Vaginismus

Vaginismus is the spasmodic contractions of the vagina near its entrance or in the levator any muscle due to localized oversensitivity in the region. The vaginal muscle contracts involuntarily and, thus, intercourse can be painful. Also, spasms can occur when trying to insert a finger or tampon into the vagina. For these women, pelvic examinations can be difficult and all attempts for a normal sexual life are likely to fail.

About 2% of all women experience vaginismus, and most causes are psychological. Treatment involves redu

The American College of Physicians has issued recommendations for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. ACP strongly recommends that physicians initiate therapy with an oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor in men who seek treatment for ED unless they have a contraindication to PDE-5 inhibitors, such as nitrate therapy. As for which PDE-5 inhibitor to use, ACP recommends that physicians base the choice on the individual preferences of patients including ease of use, cost of medication, and adverse effects profile.

"The evidence is insufficient to compare the effec

Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Single-ventricle defects are a collection of cardiac malformations that impair the heart's ability to pump blood. Examples include tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia/intact ventricular septum and hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

The Fontan operation

The options to treat erectile dysfunction have increased in the past few years with the introduction of medications that can help promote an erection in males. Once thought to be due only to psychological factors, erectile dysfunction may occur because of a variety of medical conditions and in fact, it may be the initial presenting symptom of serious illness such as atherosclerosis and diabetes.

This illness often remains difficult for patients to discuss with their health care practitioners. With the advent of medications that help promote an erection and with increased advertis

New recommendations from an NICHD study question current standards for determining whether a semen sample is normal or abnormal. Under the new recommendations, many men formerly considered fertile may, in fact, have difficulty fathering a child. Conversely, men who fall below the threshold of the current standards, may be capable of fathering a child.

The study, based on the most comprehensive analysis of its kind, was conducted by researchers in the NICHD-sponsored National Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network, and appears in the November 8 "New England Journal of Medicine&quo

An FDA advisory panel unanimously rejected what some had hoped would become the first drug approved to boost sexual desire in women.

Experts said the drug, widely dubbed "female Viagra," showed little evidence of working and raised safety concerns. If the FDA follows the recommendation of the advisory panel, it would send drugmakers back to the lab in their quest to come up with a drug that could be marketed to women with lower-than-desired libidos.

German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim had hoped to sell the drug, known as flibanserin,

Few internists who care for cancer survivors address issues of sexual dysfunction with their patients, according to a study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers. In their article appearing in a November 2009 cancer survivor supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine, now available online, the investigators report that more than half the internists responding to a survey indicated they rarely or never discussed sexual problems with their patients who had survived cancer.

As more cancer patients live longer after treatment, quality-of-life concerns become mor

United Therapeutics Corporation announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Adcirca (tadalafil) tablets for oral administration, with a recommended dose of 40 mg, as the first once-daily phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Adcirca is indicated to improve exercise ability in WHO Group I PAH patients, which encompasses patients with multiple forms of PAH including etiologies such as idiopathic and familial PAH as well as PAH associated with scleroderma and congenital hear