Better, faster sperm means winter and spring is the peak time to conceive

If you happen to know of many women who are falling pregnant at the moment, a popular phrase you may use to describe the situation could be “There’s something in the water!”

However, according to Israeli scientists, it may also be due to the fact that sperm quality is at its peak during the winter and spring months and right now could be the optimum time for couples to try for a baby. The scientists say this could possibly explain why there are such a high proportion of births occurring during the autumn months of the year.

For the study, Professor Eliahu Levitas and his colleagues, from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, analysed 6,455 semen samples obtained from men treated for infertility at their clinic between January 2006 and July 2009.

Writing in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the researchers describe how they discovered that during winter there was evidence of sperm in greater numbers, faster swimming speeds and fewer abnormalities in the semen. After spring, the researchers claim there was a steady decline in sperm quality.

From the 6,455 samples, 4,960 had a normal sperm production, and 1,495 were defined as ‘abnormal’ which included factors such as a low sperm count. According to The World Health Organization, a normal sperm count is classified as at least 16 million sperm for each millilitre of semen.

It takes around 70 days for the body to generate a sperm cell and with this in mind, it was determined that men with a normal sperm production actually had healthier sperm during the winter season – producing about 70 million sperm per millilitre of semen during this period.

Delving a little deeper, it was found that around 5% of these sperm had ‘fast’ motility, which is the ability of a sperm to swim towards an egg. Ultimately this means there is a higher chance of a couple having a baby.

In comparison, during the spring time there was approximately 68 million sperm per millilitre of semen produced, and only 3% were found to be ‘fast’.

Interestingly though, a similar pattern was not evident for men with abnormal sperm production rates. In these men, better sperm was produced during spring and better motility began from autumn.

The researchers comment: “Based on our results the (normal) semen will perform better in winter, whereas infertility cases related to low sperm counts should be encouraged to choose spring and fall.”
Dr. Edmund Sabanegh, chairman of the urology department at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, was not involved with the study but says there have been similar trends in animals too in regards to their breeding seasons.

He says: “The hard part of this is really sorting out what factor is accounting for this.” Dr. Sabanegh does not believe that doctors will now specifically instruct men with infertility problems to wait until winter or spring to try and conceive a child. “We would continue to encourage them to try regardless of the season, and they may benefit from interventions or treatments.” Sedentary lifestyles and environmental factors could be connected to an overall decline in sperm quality for men around the world and Dr. Sabanegh added: “It’s becoming more certain that our fertility is seasonal and affected by complex things in our environment that change it.”

Drug mailing scam lands Surrey man with 44 months in prison

Yet another counterfeiter has deservedly been imprisoned after putting lives at risk from selling fraudulent, dangerous drugs. The guilty party is a Portuguese national who has received a prison sentence of almost four years (44 months in total) following him being caught operating an illegal internet drug mailing business.

Mahomed Bacai, aged 38, of Addlestone, Surrey, conceded that he was guilty of five offences including forgery, possession of false identity documents and conspiracy to supply class C drugs, prescription-only medicines and medicines not on the General Sales List.  Bacai received his sentence on 22 February at Guildford Crown Court.

His arrest came about after the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) began its own investigation in January 2011 upon learning of seizures of medicines by the UK Border Agency in Coventry.

The governmental agency has stated that Bacai’s illicit dealings saw him hiring mailboxes using false paperwork and fictitious names. By using all this, he would acquire parcels from overseas suppliers based in India and China. He re-packed the parcels at his home before shipping them off to his international customer base.

In June 2011 MHRA officers conducted a raid of his house in Addlestone and recovered approximately £1.6m ($2.4m) worth of unlicensed medicines that comprised of ‘vast amounts of counterfeit and unlicensed erectile dysfunction medicines’ stored in what the MHRA described as ‘unsanitary conditions, including a garden shed’. In addition, officers also found powerful Class C drugs such as the opiate Tramadol, tranquiliser drug Diazepam and vials of testosterone.

More investigations into Bacai’s activities resulted in officers being able to intercept an incredible £125,000 worth of counterfeit medicines that were due to arrive at his home address and he was promptly arrested.

Nimo Ahmed, MHRA Acting Head of Enforcement said: “We are committed to pursuing those involved in the illicit supply of medicines and taking action to ensure that public health is protected. Prescription-only medicines and controlled substances such as Tramadol and Diazepam are potent substances. They can cause serious harm if not taken under the supervision of a doctor or other appropriate healthcare professional and obtained through a registered pharmacy. We urge people to only take prescription-only medicines after an appropriate consultation with their GP. They are best equipped to consider your medical history, the risk and benefits of drugs and any possible interactions with other medicines you’re taking.”

Medical Specialists Pharmacy are fully aware that there are thousands of illegal websites plaguing the internet that offer ‘discounted’ and ‘genuine’ medicines. We speak to patients on a daily basis who are clearly very reluctant to obtain medicines online. With this in mind, here are some important factors to be alert of when browsing through different websites:

. Long delivery times, sometimes up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it gets to you.
. For erectile dysfunction medication, a phony website could state ‘generic Viagra’ or ‘generic sildenafil citrate’. There is no such thing as generic Viagra!
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than usual, sometimes by as much as 70%.
. The website does not list 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.

Autoimmune diseases linked to a diet high in salt

Scientists claim that the typical modern day diet that is high in salt could be a key factor behind recent increases in the cases of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, alopecia, asthma and eczema.

An autoimmune disease occurs after the immune system attacks healthy body cells instead of fighting off disease and infection as it should be doing. An autoimmune disease can drastically vary in the severity of symptoms – sometimes flaring up and other times they can go into remission and disappear for some time.

Initial symptoms are usually fatigue, muscle aches and a low fever. A usual indicator of an autoimmune disease is inflammation, resulting in redness, heat, pain and swelling. The treatment for an autoimmune disease will depend on the specific disease but usually the main aim is to reduce inflammation.

A common autoimmune disease is the neurological condition multiple sclerosis, which affects around 100,000 people around the UK. It develops after a protein surrounding the brain and spinal cord (myelin) becomes damaged following a breakdown in the immune system. This disrupts nerve signals from the brain to the rest of the body resulting in loss of vision, muscle stiffness and uncontrollable movement, fatigue and ataxia (balance and coordination problems).

Reporting their data in the journal Nature, scientists from Yale University in the U.S. and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany, say that they believe salt consumption could be connected to rising rates in autoimmune diseases. Previously many health experts have stated that genetics increase the risk of such diseases in addition to our surrounding environment. Other reasons for the progression of multiple sclerosis are from a viral infection, smoking and a lack of vitamin D.
In their report, the researchers note: “This study is the first to indicate that excess salt may be one of the environmental factors driving the increased incidence of autoimmune diseases.”

For their study, the team decided to focus on the presence of T helper cells in the body. T helpers are a sub-group of lymphocytes that work to help other cells fight viruses or bacteria by releasing T cell cytokines.

A subset of these T helper cells are known as ‘Th17 cells’ and past researcher has suggested that the Th17 cells help to promote inflammation that is important for defending against pathogens, and connected to diseases like multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment options for some of these diseases involve manipulating T cell function.

Vijay Kuchroo of the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the Broad Institute, says: “The question we wanted to pursue was: How does this highly pathogenic, pro-inflammatory T cell develop. Once we have a more nuanced understanding of the development of the pathogenic Th17 cells, we may be able to pursue ways to regulate them or their function.”

The scientists found that by exposing the Th17 cells to a salt solution made them act more ‘aggressively’. In addition, it was discovered that adding salt to the diet of mice actually increased the number Th17 cells and that genetically engineered mice with a form of MS, suffered with more severe MS disease in comparison to those mice fed a more ‘normal’ diet.

Study co-author Ralf Linker, from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, said: “These findings are an important contribution to the understanding of multiple sclerosis and may offer new targets for a better treatment of the disease, for which at present there is no cure.”

Another of the study’s authors, Professor David Hafler, from Yale University, added: “These are not diseases of bad genes alone or diseases caused by the environment, but diseases of a bad interaction between genes and the environment. Humans were genetically selected for conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, where there was no salt. Today, Western diets all have high salt content and that has led to increase in hypertension and perhaps autoimmune disease as well.”

Grandchildren could develop asthma from their grandmother’s smoking

There are umpteen reasons to quit smoking for good, and it seems that on a daily basis there is yet another story to hit the headlines that highlights more evidence of the massive damage that tobacco does to a person’s health and wellbeing.

However, the researchers behind a study published in the March edition of Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology has pushed the boundaries a little further in this respect with claims regarding smoking and genetic inheritance.

Two Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed), John S. Torday, Ph.D, and Virender K. Rehan, M.D, believe that having a grandmother who smoked can greatly increase your chance of developing the lung respiratory condition asthma – even if your mother was a non-smoker.

They state that the chemicals and environmental factors which impact our body in the present day could have after-effects for family members in future generations due to the nicotine leaving a ‘mark’ on the genome (our complete set of DNA), making future generations more likely to develop conditions such as asthma or COPD.

Referencing studies conducted by Dr. Rehan, the researchers explained in their editorial that pregnant rats administered nicotine went on to breed asthmatic pups, who then also produced asthmatic pups – even though there was no exposure to nicotine in the third generation.

In addition, the researchers also cited the Children’s Health Study from Southern California, which demonstrated that grandmaternal smoking when pregnant can greatly increase the asthma risk for grandchildren, regardless of whether the mother had been a smoker.

The researchers concluded that asthma seen in the second generation was ‘epigenetic modification’ (an environmental factor resulting in a genetic alteration). It was determined that both the lung cells and sex cells were being impacted by nicotine in ways that caused the lungs that developed from those cells to then develop abnormally – resulting in asthma.

This latest study is not the first one to connect smoking asthma, however could be deemed one of the more controversial. Previous studies have long established a link between a mother smoking at her children having a higher risk of developing asthma. Dr. Erika von Mutius published a study in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology over ten years ago where he said: “exposure to tobacco smoke in utero significantly increases asthma risk.”

Dr. Torday commented: “These studies break new ground in validating and further explaining the mechanisms involved in the transmission of epigenetic human diseases. The transmission of the asthma to the second generation and its prevention by a specifically-targeted molecular intervention are the first unequivocal demonstrations of multi-generational transmission of an epigenetically-mediated effect on the offspring.”

Dr. Rehan further added: “Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, resulting in a significant impact on the lives of children and driving up medical costs for all. While many factors contribute to asthma, smoking during pregnancy is a well-established one and one that can be avoided. Eliminating smoking during pregnancy would significantly reduce the prevalence of childhood asthma for this generation and for future generations.”

UK’s soaring diabetes cases are a ‘public health emergency’

Many of us may already be aware of the obesity epidemic that is rife not only in the United Kingdom but over in the U.S. too. However, closely linked to this issue is an increasing problem of diabetes which in itself seems to be an epidemic of its own.

According to new research, a staggering three million people have been diagnosed with diabetes in Britain – equating to 4.6% of the population.

Researchers for Diabetes UK and Tesco have discovered that around 132,000 people were diagnosed with the disease over the previous year and an estimated 850,000 people are believed to have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

There are roughly 24,000 premature deaths each year in England and Wales because of diabetes and without rapid intervention, this death toll will continue to rise. Therefore, supermarket giant Tesco and the charity Diabetes UK have begun a partnership to try and improve the situation. Tesco hope to raise £10 million for the charity to tackle the disease and provide help to those who suffer with it.

In the UK alone, approximately 90% of all adults with diabetes have the Type 2 variation and the partnership will provide funds to launch the biggest ever public awareness campaign focusing on the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, aimed at the seven million people deemed ‘high risk’ of developing the disease.

In addition to the massive public awareness campaign, the money raised will also be used to develop a new vaccine for Type 1 diabetes as well as helping to identify those 850,000 people who are living with undiagnosed diabetes.

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, warns the situation is a ‘grim staging post towards a public health emergency’.

She says: “We are hugely concerned that the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has reached three million for the first time and there is no reason to think this will mark the end of what has been a rapid rise in the condition. Instead, all the projections suggest that the three million figure will be a grim staging post on the road towards a public health emergency and this unfolding tragedy is already putting huge pressure on the NHS and will have potentially devastating consequences for those people who develop the condition. But this is not inevitable. By identifying those at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, we can ensure they start getting support to make the kind of lifestyle changes that can help prevent it. And by making sure people who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes are already getting the care and support they need, we can help them avoid the devastating complications diabetes can cause.”

Rebecca Shelley, group corporate affairs director at Tesco, added: “Diabetes affects millions of families and communities across the UK and as today’s news confirms, the number of people with this condition is increasing. Thanks to this important partnership, we have the opportunity to inspire our colleagues and customers to come together, raise awareness and much needed funds to help the millions of people with diabetes in the UK.”

Type 1 diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin and as such is often referred to as ‘insulin-dependent diabetes’. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease not attributed to any lifestyle factor. With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas (a small gland behind the stomach) will not produce any insulin (a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels) and anyone who has this kind of diabetes will be required to have injections for life in addition to strictly controlled diet. Diabetes UK state that 10% of all diabetes cases in the UK are Type 1 – usually beginning in childhood or young adulthood.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than Type 1 and it occurs when the body is not generating enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not properly respond to it (or both). This is referred to as insulin resistance. It mainly affects adults over 40 years of age but in recent years it has become prominent in younger, overweight people. Type 2 diabetes is primarily caused by obesity, consuming too much sugar and leading a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, around 85% of cases of Type 2 diabetes occur in people who are obese and in the UK, about 90% of all adults who suffer with diabetes have Type 2.

Although each can have its own particular symptoms, there are some symptoms that are common for both types of diabetes. These include:

. Feeling very tired.
. Feeling very thirsty.
. Having to urinate often, particularly at night.
. Unexplained weight loss and loss of muscle bulk.

The symptoms of the most common kind of diabetes – Type 2 – can be mild and thus people can go for years without realising they have the disease or receiving a formal diagnosis. If you suspect you have diabetes you must see your doctor as soon as possible as an early diagnosis can decrease the chances of developing more serious problems at a later stage.

U.S. Viagra and Cialis counterfeiter gets two years in prison

Awni Shauaib Zayyad, 56, of Wilson, N.C. has been handed a two year prison sentence in relation to five federal offenses regarding the possession and sale of counterfeit erectile dysfunction (ED) Viagra and Cialis pills in the Charlotte area. When sentencing Zayyad, Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr also stated that he must serve two years under court supervision after his release from prison and pay $10,000 fine and $500 special assessment fee.

Zayyad was first apprehended by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police on U.S. investigators were made aware of Zayyad’s illegal activities back in June 2010 after he sold over 500 counterfeit Viagra tablets to a Charlotte convenience store where police were already undergoing surveillance for similar dealings.

Zayyad’s residence was subsequently placed under surveillance before investigators proceeded to follow him on a four hour drive to Charlotte on Aug. 23 2010 where he was about to sell more dangerous fake pills to the same convenience store. Unfortunately for Zayyad, law enforcement agents stopped him in Mecklenburg County before he arrived. Inside the vehicle which was registered to his wife, Zayyad was found to be in possession of 500 fake Viagra pills and over 200 fake Cialis pills.

In court it was explained that Zayyad had possessed and/or distributed in excess of 2,000 counterfeit Viagra pills and nearly 400 counterfeit Cialis pills whilst he was being investigated in 2010 by the authorities. The counterfeit fake pills he possessed were actually found to contain active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) of the ED medications, though in varying and incorrect strengths and with unknown non-API additives.

It was established that the fake erectile dysfunction pills had an accumulated wholesale value of more than $40,000.  As explained many times by Medical Specialists Pharmacy, the court was also made fully aware of the dangers of congesting counterfeit pills to the health of those who take them especially when counterfeit prescription medications contain active ingredients of unknown strength, extra added substances and produced in unknown, untraceable and often unhygienic disgusting premises.

He was eventually found guilty by a jury in February 2012 of numerous offenses including: one count of conspiracy to traffic counterfeit prescription medications bearing counterfeit trademarks, two counts of trafficking counterfeit prescriptions bearing counterfeit trademarks and two counts of selling and holding for sale counterfeit prescription medications with intent to defraud and mislead.
Demonstrating the seriousness of dealing with counterfeit medications, Zayyad must now self-report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. There are no chances of parole with a federal sentence.

If you are a male suffering with erectile dysfunction, safety and peace of mind is assured by obtaining genuine erectile dysfunction medication such as Pfizer’s Viagra from a reputable and trusted source such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy. 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.

Channel 4’s Secret Eaters shows how ‘dieters’ pile on the weight

Have you ever begun a ‘diet’ and after a while found you are still not losing the extra weight. More often than not, this failure is blamed on an apparent ‘slow metabolism’ – a mythical logic that has previously been dissected by Medical Specialists Pharmacy.

However, a new Channel 4 show to be aired later this month called ‘Secret Eaters’ has decided to explore the day-to-day eating habits of people complaining of slow or non-existent weight loss in order to find possible reasons why. The results seem to be far more transparent than first thought.
The main problem appears to be when people snack during the course of the day – sometimes even unaware or oblivious to it, often eating a lot more than they think.

Secret Eaters, presented by Anna Richardson, documents every single bite of food taken by the show’s participants via secretly concealed video cameras in their homes. If this wasn’t interesting enough for viewers, when the participants decide to venture out from their house, two private detectives trail them and take photographs of them eating any ‘bad’ calorific food such as takeaways, crisps and fizzy drinks.

After five days of the hidden video cameras recording them and the private detective’s espionage trying to catch them in the act, Anna Richardson leads the dieters into the ‘Incident Room’ in which all their food intake – however good or bad – is laid out before their eyes and demonstrates the damning evidence explaining their lack of successful weight loss.

The Secret Eater’s dietician Lynne Garton explains: “You can see the look of astonishment on their faces when they see the food they’ve actually consumed. They have no idea. Snacks can add up to more than 500 calories a day but too often people get distracted by their busy lives and forget the chocolate bar or biscuit they ate earlier and it soon mounts up. Cutting out those calories can lead to a 1lb loss per week.”

The first episode of the series show Stephanie and Lauren Spearman, sisters who are both struggling to lose weight. Stephanie, 23, lives on a diet of junk food, while Lauren, 28, is in training for the London Marathon despite still consuming alcohol and chocolate.

After cameras had recorded their snacking habits, the sisters realised the shocking reality of their situation that if they had carried on as they were, each would have gained over 2st within just six months.

Stephanie, a sales manager for High Street chain Matalan, tipped the scales at 12st 6lb when she first contacted the show. The hours she worked meant she regularly skipped eating breakfast but would snack on biscuits or cakes prior to lunch.

The work vending machine meant she had easy access to high calorie snacks and fizzy drink. This all added to the calories from takeaways Stephanie often ate, meaning that on some days her daily intake was around 4,000 – incredibly this is double the recommended calorie intake for women.

Dietician Lynne comments: “Millions turn to the latest fad for a quick fix but to lose weight long-term requires a change in eating habits. Eating three meals a day and snacking only on healthy foods such as fruit can be all that’s needed to lose weight.”

Between them the sisters have lost 21lbs since the programme reinvigorated their dietary choices and Stephanie says: “We feel so much better since we’ve replaced sugary drinks with fizzy water, swapped crisps for fruit, and burgers for healthy sandwiches. I’ve managed to save £100 a month by not buying ready-meals and sugary snacks. We’re losing weight and we’re not even on a diet.”