Beauty And Health

Male pattern baldness (MPB) has plagued men since the beginning of time. While it is considered part of the aging process, a little less than half of the male population does not show patterns of baldness until their late forties to early fifties if at all. It is a response of the body to hormonal changes where some men are more sensitive than others are.

Hormones change with the growth and aging process. Sex hormones increase at puberty, reach a maintenance level during peak fertility, and wane at the later part of life. These hormones affect the appearance of the body to signal to potential mates they male is fertile.

MPB is the body’s response to the production of Dihydrotestosterone post puberty. Dihydrotestosterone is responsible for male sexual development. It contributes to the development of the genitals and body hair. It affects production of sperm cells in the testes, growth of the prostate and affects libido.

The body continues dihydrotestosterone after puberty. Its negative effects are predominantly on the prostate and scalp hair. It is the major cause of prostate enlargement and male pattern baldness. Merck pharmaceuticals developed Finasteride after studies in the late seventies looked at low dihydrotestosterone production in pubertal males and its affects. They found that these boys had smaller prostates, and did not produce the normal sexual body hair. The subjects lack a sufficient quantity of an enzyme that bound to dihydrotestosterone making it active. They created Finasteride, to mimic this affect in males that produce enough of the enzyme. They tested Finasteride to see if it could inhibit the enzyme that allows the body to react to dihydrotestosterone and stop the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH: enlargement of the prostate). It did. The FDA approved Finasteride as a type 2 a reductase (the enzyme needed to work with dihydrotestosterone) inhibitor for the treatment of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia).

A reported side effect of Finasteride for BPH was participant’s fond their hair was growing back, and showed a reversal or MPB. After a 5-year study on its affects on hair loss, the FDA gave approval to list hair re-growth as a use for Finasteride and Merck began marketing it under the name of Propecia in 1997. Since then Propecia has been one of the few FDA approved proven treatments to effectively reduce and in some cases reverse male pattern baldness.

There are a number of drugs in regular use that can trigger a change in your levels of triglycerides, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. When the level falls, this is a potential benefit, reducing the risk you will develop cardiovascular disease. It can be a problem when you are already taking drugs to reduce your cholesterol levels, and this represents the perfect example of why you should always take advice before you take two different drugs at the same time. Prednisone is one of the drugs with the reverse effect. It stimulates your appetite and, if you increase your intake of less healthy foods, you will see a fairly rapid increase in triglyceride and cholesterol levels, sometimes within two weeks. Why should this matter? About 20% of the adult population lives with elevated triglyceride levels and does not immediately fall ill as a result.

The triglycerides are a type of lipid circulating in the blood to carry energy to where it’s needed. Under normal circumstances, the triglycerides are stored by converting them into fat at the point of need. Unfortunately, Prednisone and the other corticosteroids actually changes the sites where the fat is deposited creating the rather distinctive “look”. In addition, the higher levels of lipids increases the rate at which platelets are deposited on the walls of your blood vessels. Over time, this causes artherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries which can be the first danger sign for a stroke or heart attack.

If you develop high levels of triglycerides and the drug is no longer needed, you simply taper down and stop taking it. Alternatively, you can reduce the dosage of Prednisone to the lowest level needed to give you effective treatment or, if you are taking the drug for breathing problems, switch to a spray which reduces the side effect. Finally, you can maintain the dosage but add a statin or some other drug that reduces the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood. The one thing you should not do is ignore the problem. This can very rapidly produce lipid levels indicating danger to your health.

Although we can cheer the Supreme Court in its decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act as constitutional, this does not solve the more general problem of the shortage of doctors. As it is, many states are finding it difficult to persuade newly qualified doctors to go into general medicine and it become particularly challenging when you start talking about the more rural communities. If the plan works to bring a further 30 million and more into the health insurance system, the current number of doctors will be overwhelmed. Yet there’s no sense of urgency in increasing the recruiting of students into medical schools.

This has profound implications as the population grows older. When we’re young, a doctor can see us on the few occasions we fall sick, diagnose the problem in two minutes and direct treatment to a successful outcome. But older people need more careful handling. When the body begins to slow down and parts work less well, there can be a range of interactive symptoms to deal with. It takes time to identify which symptoms are significant and to decide how best to respond. Often drugs need different dosages, or additional counseling or therapy is required to get the best outcomes. This is particularly the case when the problems are either directly sexual or the proposed treatment will affect sexual performance in some meaningful way. With self-esteem already under pressure as abilities are whittled away by the passage of time, losing sexual performance adds to the psychological pressures.

Regular physicians should not simply prescribe a drug like Cialis and send the patient away. Indeed, if you return to report a failure with the drug, this should raise a major red flag. The doctor should review your case carefully considering your physical and psychological history to date, testing your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, talking with your partner and offering advice on how you might jointly solve the problem. It may be appropriate to test the level of testosterone and discuss hormone replacement therapy. But all this takes time and time is money so, until we get more doctors, take the Cialis and hope for the best.

Male Pattern Baldness or MPB is a specific treatable type of baldness that affects over 50% of the male population in the US. For the very unlucky, it begins as early as puberty. For most men sufferers, it becomes more apparent in their late twenties to early thirties. For men approaching their forties, the thinning at the crown of the head can set off a host of emotions surrounding the loss of youth.

Today, forty is the new thirty, and more and more men are judged by their appearance as much as women. If you are going bald you give the impression you are older, slower, less sexy… tired. Going to the gym, keeping tone and sporting a six pack does not have the same appeal unless you can afford to drape your sculpted muscle in Armani like Pitbull.

If you don’t have that kind of bravado what do you do? You know your thinning hair is costing more than just a date. Pretty people make on average 6% more in their paycheck than not so pretty people doing the same job do. If you don’t want to start to feel tired, less competitive, and want to be on the top of the food chain at work, it might be time to talk to you doctor about using Propecia (generic name Finasteride).

Finasteride works best if you start it as soon as you begin to see your hair thinning. Androgenic hormones cause MPB, specifically DHT (Dihydrotestosterone). As DHT production increases, making the hair follicles on the head thinner and more brittle, until the hair follicles shrink to the point of non-existence. Finasteride inhibits DHT production by blocking the enzyme that combines with testosterone to make DHT. Studies shave shown that as the DHT levels decrease the hair follicles actually get thicker. For areas that are completely bald some hair re-growth does occur. When started early enough Finasteride helps you regain your youthful head of hair, one that you will feel good about running your hands through.

Take your destiny into your own hands. Keep your competitive edge and youthful appearance. Talk to your doctor about whether using Propecia is the right choice for you. If it is, then we can help you shop discretely online for the most competitive prices. We have the most reliable pharmacies hat will ship directly to your door.