Cialis increasis testosterone.

Like Viagra, Cialis also is used to treat erectile dysfunction. What’s the difference between the two? Although Viagra and Cialis both work by inhibiting an enzyme called phosphodiesterases, which increases vasodilatation, there are pharmacologic distinctions between Viagra and Cialis, being that Cialis has a longer half-life (17.50 hours) compared to Viagra (4.0–5.0 hours) and Levitra (4.0–5.0 hours), resulting in longer duration of action14 which is partly responsible for Cialis being dubbed "The Weekend Pill." Cialis’ molecular structure differs significantly from Viagra; one of the benefits of Cialis is there are no visual side effects like Viagra and an absence of effect of food on absorption. Nitric oxide is a hot topic of debate in bodybuilding, as NO-producing supplements are always one of the top-selling products. Being in touch with many bodybuilders and powerlifters, many swear that by taking Cialis, they get better pumps in the gym and can recuperate from exercise faster.

Many suspect its enhanced nutrient delivery or some other mechanism. Cialis demonstrates similar vasodilator (blood pressure-lowering) effects in healthy subjects when compared with Viagra in studies of 10mg or 20mg doses (mean systolic blood pressure reduction, of ~4.3mg). Many of the experts in sports will attest that nitric oxide only increases performance in environments with low oxygen availability, such as high-altitude training or areas with high air pollution.  If there are no performace-enhacing effects, then why were Olympic athltetes using it? There have only been a handful of studies on the performance-enhancing effects of Cialis and sports performance, and none yielded beneficial effects.

• In one study, 14 healthy young males were given a 20mg dose of Cialis or a placebo and performed a maximal exercise test on a treadmill. The study found that a single dose of Cialis had no effect on exercise performance, exercise tolerance or cardiopulmonary responses.
• The second study involved three “all-out” sprints to determine if Cialis could increase anaerobic threshold. The study found no significant differences in peak power, average power or fatigue index compared to a placebo. One positive finding noted was that Cialis decreased the time to reach peak power. Cialis did not have an effect on peak power, but time to peak power output was reduced. Only to sports that need to reach maximum power output in a few seconds could Cialis administration be beneficial.

Bodybuilders are known for bringing cutting-edge pharmacology to the forefront of science. If NO (nitric oxide) products really don’t work, then why do so many people use them? Given that the second study reported that the author claimed that Cialis may increase peak force, the powerlifters who swear by Cialis increasing performance may be onto something that research has not discovered yet.

Based on the research, acute dosages of Cialis do not have performance-enhancing effects, but new research suggests that Cialis increases testosterone! Researchers had participants perform three 30-second “all-out” sprints to exhaustion and measured testosterone and cortisol responses to exercise. They found that only after Cialis and exercise did testosterone increase, however Cialis also increased cortisol levels. Cialis also lowered the DHEA to cortisol response. The study demonstrates that Cialis increases the “stress” response to the body, but also has some testosterone-enhancing effects as well. It’s interesting that a large dosage of caffeine, which is a weak, non-specific PDE inhibitor, also caused an increase in testosterone and also an increase in cortisol. So it seems that Cialis has both positive and negative effects on muscle. Cialis does not directly stimulate testosterone secretion per se, meaning it does not stimulate LH release or SHBG release directly. This is not the first study to find that Cialis raises testosterone:

• In a study of 74 patients with erectile dysfunction treated on demand with 50mg of Viagra or 20mg of Cialis for three months, basal levels of total testosterone and free testosterone were at the bottom of the normal range that was reversed after treatment in both groups. Testosterone increase in Viagra-treated cases was significantly lower than in those treated with Cialis, suggested to be due to the higher frequency of full sexual intercourse in the Cialis-treated group.
• Another study reported that the increase in testosterone from taking Cialis is mediated by a reduction in estrogen demonstration that Cialis may have anti-estrogen actions. It was pointed out that the T/estradiol ratio was associated with long-term Cialis treatment. There was no increase in LH levels from Cialis, demonstrating that Cialis did not directly increase testosterone, but indirectly increased testosterone by lowering estrogen.
• One of the primary reasons that many older men have problems “rising to the occasion” is that they have excess estrogen levels. Furthermore, in men with hypogonadism, a low dose of clomiphene citrate (Clomid) is effective in improving testosterone:estrogen ratio, thus giving more long-term benefit for the management of erectile dysfunction in hypogonadal patients. It seems that based on the current study, Cialis has similar actions to Clomid by improving T:E ratio.

Obesity surgery-diabetes study shows pros and cons

Obesity surgery worked much better at reducing and even reversing diabetes than medication and lifestyle changes in one of the most rigorous studies of its kind. But the researchers and others warn that possible serious complications need to be considered.

The yearlong study indicates that the most common weight-loss surgery, gastric bypass, can effectively treat diabetes in patients with mild to moderate obesity - about 50 to 70 pounds overweight. Other studies have shown the operation can reverse diabetes in severely obese patients, although sometimes the disease comes back.

About a third of the 60 adults who got bypass surgery in the new study developed serious problems within a year of the operation, though some cases were not clearly linked with the surgery. That rate is similar to what's been seen in previous studies. But for the most serious complications - infections, intestinal blockages and bleeding - the rate was 6 percent, slightly higher than in earlier research.

The most dangerous complication occurred in one patient when stomach contents leaked from the surgery site, leading to an overwhelming infection, leg amputation and brain injury.  A journal editorial says such devastating complications are rare, but that "the frequency and severity of complications ... is problematic" in the study and that the best way to treat patients with both obesity and diabetes "remains unknown."

A research review in the journal said more long-term evidence on risks and benefits is needed to determine if obesity surgery is an appropriate way to treat diabetes in patients who aren't severely obese - at least 100 pounds overweight.

More than 20 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes; most are overweight or obese. Diabetics face increased risks for heart disease and strokes, and poorly controlled diabetes can damage the kidneys, eyes and blood vessels.

About 160,000 people nationwide undergo various types of obesity surgery each year. Bypass surgery, the type studied, involves stapling the stomach to create a small pouch and attaching it to a lower part of the intestines. The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery says obesity surgery is safe and that the death rate is less than 1 percent, lower than for gallbladder and hip replacement surgery.

The study involved 120 patients at five hospitals in New York, Minnesota and Taiwan. All patients got medicines for diabetes, obesity, cholesterol and/or high blood pressure. They all were advised to cut calories and increase physical activity.

Sixty patients also had surgery, and the two groups were compared after one year.

The surgery group lost on average nearly 60 pounds and 75 percent lowered blood sugar levels to normal or near normal levels. The non-surgery group lost an average 17 pounds and just 30 percent reached the blood-sugar goal. The surgery group also needed less medication after the operation.

The researchers say the diabetes changes were likely due to the weight loss but that hormonal changes affecting blood sugar may have contributed. The surgery group showed a trend toward having less high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol - both major risk factors for heart disease, although those between-group differences could have been due to chance.

12 Possible Heart Symptoms Never to Ignore

Heart Disease
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of U.S. men and women, accounting for 40% of all U.S. deaths. That's more than all forms of cancer combined.
Why is heart disease so deadly? One reason is that many people are slow to seek help when symptoms arise. Yes, someone gripped by sudden chest pain probably knows to call 911. But symptoms of heart problems aren't always intense or obvious, and they vary from person to person and according to gender.

Heart Disease Warning Signs
Because it can be hard to make sense of possible heart symptoms, doctors warn against ignoring any warning signs, toughing them out, waiting to see if they go away, or being quick to blame them on heartburn, muscle soreness, or other less serious, noncardiac causes. That's especially true for men and people over 65, as well as for people with other cardiac risk factors, such as high cholesterol or blood pressure, obesity, smoking, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease.

Heart Disease Risk Factors
'The more risk factors you have, the higher the likelihood that a symptom means something is going on with your heart,' says David Frid, MD, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. 'People often don't want to admit that they're old enough or sick enough to have heart trouble. Putting off treatment for other medical problems might not be so bad, but a serious heart problem can mean sudden death. It's better to go in and get it evaluated than to be dead

Anxiety - Heart attack can cause intense anxiety or a fear of death. Heart attack survivors often talk about having experienced a sense of 'impending doom.

Chest Discomfort - Pain in the chest is the classic symptom of heart attack, and 'the No. 1 symptom that we typically look for,' says Jean C. McSweeney, PhD, RN, associate dean for research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing in Little Rock and a pioneer in research on heart symptoms in women. But not all heart attacks cause chest pain, and chest pain can stem from ailments that have nothing to do with the heart. Heart-related chest pain is often centered under the breastbone, perhaps a little to the left of center. The pain has been likened to 'an elephant sitting on the chest,' but it can also be an uncomfortable sensation of pressure, squeezing, or fullness. 'It's not unusual for women to describe the pain as a minor ache,' McSweeney says. 'Some women say the pain wasn't bad enough even to take a Tylenol.' Women, more so than men, can also experience a burning sensation in their chest, rather than a pressure or pain. 'Sometimes people make the mistake that the pain comes from a stomach problem,' says Nieca Goldberg, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City and another expert on women's heart symptoms.

Cough - Persistent coughing or wheezing can be a symptom of heart failure -- a result of fluid accumulation in the lungs. In some cases, people with heart failure cough up bloody phlegm.

Dizziness - Heart attacks can cause lightheadedness and loss of consciousness. So can potentially dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities known as arrhythmias.

Fatigue - Especially among women, unusual fatigue can occur during a heart attack as well as in the days and weeks leading up to one. And feeling tired all the time may be a symptom of heart failure. Of course, you can also feel tired or fatigued for other reasons. How can you tell heart-related fatigue from other types of fatigue? 'If you don't feel well and all the wind is knocked out of your sails, don't try to figure it out on the Internet or from a book,' says Goldberg. 'Wasting time is dangerous.

Nausea or Lack of Appetite - It's not uncommon for people to feel sick to their stomach or throw up during a heart attack. And abdominal swelling associated with heart failure can interfere with appetite.

Pain In Other Parts of the Body - In many heart attacks, pain begins in the chest and spreads to the shoulders, arms, elbows, back, neck, jaw, or abdomen. But sometimes there is no chest pain -- just pain in these other body areas. The pain might come and go.
Men having a heart attack often feel pain in the left arm. In women, the pain is more likely to be felt in both arms, or between the shoulder blades.

Shortness of Breath - People who feel winded at rest or with minimal exertion might have a pulmonary condition like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But breathlessness could also indicate a heart attack or heart failure.
"Sometimes people having a heart attack don't have chest pressure or pain but feel extremely short of breath," Goldberg says. "It's like they've just run a marathon when they haven't even moved." During a heart attack, shortness of breath often accompanies chest discomfort, but it can also occur before or without chest discomfort.

Sweating - Breaking out in a cold sweat is a common symptom of heart attack. 'You might just be sitting in a chair when all of a sudden you are really sweating like you had just worked out,' Dr. Frid of the Cleveland Clinic says.

Weakness - In the days leading up to a heart attack, as well as during one, some people experience severe, unexplained weakness. 'One woman told me it felt like she couldn't hold a piece of paper between her fingers,' Dr. McSweeney says."