When most of us think of a yeast infection, we think of it in connection with women. However, the Candida albicans fungus (yeast) can cause infections in anyone of either gender, because it is present in all of our bodies. This will come as an unwelcome surprise to men, but hang on, because it gets worse. Guys, when you have sex with a woman who has yeast infection, she can easily pass it on to you.

Due to the specific hormones women have, they are more susceptible to yeast infections. Usually when a woman has an infection she will experience all of the uncomfortable symptoms that tell her what’s going on. She’ll know when it’s necessary to take more precautions in having sex. However, there are times when she may experience such mild symptoms that she’s unaware she even has a problem, so she can pass the infection on to a man without knowing it.

Most men don’t even think about being concerned over getting a yeast infection, but it can happen. In fact, yeast infections of the penis are very common and seldom cause any symptoms in otherwise healthy men. During an active yeast infection in either partner, it is safer to avoid sex altogether. This practice will not only ensure that the infection won’t be passed on, but it will also avoid more irritation which will make the condition last longer.

In order to know if you have a yeast infection, it will help if you know the symptoms. In women the most common symptoms are irritation, itching, redness, swelling, burning, and a whitish-grey discharge that has the consistency of cheese as well as a smell much like yeast or beer.

Men who are infected will show redness, irritation, and possibly white spots on the end of the penis. There may also be a white to yellow discharge present. It could be that after he has intercourse his penis will be sore. The better your overall health is, though, the milder the symptoms you’ll experience.

Both men and women should see a physician if they are concerned that they might have yeast infection. Your doctor will be able to confirm the diagnosis and make suggestions for effective treatments. There are numerous prescription, over-the-counter and natural remedies for treating yeast infection available.

If one partner in a sexual relationship has yeast infection, both partners should get diagnosed and treated. Otherwise, the person who was treated and is now symptom-free will run the risk of getting it back from their untreated partner every time they have sex.

Yeast infections can be a nuisance and wreak havoc with your sex life, but with proper treatment and precautions, soon you’ll both be healed up and back in action.

It is very important that you let your partner know of the risks involved. Sharing a tender moment is great, sharing an infection is not. Learn the facts and learn more about what options are available to you.

An innovative drug-delivery system nanoparticles encapsulating nitric oxide or prescription drugs shows promise for topical treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a new study by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

The new system, tested successfully on a small number of animals, could potentially prevent side effects associated with oral ED medications, if study results can be replicated in humans. That could mean safer and more effective ED therapy for millions of men with heart disease and other health problems affecting erectile function. The study is published today in the online edition of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Tens of millions of men worldwide have benefited from oral ED medications such as sildenafil (stroke or have severe heart disease should use these drugs with caution or not at all. In addition, “an estimated 30 to 50 percent of men with ED do not respond to oral use of PDE5 inhibitors,” says senior author Kelvin P. Davies, Ph.D., associate professor of urology at Einstein.

The drug-delivery system, developed by Einstein scientists, consists of nanoparticles each smaller than a grain of pollen that can carry tiny payloads of various drugs or other medically useful substances and release them in a controlled and sustained manner.

The limited number of topical formulations of ED drugs has so far proven ineffective. This study was done to evaluate whether the Einstein nanoparticles, which have been shown to penetrate the skin, might allow the targeted delivery of compounds that treat ED and thereby avoid the drugs’ systemic effects.

An effective topical therapy could be especially significant for those ED patients particularly men with diabetes who have reduced levels of nitric oxide (NO), the signaling molecule that dilates blood vessels responsible for erectile activity. These men, who often aren’t helped by oral PDE5 inhibitor drugs, may benefit from direct application of NO or the PDE5 inhibitors.

The nanoparticles were tested on a total of 18 rats bred to have age-related ED. The rats were divided into three treatment groups. One group of seven rats received nanoparticles encapsulating NO. A second group of five rats received nanoparticles encapsulating NO plus an experimental ED drug called sialorphin (which has a mechanism of action different from PDE5 inhibitors). A third group of six received nanoparticles encapsulating NO plus tadalafil (Cialis).

Five of the seven rats treated with the NO-containing nanoparticles, and all 11 rats treated with nanoparticles encapsulating NO plus sialorphin or tadalafil showed significantly improved erectile function. None of the seven rats in a control group, which received empty nanoparticles, showed any improvement.

“Most of the animals, nearly 90 percent, showed a response to treatment with the nanoparticles,” says co-author Joel M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of physiology & biophysics and of medicine. Dr. Friedman developed the nanoparticles with his son Adam Friedman, M.D., chief resident in the division of dermatology of the department of medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein.

“The response time to the nanoparticles was very short, just a few minutes, which is basically what people want in an ED medication,” adds Dr. Davies. “In both rats and humans, it can take 30 minutes to one hour for oral ED medications to take effect.”

Postmortem examination of the tissues at the site of administration showed no signs of local inflammation or toxicity. “In addition, when we applied the nanoparticles at therapeutic doses, we found no indication of systemic side effects,” says Dr. Friedman.

The Einstein research team will carry out safety and dosing studies in rats in the coming months. Clinical studies on humans could begin in a few years if animal studies continue to show that the nanoparticle delivery system is safe and effective. But the investigators caution that the time from a proof-of-concept trial in animals to approved use in humans may be a decade or more.

The paper, “Nanoparticles as a novel delivery vehicle for therapeutics targeting erectile dysfunction,” is published in the September 18, 2009 online edition of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The lead authors are George Han, an M.D.-Ph.D. student at Einstein, and Moses Tar, M.D., assistant professor of urology at Einstein. Dwaraka Srinivasa Rao Kuppam, a technician in the Einstein urology department, Adam Friedman, M.D., of Montefiore Medical Center, and Arnold Melman, M.D., chairman of urology at Einstein, also contributed to the research.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. It is home to 2,775 faculty members, 625 M.D. students, 225 Ph.D. students, 125 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 380 postdoctoral research fellows. In 2008, Einstein received more than $130 million in support from the NIH. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Through its extensive affiliation network involving eight hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Long Island which includes Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering approximately 150 residency programs to more than 2,500 physicians in training

Source: Albert Einstein College of Medicine

View drug information on Viagra.