A simple spot test for the detection of fructose deficiency in semen.

The concentration of fructose in seminal plasma is an important variable that should be measured in the assessment of fertility status. The current method requires the boiling of diluted seminal plasma with resorcinol. The present study offers a new two-point spot test which uses the metol method.

Possible dopaminergic system involvement in LH and PRL responses to naltrexone treatment.

Naltrexone (Nalt) causes a rapid increase in luteinizing hormone (LH) level. This short term increase of LH concentration declines to baseline levels in less than 1 hour. Addition of pimozide (0.

Clomiphene citrate treatment in oligozoospermia: comparison between two regimens of low-dose treatment.

Clomiphene citrate (CC) is a well-known drug in fertility clinics that is used for increasing gonadotropin secretion. The present study was planned in order to evaluate the efficiency of a new regimen of treatment by 25 mg on alternate days (group A), compared to a daily dose of 25 mg (25 days on, 5 days off, group B), for 4 months. Semen quality was assessed in two matched groups, which consisted of 45 and 44 normogonadotropic oligoterato-asthenozoospermic (OTA) men, respectively.

Opiate system involvement in the control of LH secretion in diabetic and normoglycemic male rats.

The effect of Naltrexone (Nalt), a specific opiate receptor blocker, on LH secretion was studied at frequent intervals during the first hour following treatment. Nalt was injected i.v.

Changes in LH and prolactin levels in diabetic male rats and the role of the opiate system in the control of their secretion.

Diabetic male rat has low serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T), which are accompanied by atrophy of the testes and accessory glands. The present study investigated changes in the serum levels of LH, prolactin (PRL) and glucose, following diabetes induction by streptozotocin. In addition, involvement of the opiate system in the control of LH and PRL secretion was evaluated.

Effect of alpha-chlorohydrin on metabolism and testosterone secretion by rat testicular interstitial cells.

The direct effect of alpha-chlorochydrin (alpha-CH) on basic metabolism (glucose utilization and oxygen consumption) and testosterone secretion by isolated rat interstitial cells (I-cells) has been studied. In the range of concentrations between 5 and 100 microliter/ml, only the highest doses of alpha-CH decreased cell vitality and their histochemical stain for 3 beta-HSD. Oxygen consumption of I-cells was depressed at all doses higher than 10 microliter/ml and this effect was reversible only with doses lower than 50 microliter/ml.

Treatment of cervical ectropion by cryosurgery: effect on cervical mucus characteristics.

Eighteen women with cervical ectropion and 12 women with ectropion and vaginal discharge were treated by cryosurgery. Evaluation of the cervical mucus characteristics by cervical score and in vitro penetration test was performed before treatment and 2 months later. In the group with ectropion only (group A) the total cervical score was 5.

The use of technetium in evaluation of the male accessory glands activity.

This study was performed with the purpose to elucidate the possibility of using Technetium 99m (Tc) as a marker for the evaluation of male sex glandular activity of the rat. Tc was injected into the femoral vein of the rat and its cpm was counted. The studies have shown that 22 hours after injection of Tc the material was accumulated in the glands in much higher values than its activity in the blood (which was only 1% of its zero time activity).

Effect of the antifertility agent, gossypol acetic acid, on the metabolism and testosterone secretion of isolated rat interstitial cells in vitro.

Gossypol acetic acid is a polyphenolic compound present in the seed of cotton plants. Its antifertility activity by inhibition of spermatogenesis was proven in a large group of animals, including man. In the present study, the direct effect of gossypol acetic acid on collagenase isolated rat I-cells (interstitial cells) was investigated.

The possible use of phenoxybenzamine as a male contraceptive drug: studies on male rats.

Treatment of male rats with phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride (PBZ), 70 micrograms/100 g body weight for 5 weeks, caused infertility of the rats. This effect was fully reversible. Studies on the weights of the testes, epididymides, and male accessory sex glands, revealed increased glandular weights (significantly in the testes, epididymides and seminal vesicles).

Serum antibody levels in human paragonimiasis before and after therapy with praziquantel.

Enzyme immunoassays (ELISA) and indirect haemagglutination (IHA) were used to determine IgG and IgE serum antibody levels in 43 patients from Ecuador before and after therapy with praziquantel. ELISA indicated infection more sensitively than IHA. The tendency of increasing antibody levels between the first and second month after therapy was more distinct when measured by IHA, whereas the decreases of antibody levels between the third and sixth month after treatment was more distinct when measured by ELISA.

An extra-pancreatic direct effect of streptozotocin on the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-testicular axis in the rat.

Streptozotocin induced diabetes mellitus in 4 out of 6 male rats. On the other hand, all 6 drug-injected animals had decreased serum testosterone values. The Leydig cells from 6 control rats and all streptozotocin-injected animals were characterized by moderate numbers of mitochondria, few lipid droplets, and an abundance of smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum.

Establishment of a method for preservation of human cervical mucus for in vitro penetration tests.

Midcycle cervical mucus was obtained from 56 women. Each mucus sample was divided into four portions collected into a capillary tube and kept either at room temperature or at 4 degrees C, -20 degrees C or in liquid nitrogen for 1 h, afterwards thawed at 37 degrees C and used in the in vitro penetration device for 1 h. 56 semen samples of good quality were used, the same sample for all four types of the same cervical mucus.

Effects of long-term treatment with bromocriptine on pituitary prolactinoma in a male.

Poor surgical results are obtained when operating on large prolactinomas, especially when an extrasellar growth is demonstrated. Several groups have reported tumor regression following bromocriptine treatment. A case report is presented of a young hyperprolactinemic man with a large pituitary adenoma with suprasellar extension, normal visual fields, decreased libido, impotence, hypogonadism and azoospermia.

Prolactin receptors in interstitial cells of testes from rats at different stages of development.

The developmental pattern of prolactin receptors was examined in intact interstitial cells isolated from testes of 19-day old foetuses (F19), 1 to 45-day immature (N1 to N45) and adult animals. The prolactin binding activity in F19 interstitial cells is low, being 27% of that found in cells of the adult. There is an abrupt 60% increase in prolactin binding immediately after birth (N1), followed by a slow, but gradual, increase for the next 34 and adulthood which follows an increment in serum prolactin concentrations after day 24.

The effect of anticonvulsant drugs on the development of male rats and their fertility.

Albino male rats were injected with diphenylhydantoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid or clonazepam for three months immediately after weaning. Following the treatment the fertility of the rats was tested by caging them with proestrus females and recording impregnations. The males were decapitated and their sex organs weighed.

A direct effect of alpha-chlorohydrin on rat epididymal spermatozoa.

The effect of alpha-chlorohydrin (alpha-CH) on rat epididymal spermatozoa was studied in vivo and in vitro. Alpha-CH was injected sc in doses of 5 and 20 mg daily for 16 days. The 20 mg dose resulted in diminished epididymal spermatozoal content (8 +/- 4 vs.