The high risk male: What every woman should know about HPV
Does a HPV diagnosis means someone has cheated?
This myth has been responsible for a great deal of anger, confusion, and heartache. It has led many people to tragically wrong conclusions because it fails to take into account one of the most mysterious aspects of genital HPV: its ability to lie latent.
The virus can remain in the body for weeks, years, or even a lifetime, giving no sign of its presence. Or a genital HPV infection may produce warts, lesions, or cervical abnormalities after a latent period of months or even years.
As mentioned above, most people who are infected with genital HPV never know it; their virus does not call attention to itself in any way. In most cases, a person is diagnosed with HPV only because some troubling symptom drove him or her to a health care professional, or some abnormality was revealed in the course of a routine exam.
But although careful examination can identify genital HPV infection, and laboratory tests may even narrow down the identification to a specific type among the two dozen or so that inhabit the genital tract, there is simply no way to find out how long a particular infection has been in place, or to trace it back to a particular partner.
In a monogamous relationship, therefore, just as in an affair or even in an interval of no sexual relationships at all, an HPV diagnosis means only that the person contracted an HPV infection at some point in his or her life.
Syphilis especially high for men who have sex with men.
The rate of primary and secondary (P&S) — the most infectious stages of the disease — decreased throughout the 1990s, and in 2000 reached an all-time low. However, over the past four years the syphilis rate in the United States has been increasing. Between 2003 and 2004 alone, the national P&S syphilis rate increased 8 percent, from 2.5 to 2.7 cases per 100,000 population; during this time, reported P&S cases in the United States increased from 7,177 to 7,980.
Overall, increases in P&S syphilis rates between 2000 and 2004 were observed only among men. The rate of P&S syphilis among males rose 81 percent between 2000 and 2004 (from 2.6 to 4.7), and 11.9 percent between 2003 (4.2) and 2004. Notably, in 2004 — for the first time in over 10 years — the rate among females did not decrease, remaining at 0.8. Between 2003 and 2004, the rate of congenital syphilis (i.e., transmission from mother to child) decreased 17.8 percent (from 10.7 to 8.8 per 100,000 live births), likely reflecting the substantial reduction in syphilis among women that has occurred over the past decade.
Increasing cases of P&S syphilis are believed to be largely responsible for the overall increases in the national syphilis rate observed since 2000. Until very recently, CDC has not collected data by risk group. However, the male-to-female ratio for P&S syphilis has risen steadily between 2000 and 2004 (from 1.5 to 5.9), suggesting increased syphilis transmission among MSM. This increase occurred among all racial and ethnic groups. Additionally, CDC estimates that MSM comprised 64 percent of P&S syphilis cases in 2004, up from 5 percent in 1999.12 CDC. Unpublished data.
More info...
Syphilis and MSM (Men who have sex with men) - CDC Fact sheet
Teen Brain Development
Dr. Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatry branch at the National Institute of Mental Health, has spent more than 13 years performing MRIs and studying the brains of more than 1,800 kids. Through high-powered MRI technology, he has discovered that the adolescent brain, while fully grown in size, is still a long way from maturity.
Long after the size of the brain is established, it continues to undergo major stages of development. One of the last regions of the brain to mature is the pre-frontal cortex—home of the so-called “executive” functions—planning, setting priorities, organizing thoughts, suppressing impulses and weighing the consequences of one’s actions. This means the part of the brain young people need the most to develop good judgment and decision-making develops last!
This “under construction” nature of the adolescent brain helps explain why teenagers act they way they do, and why their behavior can be idealistic, energetic or enthusiastic at one moment, and cynical, lethargic and bored the next. At age 16, their bodies may look fully developed, but the minds are very much still in the development phase.
According to new studies, the pre-frontal cortex (CEO of the brain) usually does not reach a level of genuine maturity until someone reaches their mid-twenties! “It’s sort of unfair to expect [teens] to have adult levels of organizational skills or decision-making before their brains are finished being built,” says Giedd.
Knowing the limitations of the adolescent brain does not excuse bad behavior. It does, however, reinforce the need for parents to provide persistent support and guidance. More than ever, adolescents need their parents to be an integral part of their lives. It’s not butting in, it’s pouring in your love and guidance to protect their future hope, health and happiness.
