Transcutaneous minoxidil in the treatment of erectile dysfunctions in spinal cord injured men.

We have tested the erectile effect of a topical applied drug (Minoxidil) in 15 spinal cord injured men. Minoxidil exerts a direct relaxant effect on arterial smooth muscles. This topical vasodilatory agent (1 ml of a 2% solution) was applied on the skin of the penile shaft.

[Male sterility and artificial insemination using donor semen. Our experience].

There has been a considerable increase in the demand for artificial insemination with donor semen (A.I.D.

A new criterion for the more exact evaluation of the swelling test.

The functional integrity of membranes of 12 semen samples from fertile men and 60 from male partners in couples with infertile marriage was assessed by hypoosmotic swelling test, eosin vitality test and swelling/eosin test. We found a mean swelling percentage of 75 +/- 2.7 for the group of subjects with proven fertility, while a mean of 72 +/- 9.

Interference of exogenous HCG on pregnancy tests.

New urinary tests of pregnancy have recently been developed that are exceptionally sensitive to HCG. Our study was undertaken to explore the possibility that exogenous HCG, administered to induce ovulation, may interfere with these low-threshold tests of pregnancy. Six healthy volunteers participated in our study.

Hyperprolactinemia and 5-alpha-reductase activity.

A number of experimental data indicate that hyperprolactinemia inhibits the activity of 5-alpha-reductase; however, no information is available about the time required for this enzyme to re-activate after prolactinemia has returned to normal values. In the present study, five normal caucasian men, whose fertility had previously been proven, were given HCG (5000 IU/day by intramuscular route for three days) both in basal conditions and after sulpiride-induced hyperprolactinemia (dosage = 200 mg/day for ten days). In both conditions, the plasma levels of prolactin (PRL), testosterone (T), dihydro-testosterone (DHT), 17-beta-estradiol (E2), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS) were monitored during the treatment with HCG and for an additional 24 hrs after HCG discontinuation.

Chronic phospholipid liposomes administration and ovarian function.

In the past years, hypothalamic phospholipids (H-PL) have been used therapeutically for their behavioral effects. The major pharmacological effect of H-PLs is that they increase the turnover rate of biogenic amines in the brain. Previous studies have also shown that a single i.

Plasma concentrations of FSH and testosterone in male infertile patients.

We studied the statistical distribution of the plasma concentrations of FSH and testosterone in patients with oligoazoospermia as compared with normospermic subjects. The plasma concentration of FSH was determined in 429 patients with oligoazoospermia and 282 normospermic subjects ("controls"). In 118 out of these 429 patients and in 47 of the 282 controls, the plasma concentration of testosterone was also measured.

Tamoxifen and oligospermia.

Thirty normogonadotropic oligospermic males were administered Tamoxifen (20 mg/day) for 4 months. A complete evaluation of seminal parameters before and after treatment was performed. An increase of both mean sperm concentration and total sperm count was noted after treatment with Tamoxifen (p less than 0.

The response of serum and seminal plasma prolactin to bromocriptine in normal men.

The Authors describe their experience with a group of twelve volunteer healthy men in order to evaluate if the bromocriptine inhibition of serum prolactin concentration also modifies seminal plasma PRL values. The results of this study lead us to suppose that PRL in semen could arrive from serum by a filtration process through the prostatovescicular apparatus.