High mRNA expression of GABA receptors in human sperm with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and teratozoospermia and its association with sperm parameters and intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes.

Objective: This study investigated the mRNA expression of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors in the sperm of oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT) and teratozoospermic (TER) men compared to normozoospermic (NOR) men, as well as the relationships between GABA receptor expression and sperm parameters, fertilization rate, and embryo quality.

Methods: The mRNA expression of GABA A-α1 and GABA B-R2 receptors in sperm was examined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in three groups of patients: NOR (n=32), OAT (n=22), and TER (n=45). The fertilization rate and embryo quality were assessed in 35 patients undergoing Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI; 10 NOR, 10 OAT, and 15 TER men).

Neuroprotective effect of Asparagus racemosus root extract via the enhancement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and estrogen receptor in ovariectomized rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Asparagus racemosus (AR) is well known as an Ayurvedic rasayana which used traditionally by Ayurvedic practitioners for nervous disorders and prevent aging. In our previous study it was found that ethanol AR root extract can improve learning and memory impairment, induced by an ovariectomy, but the extract's mechanisms as a neuroprotective property are still unknown.

Aim Of The Study: This study aimed to examine the effects and mechanisms of ethanol AR root extract on the alteration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices about the Pap smear among medical workers in Naresuan University Hospital, Thailand.

Background: Cervical cancer, very common in females of the developing world, has a long premalignant period. Primary and secondary prevention can reduce the incidence. The Pap smear is the main screening modality in Thailand but the coverage is rather poor.

Septo-optic dysplasia associated with abnormal pubertal development.

Septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) is a congenital anomaly, that is characterized by a triad of optic nerve hypoplasia, structural brain defects, and hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction. This condition is very rare and it has never been reported in a Thai population. In the present report, the authors described two SOD cases that presented with primary amenorrhea and abnormal pubertal development.

Blastocyst development of 4-cell mouse embryos after laser destruction of one blastomere with or without its microsurgical removal.

Aim: To study the rate of blastocyst formation in 4-cell mouse embryos after laser destruction of one blastomere, with or without microsurgical removal of the destroyed blastomere.

Methods: Mouse embryos were randomly allocated to two control and two experimented groups. Control embryos were either non-manipulated (117 embryos) or underwent laser ablation of zona only (114 embryos).