Vasectomy May Be A Risk Factor For Rare Form Of Dementia
Researchers at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, have discovered that men who have had a vasectomy may be at increased risk for developing primary progressive aphasia , an irreversible neurologic disorder that causes patients to lose the ability to use and comprehend words.
Researchers at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, have discovered that men who have had a vasectomy may be at increased risk for developing primary progressive aphasia , an irreversible neurologic disorder that causes patients to lose the ability to use and comprehend words.
Researchers surveyed 47 men with PPA who were being treated at the universitys Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimers Disease Center and 57 volunteers with no cognitive impairment. They ranged from 55 to 80 years old. After adjusting for age, investigators found that 40% of men with PPA had undergone a vasectomy compared with 16% of the non-impaired men .
Thats a huge difference, said senior author Sandra Weintraub, PhD. It doesnt mean having a vasectomy will give you this disease, but it may be a risk factor to increase your chance of getting it.
The findings were published in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology .
Heres What Researchers Found
They found that evidence linking vasectomy with prostate cancer was strongest in the more biased studies. And when looking at the low-bias studies the ones that best accounted for the effect of early detection with PSA screening the connection with prostate cancer was negligible, according to Dr. Bimal Bhindi, a urologist at the Mayo Clinic who led the research. Furthermore, the low-bias studies contained no evidence at all that vasectomy elevates risks for the high-grade prostate cancers that threaten survival.
We synthesized three decades of epidemiological research on the topic and found no clear proof that vasectomy causes prostate cancer, Bhindi wrote. Nor do we know of any clear biological mechanism for how it could do so.
The current study is noteworthy for its sheer size, added Dr. Marc Garnick, the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and editor in chief of HarvardProstateKnowledge.org, who offered a more tempered assessment. However, retrospective analyses that try to sort out biases are always challenging. For now, the potential risk of prostate cancer should probably not dissuade an individual from having a vasectomy if that procedure is thought to result in the most optimal birth control method.
Things That Might Cause Dementia To Get Worse
By Gleria Anderson 9 am on August 5, 2021
Dementia is a progressive condition that causes symptoms, such as memory loss, confusion, poor decision-making, and agitation, to worsen over time. However, developing a proper care plan, taking medications correctly, and letting go of bad habits could slow the progression of this neurological disorder and boost quality of life. Below are some of the things that could make dementia worse and steps your family can take to mitigate these issues.
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Understanding The Vasectomy: Is There Really Anything To Be Worried About
There are few medical procedures that elicit more of a reflexive groan or hearty chuckle from men than the vasectomy . But for all the reliable comedy routines its inspired, the vasectomy has earned a reputation as an emasculating, fear inducing, and possibly life threatening surgery.
So lets go ahead and dispel some of these concerns by shining a light on the inner workings of the vasectomy.
How Much Does A Vasectomy Cost
About 500,000 vasectomies are performed each year in the U.S. Although the procedure is cheaper, faster, safer, and more reliable than female sterilization , only 9% of sexually active men in the United States get vasectomies, while 27% of women get tubal ligations. More affluent men, however, are more likely to be sterilized than their wives.
The discrepancy probably has to do with the economics of our healthcare system. âPoor women have access to reproductive services, but they arenât usually available to men,â says David Sokal, MD, a researcher at the Family Health Institute in North Carolina.
Fancy American urologists charge up to $1,200 for the in-patient vasectomy procedure, which takes all of 10 minutes, including local anesthetic. Planned Parenthood charges about $100. Under Canadaâs nationalized healthcare system, the procedure is free and the state pays the doctor $55. That may explain why one-third of Canadian men are sterilized. .
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Can Vasectomy Cause Erectile Dysfunction
- There are a number of men who are extremely anxious and nervous over the thoughts that the vasectomy procedure might cause erectile dysfunction. However, research says that in very rare occurrences of such kind and it is highly unlikely that undergoing vasectomy would cause erectile dysfunction.
There are several different methods used for vasectomy surgery. The first involves making one or two small cuts into the upper areas of the scrotum, through which a surgeon will either tie off or cut the vas deferens to prevent sperm from traveling into the females urethra.
The second is known as a no-scalpel vasectomy , involving completing the same procedure without making a surgical incision. This type of surgery is done through a small hole thats made into scrotum with a hemostat, which is a type of locking forceps.
Both of these methods are effective enough to stop sperm from traveling into ejaculatory ducts and exiting your penis when you ejaculate.
However, these processes don’t have any known effect on the biological processes that harm your erection when you are aroused.
- The process of getting or maintaining erection should therefore not be affected post-vasectomy because the process does not have any effect on the physical attribute of a person having or sustaining an erection. In short, a vasectomy surgery will not have any effect on having an orgasm or how ejaculating feels. Your semen too would look and feel the same as it was before the procedure.
What Is Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is an inability to get or keep an erection firm that is required to have intercourse. It is also referred to as impotence, although this term is now used very less.
ED is not very much uncommon. Many men experience this problem during times of stress. However, frequent erectile dysfunction can be a sign of major health problems that require treatment. This might also be a sign of emotional or relationship problems that may need to be addressed by a professional.
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Vasectomy May Put Men At Risk For Type Of Dementia
CHICAGO — Northwestern University researchers have discovered men with an unusual form of dementia have a higher rate of vasectomy than men the same age who are cognitively normal.
The dementia is Primary Progressive Aphasia , a neurological disease in which people have trouble recalling and understanding words. In PPA, people lose the ability to express themselves and understand speech. It differs from typical Alzheimer’s disease in which a person’s memory becomes impaired.
Sandra Weintraub, principal investigator and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, began investigating a possible link between the surgery and PPA when one of her male patients connected the onset of his language problem at age 43 to the period after his vasectomy.
At a twice-yearly Chicago support group for PPA patients Weintraub sees from around the country, the male patient rushed into the room and asked the men sitting there, OK, guys, how many of you have PPA? Nine hands went up.
How many of you had a vasectomy? he demanded next. Eight hands shot up.
Weintraub and her team of researchers surveyed 47 men with PPA who were being treated at Northwestern’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center and 57 men with no cognitive impairment who were community volunteers. They ranged from 55 to 80 years old.
The study was published in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology.
The Best Vasectomy Technique
Surgeons have used a variety of techniques to cut, inactivate, and close the two ends of the vas. The best technique, according to recent surveys, is called âintraluminal cauterization with fascial interposition.â With this technique, the surgeon slices the vas in two, scars the inside â or lumina â of one tube with a heated needle. Then the surgeon pulls up the fascia â tissue surrounding the tube â and clamps or sutures it over the tube end.
Sewing up the tube prevents ârecanalization,â which can occur when microscopic channels grow between the severed ends of the vas. When that happens, sperm can find their way through these microchannels and into the semen.
One review of 14,000 men whoâd had various types of vasectomy reported six conceptions among their partners, but as many as 10% of men in some surveys have significant amounts of sperm in their semen a few months after a vasectomy.
Michel Labrecque, MD, PhD, a professor of family medicine at Laval University in Quebec and one of the worldâs authorities on the procedure, recalls that earlier in his career, when he clipped each end of the vas and did not cauterize it, up to 1 in 300 of his patients got their mates pregnant.
âWith the technique Iâm using now, it went down to 1 in 7,000,â Labrecque says. âI redo one vasectomy per year at the most. With interposition, you are putting tissues between the two cut ends, so itâs like a double zip lock.â
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How Does A Vasectomy Work
A vasectomy works by stopping the sperm travelling through the tubes from the testicles to the penis.
As semen is mostly made up of fluid that is produced outside of the testicles, the amount of semen you ejaculate should not change. However, the semen will no longer contain any sperm.
If the vasectomy is successful, then there should be no sperm present in your semen around three months after the procedure.
In one in five men, it can take longer for the sperm to clear. You will need to continue sperm tests every few months until you get the all-clear.
Are There Any Studies Of Long Term Effects Of
- Changing the conversation about elective sterilization for women. by Iowa State University. Sara Davis and Abby Dubisar say while still considered a taboo topic, more women want to talk about.
- At an annual meeting of the British Fertility Society, researchers suggested that even if the surgical effect of a vasectomy can be undone, the long-term effects on sperm production may not be so reversible. Vasectomy has also been linked to dementia. In one study almost a third of the men who had dementia had also had a vasectomy
- Sir Ashley Cooper who first performed vasectomy in 1823 upon dogs observed that vasectomy does not stop spermatogenesis. This fact assumes critical importance in a review of chronic immunologic response to vasectomy, of which atherosclerosis may be a notable illustration
- An anonymous man, from the US, took to Reddit and revealed his wife let her parents, sister and brother-in-law move in – but the couple fell out when he asked them to move out nine months later
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Effectiveness Of Vasectomy Reversals
Vasectomies are reversible. Thats true. But when making the decision to undergo the procedure, its important to approach it as a permanent method of sterilization and not by expecting it to be undone. In fact, when done well, it can only be reversed successfully about 50 percent of the time and with no guarantees that youll have children. Only go for a vasectomy if you are sure you have had enough children or dont want any children. Also make sure to ask all the questions and go for the procedure only when you are truly ready for it.
At St Pete Urology, we offer both vasectomy and vasectomy reversals using procedures that ensure maximum comfort and the least pain for our patients. We have assembled a team of skilled, knowledgeable and experienced urologists who perform hundreds of vasectomies every year. So you can be sure that your procedure will follow the right technique and have the highest chance of success. For more information on vasectomy and vasectomy reversals and their risks and benefits, visit the St Pete Urology site.
Choosing A Competent Experienced Surgeon For Your Vasectomy Procedure
If youve made the decision, what must you do to improve the success of your vasectomy and minimize the risk of complications? You must make sure its done by a qualified and experienced surgeon. When a vasectomy is performed correctly by a skilled and experienced physician, only about 1 in 1,000 vasectomies may fail to prevent sperm reaching the semen. But when done by a doctor who performs less than 50 vasectomies a year, the likelihood of failure is as high as 10-17 percent or more.
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Vasectomy May Cause Dementia
Washington – Men who have had a vasectomy may face an increased risk of developing a rare type of dementia marked by a steady loss of language skills, researchers said on Tuesday.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, writing in the journal Cognitive and Behavioural Neurology, linked this male sterilisation surgery to a neurological condition called primary progressive aphasia, or PPA.
They surveyed 47 men with the condition being treated at Northwestern’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Centre, as well as 57 men who did not have PPA. Their ages ranged from 55 to 80.
Of those with primary progressive aphasia, 40 percent had undergone a vasectomy, compared to 16 percent of the others. Those with PPA also suffered the ailment an average of four years earlier than the others.
Preliminary data also linked vasectomies to another form of dementia involving behavioural changes. Among 30 men with frontotemporal dementia, more than a third had undergone a vasectomy, the researchers said.
Sandra Weintraub, who led the study, acknowledged that the research involved a small number of people and said she planned to conduct a larger national study to see if the findings hold up. In the mean time, she said her findings should not stop men from getting vasectomies.
“I was hoping not to, but unfortunately it’s the kind of news that ends up scaring people even though they may not need to be scared,” Weintraub said in an interview.
Are Vasectomies Linked To Immune Related Diseases
Probably not. Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the immune system turns on the body and attacks healthy tissue. Vasectomy can cause the formation of anti-sperm antibodies, leading some people to speculate that this increased immune response could increase the risk of such diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
There’s little research addressing this question but one study in the journal Human Reproduction found no evidence of a link between vasectomy and immune diseases. The 2007 study looked at patient records for more than 170,000 men and found that men who had had a vasectomy were no more likely to develop certain auto-immune diseases than those who had not undergone the procedure. The study followed the men for an average of 13 years and found no increased risk of asthma, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, or rheumatoid arthritis.
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Long Term Side Effects Of A Vasectomy
There are three main concerns regarding the long-term consequences or general health hazards of vasectomy. These concerns have arisen mainly from isolated studies over the past 50 years. Remember that it is important to show that several things be true when trying to link two medical conditions: a) that the link makes physiological sense and that this is shown in either animal models or in humans, and b) there should be excellent evidence of this link in populations of humans.
Flomax Linked To Increase Risk Of Dementia
by Steve Swearengin | Aug 25, 2020 | General Urology, Prostate Health
Tamsulosin, best known under the brand name Flomax, is commonly used to treat non-cancerous prostate conditions such as BPH and prostatitis. In fact, since hitting the market in 1996, Flomax has become the most popular form of treatment for enlarged prostates. Additionally, it is sometimes used to help with the passage kidney stones.
However, recent studies have shown that those taking tamsulosin may be at greater risk of developing dementia.
While the initial results arent entirely conclusive, there is enough correlation to cause concern. Tamsulosin is currently being prescribed to about 12.6 million patients around the world, most of whom are dealing with symptoms relating to BPH. Over 70% of men in their 60s have BPH symptoms. Meanwhile, those over 65 already face the greatest risk of developing dementia.
With tamsulosin added into the mix, the odds of developing dementia could increase further.
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Research Links Vasectomy With Higher Dementia Risk
By Will Dunham
3 Min Read
WASHINGTON – Men who have had a vasectomy may face an increased risk of developing a rare type of dementia marked by a steady loss of language skills, researchers said on Tuesday.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, writing in the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, linked this male sterilization surgery to a neurological condition called primary progressive aphasia, or PPA.
They surveyed 47 men with the condition being treated at Northwesterns Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimers Disease Center, as well as 57 men who did not have PPA. Their ages ranged from 55 to 80.
Of those with primary progressive aphasia, 40 percent had undergone a vasectomy, compared to 16 percent of the others. Those with PPA also suffered the ailment an average of four years earlier than the others.
Preliminary data also linked vasectomies to another form of dementia involving behavioral changes. Among 30 men with frontotemporal dementia, more than a third had undergone a vasectomy, the researchers said.
Sandra Weintraub, who led the study, acknowledged that the research involved a small number of people and said she planned to conduct a larger national study to see if the findings hold up. In the mean time, she said her findings should not stop men from getting vasectomies.
I was hoping not to, but unfortunately its the kind of news that ends up scaring people even though they may not need to be scared, Weintraub said in an interview.