Fat Transforms Vitamin C From Doing Good to Doing Bad

Fat in the stomach may cause vitamin C to promote, rather than prevent, the formation of certain cancer causing chemicals. These findings may be relevant to the recent observations that vitamin C supplements fail to reduce cancer risk.

Read more at ScienceDaily

XLPharmacy - The Latest Medicare Part D News

It's that time of Year!

Open enrollment for Medicare Part D occurs every year from November 15 -December 31. All Part D beneficiaries are eligible to join, switch or drop their Medicare drug coverage during this period. Once this open enrollment period ends, most Medicare patients are locked into their current plan until the end of the year. New Medicare beneficiaries who “age in” to the Medicare program will of course be able to join a Part D plan when they become eligible, and people with limited income (those receiving Medicaid or SSI, or who applied and qualified for the Low-Income Subsidy) can change plans any time during the year.

Some patients who have limited incomes may still qualify for the Low-Income Subsidy, which can help them pay for Medicare Part D. Patients with annual income of less than $15,355 (individual) or $20,535 (family) should call Social Security at 800-772-1213 or visit their website to see if they qualify for this extra help, which covers a significant amount of the cost of the benefit.

Higher Medicare Plan D Costs for 2008 - XLPharmacy

During open enrollment for their Medicare drug program in 2008, folks could be in for a rude awakening, with up to $1,915 in cost increases next year for premiums and five commonly used prescriptions -- the equivalent of about two month's worth of Social Security checks.

Anyone currently enrolled in the Medicare drug program should sit down with their family right now and make sure their plan still offers a good deal next year. It is so important to take the time and shop among plans, and use the Medicare website (http://www.medicare.gov/) to check your drug costs.

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To read more visit PharmaLive

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Better Blood Tests for Prostate Cancer - from XLPharmacy

A new blood test is more reliable at finding prostate cancer in its early stages by detecting a protein marker in blood plasma. Doctors say the new test, now in clinical trials, will have an accuracy of 95 percent, better than the commonly used PSA, which signals abnormal prostate conditions rather than cancer.

Most men over age 50 are familiar with PSA testing, used to detect prostate cancer, but the test can sometimes miss cancer cases. Now a new test can find cancer earlier…(Read more)

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Presidential Run Truth or Fiction? – XLPharmacy

Here are a few tidbits from an article we read today you might find interesting on Health Care, Medicare, and Immigration, that makes an interesting read. It is not going to be much different in the telling from any political side. The writer might be spitting off about one candidate, but it just made us realize we must look at each candidate very carefully, and be sure we know the issues, and how they might or might not affect each one of us in the future:

Immigration?
Here’s the deal: Come here illegally. Dodge the cops for five years. Then you can get legal status, a path to citizenship, health insurance for your kids and in state tuition at their local state university. Sounds just like the name they gave it, huh? (The SOLVE Act and the DREAM Act)

Health?
It’s been said by a couple of candidates they’d like to cover the 45-50 million uninsured and would leave everybody else's health care insurance in tact. Think about it. If this is done free health coverage to 50 million Americans will drastically increase the demand for all manner of health and hospital care services. The fact that most of those who will be newly covered are illegal immigrants or other people living just below or just above the poverty level indicates an especially high rate of increase in demand for services. But the supply won't go up. There will be no sudden increase in the number of doctors, nurses, or hospital beds.

Men With Heart Failure Can Still Have Sex - XLPharmacy

Many people with chronic heart failure worry that having sex will place too great a strain on the heart. The researchers analyzed studies that showed the impact of sexual activity on heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rates, which typically increase during sexual activity and found the peak heart rate during intercourse was lower than heart rates measured during normal daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs slowly or vacuuming.

However, many with heart failure also have erectile dysfunction and the authors reviewed results from a variety of studies in which male patients with congestive heart failure took sildenafil, or Viagra, and found the meditations for both condition can be safely and effectively treated, provided patients are appropriately screened before therapy.

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Plumber aka Cardiologist? XLPharmacy Discusses ED

When to Call the "Plumber"—a Cardiologist

Whether the erectile problems are seen with or precede heart trouble seems to come down to a matter of plumbing.

Think about it, if you turn on your kitchen faucet and you don't get any flow, either the faucet is broken or the pipes are clogged. This idea would then make one think that erectile dysfunction is either caused by a problem directly related to the penis—the "faucet"—or to the blood vessels—the "pipes"—leading to the penis. Makes sense.

"Pipe clogging" seems to explain why heart problems and erectile dysfunction are so often seen together. When a person has high levels of cholesterol or arterial damage that cause arteries to clog, then it is likely there will not be enough blood to flow to the penis during sex, which can cause impotence.

If it's not "clogged pipes," then one would need to review what might be wrong with the "faucet". When the reason erectile dysfunction becomes a problem within the penis itself, the cause is probably more subtle than clogged arteries.

Read more at Science Daily
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Targeting Just the Cancer Cell

Molecular targeted therapies may become a revolutionary change in the treatment of cancer. Listen and watch this informative video as experts describe how these drugs are being used today and what may lie ahead.

Molecular therapy attacks the pathway that is the secret of that cell; it basically very specifically harms that cell without damaging the rest of the body.

Chemotherapy, in contrast, affects many types of normal cells, causing side effects such as hair loss, nausea and vomiting. And what are often most serious, low blood counts. Targeted drugs have side effects too. But they are usually quite mild.

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New Cancer Drug goes from Mice to Clinical Trials

Clinical trials to test the ability of the intravenous administration of eIF4E-specific antisense oligonucleotides, that are therapeutic to treating human cancers has begun. Recently we posted on this research conducted on mice by Jeremy Graff and colleagues from Eli Lilly. This is a huge leap of discovery, and we most certainly hope that it has positive results.

The ability to knock out cancer without affecting perfectly healthy surrounding tissues is possibly just around the corner. To know that for some cancers we may not have to go through the radiation therapy, or the sickness of losing so many of our good cells while trying to conquer the bad ones is "hope".

Read more at Science Daily

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Today's Woman and Heart Disease

We would like to give you some facts today in our blog about heart disease in women. So few women are paying attention to their symptoms, and often it is because their symptoms are so vaguer, or they are spending so much time tending everyone else they lose track of watching their own health. Did you know that Heart Disease kills over 500,000 women every year? And as a woman ages and passes the days of menopause possibly earlier then others, coronary artery disease rates in women are 2 to 3 times those of women the same age before menopause.
Heart attack is especially dangerous among women. Although women are about as likely as men to have a heart attack, they are more likely to die within a year after their first heart attack. Researchers have proposed a number of possible reasons for this finding, including:

Women tend to have “atypical” symptoms that are actually signs of a heart attack
Women’s heart attacks may be more damaging
Women are usually about 10 years older then men at the time of their first attack
Women have smaller hearts and coronary arteries than men

What are the symptoms we all should be aware of?

The number one symptom that men and women experience is chest discomfort. But it doesn't have to be severe pain. It can be pressure that radiates up to the neck, maybe radiating into the back or shoulders or down the arm. Shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, light-headedness, palpitations, or where the heart seems to be racing, nausea can be a particularly prominent symptom in women, and shortness of breath seems to be more prominent.

Risks:

1. Smoking (Don’t start, and if you smoke, STOP)
2. Plaque building up in the arteries
3. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, particularly high LDL cholesterol

Watch this informative video from ScienceDaily about Heart Disease.

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Prevent Secondary Damage After Prostate Surgery

The traditional advice given to men—to wait for erectile function to return on its own—may not be adequate. Simply put, erections seem to work on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. To prevent the secondary damage that may occur if the penis goes too long without erections, researchers now think it’s better to restore erectile function soon after prostate removal. Treatment options include using a vacuum pump device or taking erectile dysfunction drugs by mouth or by injection into the penis. (Read more…)

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The House - Prescription Drug Importation

The House passed legislation Thursday effectively permitting the importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from places such as Canada, Australia and Europe. The decision came just in time for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

Those who are in support of the decision say it saves the American consumer a great deal of money by allowing them to buy U.S.-made medications from other countries where they sell for a lot lower prices than in the U.S. Right now American consumers are permitted to buy a 90-day supply in Canada.

Overseas, drugs can cost two-thirds less than they do in the United States, where prices for brand-name drugs are among the highest in the world. In other industrilized countries prescription prices are set lower genreally because they are either controlled or partially controlled by government regulation.

Read More...

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Herpes-HSV

Cure for Blindness?

The ability of zebrafish to regenerate damaged retinas has given scientists a clue about restoring human vision and could lead to an experimental treatment for blindness within five years.

British researchers said on Wednesday they had successfully grown in the laboratory a type of adult stem cell found in the eyes of both fish and mammals that develops into neurons in the retina.

In future, these cells could be injected into the eye as a treatment for diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetes-related blindness, according to Astrid Limb of University College London's (UCL) Institute of Ophthalmology.

Read more...

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Controlling Blood Sugar Levels

Published online July 16 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the Hopkins team found that Metformin, first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995 (and sold as Glucophage, Riomet and Fortamet), not only controlled blood sugar levels but also was less likely to cause weight gain and more likely than others to lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood.

Researchers say these health benefits are important because they can potentially ward off heart disease and other life-threatening consequence from diabetes. More than 15 million Americans have type 2 diabetes.

In what is believed to be the largest drug comparison of its kind, the scientists showed that all of the commonly used oral medications worked much the same at lowering and controlling blood sugar levels, and were equally safe. But Metformin stood out because it offered the same level of effectiveness without lowering glucose measurements too much, and it did so for a lower price.

Suggested Reading: To read more visit ScienceDaily.com

Brought to you by XLPharmacy-Online and XLPharmacyCanada

Medicare and Social Security Today

Medicare's present-value infinite-horizon unfunded obligation of $74.3 trillion is nearly five times Social Security's $15.6 trillion. Together, they total $89.9 trillion.

Not comfortable with the infinite-horizon calculations? Then focus just on the $40.6 trillion in present-value unfunded obligations for Medicare and Social Security for the next 75 years.

Keep in mind, however, that $40.6 trillion is more than three times last year's gross domestic product; 220 percent higher than the total market capitalization ($12.7 trillion as of March 31) of America's 500 biggest corporations; nearly five times the national debt ($8.8 trillion); eight times the publicly held debt ($5 trillion); and nearly 75 percent of the total net worth of U.S. households and nonprofit organizations ($56.2 trillion).

Read more at Recommended Reading: NCPA Daily Policy Digest

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Tomatoes - Prostate, Ovarian, Gastric, and Pancreatic Cancers

The latest FDA review found only a small of evidence for an association between eating tomatoes and a decreased risk of certain cancers, according to an article published online July 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The reviewers found no evidence that tomatoes reduced the risk of lung, colorectal, breast, cervical, or endometrial cancer. However, there was very limited evidence for associations between tomato consumption and reduced risk of prostate, ovarian, gastric, and pancreatic cancers.(JNCI)

Several studies have reported an association between the consumption of tomatoes or lycopene, an antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red hue, and a decreased risk of some cancers, particularly prostate cancer. In order for foods and dietary supplements to be labeled with such health claims, the FDA must review and approve these claims based on the available scientific evidence.

A November 2005 evaluation of the scientific evidence linking tomatoes or tomato-based foods, lycopene, and reduced cancer risk found no evidence that tomatoes reduced the risk of lung, colorectal, breast, cervical, or endometrial cancer.

However, there was very limited evidence for associations between tomato consumption and reduced risk of prostate, ovarian, gastric, and pancreatic cancers. Based on this assessment, the FDA decided to allow qualified health claims for a very limited association between tomatoes and these four cancers. Their analysis found no credible evidence that lycopene, either in food or in a dietary supplement, was associated with reduced risk of any of the cancers evaluated.

For prostate cancer, for example, the FDA issued this statement: “Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests that eating one-half to one cup of tomatoes and/or tomato sauce a week may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. [The] FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim.” Yet we also know that not enough studies have actually been completed and the FDA really should keep an open study on this topic.

Have you ever cooked tomatoes in an old metal pot? The pot looks brand new when you’re finished. The tomatoes eat away at all the gook on the sides of the pan that have been cooked into it for years. The American Cancer Society has done several studies of their own. One recent study suggests whole tomatoes offer better protection from prostate cancer than lycopene supplements alone. The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Vol. 95, No. 21: 1578-1586), found that rats fed tomato powder (including seeds and skins) had less risk of dying from prostate cancer than rats fed a diet containing only lycopene.

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Microsoft Computer Research aids in new study on HIV

A pioneering collaborative study has discovered how the HIV virus evades the human body's immune system. The study involved scientists from the British Columbia CFE in HIV/AIDS, a Massachusetts General Hospital and Microsoft Research and Los Alamos National Laboratory -- used highly computer-intensive, cutting-edge statistical research methods to investigate how the HIV virus mutates to escape the body's immune system.

Researcher’s effectively mapped sites within certain HIV genes where variations can improve the virus's ability to escape immune recognition, showing this is predictable based upon the HIV patient's individual HLA class 1 profile. "This is a novel and advanced description of how the human immune system attacks the virus, and how it responds" says Dr. Richard Harrigan, Director of the Centre's Research Laboratories and study co-author. "While we always knew the body attacks the virus and the virus changes to dodge pressure, we're now more exact in knowing how this happens in people."

Algorithms developed by David Heckerman, lead researcher of the Machine Learning and Applied Statistics Group at Microsoft Research and study co-author, and his team allowed for more in-depth analysis of the data sets. "We created the software tools to help researchers exploit the power of computing to more quickly and accurately identify the crucial elements of an effective HIV vaccine," said Heckerman.

Study results demonstrate that population-based approaches could complement smaller functional studies by providing a whole-gene or whole-virus picture of immune escape. "Moving forward, we'll be expanding our genetic research to other HIV genes. We'll also be investigating the role of drug therapy," says Harrigan.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Massachusetts General Hospital

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Herpes-HSV
Valtrex-Herpes

Abstinence and Genital Herpes

Abstinence is the only guaranteed method to prevent the transmission of genital herpes. Many people with genital herpes report that they avoid sex during outbreaks because the genital ulcers that signal an outbreak can be painful, taking the pleasure out of sexual relations. Other couples refrain from sexual relations because they don't want to transmit the herpes to their partners.

It makes sense, since there is more virus present on the genitalia during an outbreak than between outbreaks. Yet, if avoiding sex during outbreaks of genital herpes was really the best method to prevent getting herpes, then why do so many people have genital herpes?

We must remember that herpes simplex virus (HSV) can be present on the genitalia even in the absence of any signs or symptoms of an outbreak, even the most careful.

Couples can and do transmit the virus. This development is called asymptomatic viral shedding, and is well documented as the source of at least 80% of the cases of genital herpes transmission. Another method widely used to prevent genital herpes is the condom.

Condoms do reduce the risk of transmission of genital herpes and other sexually transmitted disease, and their use is widely recommended. However, it is also known that condoms can slip and/or even break. Condoms can only protect the skin that they cover. Many cases of herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases can be transmitted to/from skin not covered by the condom.

Despite the use of condoms and the avoiding sex, the chance of giving genital herpes to an uninfected partner has been estimated at 10% per year. The risk of a man transmitting to his female partner is far greater than the reverse. In fact, the females' chances of acquiring genital herpes are estimated at 30% each year.

If so many people have genital herpes and suffer little or no symptoms, why is it important to seek improvements in the prevention of genital herpes? First, the person who acquires genital herpes may suffer more severe and more frequent outbreaks than did the persons from whom they acquired HSV-2. For example, the man with genital herpes may only experience mild or even rare outbreaks. If he passes it to his wife, she may suffer painful genital ulcers for one to two weeks preceding each menstrual cycle.

Three antiviral drugs are approved to treat or suppress outbreaks of genital herpes: acyclovir, famciclovir and valacyclovir. Most clinically apparent outbreaks can be prevented by taking one of these drugs daily. In addition, daily acyclovir reduces asymptomatic viral shedding by 95%.

The same is assumed to be true of the other two drugs, one of which, valacyclovir, is actually a more potent form of acyclovir. Since valacyclovir taken once daily prevents clinical outbreaks in most herpes patients and is believed to have a profound effect on reducing asymptomatic viral shedding, it should help prevent transmission to the uninfected person.

XLPharmacy Canada
Valtrex-Herpes.com
Herpes-HSV and Positive Singles Dating

Herpes,self-esteem, adaptation and acceptance

Herpes does not change all the good and wonderful things that make you 'you'. It has nothing to do with your intelligence, social habits, or bank account. You are a loving, sexual, whole individual. No one else on the planet has the things that you have to offer.

Unconsciously, many of us have a lot of negative beliefs related to herpes that make it difficult to convince ourselves that others would want to be with us. It is important to recognize these beliefs and consciously change them. Accepting the fact that you have herpes will make it easier to let others into your life.Sit down with a pen and paper and say to yourself, "I have herpes." What thought pops into your head? No matter what it is, write it down. Do this again and again until you have identified a number of the stereotypical/negative feelings that you have about herpes.

Look at your list. How many of the negative feelings or beliefs are truly valid? Take your list and replace each of your negative beliefs with a positive one.You have the power to change what you believe about yourself. Whenever you find your inner voice telling you that you can't do or have anything that you desire, simply interrupt it and firmly repeat to yourself your positive replacement. The more often you repeat these positive statements, the more they reinforce themselves.

You can think and believe whatever you choose about yourself. It might take some repetition. Years of negative belief patterns do not disappear overnight. But eventually, by deliberately replacing your old negative beliefs with positive new ones, you can begin to change how you think and feel about yourself - consciously and unconsciously.

Well done! You have confronted a difficult issue in your life with courage and consideration.

Herpes-HSV.com
Valtrex-Herpes.com
XLPharmacyCanada.com

Acomplia (Rimonabant) Cannibis Connection?

Rimonabant developed from the knowledge that cannabis smokers often experience extreme hunger pangs, which cannabis smokers refer to as 'the munchies'. Acomplia works on the premise that if cannabinoids stimulate appetite, blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain might reduce appetite.

The central cannabinoid (CB1) receptors are believed to play a role in controlling food consumption and the phenomena of dependence or habit. Acomplia (Rimonabant) emerged from this researched process as a potent CB1 receptor antagonist. Preclinical animal studies subsequently showed that it could reduce consumption of fats and sugars, which contribute to weight gain.

Trials involving over 6,000 obese subjects that were carried out in both the US and Europe, showed that overweight and obese patients taking Acomplia (Rimonabant) achieved significant reductions in body weight, and waist circumference (an indicator of abdominal obesity).

We feel in the prevailing market there is a clear opportunity for an effective and well-tolerated anti-obesity drug.

The US FDA has yet to vote to approve this drug in the US. The vote on this medication in Europe is expected at the end of June 2007.

Okay! So How Does Acomplia (Rimonabant) Work?

How does Acomplia Work?

Acomplia works just like an appetite suppressant, it blocks the receptor CB-1 which is found on the cells surfaces throughout the body parts of humans including fat cells. Such receptors act as a thin charge for food and nicotine intake, and are over-active in the obese. By targeting such CB-1 receptors, the Acomplia diet drug reduces one's appetite, resulting in gross weight loss.

What is the Dosage of Acomplia?

Acomplia is an oral-prescription diet drug which must be taken once a day strictly, generally before breakfast. Doctors recommend that 20 mg of Acomplia is to be swallowed with one full glass of water. It must not be chewed. Always avoid overdose of Acomplia medication while taking acomplia diet pills. In case you need to take more than one in a day, you must consult your doctor before doing so. If you skip a dose, it must be taken as soon as you remember it. Continue with the scheduled dosage only when it's time for the next dose.

How Acomplia is taken?

A Doctor’s prescription is a must. It must also be strictly followed. Dosage of Acomplia is generally accompanied with a reduced diet and lower calorie intake, along with regular exercise to attain the desirable weight loss in your body. It is advisable that your doctor knows enlightened your medical history.

Side effects of Acomplia?

Just like other diet drugs, Acomplia also may cause a few side effects, such as stomach upset, sleep disorders, irritability, anxiety, dizziness, nausea, restlessness, muscle cramps as the most common. These side effects generally go away as soon as one is adjusted to the Acomplia drug medication. In case, you suffer from the any of these side effects over a long span of time, be sure to seek immediate medical attention. Pregnant women and breast-feeding women must abstain from consuming the diet drug Acomplia (Rimonabant).

The US FDA has yet to vote to approve this drug in the US. The vote on this medication in Europe is expected at the end of June 2007.

Weight Loss Break Through with Acomplia (Rimonabant)

NEW!!! WEIGHT LOSS

Rimonabant (Acomplia) is the most advanced endocannabinoid receptor antagonist in clinical development and offers a novel therapeutic approach to appetite control and weight reduction.

The drug also has potential as a treatment for smoking cessation because the endocannabinoid system is involved in the body's response to tobacco dependence.
Acomplia has become another name for the weight loss. Chemically, Rimonabantis the active component of Acomplia which is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, a French pharmaceutical company. Acomplia (Rimonabant) diet drug is gaining now fame because of its optimistic results in weight loss.

If you, like millions of people around the world, struggle to keep your weight down, you cannot fail to have heard about Acomplia, purported to be the new wonder slimming drug. In clinical trials, over one year a third of patients lost 10% of their initial bodyweight, whilst nearly two thirds of patients on the trial lost over 5% of their initial bodyweight.

The US FDA has yet to vote to approve this drug in the US. The vote on this medication in Europe is expected at the end of June 2007.

Declining Lung Function w COPD? New News!

Treatment with a commonly used drug slows the decline in lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to results from the TORCH (TOwards a Revolution in COPD Health) new study.

The study of 6,112 patients from 42 countries found that those treated with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (Advair) had a slower rate of lung function decline compared with patients receiving a placebo over three years (39 vs. 55 milliliters per year).

Patients who received either the long-acting beta2-agonist salmeterol (Serevent) or the inhaled corticosteroid fluticasone propionate (Flovent) alone also had less of a decline in lung function than those receiving the placebo, but the decline was smaller than with the combined salmeterol/fluticasone propionate treatment.

The study also found that patients with a low body mass index (BMI) lose more lung function than those with a higher BMI. (read more at ScienceDaily)…

Suggested Reading by XLPharmacy Canada

New Migraine Study Shows Brain Damage

Even though the brain's arteries expand considerably and make a great deal more oxygen-rich blood available to meet the demand for energy, some parts of the brain still wind up experiencing severe oxygen shortage, or hypoxia. This causes parts of brain cells' sophisticated signaling structures to disintegrate, similar to what occurs when a person has a mini-stroke, or after a severe injury, or when blood flow to the brain is completely stopped, such as during a heart attack.

Migraines may be doing more than causing people skull-splitting pain. Scientists have found evidence that the headaches may also be acting like tiny transient strokes, leaving parts of the brain starved for oxygen and altering the brain in significant ways. (Read more at Science Daily)

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FACTS ABOUT HERPES

Fact 1: Transmission is caused by close oral, anal, or genital contact, including intercourse, masturbation, kissing, or any direct skin-to-skin contact which allows for the transfer of bodily fluids.

Fact 2: A person is considered contagious when prodromal symptoms, active sores, and healing lesions are present.

Fact 3: Herpes is potentially contagious when no symptoms are present. That is, a person who has genital herpes is potentially always shedding active virus.

Fact 4: Approximately 1 in 6 members of the general infected population is thought to shed active virus occasionally without symptoms.

Fact 5: Some people do not get typical blister-like sores but harbor active virus in their saliva, vaginal, or penile secretions, and can shed the virus without knowing they have herpes.

Fact 6: Lesions can occur deep inside the vagina where they cannot be seen or felt, but can readily transmit the virus.

Fact 7: An uninfected individual has about a 75% chance of contracting herpes during intimate contact with someone actively shedding virus.

Fact 8: Oral herpes can be transmitted to the genitals, and vice versa. Symptoms are similar.

Fact 9: Auto-inoculation: An infected individual can spread the virus to other parts of his or her body by touching an area shedding virus and then touching, scratching, or rubbing another susceptible part of the body. Towels are especially conducive to this.

Fact 10: It is possible for a person to contract genital herpes if the partner with oral herpes performs oral sex. Oral herpes can be transmitted to the genitals, and vice versa. Symptoms are similar.

Fact 11: Environmental surfaces like toilet seats may be a source of contagion, but there is no evidence that this poses a real threat to the general population. Experts differ as to how long the virus can survive on its own. The primary cause of infection remains intimate contact.

XLPharmacy Canada and Valtrex-Herpes.com

Inhalable Viagra - Now That's New

New inhalable Viagra that works in 60 seconds...

A British company has developed an inhaled version of the sex drug Viagra - which works in just 60 seconds.

The wonder drug - known by its medical name VR004 - is absorbed instantly into the bloodstream through the lungs.

Traditional sex pills take up to an hour to work because they have to be digested. (read more...)

XLPharmacy Canada and Valtrex-Herpes.com

How are genital herpes and HIV linked?

How are they linked?

Herpes simplex can cause severe disease in immunocompromised patients. More recently it’s become evident that having genital herpes increases your risk of acquiring HIV and probably increases your risk of transmitting HIV.

It increases your risk of acquiring HIV because it causes genital ulcers that provide an easier entry for HIV. In addition, the kind of cells that come to the herpes lesion to help repair the damage are CD4 cells and those are the cells that serve as entry cells for HIV to the body.

In terms of transmission, people who have HIV and HSV-2 appear to have HIV present in the genital ulcers that are caused by herpes. They’re shedding more HIV and therefore they’re more infectious.

What kind of treatment is available?

There are three antiviral medications for herpes that are currently FDA approved. These drugs are equally effective and can either be used during outbreaks or suppressively, meaning they can be taken every day to prevent recurrences. One of the drugs is available as a topical cream, but it’s not very effective and experts discourage its use.

XLPharmacy Canada and Valtrex-Herpes.com

Latest on Medicare Pharmaceutical Negotiations

Direct Negotiation with Pharmaceutical Companies

AARP on Wednesday asked members to call their senators in support of legislation that would allow the HHS secretary to negotiate prices directly with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit...

The committee likely will consider such legislation next week, with a vote by the full Senate possible on April 16...(Read more)

XLPharmacy Canada

What Women Should Know About Heart Disease

What are your risks? What are the symptoms? Did you know nausea was a symptom? Fatique? Increased weight gain? Know the risks? Don't smoke? Lose weight and watch your diet? Know your blood pressure, and cholesterol levels! Damaging your heart can be done in many ways...learn this information right now!

Two recently published studies offer new information about whether it's helpful for people without symptoms to get an exercise stress test, where the heart is monitored while you walk or run on a treadmill or ride a stationary bicycle. The exercise stress test has not received a unanimous vote as a cardiovascular screening test in healthy people.

The two new studies, however, suggest that the exercise stress test may help determine heart disease risk in people without symptoms or heart disease, as long as they are already considered high risk based on their risk factors. The JAMA study included more than 35,000 men and women between 50 and 75 who did not have symptoms of heart disease. The patients' risk was assessed with either the Framingham Risk Score, which estimates someone's 10-year risk of a heart attack or death from heart disease by weighing risk factors, or the European scoring system, known as SCORE, which uses a different equation than the Framingham Score to calculate risk.

The researchers found that the exercise stress test, if used in conjunction with SCORE or the Framingham Risk Score, may be helpful in determining heart disease risk. So in patients with multiple risk factors, normal results on the exercise stress test might drop them down to intermediate risk while abnormal results might bump them up to very high risk.

Science Daily has a wonderful video on Heart Disease and Women we think all should watch. Take a moment out and watch it as it lends some very good information we all should be aware of.

Science Daily - What every woman should know about heart disease!

XLPharmacy Canada

Erectile Dysfunction & Hypertension

EXCELLENT ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION VIDEOS
Erectile Dysfunction & Hypertension

Hypertensive patients worry about which medications are safe to take, including erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs. Find out how ED medication affects hypertension.

Science Daily - Watch Video

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Erectile Dysfunction - Why Does It Happen?

We hope this video from Science Daily will give you the information you are seeking. We know that ED can be stressful, but the hope is that by learning more about ED, you can find the treatment you desire and that will work for you.

Science Daily - Erectile Dysfunction

XLPharmacy Canada

Medicare D's Ever-Increasing Cost Trend

The whole point of having Medicare drug insurance is to protect against the unexpected, and we are finding a lot of unexpected cost increases and each time drug costs go up under these plans, seniors are pushed that much closer to the brink of the doughnut hole coverage gap.

Prescription price increases just show how important it is for Congress to require drug price negotiation to get the best deal for seniors, as well as offer a consistently priced, Medicare-administered drug plan in addition to the private plans.

Seniors and taxpayers deserve better Medicare drug insurance coverage and one that has the best possible price, they must see consistent prices throughout the year.

A new report from Consumers Union finds that it is getting harder and harder if not nearly impossible -- for Medicare beneficiaries to have confidence that their private Part D insurance plan will not change or increase prescription drug costs for the year they are locked into the plan.

For a copy of the full report, go to http://www.consumersunion.org.

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Herpes Information from XLPharmacy Canada

Anyone who is sexually active can get genital herpes. You may get genital herpes if you have sex with an infected person. You can also get genital herpes if you have oral sex with someone who has cold sores. You can still be infected even if your partner doesn’t have an open sore, or any signs or symptoms of genital herpes.

Herpes is spread through skin-to-skin contact. It can be spread from one part of the body to another, such as from the genitals to the fingers, to the eyes or other parts of the body. Herpes can also be spread from a mother to her baby when she gives birth.

To read more about Herpes, visit XLPharmacy Canada's Health Article on Herpes, and be sure to watch the informational videos and podcasts at Valtrex-Herpes.com...

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Medicare D Drug Plan Comparison Page

Part D is the Medicare prescription drug plan. It went into effect on Jan. 1, 2006. In order to receive Part D benefits, if you are on Medicare you must enroll in a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) or Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). If you are dual eligible, that is, enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, you are automatically enrolled in a Part D prescription drug plan.

Unlike original Medicare (Parts A and B), Part D coverage is not standardized. Each Plan Provider has the option to choose what drugs they cover and at and what level.

Medicare has made available an interactive online tool called Prescription Drug Plan Finder that will allow you to compare drug availability and costs for all plans in a geographic area.(www.medicare.gov/pdphome.asp).

Your employer may offer to retirees its own drug plan that may be better than Part D. In a standard plan, Part D covers some of the cost of medicines up to $2,400 per year. There is a $265 deductible (in 2007), and then participants pay 25 percent of covered costs up to a $2,400 initial coverage limit.

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Signs of Primary Genital Herpes Infection

The first outbreak usually occurs in or around the genital area between three days and two weeks after exposure to the virus. If there is a long duration between the initial infection and the first outbreak of symptoms, the episode may be quite mild because the immune system has produced antibodies to the virus by that time. Also, such primary infections are less transmissible, heal faster, and produce fewer symptoms.

In about 80% of initial outbreaks of genital herpes, patients develop diffuse symptoms (e.g., flu-like discomfort and fever). The virus sheds for about 3 weeks. Symptoms in men and women are very different from each other.

In women, the pattern of a first infection is often more complicated and severe than in men with some or all of the following events:

In addition to general flu-like discomfort, women may experience nerve pain, itching, lower abdominal pain, urinary difficulties, and yeast infections before or during the eruption of the skin blisters.

When the outbreak occurs, blisters form raw sores (ulcers) almost immediately. Later they become crusted and fill with a grayish-white fluid. A new crop often occurs during the second week and is accompanied by swollen lymph glands in the groin. The symptoms may last as long as 6 weeks.

Lesions commonly appear around the vaginal opening, on the buttocks, in the vagina, or on the cervix. If lesions occur inside the vagina, they are not visible and pain may be minimal. Such women, then, may be unaware that they have genital herpes. In such cases, the blisters produce a discharge that is still highly infectious.

Lesions develop in places other than the genital region in 10% to 18% of primary HSV-2 infections. In most of these cases, outbreaks occur in the urethra (the channel that carries urine) where they can cause painful burning during urination. Inflammation of the internal reproductive organs, including the uterus lining (endometrium) and the fallopian tubes, is rare.

In men, about 6 to 10 blisters typically develop on the head or shaft of the penis. They rarely occur at the base. In some cases, they can occur on the buttocks, around the anus, or on the thighs.

Valacyclovir. Valacyclovir (Valtrex) is converted to acyclovir in the intestine and liver. It provides a higher concentration of acyclovir in the bloodstream without added toxicity and therefore requires less frequent dosing. It is available in a one-day regimen for oral herpes, a once-daily dose to suppress genital herpes, and a three-day treatment for recurrent herpes. Valacyclovir is most effective if taken within 24 hours of the first signs of an outbreak.

XLPharmacy Canada and Valtrex-Herpes.com

Be sure to read more on Herpes and visit our Podcasts and Health Articles on STDS also at Valtrex-Herpes.com

Prescription Prices Vary Widely by State

The results, published in this month's Journal of General Internal Medicine, showed that two people taking the same prescription drugs but living in different states could face costs that differed by thousands of dollars.

In one example, the researcher analyzed potential drug costs for a 78-year-old woman who needs drugs for osteoporosis, high blood pressure and chronic pain from arthritis and a spine fracture.

According to the study, the patient would pay $4,113 out of her own pocket annually if she chose the lowest-cost plan available in Michigan.
Her costs for the same four medicines would be $16,856 if she selected the lowest-cost plan available in Ohio.

(Read more...)

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Dealing with left-over medications?

The answer isn't as simple as you might think

I plead guilty to having flushed some down the tube before I heard that the Environmental Protection Agency frowns on this method of disposing of prescription drugs.

So where do you take them?

When asking at the local Pharmacy where one should take unused drugs to dispose of them safely, the clerks response was he said he'd check with the pharmacist, and came back with the advice to flush them down the toilet. But the EPA warns us not to do this.

According to the EPA:

"If your throw your pharmaceuticals and health products down the drain or flush them down the toilet, and if your home is connected to a municipal sewage system, some of these of course are going to typically be discharged into lakes, rivers, or oceans, because most waste water treatment plants are not designed to remove or destroy this stuff from waste water."

On the contrary, they may kill the bacteria in the septic system that aids in breaking down the waste in the household waste water. These helpful bacteria are also a component used in sewage treatment plants to break down waste.

But, where do they end up when you get rid of them?

Scientists are finding everything from aspirin to Zoloft in our streams, rivers, and lakes, neither flushing or trashing the old medications is a good method for disposal. Children or animals could get into drugs that are simply tossed into the trash and once they reach the landfill they can trickle down into the ground water.

Okay, Okay...So, what do we do with these drugs?

It is unlawful for pharmacies to take them back for redistribution. (Makes sense, but what a sad thing it could not be done). It is even unlawful to give them to an agency that could use them for its uninsured patients. It is also unlawful to pass them on to family members or friends, although this happens all too often. And at the cost of medicine today, some understand why.

Well, Is It Really Hurting the Fish? (You'd Be Suprised What's Happening To The Fish!)

According to a report on the U.S. EPA Web site, studies have confirmed that female hormones are in such abundance in our rivers and streams that the aquatic life is being affected. They report a feminization of male fish found in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan. This is linked to the exposure to both natural and synthetic estrogens and chemicals that mimic estrogens in the water.

According to U.S. EPA report, the majority of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals are believed to reach the aquatic environments via the effluent released into the streams and rivers by sewage treatment plants.

Investigating the scarcity of fish in the Columbia River in Washington state near the Oregon border, scientists found only female fish, or at least what appeared to be female fish until their DNA was analyzed and many of them were found to actually be males.

The same phenomenon was observed in England and both sites were said to be downstream from sewage treatment plants. Scientists have discovered that male alligators are similarly affected in Lake Apopka, Fla., and they also found many infertile male panthers.

Dr. Leonard Sax said most of the chemicals under study did not exist before 1950. In his study, he found that many of them mimic the action of the female sex hormones called estrogens. Sax said a similar process to that affecting the aquatic animals and other wild life may also be affecting the human male.

No matter which way you choose to dispose of them, It seems the burden is on the person taking the medication or in the case of leftover meds, not taking them.

A Perfect Solution, Not in the U.S., but in Canada

The Canadians have a much better solution. They put the onus on the pharmaceutical companies that produced the drugs. Sounds fairly logical, don't you think?
In most of the Canadian provinces, there is a Medications Return Program whereby people can take their outdated or unused medications to their local pharmacy where they will be held for the pharmaceutical companies.

In 1997, British Columbia established Post-Consumer Residual Stewardship through its Waste Management Act. The Post-Consumer Pharmaceutical Stewardship Association was formed in 2000 to administer the Medications Return Program.

In eight of Canada's provinces, consumers may return, at no charge, residual prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamin and mineral supplements and natural health products.
It is then up to the pharmaceutical and other manufacturers to dispose of the excess in ways that are acceptable to the Waste Management Act standards or find ways to safely recover the basic drugs for possible recycling.

Why is the U.S. Lagging Behind Here?

Until the United States or individual states are forward thinking enough to adopt a program such as the one in Canada or England or Australia, remember the advice "Don't flush" and check with your local public works department to find out when the next HHW (Hazardous Household Waste) collection will take place.

Medicare Prescription Negotiation

After an at times contentious debate, the House on January 12, 2007, approved the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 (H.R. 4), legislation to require the HHS Secretary to negotiate prescription drug prices starting in 2008. The Medicare Part D program currently prohibits such negotiations. The mostly partisan vote was 255 to 170. (Read more...)

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Latest on Democrats and Medicare Drug Costs

As Medicare Part D finds its footing in the pharmaceutical industry, drug companies are realizing that the government will continue to play a large role in influencing how an important patient population - seniors - chooses medication and how much it costs. The proposal before the House next week dictates that while pricing can be negotiated by the secretary of health and human services, formularies and specific drugs covered can only be decided by private insurance plans. (Read more…)

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New STDs Information

Study Sheds New Light On Causes Of Common STD (January 4, 2006) -- Oral sex may be a risk factor for nongonococcal urethritis, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases affecting both men and women, according to a new study in the February 1 issue of the ...
for more information see full story...

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Viagra and Women, No Kidding!

The Other Side of Viagra: Turn Off for Some Women?

Millions of men have been able to enjoy sex again thanks to the famous little blue pill, Viagra. For years it was assumed that a man's rejuvenated sex life would be happily shared by his partner. But in a series of recent studies, researchers are noticing that the passionate romance with anti-impotence drugs does not always cut both ways. (Read More at ScienceDaily...)

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Democrats & Drug Reimporation

Most Democrats support allowing Americans to buy cheaper, FDA-approved medicines from places like Canada, why? Because it's really a matter of reimporting drugs right back into the U.S. where most of them are created to begin with at a cheaper price to the consumer.

Read more at the The Money Party vs. The People Party by David Sirota...

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