Anti-acrosin Antibodies in Sera, Colostrum and Genital Organs of Vaccinated Ewes: Estimation and Correlation with Fertility

Three ewes were vaccinated with boar sperm acrosin. Despite the presence of antiacrosin antibodies which crossreact with ram acrosin in the sera of the immunized sheep, no significant reduction in fertility was observed. Incubation of ejaculated or capacitated boar spermatozoa with anti-acrosin serum or IgG did not reduce the halos of digestion in the gelatinolysis test. However, an unexplained decrease of the forward progression and number of lytically active spermatozoa was observed after this treatment. We found antiacrosin antibodies and determined their titers in the sera of the vaccinated ewes, in colostrum and in aqueous extracts of cervix, uterus, oviduct and ovary. No antiacrosin antibodies could be detected in the sera of new born lambs. The immunoglobulins IgA, IgG and IgM were isolated from the sera of the ewes. The acrosin-specific antibodies belonged exclusively to the IgG class. In genital extracts the amount of IgG, IgA and IgM was determined. IgG was found in higher amount in every extract. IgA is present in similar amount only in the cervix, in the other parts only in traces. In all extracts IgM is found in a very low level. The specificity of the antibodies for acrosin was proven by active enzyme staining of the precipitin lines obtained by immunodiffusion.     

Paternity Cases

Through analysis of 350 expertises in suits, where the man was accused of paternity, was found that these examinees often lived in a sterile marriage. When examined they often try to influence negatively the result of spermiologic examination. Sterility was ascertained here in only about 10% of cases. In the material consisting of 98 expertises in suits for denial of paternity it was found that about one half of these men were either divorced or in the course of divorce proceedings and about one third of them stated the infidelity of the wife. In more than one third of these cases sterility was proved. The court expert must often express his opinion as to the fertility of the man two or more years previously. His conclusion is especially difficult, where the spermiologic findings repeatedly vary within the limits of severe oligozoospermia with less than 5 million spermatozoids per 1 ml and where the motility is poor.     

In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in domestic animals: Applications in animals and implications for humans

Extensive research has been conducted in domestic animals, particularly in cattle, in the reproductive technologies of sperm handling, capacitation, and acrosome reaction, superovulation, and embryo handling, sexing, bisection, cryopreservation, and transfer. Because of the economic importance of cattle these technologies have been tested and improved under clinical conditions: The results of employing these procedures are available on tens of thousands of pregnancies and offspring. This information has implications in applying some of the same technologies in human reproduction. The large number of normal progeny produced in cattle after a long prenatal development period, similar to humans, provides some assurance that these technologies, carefully applied, are safe. The basis for these conclusions is documented in the publications cited in this review.     

Regression Toward the Mean in Fertility Research — An Empirical Study of Semen Quality

Regression toward the mean denotes circumstances, where extreme observations tend to normalize at repetition. The phenomenon is caused by random variation and may occur whenever mainly persons with extreme values are subject to repeated examinations. We furnish empirical evidence that the phenomenon may be quantitatively important in fertility research with regard to some, but probably not all indicators of semen quality.     

Testicular cancer and fertility

Before treatment, a little over one-half of patients with testicular cancer have fathered children, while one-fifth have a history of sterility. Radiotherapy with a gonadal dose of less than 1.5 Gy seems to do little permanent damage to fertility. Following cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy, a number of conceptions have been reported. The newer regimens affect spermatogenesis less than earlier ones due to a lower toxicity of the drugs and shorter duration of the treatment. New modifications of retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy may save ejaculatory ability in over one-half of the patients. It is uncertain whether this procedure is less detrimental to fertility than the cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. Even though semen quality is often poor before treatment, cryopreservation of semen should be considered since in vitro fertilization may be successful even with very poor semen quality. There are no indications in the literature of permanent adverse genetic effects of the treatment.     

A Study of Spermatozoal Motility in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

The aim of the study was to examine an aspect of male fertility in patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (n = 17) compared to healthy control subjects (n = 16) using parameters of sperm motility, measured using a computerized image analysis system (the Hamilton Thorn Research HTM-2030 Motility Analyzer), as indicators of potential fertility. Within the diabetic group no correlations were found between sperm motility and age, age of onset of diabetes, duration of diabetes or glycated haemoglobin. When the diabetic and control groups were compared, track speed, path velocity, progressive velocity, and lateral head displacement were not significantly different, whereas linearity and linear index, measures of straightness of swimming, were significantly greater in the diabetic subjects (59.2% vs 69.8%, p = 0.0005 and 76.4% vs 83.6%, p= 0.0016, respectively). We conclude that diabetic men, in the absence of complications, do not appear to be at a disadvantage in terms of sperm motility compared to healthy individuals.     

Reproductive health in individuals with homozygous beta-thalassemia: knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.

OBJECTIVE: To review the reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of persons with homozygous beta-thalassemia. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Patients treated at a tertiary hospital and community-based healthy controls. PARTICIPANT(S): One hundred and thirty persons, 16 years of age or older, who had homozygous beta-thalassemia and were attending hospital for regular blood transfusion, and 99 demographically matched persons without thalassemia. ASSESSMENT TOOL: Reproductive health questionnaire. RESULT(S): 104 (80%) persons with homozygous beta-thalassemia completed the questionnaire and were compared with 99 controls. Persons with homozygous beta-thalassemia were as likely as healthy peers to be in a relationship, employed full-time, sexually active, and using contraception and to have had children. Hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism was present in 55 (52.8%) patients, 46 (83.6%) of whom were compliant with hormone replacement therapy. Understanding of genetics and reproductive potential was suboptimal among persons with homozygous beta-thalassemia, and this group had a higher rate of unplanned pregnancy. CONCLUSION(S): This study suggests that with optimal therapy, most young adults with homozygous beta-thalassemia can achieve reproductive, sexual, and social experiences similar to those of their healthy peers.     

Male alcohol consumption and fecundity in couples attending an infertility clinic

The relationship between male alcohol intake and fertility was studied for 258 couples attending an infertility clinic. 21% consumed less than 1 unit per week on average, 10% consumed between 1 and 5 units per week, 23% consumed between 6 and 10 units per week, 27% consumed 11 to 20 units per week and 19% consumed more than 20 units per week. There was no significant association between alcohol consumption and any semen parameter. 110 men had a female partner who was apparently normal. There was no significant difference in the alcohol intake between the 'normal' and 'abnormal' female groups. Couples were followed-up for up to 32 months. Sixteen women had a treatment independent conception within the 'normal' female group. There was no significant association between the amount of alcohol consumed per week and the fertility outcome.     

Infertility: Fertility drugs and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in Italy

The report of an increase of ovarian cancer risk among womenwho had used fertility drugs prompted us to analyse the relationshipbetween fertility drugs and ovarian cancer in a case-controlstudy which has been ongoing in four areas of Italy since 1992.The present analysis is based on 195 epithelial ovarian cancercases and 1339 controls admitted to hospital for diseases otherthan gynaecological or malignant conditions. Fewer ovarian cancercases than controls reported use of fertility drugs (odds ratio,after allowance for potential confounding factors: 0.7, 95%confidence interval: 0.2-3.3). Among nulligravid women, 5/177control women compared with 0/36 cancer cases reported havingever used fertility drugs. Although only based on small numbersof women who were suffering from ovarian cancer and who hadalso used fertility drugs, the present study indicated thata role of ovarian stimulation in the aetiology of epithelialovarian cancer is not established, although it is worth investigating