Transcripts of testicular gonadotropin-releasing hormone, steroidogenic enzymes, and intratesticular testosterone levels in infertile men.

Objective: To investigate the expressions of testicular GnRH and steroidogenic enzymes and their correlations with intratesticular T levels (ITT) and serum hormonal parameters in infertile men.

Design: Prospective case study.

Setting: University reproductive laboratory and clinics.

Post-coital gross hematuria: an unusual presentation of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Aim: To describe an unusual symptom of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods: A patient presented to our urology clinic having experienced post-coital gross hematuria for 2 years. He had not experienced lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Comparison of prevalence between self-reported erectile dysfunction and erectile dysfunction as defined by five-item International Index of Erectile Function in Taiwanese men older than 40 years.

Objectives: To conduct a cohort study in men older than 40 years in Taiwan to evaluate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) by self-report and the use of the abridged, five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5).

Methods: From July to August 2003, 990 Taiwanese men older than 40 years of age completed a telephone survey designed to assess ED prevalence and sexual functioning. ED was identified through respondent self-report and investigator assessment using the IIEF-5 instrument.

Association of spermatogenic failure with decreased CDC25A expression in infertile men.

Background: DAZ gene family is crucial for human spermatogenesis that requires the precise co-ordination of cell cycle events. CDC25A is recognized as the downstream substrate of DAZ gene family and is thought to function on the M-phase regulation of cell cycles. We investigated the expression profiles of CDC25A in the testes of infertile men and evaluated the relationship between CDC25A levels and testicular phenotype, clinical hormonal parameters and sperm retrieval results.

Isolated posterior urethral injury: an unusual complication and presentation following male coital trauma.

We describe an unusual complication of coital trauma in a 29-year-old man who presented with a 3-year history of hematospermia and post-coital gross hematuria. Using urethroscopy under a semi-tumescent penis, an isolated urethral injury with active bleeding was detected at the prostatic urethra. The patient was successfully treated with transurethral fulguration.

Efficacy and safety of on-demand oral tadalafil in the treatment of men with erectile dysfunction in Taiwan: a randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled clinical study.

Introduction: Tadalafil is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Past clinical trials have assessed its efficacy and safety in western populations. Tadalafil has not been investigated in a large clinical trial with a South-east Asian population.

Decreased mRNA transcripts of M-phase promoting factor and its regulators in the testes of infertile men.

Background: M-phase promoting factor (MPF), which is comprised of Cyclin B and a catalytic subunit, Cdc2, is a key enzyme required for cells to enter M phase in both mitosis and meiosis. MPF activity is controlled by the stimulatory dephosphorylation of the Cdc25 family and the inhibitory phosphorylation of Wee1. We determined the levels of mRNA transcripts of MPF and its regulators in the testes of infertile men, and evaluated the relationship between the transcript levels and patients' testicular phenotypes and sperm retrieval results.

Messenger RNA transcripts of the meiotic regulator BOULE in the testis of azoospermic men and their application in predicting the success of sperm retrieval.

Background: Testicular sperm retrieval can lead to paternity for azoospermic patients with spermatogenic failure. The human BOULE gene, a meiotic regulator of germ cells, is a gene whose altered expression may be associated with sterility. We determined the levels of BOULE transcripts in the testes of azoospermic patients, and evaluated the relationship between BOULE transcript levels and patients' testicular phenotypes, clinical parameters and sperm retrieval results.

Progressive depletion of germ cells in a man with nonmosaic Klinefelter's syndrome: optimal time for sperm recovery.

We describe a sequential deteriorated change of sperm count in a 30-year-old infertile man with nonmosaic Klinefelter's syndrome. His initial semen analysis revealed oligozoospermia; however, the sperm count decreased progressively, which resulted in azoospermia over a period of 3 years. By testicular sperm extraction, a few spermatozoa were recovered.

Transcriptional levels of four Y chromosome-linked AZF genes in azoospermic men and their association with successful sperm retrieval.

Objectives: To investigate the transcriptional levels of four azoospermia factor genes in the testis of azoospermic men and to investigate the association between transcriptional levels and the results of sperm retrieval.

Methods: Thirty-eight azoospermic men with normal karyotype and without Y chromosome gene deletions were enrolled. The amounts of USP9Y (ubiquitin specific protease 9, Y chromosome), DBY (dead box on the Y), RBMY1 (RNA-binding motif on the Y, 1), and DAZ (deleted in azoospermia) transcripts were examined by quantitative competitive-reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.

Clinical significance of allelotype profiling for urothelial carcinoma.

Objectives: To perform a global loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis on a cohort of urothelial carcinoma to investigate the clinical implication of specific chromosomal loss. Allelic deletions detected as LOH have been used to study the markers for carcinogenesis.

Methods: We examined the allelic loss on 14 chromosomal regions in a total of 71 cases of urothelial carcinoma.

Gene-based screening for Y chromosome deletions in Taiwanese men presenting with spermatogenic failure.

Objective: To develop a simple and rapid protocol for detecting deletions of the Y chromosome and to evaluate the feasibility of gene-based screening in men with spermatogenic failure.

Design: Prospective case study.

Setting: University-based reproductive clinics and genetics laboratory.

Presence of DAZL transcript and protein in mature human spermatozoa.

Objective: To identify the DAZL transcript and protein location in human spermatozoa.

Design: In vitro experiment.

Setting: University-based reproductive genetics laboratory.

Scrotal calcinosis presenting with prostatitis-like symptoms.

A 47-year-old man complained of a constellation of prostatitis-like symptoms for 4 years. Physical examination revealed a firm nodule within the scrotum. Surgical excision was performed under local anesthesia and microscopic examination confirmed scrotal calcinosis.