A Modern Approach to the Gonadotropin Treatment in Oligozoospermia

A critical review of the gonadotropin therapy in male infertility or hypofertility is presented. In the author's opinion, the poor and conflicting results so far obtained wih this kind of treatment are mainly due to inadequate selection of the patients admitted to the treatment itself. The author stresses some points concerning the modern knowledge on the physiology of gonadotropin secretion in males; points that must be borne in mind in approaching this type of treatment, and which in some way revolutionize the old concept of "low" or "high" plasma gonadotropin levels. In this concern, the gonadotropin therapy can be applied not only to the hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, as for the past, but also to the spermatogenic arrests and to the idiopathic oligospermiogenesis wtih "normal" gonadotropin levels. The author then exposes the rigid criteria adopted in the Andrologic Center of the 5th Medical Clinic of the University of Rome for the selection of the patients to be admitted to the treatment; criteria which are based on hormonal, morphological and seminal parameters. In the final part the results are reported obtained in the selected patients with a treatment schedule with associated HMG + MCG (150--300 I.U. as FSH per week and 2000--6000 I.U. as LH per week for 12--16 weeks). The results seem very encouraging: in 85% of the patients a quantitative and qualitative amelioration of the spermatogenesis was obtained; in 30% of these cases an outcome of pregnancies in the partner has been documented so far.     

Plasma level monitoring of mitotane (o,p'-DDD) and its metabolite (o,p'-DDE) during long-term treatment of cushing's disease with low doses

Summary. Mitotane (o,p'-DDD) can be used for the treatment of various adrenocortical diseases such as Cushing's syndrome, but the usual doses of 6–8 g per day are often associated with severe adverse effects.This paper reports the results of much lower doses of o,p'-DDD (0.5–2 g per day) in two patients with Cushing's disease over periods of 8 and 5 years, respectively, under concomitant monitoring of the plasma levels of the parent drug and its major metabolite, o,p'-DDE.It became apparent that o,p'-DDD and o,p'-DDE have a strong tendency to accumulate in the body due to their high lipophilicity. As a consequence, changes in dose regimens had long lag times before they were reflected in plasma levels and once an increase or decrease had started one had to be careful not to cause overshoot.Steady state plasma levels of o,p'-DDD between 5–10 g/ml appeared sufficient to induce and to maintain remission of the disease, which was accompanied with normal cortisol levels in plasma and urine. DDD-levels below 5 g/ml for several weeks may lead to relapses, whereas DDD-levels over 10 g/ml gave rise to side effects. On the other hand, o,p'-DDE seemed inactive at levels up to 4 g/ml in plasma.     

Men's issues: gender role conflict and substance abuse

The present paper aims to explore issues related to men within the context of seeking help for substance abuse. The male gender role is in conflict with help-seeking behaviour and with the fundamental principles of therapy, i.e. introspection, emotional expressivity and acknowledgement of difficulties. This creates a paradox for the male seeking psychological treatment and, it will be argued, particularly for the male substance abuser. It is argued that interventions which address the gender role and challenge men's perceptions of themselves are critical variables in the outcome of therapy, i.e. enabling them to make the necessary changes in order to promote psychological well-being. An examination of the male gender role in relation to intrapsychic issues and family systems will be followed by a brief discussion of therapeutic interventions. Some of the difficulties and issues confronted by workers who work with male substance abusers will be explored.     

Is the retractile testis a normal,physiological variant or an anomaly that requires active treatment?

Conventional teaching states that the retractile testis is a normal, physiological variant that descends spontaneously by puberty and requires no active treatment. Critical review of the literature, however, suggests that this complacent view may be inappropriate. Substantial overlap exists between the three seemingly separate entities of the late descending, the ascending and the retractile testes. This overlapping group probably accounts for the recently observed increased incidence of orchidopexies. Retractile testes that spend most of the time in an extrascrotal position are subject to the same adverse effects of higher temperatures as true undescended testes, regardless of whether they can be manipulated into the scrotum; what matters is where they actually reside most of the time. The evidence suggests that such retractile testes suffer similar pathological changes to true undescended testes if left to await spontaneous descent. Evidence is presented to support a radical, novel proposal that the retractile testis is a variant of the spectrum of pathological maldescended testes and requires active treatment. A new strategy is proposed for the management of this common pathology. Correspondence to: D. W. Goh     

Matching pain coping strategies to the individual: A prospective validation of the Cognitive Coping Strategy Inventory

The validity of the Cognitive Coping Strategy Inventory (CCSI; Butler et al., 1989) was tested in a prospective fashion. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Some were matched to a strategy for which they received a high CCSI score, some were mismatched to a strategy for which they received a low CCSI score, and some were given a choice of strategies. Those subjects using a matched strategy obtained better threshold and tolerance times on the cold pressor than subjects who used a mismatched strategy. Despite clear differences in exposure to the cold pressor these conditions did not differ from each other in self-reported levels of pain. It was concluded that the CCSI appears to be a valid and useful tool for selecting a coping strategy to help particular individuals manage acute pain. Though the CCSI is relatively easy to administer and score, the comparative costs and benefits of using it must be weighed against the somewhat more efficient approach of simply offering the subject a choice of treatments. Subjects given a choice of strategies performed as well as subjects matched to a strategy on the basis of CCSI scores.     

Short term neurophysiological monitoring in multiple sclerosis bouts. Evaluation of steroid treatment

Visual (VEP) and brainstem auditory (BAEP) evoked potentials (EP) were recorded in 21 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in acute relapse before and after steroid treatment. VEPs were abnormal in 14/21 patients and BAEPs in 10/21 patients before treatment. In 4 patients with acute optic neuritis (ON), an improvement of VEPs paralleled clinical evolution in 3 cases. Substantial and contrasting changes in VEPs or BAEPs, with no clinical counterpart, were related to a spontaneous fluctuation of EPs in acute relapses of MS. These changes suggest frequent subclinical (multifocal and, possibly, sequential) central nervous system involvement in MS bouts. Group analysis showed nonsignificant changes in EP parameters before and after treatment. Our results indicate that evoked potentials (EPs) are of limited value for monitoring the short-term effect of steroid treatment in MS in bouts.

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Sommario I potenziali evocati visivi (VEP) ed acustici troncoencefalici (BAEP) sono stati eseguiti in 21 pazienti affentti da sclerosi multipla (SM) in fase di poussée, prima e dopo un ciclo di trattamento con steroidi. Prima del trattamento i VEP edi BAEP sono risultati alterati in 14 e 10 pazienti rispettivamente. 4 pazienti presentavano una neurite ottica (ON) in fase acuta; in 3, dopo il trattamento, è stato rilevato un significativo miglioramento dei VEP e dell'acuità visiva. Significative, ma contrastanti, modificazioni dei VEP e BAEP, riscontrate in altri 5 pazienti, non correlate all'evoluzione clinica, sono suggestive di un interessamento subclinico, multifocale e possibilmente sequenziale, durante una poussée della SM. L'analisi per gruppi non evidenzia differenze statistiche significative tra prima e dopo il trattamento. I nostri risultati indicano che i potenziali evocati sono di limitata utilità ai fini di un monitoraggio a breve termine della SM in poussée.

     

Treatment of a constellation of inappropriate sexual and social behaviors in a 20 year old man with Down's Syndrome

In 1983, a Down's Syndrome male (I.Q. 72) AB who resided in a community residence was charged by local police with Exposing his genitalia, as a result of an incident of exhibitionism. Upon investigation by the New Jersey Division of Mental Retardation (a State of New Jersey Agency now named the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities), it was found that AB had a constellation of inappropriate sexual and social behaviors. A treatment plan was designed by a State Psychologist, a private Psychologist, a State Special Educator, a State Social Worker, and residential staff, with the full cooperation of AB's parents. The treatment approach combined traditional psychotherapy, a token economy plan, and vigorous social skills training. AB has been followed for 7 years and the treatment plan has been modified a number of times, as AB's behavior has continued to improve. Over the 7 years, AB has not had any more arrests on sexual charges and his overall social behavior has shown marked improvement.     

Effect of chronic clonidine treatment on the turnover of noradrenaline and dopamine in various regions of the rat brain

Summary The turnover of noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) was estimated in various rat brain regions by measuring the depletion of the amines after inhibition of their biosynthesis by -methyltyrosine. Acute treatment with clonidine (0.1 mg/kg) reduced NA turnover in the brain stem, hypothalamus and rest of the brain but had no effect on DA turnover in the corpus striatum and rest of the brain. After chronic clonidine treatment (0.1 mg/kg, twice daily for 15 days), NA turnover was not affected by an additional injection of clonidine in the brain stem or in the hypothalamus but was still markedly reduced in the rest of the brain. In addition, DA turnover was reduced in the corpus striatum and rest of the brain, an effect which was also observed after a single injection of a high dose of clonidine (1 mg/kg). These findings suggest that a chronic administration of clonidine may cause regionally differential changes in the sensitivity of central NA receptors.     

Surgical management of recurring or metastatic thyroid cancer

The surgical oncologist is sometimes confronted with a patient who was surgically treated for cancer of the thyroid gland and now has recurrent disease. In most instances, additional surgical treatment is indicated. The magnitude of surgery is primarily determined by the amount of tissue removed at the original operation. Surgery for recurrent disease may include completion of total thyroidectomy with dissection of lymphatic tissues in the thyroid compartment or/and neck dissection, preferably modified. Several clinical situations are outlined and discussed.     

Gastrostomy and oesophagoplasty with a flap from the greater curvature of the stomach as stages of surgical and combined treatment of cancer of the thoracic oesophagus

Four-hundred fifty-eight patients with cancer of the oesophagus were subjected to revisional laparotomy. Metastases into subphrenic lymph nodes were registered in 24% of the cases with a tumor in the bronchial segment; 42% with tumor in the subbronchial segment; 48% with tumor in the retropericardial segment; 71% with tumors in the sub-, intra-, and supraphrenic segments of the oesophagus. In 345 cases, laparotomy was followed by tube gastrostomy (Beck—Carrel method) with two operative deaths. Fifty-six patients in good condition with a small tumor in the middle part of the oesophagus (≤5 cm) without any abdominal metastases were subjected to primary oesophagoplasty: a 30–32-cm tube was formed out of the greater curvature of the stomach and placed retrosternally; gastrostomy was performed on the level of the thyroid cartilage (without any operative deaths). In two weeks, extirpation of the thoracic part of the oesophagus (with preoperative irradiation) was performed on patients with no abdominal metastases. Then the patients with primary oesophagoplasty were subjected to oesophago-gastrostomy of the neck. From six to 12 months following the combined treatment, the gastrostomy tube of 45 patients was lengthened to 30–32 cm and used for retrosternal oesophagoplasty (six operative deaths). Oesophagoplasty was performed on 14 patients during the extirpation of the oesophagus (six operative deaths).