” he added.

Plasmodium falciparum is one of the parasites that triggers the infectious, and sometimes deadly disease malaria. This parasite isn’t always easy to treat, with experts believing the single celled organism is evolving to become more resistant to the most commonly prescribed antimalarials. It is this reason why researchers continually look for other ways to fight the disease.

The parasite develops in a person’s red blood cells, which are emitted by bone marrow into the blood stream. Should a mosquito bite somebody that is already infected, it will extract some of the parasites within the blood and there is a risk that the mosquito could then infect another person by biting them.
As the blood circulates, stiff, old or abnormal blood cells are taken in by the spleen, with the healthier normal cells left to travel around. With the Viagra though, the infected red blood cells are taken in by the spleen – meaning they are not available for mosquitoes to get after biting someone. Sildenafil maintains a signalling pathway within the red blood cells, which results in the molecule cAAMP becoming more concentrated and the cells stiffening.

So far, tests have only been conducted using test tubes and there will need to be carried out with animals. If those show signs of success the next trials will need to involve humans before any medication can be approved for the use of malaria prevention.

Viagra gang who netted £10 million are given massive prison sentences

A counter drug gang consisting of twelve people managed to rake in a staggering fortune in excess of £10 million, a court heard earlier this week.

Under the guise of a nationwide mail-order fishing tackle company, the gang – which comprised of six people alone from northern Lincolnshire – flogged suspiciously low priced male impotence pills, apparently offering them either over the internet or selling them in person.

The phony pills could have resulted in “catastrophic damage” to the public due to the fact that fake Viagra tablets have previously been found to contain a variety of toxic substances such as acid, brick dust and road paint, Judge Charles Wide QC told the Old Bailey as he sentenced the gang.

A former married couple seemed to be the pioneers behind the operation, with a northern branch ran by the Thailand-based husband and his wife in control of the daily UK operation. Members of their family were also hired to successfully continue the illicit dealings.

A number of ‘front’ companies were formed that claimed to be selling items such as jewellery, fishing tackle and cosmetics in order to take-in electronic transactions, and the crooks then laundered the money through over 100 different bank accounts. In total, the exact amount of laundered money or that obtained by fraudulent means was undetermined, but estimates pit the proceeds at more than a staggering £10 million – raking in as much as £60,000 each week.

Prosecutor Gillian Jones told the Old Bailey: “This case is not about wanting to distribute good medicines cheaply, but rather the motivation was greed, with an utter disregard for patient safety.”
The court was told that the illegal dealings spanned for eight years from 2004, with those behind the scam carrying on even after being arrested on September 20, 2011. The arrests came after an investigation by the drugs regulatory body, MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory).
“The medicines that were seized which were purported to be Viagra and Valium, in fact, turned out to be counterfeit,” said Miss Jones.

“This was big business. The proceeds of the supply of these medicines, via websites which have been traced to various merchant facilities, is in excess of £10 million – that is not the real figure. Not all bank accounts have been identified.”

The money was transferred into bank accounts ran by those either directly involved in the conspiracy or members of their family, and was then either withdrawn in cash or put back into the business to keep it running.

Miss Jones continued: “They purported to be trading fishing tackle, cosmetics or jewellery, but they were just a front to hide the real merchandise which was unlicensed medicines. As demand grew, the customer database widened to countries including Sweden, France and Germany.”

After the banks began raising questions about transactions going through the accounts, the gang then craftily opened accounts offshore in Belize and Panama.

Last Monday, the crooks paid the penalty however for tricking the public by selling the dangerous fake erectile dysfunction drugs, and drugs for other apparent purposes.

A 42-year-old man from Brighton was given a massive 17-year prison sentence for being the main man in the scam and found guilty of offshore money laundering. The judge also jailed a 45-year-old man from Crayford, Kent, to four years, describing him as the middle man of the operation. He was found guilty of money laundering, conspiracy and selling or distributing counterfeit goods. Other members of the gang were also slapped with sentences totalling several years between them, proving that crime doesn’t pay and will catch up with everybody eventually.

Is the increasing struggle to see GPs driving patients to the Internet?

What would we do without the internet? You can buy all of your Christmas presents online and even order your weekly food shop to be delivered straight to your door. Moreover, in the present day, many of us choose to ‘Google’ our illness or health problem, its symptoms and relevant treatment(s).

The internet is a blessing in some ways, especially with the news this week that actually being able to see a GP in England is getting more and more difficult to achieve, according to the official patient survey.

The fact so many of us now struggle to actually speak to the receptionist at a doctor’s surgery, let alone arrange a visit to speak to someone about a health problem, could logically drive more people towards the internet.

Here people can undergo online consultations for a wide range of conditions like acne, hair loss, male impotence, etc, and see their medication delivered to their door the very next day. Yes, Medical Specialists™, the UK’s leading one-stop online pharmacy and doctors, can take all of the worry and stress out of trying to see your GP and then onto a pharmacy to go and collect your medications.

A poll comprising of around 900,000 patients discovered that in the last two years, there was a 6% increase in the number of people who reported difficulties getting through to try and arrange an appointment to see a GP, rising from 18% to 24%.

After they did finally manage to get through, 11% of them were not even able to actually book an appointment, the Ipsos MORI poll for NHS England revealed.

However, 75% did claim that they had a good experience of booking their appointment, and 86% said their overall experience was good when they did manage to see a doctor, or in some cases a practice nurse.

Unfortunately though the fact remains that long waits to see a GP about an ailment will become something of the norm.

Only last week the British Medical Association (BMA) said how patients could expect to be waiting longer to see a GP in the future due to funding cuts and a shortage of doctors.

BMA GP leader, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, spoke at the BMA’s annual conference, warning how waits of one or two weeks would “become the norm”.

Although waiting times were not measured for the survey, it does appear to be that a growing number of people are having difficulty with being able to see GP.

Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy fight the counterfeiters with giveaway Erectile Dysfunction prices!

There’s no two ways about it: counterfeit drugs can kill. They are dangerous. They are poorly produced in disgusting warehouses by crooks with no pharmaceutical knowledge and no regards for your wellbeing.

Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction medication Viagra is amongst the most copied medicines in the world, but counterfeits of the ‘little blue pill’ have been found to contain some shocking ingredients lurking inside.

Fake Viagra pills are usually sent to Pfizer’s laboratory for analysis, and their experts have previously found a wide range of deadly chemicals such as blue printer ink, brick dust, floor wax and even rat poison. Maybe the most shocking of all was one infamous batch of pills being flogged in South Korea, partly made from the remains of human foetuses. Perhaps this will make people think twice before buying cheap knock-off erectile dysfunction drugs from illegal websites.

Taking the fight to the counterfeiters and their illegal websites, Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy are delighted to announce we now offer generic sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) for the staggering cheap price of just £1.35* a tablet! So cheap it is practically a giveaway and therefore there is no reason to look elsewhere and buy cheap dangerous pills from untrusted sources purely for their inexpensive price.

With the current dire financial climate and many people out of work, it is completely understandable that many of us wish to save money where we can, but this saved money can’t be taken to the grave with you after you have ingested counterfeit drugs and suffered a fatal reaction.

“I can buy Viagra cheap from my mate down the pub” or “Yes I’ve taken Viagra, I got Kamagra from my mate” are two things Medical Specialists™ often hear from men seeking our help with their impotence problems. Mates down the pub are not doctors, pharmacists, or will enquire about your medical history or what other medications you may be taking.

For instance, Nitrates (taken for angina) can actually react with Viagra and cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, leading to a heart attack. And for the record, bear in mind that Kamagra is not Viagra and is not licensed in the UK. Therefore it is illegal to buy it or be in possession of it.

In-house GMC-registered doctors are available at Medical Specialists™ to carefully review your consultation and suitability for not just ED treatments, but indeed any prescription-only medication. Your health and wellbeing are put first, unlike that mate down the pub who just wants to make a few quid regardless of if you might suffer with heart or brain damage.

The popular Bury-based pharmacy caters for thousands of patients all across the globe, and as such, does not want to see all these unsuspecting men parting with their cash for cheap, dangerous Viagra knock-offs because their budget will just not allow for the ‘genuine’ article – Pfizer’s Viagra or other genuine UK-made sildenafil-based medicines.

In fact when the UK patient expired last year for Viagra, Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy introduced other erectile dysfunction medications that contained sildenafil – for only fraction of the cost! This resulted in a surge in demand for these inexpensive medications that contained sildenafil.

Men suffering from impotence probably thought things couldn’t get any better for their wallet…think again!

There are actually currently 27 UK manufacturers licensed to manufacture sildenafil, including the more well-known Teva sildenafil and Actavis sildenafil, and patients with Medical Specialists™ can now benefit from further slashed prices of generic sildenafil! Yes, all patients old and new can obtain generic sildenafil at rock bottom prices, if they don’t mind which particular manufacturer they receive, but all are UK-produced and contain the exact same active ingredient.

At just £1.35* per tablet of generic sildenafil, this is without doubt a lot cheaper than both buying from your mates and attempting to smuggle counterfeits into the country and if caught, being hit with thousands of pounds in fines and even a prison sentence.

Medical Specialists™ now offer exciting ‘second generation’ impotence treatment Spedra

Since the release of Pfizer’s Viagra way back in 1998, men across the globe suffering from the common condition known as erectile dysfunction (ED) have been spoilt for choice with regards to treatment options.

Sildenafil citrate – marketed as Viagra – was subsequently joined by Levitra (vardenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil), followed by variations such as the Cialis Daily tablets and Levitra ODT (Orodispersible). And now the ED market finally welcomes an exciting new addition to its vast array of treatments, in the form of Spedra (avanafil).

Spedra is available today from Medical Specialiasts™ Pharmacy, priced from as little as £23.17 for 4 x 50mg tablets. No prescription? No worry…Our in-house Doctors will write a prescription for you, which is then dispensed by our in-house Pharmacists, and sent to you within 24 hours.

Menarini, a private company headquartered in Florence, are manufacturers of Spedra and are touting the new treatment as the very first ‘second-generation’ medication for ED. This is due to the fact patients within the clinical trials did not report back to have experienced some of the side effects associated with the other PDE-5 inhibitors, i.e. blurred vision or slight hearing loss.

Spedra has been shown to have an impressive success rate of 77% and is rapidly becoming well known for being the quickest acting male impotence treatment there is. Those being prescribed it for the first time may find they start on 100mg, but there are also 50mg and 200mg doses of the drug. The maximum recommended dosing frequency is once per day. Like the other ED treatments, Spedra’s full effect is felt with prior sexual stimulation (foreplay) – just like you would engage in any way if you were not taking a medication for ED.

Taken orally, Spedra belongs in the same family of medicines as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Just like the existing ED drugs, Spedra belongs to a class of medicines known as PDE-5 (Phosphodiesterase type 5) inhibitors and is suitable for men who have trouble getting or sustaining an erection for sexual intercourse.

Whereas the existing treatments can take anywhere between 25 minutes to an hour to take effect, clinical trials have demonstrated the impressive prowess of Spedra, which kicks-in with firm erections after just 15 minutes, according to many of the men participating in trials. The new treatment will shave vital minutes off compared to its counterparts, ideal for more ‘spur of the moment’ love making.

Spedra has been shown to remain effective for between four and five hours, a time duration similar to that of Viagra. It should be noted that this does not mean you will have an erection for between four and five hours, but that you will have ability to achieve improved erections that duration. Like other ED treatments, Spedra may take longer to become effective if taken following a large meal.

Quitting smoking can get the blood flowing into your love life

It has long been said that smoking not only harms a man’s fertility but also effects his ability to achieve and sustain an erection, and the findings from a new study suggest that smoking is indeed disastrous for a man’s risk of suffering with erectile dysfunction.

The study, conducted over a period of three years, was carried out by experts based at the University of Hong Kong Schools of Public Health and Nursing. They assessed 700 men aged between 30 and 50, who were all smokers and complaining of impotence problems.

The team found that over half (53.8%) of the participants who successfully managed to quit smoking actually noted their erection problems had subsided, and within merely six months after quitting smoking. Therefore, those who gave up cigarettes had a 91.5% better chance of having a good sex life.

Involved in the study was Professor Sophia Chan, who stressed the need for smoking cessation programs to be introduced in a country such as China where there are a high number of men who are suffering with such problem.

Smokers should be aware of such adverse effects from their smoking and should quit now to prevent erectile dysfunction and other diseases caused by smoking”, commented Lam Tai-Hing, who was involved in the study with Professor Chan. Tai-Hing added; “In fact, erectile dysfunction patients who smoke can expect some quick benefits after quitting smoking.”

Smoking is believed to cause erectile dysfunction as it promotes narrowing in the arterial walls and negatively impacts blood flow to the penis through the pelvic region. There are a number of treatments available to men with impotence problems such as Viagra and Cialis; taken by millions of men around the world.

Viagra works it magic by enabling the blood vessels in your penis to relax, which then allows better flow into your Corpus Cavernosum and Spongiosum when you get sexually excited with stimulation.
Lifestyle improvements to boost cardiovascular health has also been found to ease the symptoms of erectile dysfunction. Men experiencing this problem may be advised to lose weight and begin exercising, lowering bad cholesterol level, lower blood pressure and adhere to a healthy diet that is low in saturated fat.

Maybe the graphic image warnings on cigarette packets about their dangers are not sufficient enough to get some men to quit smoking, but the risk of impotence could perhaps provide the motivation to finally stub out.

More men fear hair loss than impotence

Hair loss and suffering with impotence are probably amongst men’s biggest worries and the cause for a great deal of anxiety.

However, a new study suggests that hair loss could actually surprisingly be a bigger concern to men than their performance in the bedroom. It could be that hair loss degrades confidence to the extent that many men feel this will affect their ability to find a partner in the first place.

The survey of 2,000 males found that an incredible 94% feared going bald, compared to 89% who feared about experiencing erectile dysfunction and losing their ability to perform in the bedroom.
Other things that caused fear for the men survey included going grey, feared by 75% of the men (although becoming a ‘silver fox’ never did George Clooney any harm!), whilst 64% were concerned about putting weight on. This is perhaps unsurprising when health experts have stated that by 2050 obesity is predicted to affect 60% of adult men, 50% of adult women and 25% of children.

In addition, 61% were terrified of losing their teeth, 45% had a fear of needing to wear glasses at some point, 31% were worried about losing their hearing and suffering with bad breath was feared by 24% – although the revolutionary and massively popular CB12 mouthwash has now helped with this problem for both men and women.

None of these fears compared to hair loss however. Psychotherapist Toni Mackenzie was not shocked by the survey’s findings.

She said: “Hair loss can be genuinely distressing for men. It can’t be easily disguised and people think its fair game for jokes, unlike things like putting on weight or going grey. Men who lose their hair are expected to take insults with good humour. The pressure this causes can have a huge effect on men’s self-confidence, which has knock-on effects on their physical and mental wellbeing.”

Ian Watson, of HIS Hair Clinics, commented: “Going bald is just too personal to be funny. I lost my hair in my 20s. I’ve had countless people rub my head like a lucky Buddha and been called everything from baldilocks to Fester. It soon becomes downright upsetting.”

The findings back up other surveys carried out this year, such as one recently commissioned by pharmaceutical and cosmetics company Alpecin, producers of the hugely popular Alpecin caffeine shampoo for hair loss. Their survey discovered that losing hair is an increasingly bigger concern for 21-30 year old men. There are countless studies, articles, and media stories that portray attractiveness as being a key factor in success and for many people hair is associated with attractiveness.

The fact that there are an estimated 6 million men in the UK suffering from hair loss, this equates to a huge amount of stress and fear. However, Medical Specialists Pharmacy are able to offer the prescription-only medication Propecia (finasteride), which is commonly used to treat male pattern baldness and works by blocking the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which thought to cause hair loss.  It is obtainable following a quick and easy 4 step process which includes an online consultation with one of our in-house doctors. Propecia is priced from as little as £47.58 per month.

Other options in addition to Propecia include Regaine Foam and Regaine Lotion, as featured in numerous television adverts. Obtainable from Medical Specialists Pharmacy from as little as £49.95 and £59.95 respectively, Regaine products contain the active ingredient Minoxidil which is clinically proven to help prevent further hereditary hair loss, showing success in 4 out of 5 men. It works by increasing the blood supply to the hair follicles which helps to strengthen existing hair and stimulate secondary hair growth.

Pharmacist caught selling fake Viagra and Cialis

It seems a week cannot pass by without somebody being arrested or sentenced due to their illegal activity dealing with counterfeit medication. However, the guilty party this time is perhaps a surprising one.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office, a pharmacist operating in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., has been arrested and accused of illegally purchasing counterfeit Viagra and Cialis from China and subsequently dispensing the fake pills at his pharmacy to unsuspecting men.

Viagra and Cialis, together with Levitra, are three hugely popular medications to treat erectile dysfunction (also known as male impotence). Unfortunately for those who are duped into buying them, counterfeits such as the ones being offloaded by this particular pharmacist, have been previously known to contain either little or too much as the medication’s active ingredient which can prove lethal if somebody has any underlying health problems.

Moreover, Counterfeit drugs are often produced in disgusting, unsanitary warehouses too and some counterfeits have previously contained anything from blue paint (perhaps to mimic Pfizer Viagra’s blue colour), to brick dust, or even rat poison!

The pharmacist in question is 36-year-old Michael Markiewicz, owner of Chicago’s ‘Belmont Pharmacy’.  Despite the fact the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation suspended Markiewicz’ pharmacist license and withdrew Belmont Pharmacy’s license in November 2012, federal prosecutors have stated it is still operating as a nutrition and herb retailer.

Preceding the revoking of his pharmacist license, Markiewicz obtained three separate shipments of fake Viagra tablets from the most notorious country in the world for counterfeit drug activity; China, via the internet. One of these particular deliveries also included counterfeit Cialis. Investigators determined that he was offering the fake drugs in his pharmacy from December 2010 through to August 2012. Shipments contained a ‘gift pen’, according to the customs declaration, with the drugs concealed in unmarked clear plastic bags under the pen.

The federal indictment announced yesterday said that Markiewicz, of Norridge, Cook County, Illinois has been charged with eight counts of violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, four counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs or goods using a counterfeit mark and three counts of smuggling in a 15-count indictment returned on Wednesday by a federal grand jury.

Although it is unclear at this time exactly how severe Markiewicz’ punishment will be, in the U.S. here are some punishments associated with counterfeit medicines: Trafficking counterfeit drugs carries maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $2 million (about £1.3 million) fine, trafficking counterfeit goods using a counterfeit mark can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $2 million fine, smuggling carries a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 (about £163,000) fine and finally violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act carries a maximum of three years and a $250,000 fine.

We can assure you of peace and mind when obtaining medicines from Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Patient health and welfare has always been at the core of our business practice. Established in 1994 and becoming the UK’s first legal online clinic in 2001, we are fully registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and also a member of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Our team of Doctors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and our Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

However, we also understand that the internet is plagued with illegal so-called ‘pharmacies’ that offer ‘discounted’ medication. They are cheap for a reason – they are not the genuine article! To help you distinguish the illegal websites from those genuine ones belonging to fully-registered pharmacies such as Medical Specialists, here are some key points to be aware of:

. Long delivery times of up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it arrives to you.
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than what you could expect, sometimes by as much as 70%.
. The website does not offer any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, company address, pharmacists, doctors, etc.
. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy will have the GPhC green cross logo together with its Pharmacy number. This number can be checked to see if it does actually exist.
. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.
. If the website does not require patients to submit a detailed medical history or answer a doctor’s consultation, this is suspicious.

Cancer charity discuss Erectile Dysfunction risk after prostate cancer

The UK-based charity Macmillan Cancer Support have spoken on an already long-established subject and one which Medical Specialists Pharmacy have already covered several times – the relationship between prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction (ED).

Prostate cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system and if left untreated it can kill – claiming roughly 10,000 lives every year in the UK alone.

ED (male impotence) is a common condition whereby a man struggled to achieve or maintain an erection satisfactory for sex and is believed to affect around four in 10 males over the age of 40.

Unfortunately, it is a typical inadvertent side effect not from the cancer itself, but from the resulting treatment methods for prostate cancer such as surgical removal of the entire prostate gland, radiotherapy (external via an external-beam or radioactive seed implants) and hormone therapy.

According to Macmillan, there are around 160,000 men in the UK who are currently being treated for prostate cancer that also suffer from ED, and many patients state as they underwent their cancer treatment it became difficult or even impossible to maintain their erection. In fact, Macmillan Cancer Support officials claim that two out of every three prostate cancer patients complain that their treatment has left them unable to get an erection. Rising cancer rates mean that by the year 2030, the number of cases of ED from such treatment could potentially double.

Professor Jane Maher, chief medical officer of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “These figures highlight a major issue facing prostate cancer patients after treatment. The sheer volume of men affected shows the need for careful discussions before treatment. Many can be helped through early intervention and better support for men living with or beyond prostate cancer. Macmillan has worked closely with the NHS to develop a number of services to support cancer survivors after treatment. Some are already in place, but it is vital these services are implemented across the UK so men are not left isolated with this issue.”

To help these particular men, Macmillan now want a framework in place for the creation of a psychological support network in addition to specialised nurses –  trained to assist in issues related to ED. The charity also stress that there should be a higher number of physiotherapists being offered to patients.

Coincidentally, it was only a few months ago when a study emerged that suggested the ED medication Viagra could help sexual function for prostate cancer patients, with a daily dose of 50mg sildenafil citrate (Viagra’s active ingredient) being found to have ‘improved overall sexual function, including improved erectile function’ according to its lead author Dr Michael Zelefsky, vice chair for clinical research programs in the department of radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Cancer Center.

Dr. Daria Bonanno, a consulting clinical psychologist funded by Macmillan, commented on possible reasons why so many men who suffer with impotence problems still refuse to reach out for help, saying: “For many men with prostate cancer there is a certain stigma attached to talking about erectile dysfunction. Many may feel a sense of loss of masculinity and sadness around the inability to sustain an erection and will be reluctant to seek support. This can often cause them to emotionally isolate themselves from their partners and could make the issues worse.”

Husbands with higher-earning wives more likely to use Viagra

Are you a married man who is earning less money than your wife? If so, your chances of suffering with erectile dysfunction and thus taking Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, are greater. These are the claims from a Danish study recently published in the Personality and Psychosocial Bulletin which analyses the way a man’s sexual desire is connected to cultural and social conventions.

Interestingly, the study emanates from Denmark – a country known for its highly popular political thriller ‘Borgen’, which depicts a fictional female prime minister who runs the country whilst her husband remains at home to care for their children. A role reversal on the stereotypical TV shows of years gone by usually show the wife as the housebound partner who looks after the children.

According to the research team involved in the study, Denmark is one of the most progressive countries in the world in terms of women’s rights and loss of male pride could be an even bigger issue in other areas of the world.

The authors comment: “When women out-earn their husbands, it challenges the traditional social norms of the man as economic provider and female income as supplemental.”

For the study, Danish and U.S. researchers looked at prescription data and salaries from approximately 200,000 married Danish couples between 1997 and 2006.

This analysis found that Viagra and other medications to treat male impotence (erectile dysfunction) were particularly prominent within households where the woman was the primary breadwinner.

Remarkably, the pattern was even evident in couples whereby the woman was only bringing home slightly more money than her husband.  Men were not the only one requiring some form of treatment though and their high-salaried wives seemed to be more dependent on anxiety and sleeping tablets – perhaps meaning their careers had taken their toll.

Commenting on their findings, the authors say: “Even small differences in relative income are associated with large changes in erectile dysfunction medication usage when they shift the marriage from a male to a female breadwinner.”

Perhaps intriguingly, the trend was not apparent for couples where the wife had been the bigger earner at the beginning of the relationship.  Instead, it was seen in those in which the female had developed a bigger salary than the male during the course of their relationship – suggesting that the men may have had felt a dent to their pride and self-esteem. Stress, depression and other such similar problems are all known to be just some of the causes of erectile dysfunction.

In addition, researchers also discovered that a salary disparity in roughly £10,000 favouring the woman, doubled the chance of the man using Viagra.

Concluding their study, the authors state: “We in no way suggest that the trend towards female breadwinners is socially harmful; greater equality and opportunity for women present undeniable economic and social benefits. Nor do we argue that all men will respond to upward income comparisons negatively; many husbands are proud of and attracted to high-earning wives. Yet recent evidence suggests that gender roles have changed little over the past 20 years. If social norms against female breadwinners continue to be strong, increasing female income will produce real costs in marriage, including the anxiety, insomnia and erectile dysfunction identified here.”

Cialis: No longer just Viagra’s little brother

If you are one of the many millions of men around the world suffering from male impotence, known as ‘erectile dysfunction’, your first ‘port of call’ for an effective treatment option may possibly be Pfizer’s Viagra. With its moniker of ‘the little blue pill’, Viagra (Sildenafil) was discovered to have erection boosting qualities purely by chance following clinical trials on patients with high blood pressure.  On March 27, 1998, Viagra became the first oral treatment approved to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in the United States and since then it has gone on to become a massive global success. This is because of its potency and fantastic ability to actually be effective at the condition it claims to help.  It is almost automatically affiliated with male impotence these days by some men who are suffering with sexual dysfunction.

However, should this be the case? It may come as a surprise but there are in fact there are other options available to men, such as the Eli Lilly’s Cialis (Tadalafil), which is rapidly making a name for itself as ‘The Weekend Pill’. This is because the people behind Cialis claim that it is superior to Viagra as its erection-boosting qualities can last much longer – up to 36 hours in some cases, in comparison to Viagra’s usual effectiveness of four to five hours. If this wasn’t enough, Cialis usually gets to work faster than Viagra and some men have reported effects beginning from as little as just 15 minutes!

Like Pfizer’s Viagra, and Bayer’s Levitra (another popular impotence medication), Cialis belongs to a class of drugs known as a ‘Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor’. All three PDE-5 inhibitors work in a similar way in that there has to be some sexual stimulation for the medication to be effective. This obviously means that Cialis will not give you an erection as soon as you take the yellow tear drop shaped pill, but instead will work wonders at relaxing the penile arteries during foreplay, allowing blood to flow to the penis and help to achieve an erection.

For several years, Viagra was the one and only option for men with erectile dysfunction. This was until 2003 when Bayer and Eli Lilly received Food and Drug Administration approval for Vardenafil (as Levitra) and Tadalafil (as Cialis) respectively, to treat ED. There are probably many men though who associate Viagra as the only choice for them and this may be due to the fact it was the first treatment to become popular, many years prior to Cialis. It is worth bearing in mind though that Cialis does have some advantageous factors to certain patients. In addition, in recent years sales of Cialis have rapidly soared as more and more men are becoming aware of its prowess in the battle against impotence and it has moved out of Viagra’s shadow to become massive in its own right. So big in fact that Cialis has sponsored numerous golf events, including the America’s Cup and the PGA Tour, and was once able to boast being the title sponsor of the PGA Tour Western Open tournament.

Both the 10mg and 20mg Cialis are believed to be effective for 36 hours, hence the ‘weekender’ nickname it has earned over the years. Because of this time-frame it can work during, theoretically men can go for two days without being required to take another pill – specifically benefiting those who do not wish to directly associate taking a pill with having sex.

This is also where ‘Cialis Daily’ comes into the equation. The slightly lower dose 2.5mg and 5mg versions of Cialis are in fact the only European Commission-approved ED treatments designed as a single daily therapy – taken approximately the same time each day for consistency. The lower strength versions of Cialis are particularly ideally for men in sexually active long-term relationships. Beneficial in that the mild dose will be in your body each day, it means you do not have to take a tablet each time you have sex. Your body should begin to adjust to the medication’s ingredients and resulting in very little side effects, if any.

Medical Specialists Pharmacy understands the decision about which ED medication is right for you can sometimes be a little difficult. This is why we have previously created a side-by-side comparison of Cialis, Cialis Daily, Viagra, Levitra and Levitra ODT, which we hope will provide more insight  regarding the similarities and differences between them.

All are available today from Medical Specialists at low prices – obtainable with or without a prescription. If you do not have a prescription, you can undergo a private and confidential online consultation with one of our GMC-registered Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription. This is passed to our in-house RPSGB-registered Pharmacists, dispensed and then dispatched to you. This can be at your home, your place of work, or where ever you choose, discreetly within 24 hours.

More evidence emerges to show a gum disease and erectile dysfunction link

Erectile dysfunction (ED) and heart disease have been closely associated with each other in recent years. As science has developed leaps and bounds, numerous studies over the years have provided evidence to show that many men who have difficulty achieving and sustaining an erection, will show early signs of atherosclerosis; a hardening of the arteries. Links have also been established between heart disease and the severe gum disease known as ‘periodontitis’.

This is a condition whereby inflammation and infection occurs within tissue supporting your teeth and is the result of gingivitis being left untreated. It is a very serious condition sometimes resulting in tooth loss, and infection of gums and the jaw bones. Periodontitis is the main culprit for adult tooth loss and it is estimated annually in the United Kingdom that there are six cases of severe periodontitis for every 100,000 people. If left untreated, it may increase the risk of serious health problems such as heart attack and stroke.

However, an intriguing study of patients in Turkey published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, suggests that men with ED are three times more likely to have gum disease than men who do not suffer from impotence. The Turkish researchers examined 80 male patients with ED and 82 male patients without it. Non-smokers were specifically chosen for the study as smoking is known to be a massive cause for both ED and gum disease. In addition, all patients involved were aged between 30 and 40 years of age to dismiss the prospect of age as being risk factor.

Before determining any results from their study, scientists took into account things such as education status, household income and body mass index (BMI), with both groups being similar in these regards. After all these important points were taken into account, the link between ED and bad oral hygiene still stood up.

In total, 52% of men suffering with ED also had inflamed gums, whilst 23% of men in the control group had periodontal disease. Therefore, it was estimated that men shown to have severe periodontal disease were actually 3.29 times more likely to suffer from ED their counterparts with healthier gums. The men’s sexual performance was assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function, whilst the plaque index and tests on the gums were used to check patient’s oral health.

The lead author for the study, Doctor Faith Oguz, of Inonu University in Turkey, said: “Erectile dysfunction is a major public health problem that affects the quality of life of some 150 million men, and their partners, worldwide. Physical factors cause nearly two-thirds of cases, mainly because of problems with the blood vessels, with psychological issues like emotional stress and depression accounting for the remainder. Chronic periodontitis is a group of infectious diseases caused predominantly by bacteria that most commonly occur with inflammation of the gums. Many studies have reported that chronic periodontitis may induce vascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease, which have been linked with erection problems.”

The Turkish study only looked at men aged between 30 and 40 years old however. ED can affect men of all ages and it is estimated that a staggering two thirds of men over the age of 70 have quite severe symptoms.

The causes of male impotence is a subject that Medical Specialists Pharmacy has previously discussed in great detail and following requests from our patients, we ran a side-by-side comparison of each of the treatments available for men. Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are available today at Medical Specialists, at low prices. All are obtainable with or without a prescription. If you do not have a prescription, you can undergo a private and confidential online consultation with one of our Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription. This is passed to our in-house Pharmacists, and dispensed and dispatched to you at your home, your place of work, or where ever you choose, discreetly within 24 hours.

How well-endowed are British men compared to others around the globe?

The scientific journal ‘Personality and Individual Differences’ has recently published some research that has compared the penis size from men around the world, ranking 113 nationalities in total.

The sensitive subject is one that has led to numerous assumptions and stereotyping in groups of friends in particularly, for many years. ‘It’s not the size; it’s what you do with it that counts’ is a phrase that is typically often repeated from men to each other. However, just what is the average penis size of men around the globe?

This wondering was therefore probably provided the motivation for the latest study into the issue, conducted by Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University.

According to Lynn’s research, the average size for Brits is 5.5 inches (13.9 cm) when erect. How does this compare to other countries you may ask, well, overall Brits rank at 78th place from the 113 different nationalities. The average size of 5.5 inches is more than the French at 5.3in, Australians (5.2 inches), Americans (5.1 inches) and Irish (5 inches).

It seems though that British men are less endowed than their German counterparts, who are apparently right on the European average size of 5.7 inches. Both come up a little short when compared to Africans, which the study claims average at 6.3 inches. The smallest average was North-East Asians who average at 4.2 inches.

Men hailing from Africa’s Republic of Congo region would appear to be at the top of the list, averaging at a whopping 7.1 inches. The smallest average lengths seem to be in North and South Korea, with men averaging at 3.8 inches.

A more detailed list is as follows (in inches):

Republic of Congo - 7.1

Ecuador - 7

Ghana - 6.8

Colombia - 6.7

Iceland - 6.5

Italy - 6.2

South Africa - 6

Sweden - 5.9

Greece - 5.8

Germany - 5.7

New Zealand - 5.5

UK - 5.5

Canada - 5.5

Spain - 5.5

France - 5.3

Australia - 5.2

Russia - 5.2

USA - 5.1

Ireland - 5

Romania - 5

China - 4.3

India - 4

Thailand - 4

South Korea - 3.8

North Korea - 3.8

Mr Lynn argues that his findings support earlier arguments of ‘race differences in penis length’. He says, “For most populations, penis lengths are predictable and confirmed.” Men should not be too disheartened by the published report though. Indeed like most studies, there are those who have come forward to dispute the findings, questioning their validity. One such critic to the study is Jelte Wicherts, professor of methodology at Tilburg University, Holland. He said, “This is a brave paper in a controversial area but the data has no methodology.”

The topic of a male’s penis size is one that can cause a lot of unnecessary stress to many men around the world. It needn’t be though. A study published a few years ago in show that 85% of women are actually happy with the size of their partner’s penis! Moreover, of the 63% of men who complained about their ‘inferior’ size, none of them were smaller than average.

These stresses may in fact contribute to one particular genuine health condition that affects millions of men around the world; erectile dysfunction (ED). Also known as male impotence, it is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection that is satisfactory for sexual intercourse. It can be severely damaging to a man’s self-esteem and confidence levels, which in turn can even worsen the problem. Help is at hand though from Medical Specialists Pharmacy, and if you are suffering from ED there are a wide range of treatments that are available from Medical Specialists to help you. Certain studies have even gone some way to showing that men who have ED and take sildenafil citrate (Viagra’s active ingredient), can experience a huge improvement to confidence levels and their relationships even see a boost.(1)

Premature ejaculation is yet another condition many men suffer with and wonder just how they can prevent it. There are those who are still too embarrassed and do not seek help. Certain things to do during foreplay and even some breathing exercises may help to some degree, but effective treatments available to combat the problem remain as the prescription medication Priligy and the over the counter Stud 100 spray.

(1)O'Leary MP et. al (2006)“Self-esteem, confidence and relationship satisfaction of men with erectile dysfunction treated with sildenafil citrate: a multicenter, randomized, parallel group, double-blind, placebo controlled study in the United States.” J Urol. Mar;175(3 Pt 1):1058-62.

ED drug Cialis gets European approval for benign prostatic hyperplasia

Struggling to think of a link between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and erectile dysfunction (ED)? You might not be the only one. However, patients who are suffering with both of these conditions may soon be able to be treated through the male impotence wonder drug Cialis, which it seems, is emerging as having multiple uses.

The European Union’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has put forth their recommendations for the approval of the 5 mg daily dose of Cialis to treat the condition BPH that can result in prostate enlargement, a common condition that usually effects older men and leads to problems including; difficulty passing urine, a regular need to urinate, or finding it difficult to completely empty the bladder.

All that waits now is a final ruling from the European Commission, who approves medicinal use for the EU. It usually takes the European Commission about one to two months to decide on CHMP recommendations. All this follows a precedent set back in October 2011 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave their seal of approval for Cialis 5 mg once daily use to be used to alleviate the signs and symptoms of BPH.

Cialis is currently used to help men suffering with ED in over 100 countries and has already been approved in many other countries around the globe for the additional purpose of helping BPH, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Israel, Panama, Russia and South Korea. Therefore, it will surely only be a matter of time before patients can obtain Cialis Daily from Medical Specialists Pharmacy for benign prostatic hyperplasia in addition to treat erectile dysfunction. The best thing we would advise is to keep checking our website for more developments on this subject.

Anthony Beardsworth, senior medical director at Lilly, spoke on the exciting news and said, “The CHMP positive opinion for Cialis marks an important regulatory milestone for Eli Lilly and Co and our commitment to bringing new treatment options to the millions of men who experience ED and BPH.”

If you are a male suffering with urinary problems, then you may be one the 2.4 million men in the UK suffering from BPH. It could be some time yet until Cialis Daily is officially given the green light to fight such issues. In the meantime, urinary problems can be treated through the use of effective medication such as Flomax Relief, which eases the symptoms associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) of a BPH.

Flomax works by relaxing muscles in the prostate gland, relaxing the muscles in the urethra (the tube from the bladder to the outside of the body).  This lets urine pass more freely through the urethra, making it easier to urinate. It is available today from the Medical Specialists Pharmacy chemist shop, costing just £8.75 for 14 capsules, or £15.95 for 28.

Of course if you are a male suffering with erectile dysfunction and would like to know your options in regards to treatment, you may be wondering just what ‘Cialis Daily’ is. Firstly, it is a once-daily tablet supplied in two does; 2.5 mg and 5 mg, with 28 tablets to a pack. It is recommended to be taken at the same time each day for consistency and is suitable for men who are in sexually active long-term relationships. The major benefit is that the mild dose of Tadalafil (Cialis’ active ingredient) will be in your body each day, meaning you do not have to take a tablet each time you have sex. Cialis, Cialis Daily, Levitra, Levitra ODT and Viagra are all available today at great prices through Medical Specialists.

Counterfeit Viagra found during routine checks of Chinese adult stores

A random spot-check  of local adult shops in China by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors, has uncovered many pills that were being marketed and sold as genuine Viagra tablets. Working together with the public security bureau of Nanjing’s Qixia district, the FDA inspectors decided to carry out a late-night sudden check of stores that were selling sexual health products. The inspections took place on May 23 and June 6 and 7.

It was found that there are almost 30 adult stores in the Oixia district and that many of these are unlicensed. In some of the places where the fake Viagra was found, investigators found some pills that looked so authentic that even they could not distinguish them from the real thing.

The pills were only confirmed as counterfeits on July 4, after they had been sent over for further analysis to the drug’s manufacturer Pfizer. Deputy Director of the administration, Huang Da, noted that investigators had discovered Viagra-like products with English-only text on the packaging and that Pfizer has never sold any such Viagra within China. He commented, “Therefore, Viagra with English-only packaging in Nanjing must be fake.”

An undercover reporter for a Chinese newspaper actually visited a few of the adult stores and saw that ‘Viagra’ was being sold at hugely varying prices, which is immediately suspicious. It is thought that the stores can purchase tablets from ‘middlemen’ for as little as one Yuan (US$0.16) per tablet, and then sell them on to the public for around 100 Yuan (US$16).

One owner of an adult store told the undercover reporter, “the higher the price, the better the effect”. The same owner also gave shoddy guarantees of the safety of pills saying that he had been selling them for many years and had yet to receive a customer complaint.

Of course, the owner would obviously say this in an attempt to receive custom. It is highly unlikely that if somebody did complain (which is likely), he would easily surrender this information and risk a potential sale in a town that is already flooded with other fakes and where it is incredibly easy to buy Viagra that is ‘the real thing’, or so one might think.

Surely guarantees of safety and peace of mind come from obtaining genuine erectile dysfunction medication such as Pfizer’s Viagra from somewhere reputable such as Medical Specialists. We are fully registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and also a member of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Our team of Doctors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and our Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

Viagra and other medications for male impotence such as Cialis or Levitra are obtainable with or without a prescription. If you do not have a prescription, you can undergo a private and confidential online consultation with one of our Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription. This is passed to our in-house Pharmacists, and dispensed and dispatched to you at your home, your place of work, or where ever you choose, discreetly within 24 hours.

Weight Loss Can Boost Your Libido

If you have lost your mojo, replacing certain foods in your diet and dropping a few pounds can increase your libido therefore not needing to take Viagra according to a new study.

The risks associated with obesity are widely known, and adult-onset diabetes is the largest risk associated with it. But did you know that the disease can cause male impotence? It's true. According to The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, nerve damage or reduced blood flow puts male diabetics at risk for sexual problems and bladder issues some 10 to 15 years sooner than their healthy counterparts. In fact, as many as 75 percent of men with diabetes suffer from such problems, and most of the time, the symptoms go undiagnosed. 

A recent study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine points to some good news: Losing just 5 percent of body weight can improve erectile function and enhance sexual desire in obese men with Type 2 diabetes. Only a small number of men were studied, but the results were remarkably consistent across the board. Whether they lost 5 or 10 percent of their original body weight, the subjects showed increased testosterone levels and better erections for as long as they maintained their weight loss. 

So how do I lose the weight without taking Xenical I hear you saying, well I will list a few easy pointers to guide you in the right direction to losing that midriff.

Limit Tran’s fats

A little fat won't hurt you, unless its Tran’s fat. According to a Harvard University study in the US, you could cut your risk of a heart attack in half by eating just 4g less of Tran’s fat each day.

Swap to Olive Oil

It's one of the richest sources of oleic acid and everyone should have a bottle of olive oil in their kitchen to cook with, instead of butter, margarine & Vegetable oil. Olive oil also contains vitamin E, an antioxidant that will strengthen your immune system and may lower high blood pressure.

Eat Porridge

Pretty simple this one, just eat it at least twice a week and it's full of B vitamins. Studies have also shown that adding a spoonful of antioxidant-packed honey will improve spatial memory, according to studies by the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Stock up on Fish

Try and eat fish as much as possible especially Sea Bass which tend to be very low in fat, so are an excellent choice for people who are trying to lose weight

Eat your greens

What ever your favourite vegetables maybe add them to your meals, meaning you will be eating more food but fewer calories especially if you swap them for chips.

Exercise

Exercise is a must for weight loss even if it is just 15mins per day. Try and work out as hard as you can for those 15mins and within a month you should notice some toning.

Follow these guidelines and within 2-3 months noticeable weight loss and toning should be showing, and not only that your erectile problems may have gone altogether.

New erectile dysfunction medication awaiting FDA approval

Vivus Inc. have announced that they have submitted a “New Drug Application” (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for a new medication to be entered into the lucrative $4 billion erectile dysfunction market.  The new drug, named “Avanafil”, may take several months for its FDA approval to be confirmed and will be thrust into an increasingly competitive market that already includes Viagra, Cialis, and the newly introduced Levitra Orodispersible tablets.

Clinical trials with Avanafil have taken place involving over 1,350 subjects, with 50mg, 100mg, and 200mg dosage strengths being analysed. The NDA submitted by Vivus is backed up by including data from Phase 3 trials and these trials were said to have proved the drug’s safety and efficacy. Results showed that patients who had taken the 200mg dose, had achieved an erection sufficient for penetration in 77% and 63% of the trials, in comparison to just 54% and 42% in patients dosed placebo. In addition, many patients were able to have successful intercourse in a mere 15 minutes of taking Avanafil.

With the patent for Viagra due to expire in 2012, the market for impotence medication will become very interesting in the following year and we may yet see many more new and exciting products being introduced.