Biomedical subjects

Apostolos Kaponis

Publications and source records attributed to Apostolos Kaponis.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

A prospective randomized study comparing gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists in couples with unexplained infertility and/or mild oligozoospermia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of GnRH antagonist vs. GnRH agonist administration for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) in assisted reproduction. DESIGN: A prospective, randomized trial. SETTING: Clinical research unit at a tertiary care medical center. PATIENT(S): Sixty-five patients with unexplained infertility or mild male subfertility undergoing COH for IUI. INTERVENTION(S): Twenty-nine women (group A) were randomized to receive 600 microg of busereline acetate per day starting in the midluteal phase of the cycle (long protocol), whereas 36 women (group B) were treated with 0.25 mg/d of the GnRH antagonist Cetrorelix starting from day 6 of the cycle. The starting dose of recombinant FSH was 150 IU in women of both groups. Insemination was performed 34 hours after hCG injection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Clinical and successful ongoing pregnancy rate (PR), measurements of serum FSH, LH, E2, and P, number of recruited follicles, duration of stimulation period, and amount of gonadotropins used. RESULT(S): Women in group A required significantly more days of treatment (median: 12.0 vs. 9.0) and significantly more total units of recombinant FSH (median 1,800 vs. 1,550) as compared with the corresponding values of the antagonist group (group B). Serum FSH, LH, E2, and P were significantly higher on the antagonist group on days 2 and 6 of stimulation. However, these differences regress until the day of hCG administration. CONCLUSION(S): The GnRH antagonists have facilitated short and simple treatment, and are particularly attractive for administration in women undergoing COH, achieving comparable PR with the long protocol regimen.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Amniotic fluid glucose at the time of genetic amniocentesis: correlation with duration of pregnancy and birthweight.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether amniotic fluid (AF) glucose levels in 15-18 weeks of pregnancy can predict birthweight and duration of pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: In this prospective study, 66 non-diabetic pregnant women underwent amniocentesis between 15 and 18 weeks of pregnancy and glucose levels were measured immediately by using the enzymatic method of hexocinase. They were all followed up and delivered in our department and neognological parameters were recorded. RESULTS: AF glucose values ranged from 12 to 69mg/dl (mean 44.2mg/dl, S.D. 11.6mg/dl). No linear relationship was found between AF glucose and either birthweight or duration of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: AF glucose values between 15 and 18 weeks of pregnancy did not correlate with either birthweight or duration of pregnancy. A single measurement of this value cannot be used for the prediction of the factors studied.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Morphometric and cytogenetic characteristics of testicular germ cells and Sertoli cell secretory function in men with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Klinefelter's syndrome is the most frequent chromosomal abnormality in infertile men. In this study, the chromosomes of round spermatids and spermatogonia/primary spermatocytes from men with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome were examined, together with the Sertoli cell secretory function and sperm morphometry. METHODS: Twenty-four men with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome and nine men with obstructive azoospermia underwent therapeutic testicular biopsy. When spermatozoa in the final filtrate were present, they were processed for sperm morphometry or ICSI. Sperm morphometry was evaluated by the maximal length and width of the sperm head, the length of the midpiece and the ratio of the acrosomal region to the total surface area of the head. When round spermatids were present, they were processed for fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH). FISH was also applied to fragments of seminiferous tubules. Sertoli cell secretory function was measured by the amount of androgen binding protein (ABP) secreted in vitro. RESULTS: More than 93% of the evaluated round spermatids were normal. The proportions of 24,XY and of 24,XX round spermatids to the total number were significantly larger in men with Klinefelter's syndrome than in obstructed azoospermic men. Men with Klinefelter's syndrome who had spermatozoa in their testicular tissue (n = 12) were positive for both 46,XY and 47,XXY spermatogonia in their seminiferous tubules. In contrast, men with Klinefelter's syndrome without spermatozoa in their testicular tissue (n = 12) were positive for 47,XXY spermatogonia but negative for 46,XY spermatogonia in their seminiferous tubules. ABP profiles were significantly smaller in men with Klinefelter's syndrome who were negative for spermatozoa compared with men who were positive. Four pregnancies were achieved and five healthy babies were born. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that few 46,XXY spermatogonia undergo meiosis with an XX pairing and a Y univalent type of pairing. Hyperhaploid round spermatids (24,XY and 24,XX) may be produced by meiosis of 47,XXY spermatogonia. Men with Klinefelter's syndrome who are negative for testicular spermatozoa have a greater degree of Sertoli cell secretory dysfunction compared with men with Klinefelter's syndrome who are positive for spermatozoa. There are several defects in sperm morphometry with functional significance in men with Klinefelter's syndrome.

Androgen-Binding Protein↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prenatal paternity testing using DNA extracted from coelomic cells.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal paternity testing can be performed following invasive prenatal diagnosis with amniocentesis or CVS. Coelocentesis is a new technique that could be used as an alternative method early in the first trimester of pregnancy. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential use of the DNA extracted from coelomic cells in the prenatal paternity testing. METHODS: Coelocentesis was performed in 20 singleton pregnancies at 7-9 weeks of gestation immediately before surgical termination of pregnancy. Chorionic cells from the placenta and blood cells from the parents were processed by the standard salt extraction method. Two loci, TPO and Apo B, were used for paternity testing in the DNA of coelomic cells, chorionic cells and blood cells. RESULTS: There was concordance in the results obtained from the coelomic cells and chorionic villi. In two cases only the polymorphisms used were not conclusively informative for paternity exclusion. CONCLUSIONS: Coelomic cells are potentially useful for early paternity testing.

Apolipoproteins B↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The natural history of HPV infection of the uterine cervix. Long-term observational and histological data.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the natural history of HPV infection of the uterine cervix following a 10-year prospective observational study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and thirty women with cytological and colposcopic features of HPV infection +/- CIN 1 were recruited into the study. These women were followed up for a period of 10 years, during which time they had repeated colposcopic assessments and cytological monitoring Those women with evidence of high-grade disease at any stage of follow-up were treated by Large Loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) and excluded from the study. At the end of the surveillance period, 179 women with evidence of persistent HPV infection alone or in conjunction with low-grade disease underwent a shallow diagnostic LLETZ. In total, 51 women defaulted from follow-up. RESULTS: Thirty-three per cent of the women with cytological and colposcopic features suggestive of persistent HPV infection alone during the 10-year follow-up period had histological evidence of CIN at the end of the study. Two thirds of this disease was graded as CIN 2 or 3. Nineteen per cent of the women with cytological and colposcopic features suggestive of persistent HPV infection and CIN 1 actually had high-grade CIN at histology (CIN 2 and 3). Only 6.1% of the study population had normal histological findings. CONCLUSION: The finding that a relatively large percentage of high-grade lesions might have been masked for anything up to a decade by a low-grade phenotype, coupled with the worrying percentage of defaulters from follow-up, indicate that an early decision for intervention (diagnostic and/or therapeutic) may be appropriate if a low-grade abnormality persists after a short surveillance period.

Adolescent↗