Month: December 2006

German scientists claim to have found the cure for what is regarded the biggest cause of male infertility — blocked vessels in the testicle, reports BBC .

A simple surgical procedure can treat what some regard as a leading cause of male infertility, says a German team.

The team found that using a minimally invasive technique to correct blocked vessels in the testicle enabled some previously infertile men to conceive.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. But other experts said the results were not conclusive because the team had not carried out a control study.

Some researchers believe varicose veins in the testicle, varicoceles, are a leading cause of male infertility.

Varicoceles, which are a tangled network of blood vessels, are caused by blood circulation problems. They are relatively common: about 10-15% of men are estimated to have them.

Although in many cases they are harmless, some believe they can lead to fertility problems because they cause warm blood to pool, increasing the scrotum temperature and reducing sperm count.

Previous reviews of research have found that using open surgery to remove the varicoceles in sub-fertile men have not made any difference to their ability to conceive, but the researchers in Germany used a different technique called embolisation.

This involves inserting a small catheter into the groin and steering it into the varicocele. A tiny platinum coil and a special fluid are then injected, via the catheter, to block off the faulty vein, diverting the blood flow through an alternative route.

Source:The Times Of India

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The foul-tasting barium sulfate liquid that patients have to drink before a CT scan of the digestive system could be replaced by ordinary whole milk, a small study suggests.

Barium sulfate is used to distend the hollow digestive organs so they can be seen in the images produced by the scan. Presumably any liquid could do this, but some liquids, like water, move through the system too quickly, while barium sulfate lingers in the intestines. The researchers found that drinking whole milk before the scan has essentially the same effect, because its fat content is digested slowly. The research will be presented today at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

“Our study is thus far limited with regard to numbers,” said Dr. Jeanne Baer, a radiologist at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and the study’s senior author.  And before you can make firm recommendations you need better numbers. Therefore I can’t  say to forget about barium sulfate.

The scientists studied 168 patients scheduled for an outpatient CT scan. Before the scan, 62 of them drank about a quart of a diluted barium sulfate solution, and the rest drank whole milk.

The barium drink distended the small intestine somewhat more than the milk, but the definition of the intestinal walls was just as clear with milk as with barium. The contrast medium, given by injection to add definition to body tissues, was just as clear.

One additional significant benefit: the milk cost $1.39 per patient, while the barium sulfate cost $18.

Should a patient ask for milk instead of barium sulfate before a CT scan? “I would,” Dr. Baer said.

Source:The New York Times