1st September 2010

Men’s Health Knowledge Centre is launched on EPG website for doctors

EPG Health Media, specialists in e-communication solutions and digital publishing for the health sector, today announced the launch of a new interactive Men’s Health knowledge centre supported by Bayer Schering Pharma, Germany. The resource is hosted on www.epgonline.org , an international medical education resource for Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) as well as forming a stand-alone portal; www.menshealthfocus.com.

As a disease topic, Men's Health covers a broad set of issues affecting men of all ages. Some of the issues requiring greater focus and more thorough dissemination of information amongst the healthcare community are those that have the potential to go undetected in the early stages. These include hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction.

“We are grateful to Bayer Schering Pharma, our partner in Men’s Health, for their continued support” said Chris Cooper, EPG Health Media “By educating and supporting health professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction and hypogonadism, we hope to improve the outcome for sufferers”.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse.¹ Male hypogonadism is a clinical syndrome resulting from a failure of the testes to produce physiological levels of testosterone (androgen deficiency), sperm, or both. ²

Both ED and hypogonadism have an important physical and psychological impact on patients and their environment (relationships, work etc). These conditions frequently co-exist, and have a complex inter-relationship, with underlying medical conditions such as abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia.

The Men’s Health knowledge centre supports doctors through the processes of understanding, diagnosing, treating and managing these conditions. Early detection and more regular health checks of these diseases, not only improve prognosis and efficacy of treatment outcomes, but also quality of life and effective management can break the vicious circle that has been shown to be present in many patients.

In addition to its educational content, the resource includes summaries of published reviews, a section for relevant congresses, links to patient resources (www.in-bed.info/ and a Low Testosterone Quick Guide on www.epgpatientdirect.org ) and a Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/MensHealthCare), all of which are to be regularly updated.

Fabio Oris Piva, Head of Men’s Healthcare at Bayer Schering Pharma, Germany commented, “Particularly men's diseases like hypogonadism or erectile dysfunction are still widely undiagnosed and untreated. By cooperating with EPG Health Media, we will support more physicians who use the Internet and social media to find information about treatment options and treatment alternatives in the area of men's health."

The new Men’s Health knowledge centre is the latest addition to the EPG Online ‘library’ of more than twenty knowledge centres. Other disease knowledge centres focus on a range of chronic and acute conditions including asthma, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, renal anaemia, migraine, diabetes, thrombosis and various types of cancer. To access the knowledge centres, healthcare professionals will be required to register (for free) or login with their EPG username and password.

In addition to disease knowledge centres, EPG Online includes a database of drugs (searchable by name and indication), clinical trials, guideline information and original medical news articles. Established in 2000, it is an independent website, dedicated to providing HCP’s with access to the most recent best-practice diagnosis and patient management guidance.

About EPG Health Media.
EPG Health Media (Europe) Ltd is a private limited Company specialising in the delivery of e-communication and digital information solutions. The Company’s activities fall within three key areas of competency; electronic publishing; e-marketing/communications solutions and market research.

About Bayer Schering Pharma
Bayer Schering Pharma is a worldwide leading specialty pharmaceutical company. Its research and business activities are focused on the following areas: Diagnostic Imaging, General Medicine, Specialty Medicine and Women's Healthcare. With innovative products, Bayer Schering Pharma aims for leading positions in specialized markets worldwide. Using new ideas, Bayer Schering Pharma aims to make a contribution to medical progress and strives to improve the quality of life. Find more information at www.bayerscheringpharma.de.

CONTACT
Charlotte Batten
EPG Health Media Public Relations
PHONE: (+44) 01892 526776
E-MAIL: press@epghealthmedia.com
WEB: www.epghealthmedia.com

Bayer Schering Pharma Contact:
Yvonne Moeller, Phone: +49-30-468 17389
E-mail: yvonne.moeller@bayerhealthcare.com

References:
1. NIH Concensus Conference. “NIH Concensus Development Panel on Impotence.” Journal of American Medical Association: 270 (1993): 83-90.
2. Bhasin S, Cunningham GR, Hayes FJ, et al. Testosterone therapy in adult men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006; 91(6):1995-2010.
About Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the consistent or recurrent inability of a man to attain and/or maintain a penile erection sufficient for sexual performance. An estimated 152 million men worldwide, 16 percent of all men aged 20-75 worldwide , experience erection difficulties. It is predicted that the worldwide prevalence of ED will increase to 322 million by 2025 . Despite its wide prevalence, recent data suggest that many men with ED do not seek treatment. Moreover, ED can be a first signal for cardiovascular comorbitidies and should therefore be taken seriously by patients and physicians . More education and information on the physicians and patient side is needed to change this. Find more information about ED at www.in-bed.info.