Some readers have asked me about Batman, the dog. Last week he was the first patient to get an experimental therapy that researchers at the University of Minnesota hope will cure his brain cancer, a glioma, which is the same kind that Sen. Ted Kennedy has. If it works for Batman and other dogs, they say, it holds enormous promise as an effective treatment for people, too. You can read his story here.

His owner, Anna Brailovsky of Minneapolis, says he’s doing as well as any dog can do after massive brain surgery. He’s on steroids to reduce inflammation in his brain, and that’s a mixed blessing. Here’s her update.

Early this evening he chased a neighbor cat for a few feet. The neighbor’s family all stood around cheering him on. He basked in the attention and trotted up with tail wagging.

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If you want to stay healthy go out into the sun. Or take vitamin D pills. Not only does vitamin D help prevent cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, it may also help to prevent death from all causes, according to a study published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York analyzed vitamin D levels in 13,331 people. More than half of the women and 43 percent of the men were vitamin D deficient, meaning that they had less than 30 nanogram per milliliter of blood. Nearly nine years later 1,806 of the study subjects had died. Those who had the lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood — less than 17.8 nanograms per millileter– had a 26 percent higher rate of death from any cause compared to those with the highest levels of vitamin D.

It doesn’t prove that low levels of vitamin D caused their illnesses or their deaths. But its the latest of many studies that are raising questions about whether our chronic health problems could be improved with higher doses of vitamin D. The standard recommendations is 400 units per day, but experts now are thinking that might be too low.

It may be harder than you think to get enough from the sun, which is the major source. The further north you live, the darker your skin, how much sun screen you use, and the older you are all affect how much your body can make. Less than 10 percent, on average, comes from food.

Many health experts now recommend that you ask your doctor to test your vitamin D level, and, if it’s below normal, to prescribe supplements.

And go outside, because at least for now, the sun is shining.

Bicycle nose, that is.

This may be the science-of-the-obvious, but that title in the latest edition of The Journal of Sexual Medicine is just too irresistible.

Here’s the punch line: Using a nose-less bicycle seat greatly reduces the penile numbness and erectile dysfunction that has been a complaint among many male riders since the bicycle was invented. I didn’t even know there was such a seat until I read this study, but apparently they are readily available. Here is a sampling of styles.

Not exactly the coolest looking things around.

In biking, erectile dysfunction is caused by pressure on the perineum, the area between the anus and scrotum that house the nerves and arteries that go to the penis. The pressure, which comes from sitting on a bicycle seat with a nose extension, restricts blood flow to the penis. Bike long enough, and in some men the damage can be permanent.

In this study, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studied 90 bike-riding police officers from five different metropolitan areas. The number of officers who said they had no numbness while cycling rose from 27 percent to 82 percent after they started using the no-nose saddles. The best part is they also experienced a significant improvement in erectile function. The officers liked the seats so much better that virtually all of them made the switch permanently.

“Different saddle designs may require some re-learning of ‘how to ride a bicycle,’ ” the researchers said. “But the health benefits to having unrestricted vascular flow to and from the penis and less penile numbness is self-evident.”

Indeed.

Most bike seats these days come with some kind of anatomical design to reduce pressure in that sensitive, and most of them work pretty well, said Bill Kempton, parts manager for Freewheel Bike in Minneapolis. Still, a fifth of the saddles they sell are returned or exchanged.

He said the store has two nose-less seats in stock, a C-shaped style made by Issimo. The down side of no-nose seats, he said, is that it you may not have as good a grip on the bike. “You’re sort of perched on them,” he said. “If you move a quarter inch the wrong way, you could slide off the seat.”

Are you convinced enough to be seen on such a seat in public? And is there any reason why this wouldn’t work for women, too?

Batman, the dog, the who had surgery and received an expermental treatment for a brain tumor, was up and groggy late yesterday, but he’s fine. The ten-year-old mutt has a row of surgical staples down his nose. “He looks like Frankendog,” said his owner, Anna Brailovsky. Now, the waiting begins to see if the treatment works. To read the story about Batman and the research to find a brain cancer treatment for dogs and people go here.

(Editor’s note: A new feature, Second Opinion, will occasionally ask Twin Cities doctors to elaborate on health news.) 

The case: Let’s say a 76-year-old man is worried about prostate cancer and goes to his doctor for a routine screening test. If you were his doctor, what would you tell him, in light of Monday’s recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that doctors should stop doing those tests on men 75 or older?

Today’s doctor: Dr. Daniel Zapzalka, a urologist at Park Nicollet Clinic in St. Louis Park.

“I think it’s actually not too far from what people, urologists, have been recommending for a long time,” Zapzalka said. “For years I’ve been recommending after around 80ish to stop checking PSAs (prostate-specific antigens, the test for prostate cancer).”
Why? By the time a man reaches his late 70s or early 80s, there’s little chance, statistically speaking, that prostate cancer will cut his life short. Meanwhile, the treatment — from biopsies to surgery — can cause infections, impotence and incontinence.
“This is one area where you can easily get caught in where the treatment is worse than the disease…. What I tell these guys…when they’re around 80, don’t let anybody check your PSA anymore unless you develop any new urinary symptoms, such as difficulty urinating or blood in your urine.”

 Usually, they’re happy to hear it. “Most men are pretty realistic. Most of them say, sounds good to me,” Zapzalka said.
Of course, if they have symptoms, they should “absolutely” check them out, he added. The debate is about routine screening for cancer, not about treatment.

Exception to the rule: If someone is unusually active and healthy, Zapzalka might give the test past age 75. Also, if someone insists, “I say, well this is America, you have that right.”

Who should get routine tests for prostate cancer?  Men 50 and older, or 40 and older if they have a family history of prostate cancer.

For more information:
• U.S. Preventive Services Task Force report on prostate cancer screening
• The National Cancer Institute