The obvious thinking behind this accusation is that sites like these make having casual sex easier than ever before. With Grindr in particular, these representatives explain, you can literally find the person in the closest proximity to you, who is up for sex within seconds. They can be at your doorstep, or you on theirs, within minutes.

I am not personally down on these hook up apps, but certainly the fact they exist does heighten the urgency of practicing of safe sex right now. The steady increase of STIs reported year in year out, can only worsen the more available casual sex is to those who look for it. It’s possible that the knowledge that such a facility is out there also increases the number of partakers who otherwise might not have sought out casual sex.

With more sexual health campaigns on the go than ever, the greater access there is to STI treatments, and information at the touch of our fingertips, on our laptops, iPads and even our phones, it is a wonder that STI rates are still climbing steadily.

UK Medix carried out a recent survey including 1,967 people, half were men and half were women, in which they asked questions about STI contraction and, more specifically, where these men and women picked up the STIs they had treated in the past. Alarmingly, 15% said that they caught their STI at a friend’s house and 7% said they picked up their STI at work or in their office at work. Grindr and other such websites didn’t figure here but what is apparent is that people still aren’t having barrier-protected sex. Of those surveyed, on average, it was 8 weeks before participants were tested for STIs after the event, despite 61% saying that they were not using protection at the time.

Perhaps it is a common belief that because there is a pill for everything these days that an STI is part and parcel of a free and unencumbered sexual lifestyle. What most people do not think of are the life-long viruses and infections that stay with people for life after skin to skin contact, such as herpes, genital warts, HPV, and potentially deadly viruses like HIV and syphilis. Currently one third of people who have HIV in Britain don’t even know they have the infection.

STI kits are even available online these days via reputable sites, such as Superdrug or Lloyds Pharmacy . It is not even necessary to go and see a GP face to face. It is important to check that they are regulated sites and that the laboratories in question are legitimate operations, but there are many of these out there and treatment is often free with a negative result. Whether it’s Grindr or a greater social attitude to the treating of STIs, rates are still high and steadily increasing and some are getting more than they bargained for after unsafe sex.

CBP is an uncomfortable condition that results in the swelling of the prostate and causes urinary infections. It usually requires long term use of antibiotics in order to treat. It can cause blood to present in the urine or semen, burning and pain when urinating or ejaculating, with bowel movements too and can also cause pain in the lower back. If it is not treated serious problems can arise such as not being able to urinate, abscesses on the prostate and even sepsis, which is where bacteria gets into the bloodstream. For the Italian study, a group of men, half who had CBP caused by chlamydia and the other half whom had CBP caused by another urethral, bacterial infection, were compared. Premature ejaculation was discovered in approximately 37% of the first group and a mere 12% of the second group; a markedly disparate result.

Premature ejaculation has long been associated with the prostate considering the mechanism by which men ejaculate. Until now though, men who presented with CBP were not tested for chlamydia at all so the work carried out at Santa Chiara has proved innovative in this area.

Chlamydia left untreated also affects fertility in men and women and is a silent disease in that often no symptoms are present. It also means this sexually transmitted infection can pass from person to person easily and quietly. Those most at risk are in the 16 to 24 year old age bracket and these have been the statistics for a long time now according to the Health Promotion Agency (HPA), year after year. Perhaps now that it is known chlamydia is related to premature ejaculation, those testing for the infection and receiving treatment will be on the rise. Discoveries like these are reported all of the time proving that we do not yet know the full extent of what it means to leave an infection like chlamydia untreated. STI testing is free and confidential and should be carried out after any risky behaviour and before having sex with a new partner. Chlamydia is common but is dangerous and studies like these remind us to be extra vigilant about our sexual health. Please see this website for further information on chlamydia testing.

Further information can be found here.

It has been quite well known for some time that individuals over 40 are at a higher risk of getting STIs than they may feel. Most experts have attributed the increase of STIs in this group to the way the consequences of intercourse are perceived and how much they should be discussed.

Whilst most 20 year olds would not find it odd to discuss their sexual relationships, many individuals over 40 tend to feel less comfortable discussing these issues. This becomes further complex when we realise that this effect also used to extend to GPs, that is, some studies in the past have demonstrated that GPs report feeling more comfortable discussing sexual health with 20 year olds than with 50 year olds.

Although it would hardly be surprising that individuals from younger generations worry about STIs and pregnancies, it appears that individuals older generations tend to believe that because pregnancy is not a concern, protection is needless.

This wilful blindness can be particularly damaging when we consider that the increase of divorces and internet dating has spiked in the over 40s. It seems to echo findings from The Royal Pharmaceutical Society who reported that 20 percent of people between the ages of 45 to 54 had unprotected sex last year. When comparing this to recent data from the Health Protection Agency, which shows that HIV diagnoses alone have doubled in the over-50s for the past ten years it is clear to see where the drive is coming from.

All of this information points to the need to consider this area holistically. Naturally it is helpful to urge individuals over 40 to get tested and to inform them about the risks they are facing. But if they are finding it challenging to discuss these issues in a face-to-face consultation, then it may be worth asking if there are other ways to get around the embarrassment they may feel.

Nevertheless, it is astonishing to see that sexual health is given due attention in the UK. Comparing today’s access to sexual health services, GUM clinics and birth control to what it was 20 years ago shows how far the UK has come. The complexity of needs is constantly addressed and re-evaluated.

One of those illnesses is Alopecia areata. Here we explain the diversity of symptoms, and follow the research history of a team whose efforts are said to be at the forefront in investigating the causes and treatments of alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that affects individuals at different stage of their lives. It manifests itself in the form of hair loss. Some individuals only have one occurrence with small round patches on their head or chin. Other individuals have recurring episodes of patches or complete hair loss on the head and body.

The length of time that a person has a bald patch varies greatly, and whilst some individuals can have it for a few months with full re-growth, other individuals have a complete lack of re-growth after a year.

The treatments to date are considered to have a fairly low success rate, as many patients tend to have their hair re-grow naturally after a few months. In addition to that, it has been noted that treatments on the market may not be a long-term solution, as it is not established that hair growth will remain after a patient stops to use the treatment.

In 2008 a team of scientists published a landmark study within this field of research. The study suggested a feasible process in the development of alopecia areata. Essentially it was argued that immune cells were attacking hair follicles as a result of hair follicles emitting danger signals to immune cells. They followed this finding up with animal studies and were able to establish which set of T cells played a key part in attacking the follicles.

Whilst that alone was striking, it was quickly out of the spotlight when the researchers demonstrated that all of their findings pointed to specific immune pathways that would be responsible in enabling the T cells to attack the hair follicles. In addition to that, they argued that currently regulated treatments for bone marrow disease were likely to be efficacious in the treatment of alopecia areata.

The most recent study that has been published in Nature Medicine was the first study from that team where they tested the so-called JAK inhibitor treatment on mice and humans with alopecia. The researchers administered the treatment to three patients who had more than 30 percent hair loss, and were considered to have moderate to severe alopecia areata. The key findings were promising as all of the human patients had fully restored hair growth at five month follow up. In addition to that, it was also reported that the T cells believed to be responsible for the attacks on the follicles were absent in the participants’ scalps. Based on this, the researchers concluded that the results are promising but that more large-scale studies would be needed to confirm the findings.

Given that we know that most patients have a complete re-growth after a year without substantial assistance from mediations we are inclined to think that these reports may not be the success story they have been hailed to be. Ironically, time will tell if the findings are substantial enough to illuminate the prognoses given today.

You can read more about Alopecia Areata here.

Dupilumab is a treatment that contains monoclonal antibodies and is meant to be injected on a weekly basis. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-engineered proteins that have been created to interfere with components of the immune response. Given its broad spectrum potential, the treatment is considered for a range of conditions including; eczema, asthma and rheumatoid cancer.

To date, the treatment has only been tested in asthma sufferers that have high levels of eosinophils. This is a sub-group of asthma sufferers that is particularly known for being unable to respond well to traditional treatments.  In the largest study of Dupilumab to date, the results suggested that 87% of asthma attacks were reduced. It appears that 104 participants that presented with moderate-to-severe esophilic asthma took part, and the study is yet to be published.

Given the limited sample of a broad level of severity, we would be keen to see the full publication before making any conclusions. Yet, in the context of other reports in mainstream media, it is difficult not to sprout a bit of cautious optimism. Specifically, there have been reports to suggest that Dupilumab is likely to be approved in the UK by 2018.

We will keep an eye on this development, the publications, trials and controversies that always crop up with any new treatment before it is marketed.  For the time being, you can read more information here.