Efficacy and Safety of an Injectable Combination Hormonal Contraceptive for Men.

Context: The development of a safe and effective reversible method of male contraception is still an unmet need.

Objective: Evaluation of suppression of spermatogenesis and contraceptive protection by coadministered im injections of progestogen and testosterone.

Design: Prospective multicentre study.

Copy number variation and microdeletions of the Y chromosome linked genes and loci across different categories of Indian infertile males.

We analyzed 34 azoospermic (AZ), 43 oligospermic (OS), and 40 infertile males with normal spermiogram (INS) together with 55 normal fertile males (NFM) from the Indian population. AZ showed more microdeletions in the AZFa and AZFb regions whereas oligospermic ones showed more microdeletions in the AZFc region. Frequency of the AZF partial deletions was higher in males with spermatogenic impairments than in INS.

Male contraceptive efficacy of Ricinus communis L. extract.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Ricinus communis L. (Rc), of Euphorbiaceae family is a widespread plant in tropical regions and it is used in traditional medicines as an antifertility agent in India and different parts of the world.

Aim Of The Study: The aim of the present study is to revalidate the ethnobotanical knowledge by evaluating the activity of only crude stem bark extracts of Rc.

Complete sperm suppression in rats with dienogest plus testosterone undecanoate is facilitated through apoptosis in testicular cells.

Complete suppression of the production of sperm in rats with dienogest (DNG, 40 mg/kg body weight [bw]) plus testosterone undecanoate (TU, 25 mg/kg bw), every 45 days, was found to be associated with a significant increase in germ cell apoptosis. Caspase 3 activity and expression in testis were simultaneously upregulated. Rise in the activities of caspase 8 and 9 was associated with overexpression of upstream marker proteins from extrinsic (Fas [Fatty acid synthase], FasL [Fatty acid synthase ligand], and caspase 8) and intrinsic (Bax [Bcl2-associated-x protein], Bcl2 [B-cell lymphoma 2], and caspase 9) pathways of apoptosis.

Complete sperm suppression induced by dienogest plus testosterone undecanoate is associated with down-regulation in the expression of upstream steroidogenic enzyme genes in rat testis.

Background: We had shown that dienogest (DNG) + testosterone undecanoate (TU) induced complete sperm suppression in rats when administered together every 45 days. On the other hand, individual drugs given alone in a similar fashion failed to achieve the same result.

Study Design: The present study was therefore undertaken to determine the reason for such a differential sperm suppression and to correlate it with the expression of steroidogenic enzyme genes in the rat testis.

Extended intervention time and evaluation of sperm suppression by dienogest plus testosterone undecanoate in male rat.

Background: The potential of using dienogest [DNG, 40 mg/kg body weight (bw)] plus testosterone undecanoate (TU, 25 mg/kg bw) in rats for development of a once-a-month male hormonal contraceptive has been reported earlier in our laboratories.

Study Design: In the present study, we report a separate efficacy evaluation of the same combination, DNG (40 mg/kg bw) and TU (25 mg/kg bw) in which interval of drug administration has been extended further to 45 and 60 days instead of every 30 days.

Results: Complete sperm suppression was observed in rats sacrificed either 60 or 90 days after DNG+TU administration, for two injections at 45-day interval.

Simultaneous accumulation of hyaluronan binding protein 1 (HABP1/p32/gC1qR) and apoptotic induction of germ cells in cryptorchid testis.

In the experimentally cryptorchid rat, spermatogenic arrest is associated with the formation of multinuclear giant cells, leading to large-scale apoptosis and elimination of germ cells from the seminiferous epithelium. Using this model, the role of Hyaluronan Binding Protein 1 (HABP1), which expresses a stage specifically in post-meiotic cells during spermatogenesis, was examined. Cryptorchidism induced complete arrest of spermatogenesis by 2 days, and by 3-5 days many large and small multinucleated giant cells populated the affected tubules.

N-acetylcysteine counteracts oxidative stress and prevents hCG-induced apoptosis in rat Leydig cells through down regulation of caspase-8 and JNK.

We have earlier reported that following persistent stimulation with hCG, oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in rat Leydig cells was mainly achieved through the extrinsic pathway. In the present study, the role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in counteracting the oxidative stress and the mechanisms of inhibition of apoptosis under such conditions were investigated. NAC (1 mM) intervention with repeated hCG stimulation (50 ng/ml, four times, each with 30 min challenge) prevented the decline in Leydig cell viability and the rise in lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species.

Altered levels of seminal nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase, and enzymatic antioxidants and their association with sperm function in infertile subjects.

Objective: To investigate the association between specific reactive nitrogen species and sperm function among infertile subjects.

Design: Controlled trial.

Setting: Fertility clinic at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, India.

Sperm function and seminal oxidative stress as tools to identify sperm pathologies in infertile men.

Routine semen analysis, which includes assessment of sperm motility, viability, and morphology, does not always provide complete diagnostic information as men demonstrating standard scores on these specific parameters sometimes remain infertile. In infertile men who had been subgrouped on the basis of sperm count, motility, morphology, and presence of leukocytes, an evaluation of sperm function and reactive oxygen species (ROS) was found to be effective tools to detect sperm pathologies.

Is abnormal sperm function an indicator among couples with recurrent pregnancy loss?

Objective: To determine whether or not sperm function parameters are altered in male partners of couples with a history of idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).

Design: In comparison with proven fertile volunteers, sperm function parameters like hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS), acrosomal status (AS), and nuclear chromatin decondensation (NCD) were assessed in vitro from male partners of couples with a history of idiopathic RPL.

Setting: Infertility clinic and andrology laboratory at National Institute of Health and Family Welfare.

Development of a rapid, sensitive, and reproducible laboratory test kit for the assessment of plasma membrane integrity of human sperm.

Objective: To develop a rapid, sensitive, and reproducible hypoosmotic swelling test kit for the assessment of plasma membrane integrity of human sperm in vitro.

Design: Prospective comparison of results with the World Health Organization (WHO) method, performed simultaneously.

Setting: Infertility center in a major city in India.