Facing a storm of criticism over its plan to show a documentary about the widely debunked link between vaccines and  autism , the  Tribeca Film Festival  on Saturday pulled the film from its schedule next month.

In a statement,  Robert De Niro, a founder of the festival, wrote: "My intent in screening this film was to provide an opportunity for conversation around an issue that is deeply personal to me and my family. But after reviewing it over the past few days with the  Tribeca Film Festival team and others from the scientific community, we do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for." The film, "Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe," was directed and co-written by  Andrew Wakefield , the author of a study that was published in the British medical journal The Lancet and then retracted in 2010. Mr. Wakefield's medical license was also revoked over his failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest and ethics violations.

New York Times, March 27, 2016

Caffeine has been linked to greater risk of miscarriage before, but what is new in this study is that men's caffeine consumption also appears to play a role, said Janis Biermann, senior vice president for education and health promotion at the March of Dimes. Biermann was not involved with the study.

Healthday, March 25, 2016

 

THE LIMERICK barber who founded an initiative to help young men who are troubled by mental health issues, is now rolling out an All-Ireland #BarberTalk training programme after a "positive and encouraging meeting" with the Northern Ireland Minister for Health.

Limerick Post, March 24, 2106

The causes of many cancers are mysterious. Not so for cervical cancer: in nearly all cases the villain is the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection. In more than 60 countries girls are routinely vaccinated against the strains that cause the majority of cases. But in only a handful, including Austria, Australia, America, Switzerland, and some regions of Canada and Germany, are boys vaccinated, too. The most recent cost-benefit analyses also include the rarer cancers that HPV causes in men, including of the penis, anus and throat. These are much more common in gay men: their rate of anal cancer is the same as the rate of cervical cancer for women who are not screened for it. Tests that spot precursors to cervical cancer have saved many lives by catching cases early; there are no such tests for some of HPV's male cancers. Some gay-rights activists lament that the argument for giving the jab to boys is ignored because even liberal politicians prefer not to talk about the realities of gay sex. Women had to campaign hard to break through the embarrassment that meant cancers of the breast and reproductive organs often went undiagnosed. The lesson is that such silence can kill.

The Economist, March 23, 2016

Men may die earlier than women in part because they lie to doctors about symptoms, if they go to the doctor at all, because they want to be tough, researchers suggest in two recent studies. Researchers at Rutgers University found in a two studies that men are less likely to go to the doctor and are less likely to be honest, often resulting in missed or never diagnosed conditions. Men's life expectancy, and years of active life,   have increased in the last couple of decades , but they still live shorter lives than women. Men who believe they must act tough, brave and restrained in all situations tend to put off dealing with medical problems more than men with less traditional beliefs about how they should act. More traditional men also pick male doctors because they think they are more competent, but still resist being honest about health symptoms. At the same time, the men with less traditional views of masculinity are more likely to pick female doctors, with whom they're more honest about symptoms. "The question that we wanted to answer was, why do men die earlier than women?" Diana Sanchez, an associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University, said in a press release . "Men can expect to die five years earlier than women, and physiological differences don't explain that difference."

UPI, March 23. 2016

About a third of gay or transgender teenagers in Ireland have attempted suicide. The figure emerged in a new study that questioned 2,266 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and interviewed 1,008 people about their attitudes to the LGBTI community. It is the first to explore the experiences of Irish intersex people - those born with sex characteristics that are not strictly male or female or that belong to both.

Irish Times, March 22, 2016

Childhood cancer is bigger risk to fertility for boys: Just half who survive go on to become fathers compared with 70% of girls who fell pregnant

Only 50 per cent of boys treated with chemotherapy in childhood go on to make a partner pregnant, compared to 80 per cent of most men. ·   Study compared 11,000 childhood cancer survivors with their siblings

Experts said some measures taken to preserve fertility should be targeted at those most at risk.  Researchers said all boys diagnosed after puberty should be encouraged to bank their sperm 

Daily Mail, March 22, 2016

Men, Avoid Impotence Drugs Before Surgery

Men should not take erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra and Cialis just before surgery, experts say.The drugs contain nitric oxide, which opens blood vessels and relaxes muscles. This can cause a patient's blood pressure to become dangerously low when combined with anesthesia and other drugs used during surgery, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA).The group advises men not to take Viagra or Cialis the day before surgery because the drugs take more than 24 hours to clear the body.

Healthfinder, March 21, 2016

The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 

For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at [email protected].

The  Partnership for Male Youth is a collaboration among 23 national organizations and representation from six federal agencies. It is led by a multidisciplinary and multispecialty steering committee and advisory council. The Partnerships's flagship effort, released in January 2014, is  The Health Provider Toolkit for Adolescent and Young Adult Males.