Comment: Rare transmissions of gonorrhoea
Paul Woolley
pp 3-3
I recently had a male patient who presented with a urethral discharge and dysuria of several days’ duration. Microscopy revealed Gram-negative diplococci and cultures confirmed gonococcal infection. He admitted that he had had genital to genital contact with a woman he had met in a bar the previous week,
but said that vaginal penetration or oro-genital
contact had not taken place. When he asked me whether this was the likely source of his
infection, I had to admit that, although unusual, it was certainly possible.
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How to handle premenstrual syndrome in primary care
Victoria K Welsh and Professor PM Shaughn O’Brien
pp 4-7
Mild physiological premenstrual symptoms occur in 95% of women of reproductive age. Around 5% of symptomatic women have severe, debilitating symptoms that disrupt normal functioning. Primary care is well placed to
recognise and manage premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It is important that primary care physicians diagnose and treat PMS appropriately, to
improve patients’ quality of life.
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Sexual problems? It’s all in the language!
Susan Quilliam
pp 8-10
Walk into any clinic waiting room and flick through the women’s magazines, and you will
find page after page of sexually explicit text and
letter after letter from readers with sexual difficulties. Walk a few paces more into the consulting room, however, and it is a different world.
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The British Skin Foundation funds research in sexual health
Bevis Man
pp 11-11
Since 1996, the British Skin Foundation (BSF) has been raising money to fund research into better treatments – and possibly even to find cures – for many of the skin diseases that affect people in the UK. With just six people in the
whole organisation, the charity works hard to raise funds through national and community.
events as well as donations from the public.
All the money collected is directed back into
funding research.
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Current pharmacotherapy for erectile dysfunction
Sailaja Pisipati and Ian Pearce
pp 12-15
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to attain and/or maintain an erection sufficient for a sexual performance mutually satisfying for both partners. Although not life-threatening, ED is closely associated with many important physical
conditions and, therefore, may affect psychosocial
health. It has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients and their partners.
The Massachusetts Male Aging Study showed its prevalence to be over 50% in non-institutionalised
men aged 40–70 years, the incidence and severity increasing with each decade.
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The role of human papillomavirus in oral cancer
Paul Woolley
pp 16-17
Infection with the sexually transmitted human
papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of most cervical
cancers. The example of the relationship between HPV and cervical cancer indicates that
high-risk sexual behaviour with exposure to, and infection with, HPV will increase the risk of other cancers caused by the virus.
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Laughable? Think again!
David Hicks
pp 19-19
‘One of the winners reached inside the top of her dress and whipped out her hot-pink bra that doubles as a face mask’, reported the British
Medical Journal in its 10 October 2009 issue. It’s that time of the year again – the 19th Ig Nobel prizes were awarded last October at
Harvard University.
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