Journal of Reproduction & Infertility
Year:2011 | Volume:12 | Issue:3 (48)|Papers Count:9

The history of IVF is synonymous with several millstones and each of these have led to a revolution in our understanding of human fertility or causes of male and female infertility, as well as introducing new treatment protocols for infertility. It can undoubtedly be claimed that one of the best of these was the introduction of ultrarapid glass-like solidification of a solution without ice-crystal formation or vitrification method for cryopreservation of human embryos and gametes in 1990.

Uterine leiomyomas/fibroids are the most common pelvic tumors of the female genital tract. The initiators remaining unknown, estrogens and progesterone are considered as promoters of fibroid growth. Fibroids are monoclonal tumors showing 40-50% karyotypically detectable chromosomal abnormalities. Cytogenetic aberrations involving chromosomes 6, 7, 12 and 14 constitute the major chromosome abnormalities seen in leiomyomata. This has led to the discovery that disruptions or dysregulations of HMGIC and HMGIY genes contribute to the development of these tumors. Genes such asRAD51L1 act as translocation partners to HMGIC and lead to disruption of gene structure leading to the pathogenesis of uterine fibroids. The mechanism underlying this disease is yet to be identified. The occurrence of PCOLCE amid a cluster of at least eight Alu sequences is potentially relevant to the possible involvement of PCOLCE in the 7q22 rearrangements that occur in many leiomyomata. PCOLCE is implicated in cell growth processes. Involvement of Alu sequences in rearrangements can lead to the disruption of this gene and, hence, loss of control for gene expression leading to uncontrolled cell growth. This can also lead to the formation of fibroids.Though, cytogenetics provides a broad perspective on uterine fibroid formation, further molecular analysis is required to understand the etiopathogenesis of uterine fibroids.

New advances in mass spectrometry-based proteomics technology are having a major impact on our understanding of how human spermatozoa acquire their capacity for fertilization. A complete analysis of the proteins found in the human spermatozoa is essential for understanding the events leading up to, and including, fertilization and early embryo development. In this short review, we have collected the human sperm proteome from the literature and analyzed it by the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) software. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that the collected 1, 300 proteins were involved in various metabolic pathways including catabolic processes. Additionally, the majority of the collected human sperm proteome belonged to cytoplasm. Application of the multi-dimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) for obtaining a better coverage of the hydrophobic and basic proteins of the human sperm proteome is recommended.

Introduction: Infertility is common among couples of child-bearing age and approximately half of known causes of primary infertility are attributable to male factor.It is still unclear whether the injurious effects of cigarette smoking on sperm characteristics and infertility are due to nicotine. Therefore, the present study investtigated the effects of orally administered of nicotine on sperm characteristics and libido in adult male albino rats. The study also sought nicotine effects on fertility rate, litter size and weight in female animals cohabited with nicotine treated male rats.Methods: Forty male and twenty-five female rats were used for the study. The male rats were divided into five groups and were treated for a period of 30 days with nicotine 0.5mg/kg (low dose) and 1.0 mg/kg (high dose) per body weight while the control rats received 0.2ml/kg normal saline. The fourth and fifth groups were gavaged with 0.5mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg body weight of nicotine but were left untreated for another 30 days. These groups served as the recovery groups. At the end of each experimental period, sperm analysis, fertility study, litter weight and size were determined.Results: Sperm motility and count significantly decreased (P<0.05) while the percentage of abnormality significantly increased (P<0.05) in both treatment groups.However, there was an insignificant decrease (P>0.05) in the viability and semen volume of the treated groups. Fertility studies revealed that nicotine reduced libido in male rats, litter weight and number delivered by the untreated female during the experiments.Conclusion: The present study showed that nicotine has a dose-dependent deleterious effect on the sperm characteristics and that fertility is ameliorated by nicotine cessation in male rats.

Introduction: Testicular torsion and detorsion causes reperfusion injury which damages the testicular tissue and affects the quality of sperm. Deterioration in the quality of sperm worldwide is the recent scenario and one of its reasons is testicular ischemic/ reperfusion (IR) injury. Therefore the present study aims at producing new drugs for the treatment of testicular IR injury.Methods: 42 animals were selected for the study and divided into 7 groups, each containing 6 rats. Bioflavonoids were tested for their efficacy in reversing the damage done to the testicular tissue by causing testicular torsion and detorsion in rats. As oxidative stress produced in the above condition causes tissue damage, MDA level was measured and antioxidant enzymes SOD and catalse were evaluated. Histological examination was conducted to find the extent of damage and the protective effect of rutin and naringin. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test were used for data analysis. A p-value<0.001 was considered statistically significant.Results: MDA levels increased and antioxidant enzymes decreased drastically in the group of rats with testicular torsion and detorsion which clearly indicates a rise in oxidative stress (68% rise in the case of MDA and 20% and 16% decrease in SOD and catalase concentrations, respectively). Rutin and naringin-treated groups showed the beneficial effects of the medicinal drugs, particularly in higher doses. Rutin, 10 mg/kg, was effective when compared to naringin in providing protection. Compared to the animals in the control group, there was a 30% reduction in MDA levels and a 20% increment in SOD levels plus a five-fold increase in catalse in the rutin-treated group (10 mg/kg). Histological examination supported the above claims.Conclusion: Oxidative stress in testicular injury affects the quality of sperm. Rutin and naringin in higher doses protected testicular tissue effectively. Further studies in this direction may prove beneficial.

Introduction: HLA-G is a major histocompatibility complex (MHC), class Ib molecule that is selectively expressed at the fetal-maternal interface. It is thought to play a role in protecting the fetus from the maternal immune response. Interestingly, the preimplantation embryo development (Ped) gene product Qa-2 is also a mouse MHC class Ib protein that affects cleavage and division of preimplantation mouse embryos and subsequent embryonic survival. Data from many humanin vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics suggest that the mousePed phenomenon also exists in human because embryos fertilized at the same time have different cleavage rates and consequently different IVF outcomes. As HLA-G is expressed in human early embryos, it is highly regarded as the functional homologue of Qa-2. Whether HLA-G expression is correlated with the cleavage rate of human embryos has great potential clinical value.Methods: In this study, 45 human early abnormal fertilized embryos (3 PN) from patients undergoingin vitro fertilization were used to test the effects of HLA-G knock-down via infection with adenovirus carrying its specific siRNA on the cleavage rate in a 2-day culture period. One- way ANOVA, Post hoc and Chi-square were used to compare groups. A p-value smaller than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Knocking-down HLA-G in human pre-implantation stage embryos resulted in a higher cell arrest rate and a slower cleavage rate.Conclusion: The results from the present study suggested that HLA-G might play an important role in early human embryo development.

Introduction: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a condition characterized by a number of behavioral, psychological and physical symptoms recurring cyclically during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The uncertainty in the pathogenesis of PMS has led to many treatment protocols being suggested as possible therapies. The present study was carried out to compare the effects of echinophora-platyloba and fennel extracts on the PMS against placebo in students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in 2008.Methods: In this single-blind randomized clinical trial, 90 students with moderate to severe PMS enrolled in the study and were randomely divided into three equal groups. The first group received echinophora-platyloba extract, the second group received fennel extracts and the third group received placebo. The severity of PMS was measured by Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) questionnaire at the end of the first and second menstrual cycles before the intervention and the results were compared with them after the intervention. Data was analyzed using Dunn, Kruskal Wallis, and Pearson correlation tests by SPSS (v.11.5) and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: There were not any significant differences in the means of premenstrual syndrome scores before the intervention among the three groups (100.8±22.1 in echinophora-platyloba group, 101.3±27.1 in fennel group and 104.3±19.5 in placebo group, p>0.05), but the differences were significant after the intervention (49.7±23.2 in echinophora-platyloba group, 64.4±27.5 in fennel group and 79.1±28.1 in placebo group, respectively, p<0.001). No significant differences were seen between the echinophora-platyloba and fennel groups.Conclusion: The echinophora-platyloba and fennel extracts could reduce the severity of PMS. The effects of echinophora-platyloba and fennel were similar and greater than the placebo. Administration of the extracts of these herbs is suggested for relieving the signs and symptoms of PMS.

Introduction: A recent study at the Maroua Provincial Hospital revealed that hypertension in pregnancy was the first cause of maternal death, representing 17.5% of the 63 maternal deaths recorded between 2003 and 2005. Knowing little about the causes, this study was to identify the possible risk factors for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.Methods: This case-control study was-done at the Maroua Regional Hospital, Cameroon between June 2005 and May 2007. All the 152 deliveries complicated with hypertension were compared and analyzed with 414 pregnancies that were not complicated with the disease. Data analysis was performed using EPI Info 3.5.1. The differences were considered to be significant if the p-values were less than 0.05.Results: Using univariate analysis, several factors linked to hypertensive disorder in pregnancy were identified. They included early adolescence, nulliparity, illiteracy, lack of occupation and family history of hypertension. At multivariate analysis, the risk of having hypertension during pregnancy remained greater for illiterate women (OR: 1.6; 95%CI: 1.0-2.3), housewives (OR: 2.8; 95%CI: 1.1-6.9), nulliparae (OR: 2.8; 95%CI: 1.5-3.6), women with family histories of hypertension (OR: 3.6; 95%CI: 1.6-8.5) and women with histories of hypertension during pregnancy (OR: 7.0; 95%CI: 3.0-16.4).Conclusion: Risk factors for hypertensive diseases in pregnancy in Maroua, Cameroon seem to include early teenage status, illiteracy, housewife status, nulliparity and family or personal histories of hypertension. The knowledge about the aforesaid factors seems to lay the tracks for its prevention in Cameroon.

Introduction: By presenting this case we aimed to describe an uncommon complication of generalized peritonitis following spontaneous pyometra perforation in untreated cervical carcinoma.Case Presentation: This report describes a 60-year-old postmenopausal woman presenting with clinical features mimicking intestinal perforation who was later diagnosed as cervical carcinoma with pyometra perforation at exploratory laparotomy.The patient had good post-operative recovery following drainage and peritoneal lavage.Conclusion: Spontaneous pyometra perforation in a case of untreated carcinoma of cervix is a rare condition, yet it should be suspected and kept in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in elderly women.