The Elephant in the Room -- Erectile Dysfunction...

I have been watching a little bit of the idiot box while tapping away on the laptop. I have just noticed that in every single advertisement break there is a Pfizer advertisement for erectile dysfunction. Pfizer are responsible for the introduction of that little blue pill (aka Viagra).

Anyway, the advertisement is pretty funny. The bloke goes to the doctor for some "other" reason. The doctor then asks the patient whether there is anything else he can help out with. The patient ums and ahs for a while, and then you see the patient getting nudged by this huge trunk. So, the elephant in the room makes his presence known. Essentially, the advertisement is one that suggests that there is nothing to be ashamed of when the time comes to ask for a little assistance of the pharmaceutical kind to keep your end of the bargain up (so to speak).

The advertisement is very clever.

However, I was wondering, is erectile dysfunction really the elephant in the room?  If it ever happens to you, or someone you know, would it be difficult to go to the local general practitioner (GP) and say "hey doc, it is not happening if you know what I mean...what do you suggest?"

And, while we are on the subject...as I was looking for images to attach to this post I turned up other "products" as well. There is a real demand for these kind of drugs. I have learned on my research that Cialis (Tadalafil) is known as the weekender. And, if neither of those work then there is Levitra (Vardenafil).

Men as Sexual Objects...

Nah, whoever would have thought that there would be a little balance placed back into the ledger of men and women behaving badly. A young woman, and recent graduate of Duke University, has placed a list of her sexual conquests online. Her exploits include 13 young men of some [former] repute, who I am quite sure were not so willing in the take my photo and critique my sexual prowess online participants stakes. However, this might be a lesson in taking a moment or two to think about where your next hook-up might end up.

The list, which is eloquently described as a thesis, "An education beyond the classroom: excelling in the realm of horizontal academics", to satisfy the completion for the award of a degree in horizontal academics, has gone viral. You can see the list over at Jezebel. I went to college just up the road at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, so some of the bars and other places of interest noted in this thesis are places that were around back in 1992 when I was there (yes, punters and friends, I am that old).

The beauty of this list is that it shows pretty clearly that, there are at least, some women out there who critique men on their attractiveness, penis size, and abilities with the other appendages they possess (is the tongue an appendage?). It was particularly nice to see that an Australian accent rated highly on the suitability stakes. This means that there are genuine hopes for all Aussie fellas out there roaming the college campuses of America in search of a hook-up.

On a serious note. There is nothing funny about this list. There is nothing worthwhile in even thinking about putting it together in the first place, let alone putting it together and then seeing it published online. It says a lot more about the woman who did it than the men who fell victim to her "research". Interestingly, the vast number of research subjects targeted were members of the Duke Lacrosse team.

I guess the question that needs to be posed now is, "Is what this young woman did wrong?"

Testosterone and Depression

An Australian study has highlighted that low levels of free testosterone are linked to increases in the likelihood of depression, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, muscle and bone loss, and decreased sexual performance. Those most at risk are older men, those who are obese, smokers, and anyone in poor health.

In fact the study showed that those with low naturally occurring levels of free testosterone were 271 percent more likely to show signs of depression.

For me this is the perfect example of a loophole in the laws against steroid use. Doctors can prescribe testosterone products to those with a medical need. Therefore, anyone looking to get a happy boost might want to pay a trip to their local doctor.

The report can be found in Archive General Psychiatry, 65: 283-289, 2008.