Occurrence of serum antisperm antibodies in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: To determine if acquired obstruction of the vas deferens in men with cystic fibrosis (CF) induced the development of antisperm antibodies with genital tract obstruction similar to other men.

Design: Serum antisperm antibodies were assayed by an indirect immunobead test and an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Both homologous (human sperm/human zona) and heterologous (human sperm/zona-free hamster ova) sperm/egg interactions were evaluated in the presence of serum antisperm antibodies from patients with CF.

Urine drug screening for cocaine after lacrimal surgery.

We investigated whether the results of routine urine drug screening for cocaine would be positive after dacryocystorhinostomy. Postoperative urine specimens were analyzed for the presence of benzoylecgonine, the major metabolite of cocaine, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results of urine tests of all 12 patients were positive for cocaine 24 hours postoperatively.

Comparison of the indirect immunobead, radiolabeled, and immunofluorescence assays for immunoglobulin G serum antibodies to human sperm.

The relative sensitivities of the indirect immunobead test, the indirect flo cytometric immunofluorescence assay, and an indirect radiolabeled antiglobulin assay were compared. Eighteen immunobead test positive sera and 18 negative sera were used as the standard for the other two assays. Of the 18 positive sera, 14 (77%) and 5 (27%) were positive in the immunofluorescence assay and the radiolabeled antiglobulin assay, respectively.

Reversible hearing loss from cerebellopontine angle tumors.

We report two patients who presented with a dramatic recovery from severe sensorineural hearing loss after total surgical removal of cerebellopontine angle tumors (meningioma and jugular foramen neurinoma). The factors that differentiate these "non-acoustic tumors" in relation to the prognosis for hearing are discussed. A surgical approach that maintains the labyrinthine structure and preserves the arachnoid membrane of the superior cerebellopontine angle cistern during tumor removal is stressed.

Activation of human complement by IgG antisperm antibody and the demonstration of C3 and C5b-9-mediated immune injury to human sperm.

To investigate the role of C in the pathogenesis of antisperm antibody (ASA)-mediated infertility, we evaluated the binding and biologic effects of antisperm IgG and autologous C on human sperm. A flow cytometric assay using motile sperm as a target for IgG ASA+ (n = 30) and ASA- (n = 5) sera was developed for the concomitant detection of sperm-bound IgG and the initial (C3d) and terminal (C5b-9) C components on the surface of human sperm. Of the 30 IgG ASA+ sera evaluated by flow cytometry, 15 (50%) and 22 (73.

[Prototype of an instrument for retrograde obturation].

Several instruments to carry and put the silver amalgam into de apical foramen for it's posterior condensation without spreading this material over the periodontal tissues, bone and adyacent mucosa, has been designed along the years. This article describes an easier and cheaper way to make an endodontic amalgam carrier by the adaptation between en 18 and 22 mm intravenous catheters into disposable syringes by the use of autopolymerizable acrilic, given the dentist the option of making a very easy instrument, at a low cost which can be used as a commercial endodontic amalgam carrier as well.

Lack of complement activation in the seminal plasma of men with antisperm antibodies associated in vivo on their sperm.

A specific and sensitive "sandwich"-type radiolabeled antiglobulin assay (RAA) using monoclonal anti-human C5b-9 neoantigen and polyclonal anti-human C5b-9 was used to evaluate the presence of the in vivo product of human complement (C) activation (SC5b-9) in the seminal plasma (SP) of 19 fertile and 61 infertile men. SP SC5b-9 was detectable in 7 (8.7%; 1 fertile and 6 infertile men) of the 80 men with a range of 10 to 175 ng/ml.

Autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss: a preliminary experimental study.

The aim of this study was to compare cochlear alterations produced by induction of anti-type II collagen antibodies with alterations produced by passive transfer of anticochlear antibodies. Guinea pigs (GP) were used. The anticochlear antibodies were obtained by injecting GP membranous cochlea plus Freund's adjuvant into rabbits.

Clinical and surgical aspects of cholesteatomas in children.

A review of 101 charts of pediatric patients who underwent surgery for cholesteatoma in the Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo, Brazil, showed that the peak incidence was in the 10- to 15-year-old age group (mean age, 10.7 years). A high incidence of complications (45.

Assessment by fluorescence-activated cell sorting of whether sperm-associated immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgA occur on the same sperm population.

Two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorting of antisperm antibody-positive sperm was used to detect simultaneously the presence of immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG antisperm antibodies associated in vivo on a man's sperm. Sperm positive for sperm-associated Ig were analyzed using phycoerythrin-conjugated antihuman IgA and fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated antihuman IgG; up to 87% of the same spermatozoa were stained with both labels. Sperm positive for only one of the antisperm antibody isotypes stained up to 90% of a man's sperm with only one fluorochrome.

Evaluation of antisperm complement-dependent immune mediators in human ovarian follicular fluid.

A "sandwich"-type radiolabeled antiglobulin assay using monoclonal anti-C5b-9 neoantigen and polyclonal anti-C5b-9 was used to evaluate the presence of terminal C complexes (SC5b-9 or MC5b-9) in the sera and ovarian follicular fluid (FF) from 45 infertile women. FF SC5b-9 was detectable in all clinical diagnostic categories. The mean SC5b-9 levels in FF and sera were 399 ng/ml (range 75 to 1350 ng/ml) and 798 ng/ml (range 0 to 2700 ng/ml), respectively.

A radiolabeled antiglobulin assay to identify human cervical mucus immunoglobulin (Ig) A and IgG antisperm antibodies.

Antisperm immunoglobulin (Ig) A and IgG antibodies in human cervical mucus (CM) were identified by a radiolabeled antiglobulin assay. Cervical mucus samples from fertile and infertile women were exposed to a 1:3,200 dilution of 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), and 5 micrograms of the solubilized CM protein were assayed for the presence of IgA and IgG antisperm and anti-Candida activity by the radiolabeled antiglobulin assay. Purified human secretory IgA and IgG exposed to 2-ME retained the molecular integrity and functional activity of the untreated antibody molecules.

Ketoconazole resistance in Torulopsis glabrata.

The majority of clinical isolates of T. glabrata has been shown highly sensitive to ketoconazole, when tested with an agar dilution method, and resistant, when using a broth dilution method. The fact was accounted for the high degree of mutation associated with the haploid state present in this species.

Quantitation of immunoglobulin G on human sperm.

An indirect inhibition assay was devised to quantitate the amount of immunoglobulin molecules on the surface of human sperm. Sperm-associated IgG was used to inhibit competitively 125I-labeled polyclonal anti-human IgG from binding to human IgG affixed to microtissue culture plate wells. Standard curves for the assay were derived by substituting soluble IgG in the supernatant of the tissue culture wells for sperm-associated IgG.

Immunoreactive human epidermal growth factor in human seminal plasma.

We measured immunoreactive epidermal growth factor (EGF) by a homologous RIA in seminal plasma (SP) from 31 fertile and 52 infertile men to determine the relationship between SP EGF levels and total sperm count in the ejaculates. The mean SP EGF levels in fertile and infertile men were 41.7 +/- 21.

Eosinophilic granuloma of the temporal bone.

Otological involvement in Histiocytosis X, although infrequent, may be present in any of the forms of this entity. The otologist must keep Histiocytosis X in mind in the differential diagnosis of cases presenting with post-aural swelling, non purulent otorrhea and absence of fever and pain in children under three-years old. Some aspects of clinical presentation and treatment are discussed.

Distribution of human leukocyte antigen-ABC and -D/DR antigens in the unfixed human testis.

The distribution of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens in the unfixed human testicle was studied by indirect immunofluorescence. Three murine monoclonal antibodies to the common determinants of class I MHC antigens (human leukocyte antigen [HLA]-ABC) and three against class II MHC antigens (HLA-D/DR antigens), respectively, were utilized. No class I MHC antigens were identified on developing testicular germ cells including spermatozoa, but interstitial cells between the seminiferous tubules (including Leydig cells) and blood vessel endothelium expressed the antigen.

The effect of fixatives and/or air-drying on the plasma and acrosomal membranes of human sperm.

It has been hypothesized that some fixatives and conditions of slide preparation expose internal sperm antigens and thus are not suitable for demonstrating surface-specific antigens by immunocytochemical assays. This study examined the ability of five fixatives (glutaraldehyde, acetone, methanol, paraformaldehyde, and periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde [PLP]) and two conditions of slide preparation (air-drying or maintaining sperm in a liquid phase) to maintain the integrity of human spermatozoal membranes at the ultrastructural level as monitored by transmission electron microscopy. Regardless of the fixative employed, air-drying was detrimental to plasma and acrosomal membrane integrity.