Thursday 4 October 2012

Exactly How Useful Are PSA Tests?

Being physically fit is of utmost important in today's fast paced world where everything is result driven. Ailments and bodily discomfort can hamper your activities and jobs. The awareness of being physically fit has gained momentum over the last 2 decades. You will in all probability find conscious people registered for physical fitness classes, doing aerobics, playing tennis, or swimming. What was non existent in the 60's have now become a rage- people going to their doctors for check up once in every three months. You will find a whole bunch of physical fitness articles being written everyday on different aspect of this subject. Don't get confused by the amount of material and suggestions doing the rounds. Just know your own body and its requirements and act accordingly. A growing concern among the men folk is the PSA. What is PSA, how are PSA tests performed, and what is the ideal PSA test numbers are some of the thing we will discuss in this article.

What is PSA?

PSA is generally found in semen. PSA is made in cells of the prostate. These prostate cells are called epithelial cells. These cells are actually needed to keep the semen in its liquid form when they come out during sexual climax. In moderate quantity the PSA is not harmful but researches have found out that a high rate of PSA on the blood can cause prostate cancer in men after the age of 50. It can also lead to other forms of prostate problems on male. Many medical magazines or physical fitness articles related to male health will tell you exactly what to do if you are having problems in the prostate.

How is PSA measured?

A routine blood test will tell you about your PSA test results. Immunoassay is the method by which the level of PSA is measured in the blood.

The normal PSA test numbers ranges from between 0 and 4.0 ng/. A person with prostate cancer will almost definitely have a high level of PSA on their blood. However it can't be said with certainty that a person having a low level of PSA will not have prostate cancer.

What are the causes of High PSA?

Many physical fitness articles point out that the PSA is generally high when there is an abnormal growth in the prostate region. This is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in medical terms. It is common in men above 50 years of age. Infection of the prostate area can also lead to a rise in PSA.
PSA Test is highly recommended for people with:

• prostate infection
• Over 50 years
• Men who generally have a history of prostate cancer in the family.
• African American (they are known to have the highest rate of prostate cancer)

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