Relationship of inhibin serum level to bioactive and immunoreactive FSH in oligospermic and azoospermic patients.

The purpose of the study described here was to evaluate the relationship between inhibin (INH) and bioactive FSH (B-FSH) or immunoreactive FSH (I-FSH) in oligoazoospermic patients. To accomplish this, the authors measured serum levels of INH, I-FSH, B-FSH, LH and testosterone (T) in 98 male patients attending the andrology Centre at Malphighi Hospital (Bologna) for infertility workup. On the basis of the mean sperm concentration, patients with sperm output > or = 4 x 10(7) ml-1 (n = 30) formed the control group (group A), whereas oligozoospermic patients were divided arbitrarily into three groups.

Effects of cholecystokinin octapeptide on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and on vasopressin, prolactin and growth hormone release in humans.

Cholecystokinin (CCK), a gastrointestinal (GI) hormone, is also present in structures of the central nervous system such as cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, olfactory tubercle and in regions involved in the regulation of the pituitary function. Although a number of studies have evaluated the effects of CCK on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and on arginine vasopressin (AVP), prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) plasma levels in the laboratory animal, its role in humans has not been explored. Hence, we examined the effects of the exogenous administration of this GI hormone on corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, AVP, PRL and GH plasma levels in humans.

Effect of acetylcarnitine treatment in oligoasthenospermic patients.

Acetylcarnitine (AC), present in human spermatozoa and seminal fluid, plays an important role in sperm metabolism. To further investigate the effect of AC on sperm quality, AC (4 g/day) was given to 20 patients with idiopathic oliogasthenospermia for 60 days. AC had no effects on sperm density and total motility, but it did significantly increase progressive sperm motility (mean +/- SEM: 21.

Therapy with human chorionic gonadotrophin alone induces spermatogenesis in men with isolated hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism--long-term follow-up.

The effects of long-term (14-120 months) hCG-treatment of 17 male patients affected by isolated hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (IHH) on testicular volume, plasma testosterone levels, and sperm concentration were assessed. Mean testicular volume increased from 3.8 +/- 0.

[Antibiotic therapy in infertile subjects with chronic gonococcal infections: measurement of sperm output].

Several antibiotics of choice for the treatment of Gonorrhoea have proved to be effective in the acute forms of this disease. Men infected with gonococci may not develop or may not notice any symptoms at all: thus, complications of gonococcal infection can cause semen inadequacy and infertility. We are not aware of any previous paper on the treatment of chronic asymptomatic gonorrhoea (IUGC) and the cytotoxic effects in sperm maturation (so called "stress pattern tubular syndrome") and/or motility possibly mediated by some antigonococcal agents after prolonged period of administration.

Role of peripherally infused angiotensin II on the human hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Although angiotensin II (AII), a potent vasoconstrictor agent, has been reported to stimulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of laboratory animals, its role in the regulation of this axis in humans appears to be controversial. To examine this question, AII (Val5-AII amide) was infused intravenously into 19 male normal volunteers at the doses of 0, 1, 3.3 and 10 ng/kg/min for 30 min.

Generation of reactive oxygen species in subgroups of infertile men.

The capacity to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), both basally and after stimulation with the calcium ionophore A23187, was examined in the motile fraction of sperm isolated after swim-up from the semen of 10 naturally fertile men and three groups of infertile patients. The latter included: (1) men with a non-bacterial inflammation of the genital tract (n = 10); (2) men unable to impregnate their partners during an intra-uterine insemination programme (IUI) (n = 8) and their matched controls (n = 6); and (3) men with hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH) who remained infertile after induction of spermatogenesis with gonadotrophin or gonadotrophin-releasing hormone therapy (n = 3) and their matched controls (n = 3). The levels of ROS production were elevated in the sperm of some infertile men with inflammation of the genital tract compared to those found in 10 naturally fertile men.

lntra- and Inter-Individual Variability in Growth Hormone Responses to Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone*.

Abstract Normal subjects show a wide range of growth hormone (GH) responses to growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) stimulation, but it is uncertain whether this variability reflects differences among individuals or whether it would also be observed on repeated tests of the same subject. To clarify this, we tested nine normal men repeatedly with iv bolus doses of 1 mug/kg GHRH(1-44)NH(2). Most subjects showed wide variations in their GH responses on repeated testing, and the intra-individual variability was nearly as great as the inter-individual variability in responses, accounting for about two-thirds of the overall variance.

Pituitary and adrenal response to ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

It has been hypothesized that there is an adrenal abnormality in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO). This study was undertaken to examine this hypothesis in a more physiological way, by enhancing the ACTH secretion in response to ovine corticotropin releasing hormone (oCRH) injection so that adrenal androgen and glucocorticoid responsiveness to endogenous stimulation could be examined. Plasma ACTH and the ACTH and cortisol (F) response to oCRH were normal.

Dynamics of plasma gonadotropin and sex steroid release in polycystic ovarian disease after pituitary-ovarian inhibition with an analog of gonadotropin-releasing hormone.

To assess the dynamics of the suppression and recovery of plasma gonadotropins and sex steroids during and after inhibition of pituitary-ovarian function by a long-acting agonist GnRH-analog (GnRH-A), eight patients with polycystic ovarian disease were treated with 12 micrograms/kg X day GnRH-A for 56 consecutive days. In response to GnRH-A, these patients had a sharp and pronounced decline of their initially elevated immunoreactive LH and bioactive LH (bioLH) levels. Plasma immunoreactive FSH levels declined more rapidly than did bioLH, but the FSH decline was less sustained.

Failure of GnRH analogue to inhibit serum concentrations of testosterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone in hCG-substituted hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRH-A) induce inhibition of testicular function and reduction of serum testosterone (T) in man, but the mechanism involved is still debatable. To elucidate it we studied six patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) in chronic substitution with hCG for correction of androgen deficiency symptoms, and evaluated the effect of addition of GnRH-A to the hCG therapy on plasma levels of T and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17 OHP). All patients were treated with 1000 U of hCG in every 3rd day for 24 weeks.

Effect of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-A) administration on serum gonadotrophin and steroid levels in patients with polycystic ovarian disease.

A gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue, D-Ser[TBU]LRH-EA10, (GnRH-A), at a dose of 200 micrograms was given daily for 2 months to 6 women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCO). Prior to therapy the patients presented elevated LH, testosterone (T), oestrone (E1) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the circulation. In response to GnRH-A, these subjects exhibited a marked decrease in circulating T, DHT and androstenedione (A) levels as measured 24 h after GnRH-A injection, by 4 weeks and onwards (P less than 0.

Enhancing detection of gonococcus in ejaculates of adult males using sperm dilution.

Specific cultures were used to detect growth of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae (NG) in 90 ejaculates of partners of childless marriages. Although no gonococcal growth was observed in undiluted semen, 9 out of 68 subjects with silent infection presented growth of NG in seminal plasma after dilution 1:2 with saline. It is concluded that semen dilution increases the chances of detection of NG in semen samples of asymptomatic gonococci carriers.

The prolactin-secreting system in relation to aging.

It is known that an increase in serum PRL can be responsible in men of impotence. The frequent sexual disturbances that are present in aging have suggested that in this age the PRL levels may be increased. Some authors have found elevated levels of PRL and an alteration in PRL response to pharmacological stimuli in elderly subjects.

Kinetics of steroid responsiveness to hCG during chronic inhibition of testicular function by GnRH analogue.

The effect of daily injections of D-Ser-(TBU)6-LRH-EA10 (GnRH analogue (GnRH-A) 100 micrograms sc) on serum testosterone (T), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) and oestradiol-17 beta (E2) was studied in 4 men. During GnRH-A therapy T, 17OHP and E2 were markedly decreased by the end of the second month. Continuous long-term administration of GnRh-A inhibited testicular function.