Comparative study of intracytoplasmic sperm injection using the traditional holding and the oocyte-holding pipette without aspiration.

Despite the high level of standardization of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique, there are some aspects that deserve special attention and should still be improved. The major drawback of the technique is its invasiveness, as during cytoplasmic aspiration different structures of the oocyte may be lost or damaged. This is partly because the microtools used in ICSI were not specially designed for assisted reproduction but for other medical-biological disciplines.

Effectiveness and safety of dapagliflozin in real-life patients: data from the DAPA-RWE Spanish multicentre study.

Background: This study aims to evaluate dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in clinical practice in Spain.

Methods: This is a retrospective study including adults with T2D under stable antidiabetic therapy, with either dapagliflozin or sitagliptin ≥6 months, before inclusion. Data about the effectiveness and safety of dapagliflozin are presented.

Carriers of cystic fibrosis among sperm donors: complete CFTR gene analysis versus CFTR genotyping.

Objective: To determine the frequency of cystic fibrosis (CF) carriers among sperm donors in Spain studied through a complete analysis of the CFTR gene and to compare the results with those that would have been obtained by the 4 genotyping panels of the CFTR gene most commonly used as a carrier test in the context of assisted reproduction in our country.

Design: Descriptive observational study.

Setting: Private center.

Genetic testing of sperm donors for cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy: evaluation of clinical utility.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical utility of genetic testing for cystic fibrosis (CF) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in sperm donors.

Study Design: We studied the results of the genetic tests for CF and SMA applied to 372 sperm donor candidates. The CF carrier screening test analysed 32 mutations on the CFTR gene.

[Redifferentiation therapy with rosiglitazone in a case of differentiated thyroid cancer with pulmonary metastases and absence of radioiodine uptake].

Treatment with radioiodine (RDI) has been shown to be an effective option in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer with recurrent or metastatic disease. However, in spite of having elevated levels of thyroglobulin in blood, in some of these patients, the whole body scan does not detect radioiodine uptake due to loss of differentiation of the neoplastic cells, thus leading to loss of efficacy of the treatment. That is why drugs with potential differentiating properties, like rosiglitazone or retinoids, are being studied.

External quality control program for semen analysis: Spanish experience.

Purpose: Results from an external quality control programme for semen analysis carried out in Spain are analysed.

Methods: Quality control materials were distributed and the following seminal parameters were determined: concentration, total motility, progressive motility, rapid progressive motility, morphology and sperm vitality. The between-laboratories coefficients of variation were assessed on different types of quality control material.

[The renin-angiotensin system and anterior pituitary function: endocrine interaction or paracrine modulation?].

The identification of elements of the renin-angiotensin system and ulterior demonstration of specific cellular angiotensin II (Ag II) receptors at hypothalamic-pituitary level has suggested the possibility that these peptide play a modulatory role on anterior pituitary secretion. Recent "in vivo" and "in vitro" studies provided confirmation of a stimulatory effect of the renin-angiotensin system on growth hormone (GH) and ACTH variable. Initial experiments indicate that there is no effect on TSH and gonadotrophins secretion.

[Treatment with octreotide (SMS 201-995) in a case of intestinal carcinoid tumor].

Over the past few years the usefulness of some somatostatin's analogues in the treatment of intestinal tract endocrine tumors has been demonstrated. Notwithstanding, the results obtained are variable. The case of a carcinoid tumor with a hepatic metastasis is presented and its clinical as well as its biochemical and its morphological results are evaluated after treatment with octreotide over a seven months period.

Insulin requirements and residual beta-cell function 12 months after concluding immunotherapy in type I diabetic patients treated with combined azathioprine and thymostimulin administration for one year.

An increase in clinical and functional remissions with immunosuppression, as well as abnormal T-cell function, in Type I diabetic patients has been reported in the early stages of diabetes. A controlled trial with azathioprine and thymostimulin in separate and combined administration was performed in 45 recently diagnosed Type I diabetic patients. Phenotyping of the T-lymphocyte subsets, levels of CD25 positive cells and interleukin-2 production by patients' lymphocytes, as well as remission rate and stimulated C-peptide levels, were serially assessed.

[Spontaneous tumor regression in a patient with metastatic gastric cancer. Communication of an additional case].

A new case of spontaneous tumor regression in a patient with a metastatic gastric carcinoma, associated to an infectious abscess in the abdominal wall is presented. Streptococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated in the abscess. This interesting case is the third patient that fulfils spontaneous regression criteria associated to infection identified at the University Clinic of Navarra.