Role of seminal prostaglandins in male fertility. II. Effects of prostaglandin synthesis inhibition on spermatogenesis in man

The effect of prostaglandin biosynthesis inhibition has been studied in two groups of infertile oligozoospermic patients with high or normal-low seminal prostaglandin (PG) levels. PGE and 19-OH PGE were assayed by means of a gas chromatographic method and the most important seminal parameters (volume, concentration, motility and morphology of spermatozoa) were evaluated in basal conditions and at the end of indomethacin treatment, at a daily oral dose of 100 mg for thirty days. A drop in prostaglandin levels following indomethacin was observed in both groups of patients but only in the group with high concentrations of prostanoid derivates the prostaglandin inhibition was correlated with a significant improvement in sperm count and motility.     

Access to Social Protection by People Living with,at Risk of,or Affected by HIV in Eswatini,Malawi, Tanzania,and Zambia: Results from Population-Based HIV Impact Assessments

AIDS and Behavior - We aimed to measure social protection coverage among the general population, women and men living with HIV (WLHIV, MLHV), female and male sex workers (FSW, MSW), men who have...     

Human corneal endothelial cell growth on a silk fibroin membrane

Tissue engineering of the cornea could overcome shortages of donor corneas for transplantation and improve quality. Our aim was to grow an endothelial layer on a substratum suitable for transplant. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) fibroin was prepared as 5 μm thick transparent membranes. The B4G12 cell line was used to assess attachment and growth of human corneal endothelial cells on fibroin and compare this with a reference substratum of tissue-culture plastic. To see if cell attachment and proliferation could be improved, we assessed coatings of collagen IV, FNC Coating Mix(?) and a chondroitin sulphate-laminin mixture. All the coatings improved the final mean cell count, but consistently higher cell densities were achieved on a tissue-culture plastic rather than fibroin substratum. Collagen-coated substrata were the best of both groups and collagen-coated fibroin was comparable to uncoated tissue-culture plastic. Only fibroin with collagen coating achieved cell confluency. Primary human corneal endothelial cells were then grown using a sphere-forming technique and when seeded onto collagen-coated fibroin they grew to confluency with polygonal morphology. We report the first successful growth of primary human corneal endothelial cells on coated fibroin as a step in evaluating fibroin as a substratum for the transplantation of tissue-constructs for endothelial keratoplasty.     

A highly sensitive chemiluminescent assay for glycerylphosphorylcholine in human seminal plasma

Glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC), one of the major phosphorus-containing-choline compounds of seminal plasma, is secreted mainly by the epididymal epithelium under androgenic control. This study reports a new method that uses chemiluminescence to determine seminal GPC content, comparing it with a spectrophotometric technique. The results, obtained with both techniques studying 20 fertile patients (as control), 35 infertile patients with normospermia, 23 infertile patients with oligozoospermia and impaired motility and 9 patients with excretory azoospermia, demonstrate that the GPC chemiluminescent assay is more sensitive, simple and rapid than the spectrophotometric assay. Our data confirm that GPC may be used as a marker of vas deferens and ejaculatory duct perviousness, suggesting a possible role of this glycerophosphodiester in sperm motility.     

Role of seminal prostaglandins in male fertility. I. Relationship of prostaglandin E and 19-OH prostaglandin E with seminal parameters

Prostaglandin (PG) E and 19-OH PGE, now considered to be the most important of the human seminal prostaglandins, were assayed in infertile and normal men. In the 15 volunteers PGE and 19-OH PGE levels were 23-89 microgram/ml, respectively. In the 4 groups of infertile patients in whom either PGE or 19-OH PGE levels were increased or decreased with respect to normal, sperm concentration and motility were significantly reduced. The negative effects of low levels of seminal prostaglandins on sperm concentration and motility might be correlated respectively with decreased adenylcyclase and testicular androgen activity. The negative effects of high levels of prostaglandins on the seminal fluid might be due either to an inhibition in testicular DNA synthesis or to a decreased sensitivity of the receptors to high titers of prostaglandins.     

A double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of the neuropsychologic efficacy of cranberry juice in a sample of cognitively intact older adults: pilot study findings

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to conduct the first known clinical trial of the short-term (i.e., 6 weeks) efficacy of cranberry juice on the neuropsychologic functioning of cognitively intact older adults. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty (50) community-dwelling, cognitively intact volunteers, > or = 60 years old, who reported no history of dementia or significant neurocognitive impairments, participated in this study. DESIGN: A 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group, clinical trial was utilized. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 32 ounces/day of a beverage containing 27% cranberry juice per volume (n = 25) or placebo (n = 25) for 6 weeks, and administered a series of neuropsychologic tests at both pretreatment baseline and again after 6 weeks of either cranberry juice or placebo treatment to assess treatment-related changes. OUTCOME MEASURES: Efficacy measures consisted of participants' raw scores on the following standardized neuropsychologic tests: Selective Reminding Test, Wechsler Memory Scale-III Faces I and Faces II subtests, Trail Making Test (Parts A and B), Stroop Color and Word Test, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale- III Digit Symbol-Coding subtest. A subjective Follow-up Self-report Questionnaire was also administered to participants at the conclusion of the end-of-treatment phase assessments. RESULTS: Two-factor, mixed analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant group (cranberry juice and placebo) by trial (pretreatment baseline and end-of-treatment assessments) interactions across all of the neuropsychologic tests and measures utilized in this study when a Bonferroni corrected alpha level was used to correct for multiple comparisons (i.e., .05/17 group by trial comparisons = .003). Pearson Chi-Square analyses of the groups' self-reported changes over the 6-week treatment phase in their abilities to remember, thinking processes, moods, energy levels, and overall health on the Follow-up Self-report Questionnaire revealed no significant relationships. However, a nonsignificant trend (X2(1) = 2.373, p = 0.123) was noted for participants' self-reported overall abilities to remember from pretreatment baseline to the end-of-treatment assessment. Specifically, more than twice as many participants in the cranberry group (n = 9, 37.5%) rated their overall abilities to remember by treatment end as "improved" as compared to placebo controls (n = 4, 17.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, no significant interactions were found between the cranberry and placebo groups and their pretreatment baseline and end-of-treatment phase (after 6 weeks) standardized neuropsychologic assessments. A nonsignificant trend was noted, however, on a subjective, self-report questionnaire where twice as many participants in the cranberry group rated their overall abilities to remember by treatment end as "improved" compared to placebo controls.