Testosterone helps men stay up March 7, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Health.Tags: Health
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Sex hormones make men happy, according to a new study which found testosterone-fuelled ones were less likely to be depressed in older age.
Low testosterone put older men at significant risk of depression, according to the Australian research, which recommends those with abnormal levels consider getting injections of the sex hormone.
A study of almost 4,000 elderly men has drawn the strongest link ever between low testosterone and mood. Researchers at the University of Western Australia tracked levels of both in men aged 70-plus and found those with the lowest testosterone were three times more likely to suffer depression than those with the highest levels.
This was true irrespective of a man’s physical health, a finding researchers say is important because bad health is known to increase the risk of depression and decrease hormone levels.
“Even when you take this into account, the association between low testosterone and depression is still strong,” said Professor Osvaldo Almeida, lead author of the paper published in the US journal Archives of General Psychiatry. “This is the most compelling case we have for the link yet.”
Prof Almeida said the science behind the link was not yet fully understood. But it might be that low hormones somehow trigger changes in the levels of neurotransmitters or hormones in the brain. He said the evidence was now strong enough to support testosterone replacement therapy in depressed older men. But only the 20 per cent of men over 70 who have abnormally low testosterone, so-called hypogonadism, will likely benefit.
“We propose clinicians check their depressed older patients for hypogonadism, and if they have it then I think there is good rationale for considering using testosterone replacement to improve mood,” Prof Almeida said. “This would be a totally new way of dealing with these men because currently they get nothing.” He said the benefits of giving hormone replacement needed to be proven in a randomised controlled trial before the therapy should be offered at a subsidised rate.
Testosterone replacement is most infamous for illegally boosting athletic performance, but an increasing number of older men are accessing the controversial treatment to build muscle mass and treat bone loss through osteoporosis.
German fighters to chocolate soldiers March 7, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Army Life.Tags: Army, Lifestyle, Military
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The soldiers of what was once one of the world’s most feared armies are fat, smoke too much and don’t exercise enough, a report claims.
“The public perception is that soldiers are slim, sporty and healthy. Unfortunately, the reality is very different,” Germany’s army commissioner Reinhold Robbe said as he presented the report.
Some 40 per cent of soldiers between 18 and 29 are overweight compared to 35 percent among Germany’s civilian population, said the report, which also found young male and female soldiers smoked too much and failed to do enough sport.
“I make no secret of the fact that these results worry me a lot,” said Robbe, who blamed a passive lifestyle among troops.
Once one of the world’s most brutally effective fighting forces, Germany’s armed services now have about 245,000 uniformed staff.
Dogged by the legacy of World War Two, it is only nine years ago that Germany engaged in its first foreign combat operations since 1945, taking part in NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia. Roughly 9,000 German troops are deployed today in global hotspots including Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Australian Cricket > Roy flattens a streaker March 7, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Sports.Tags: Sports
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Australia might have lost to the tri-series to India, but Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds left the streaker in no doubt about whose park it was.
WARNING: nudity.
Click here to view the full gallery on the website
Thanks to Ki for the info!
