Men’s Health Year in Review

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

The trees have been lit, the chestnuts roasted, the gifts unwrapped, and the long holiday naps complete. During the quiet of the holidays, I found myself thinking about what kind of year 2013 really was. Here are some of the top-of-mind highlights:

  • The public debut of a responsive, patient-centered, on-line and social media inspired resource for infertile couples: Fertility Planit.com
  • How the no-scalpel vasectomy has made heroes of everyday men for 20 years in the U.S.
  • Stem cell research continues to progress in fits and stops, kind of like a vintage Italian car.
  • The vivid realization that men’s sexual health reflects overall health made manifest in my lecture as the “planetary view” of men’s health.
  • Our published research into using even the smallest numbers of ejaculated sperm taught me that, indeed: “Every sperm is sacred.”
  • The link between diet and health was revealed in its true colors. The lesson? Go back 33 generations (Mediterranean) or 333 generations (Paleo) for best results.
  • Scientific research revealed that the combination of shoulders, hips and penises (and not just penises alone) make men attractive to women.
  • As a whole, men want kids as much as women do.
  • The vintage Volvo 1800ES that my Dad and I are renovating is almost done and he wants it badly.
  • Our artificial testicle patent submitted 5 years ago is about to be approval by the Feds.
  • My realization, after expanding The Turek Clinic to southern California, that: “LA is not about the past or the future. LA is now.”
  • We are entering a new era of personalized medicine as Angelina Jolie’s breasts are removed based on genetic test results.
  • After my post-graduate course on men’s health, it really sank in that male infertility is a true, out-and-out “disease” and not just an unfortunate thing that happens to nice guys.
  • The Boy’s Initiative, that new non-profit upstart, will be a great ally in helping us serve the underserved: boys and men.
  • From our published review of sperm retrieval techniques, the realization that testicular mapping has truly come of age as the ultimate “measure twice, cut once” technique for finding sperm in azoospermic men.
  • Based on our published findings from 1229 vasectomy reversals that showed how truly reversible they are, one can now consider the vasectomy to be the new condom.

What a grantastic year 2013 was for advancing men’s health! Simply can’t wait to turn the corner and see what unfolds in 2014…