Êxpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the azoospermic human testis.

Azoospermia, which is the absence of spermatozoa in the ejaculate, is not a rare cause of male infertility. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is a calcium-independent NOS, which is present in the testis and involved in spermatogenesis, and apoptosis of Sertoli and germ cells. Twenty idiopathic infertile men presenting nonobstructive azoospermia were enrolled in this study, and testicular sperm extraction procedures were performed.

Electron microscopic findings in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: is there a difference between hepatosteatosis and steatohepatitis?

Background And Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has long been accepted as benign; however, recent evidence suggests that the disease may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, although the natural course of the disease is still unclear. This study was designed to comparatively evaluate electron microscopic features of non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Methods: Quantitative and semi-quantitative ultrastructural evaluations were performed on liver biopsies from 23 patients, 10 with NAFL and 13 with NASH.

Omeprazole, nitrendipine, famotidine and stress-induced ulcers.

Background: Omeprazole inhibits gastric acid secretion by blocking the proton pump of the gastric parietal cell. Nitrendipine is a derivative of the dihydropyridine group of calcium channel blockers and administrated for angina and hypertension. Famotidine is one of the newer histamine H2-receptor antagonists and heals gastric and duodenal ulcers by reducing gastric acid output.

A case of Whipple's disease complicated by fatal hepatitis.

Whipple's disease was diagnosed in a 42-year-old woman by the histological examination of a mesenteric lymph node taken at laparotomy, and the electron microscopic examination of a peroral intestinal biopsy specimen. She responded well to tetracycline therapy, but succumbed to fatal hepatitis ten weeks after the diagnosis of Whipple's disease