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F Schoonjans

Publications and source records attributed to F Schoonjans.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Practical guidelines for the treatment of infertility in hirsute women.

On the basis of retrospective investigation of 315 infertile hirsute women aged between 19 and 35 years, it was attempted to find selection criteria for infertility treatment. Cases with adrenal, ovarian and pituitary tumors, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and genetic disorders should be excluded by means of preliminary investigations. It is possible to select the optimal treatment for each individual patient using a flow-chart. Thanks to this approach, a pregnancy rate of 83% is achieved.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Capacity of objectively assessed sperm motility characteristics in differentiating between semen of fertile and subfertile men.

A simple and inexpensive computer-assisted method for the objective assessment of sperm motility characteristics was employed to evaluate semen samples of 42 fertile men and 70 subfertile patients. The capacity of each motility parameter to discriminate between semen of the two groups was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Velocity, linear velocity, and "angular" velocity are reasonably accurate, whereas linearity and angularity index had a very poor discriminating power. The best discrimination between the two groups was the proportion and concentration of sperm with rapid linear progressive motility, based on the cut-off value of linear velocity greater than or equal to 22 microns/sec. This parameter was 90% accurate in discriminating semen of infertile men from that of subfertile patients.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗
PubMed1988

Validation of a single-step procedure for the objective assessment of sperm motility characteristics.

A relatively cheap method is described for the objective assessment of sperm concentration and motility characteristics. The method uses a digitizing tablet with cursor, a micro-computer and a phase-contrast or dark-field microscope equipped with a drawing tube. With this technique the following are accurately assessed: sperm concentration, percentage motility, motility grading, concentration of grade a motile spermatozoa, sperm velocity, linear velocity, linearity and angularity. The data are acquired in less than 5 min. Validation studies reveal this method to be accurate, reproducible (coefficient of variation of motility characteristics = less than 7%) and clinically useful.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1988

Evaluation of the direct and indirect mixed antiglobulin reaction with latex particles for the diagnosis of immunological infertility.

The direct Mixed Antiglobulin Reaction (MAR test) is a simple method for the detection of auto-antibodies attached to spermatozoa in fresh semen. The test was improved by using IgG-coated latex particles (SpermMAR) instead of coated red blood cells. A positive direct MAR test with adherence of latex particles to 40% or more of the motile spermatozoa was found in 16 out of 312 men (5%) consulting for infertility, but never in fertile controls. The percentage of motile spermatozoa reacting with the coated latex particles was correlated significantly with the serum titre of sperm agglutinins assessed by the tray agglutination test. The direct MAR test on semen was highly specific but rather insensitive, particularly if the serum titre of agglutinins was low. The same kit (SpermMAR) can be used to detect circulating sperm antibodies in serum of male or female patients with the indirect mixed antiglobulin reaction. The indirect MAR test discriminated clearly between serum with low (less than 1/32) or high (greater than 1/32) titres of circulating agglutinins assessed by the tray agglutination test. Considering their simplicity and accuracy, both the direct test on semen and the indirect spermMAR test on serum should be included in the routine evaluation of the infertile couple.

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗
PubMed1987

Reassessment of the accuracy of traditional sperm characteristics and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in estimating the fertilizing potential of human semen in vivo.

Receiver operating characteristic curves and accuracy parameters were computed for traditional sperm characteristics (concentration, motility, morphology) and the number of peroxidase negative cells, and the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in semen from populations of fertile and infertile men, and men who achieved a pregnancy after varicocele treatment. The percentage and concentration per millilitre of spermatozoa with rapid linear progressive motility, and the ATP concentration, provided the best discrimination between fertile and treated fertile from infertile men. The misclassification rate was higher for sperm morphology, total progressive motility and viability, whereas sperm concentration and the total sperm count per ejaculate had the worst discriminating power. The number of peroxidase negative cells per 100 spermatozoa was highly specific in identifying men who achieved pregnancy after varicocele treatment. The lower limit of normality of sperm characteristics was remarkably different between fertile men and men achieving pregnancy after treatment or during infertility work-up.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the hypo-osmotic swelling test in relation with advanced methods of semen analysis.

The hypo-osmotic swelling test was claimed to assess an independent functional characteristic of human spermatozoa bearing relevance to their fertilizing capacity. To test this claim, we have studied the relationship between the result of the hypo-osmotic swelling test with that of conventional semen analysis and sperm motility patterns, the semen content of adenosine triphosphate, the staining pattern to acidified aniline blue, and the zona-free hamster oocyte test. The result of the HOS test is significantly correlated with all sperm characteristics except for the aniline blue stainability and the hamster oocyte test. The capacity of spermatozoa to react in a hypo-osmotic environment expresses the same functional information as the viability test using eosine staining. It is concluded that the hypo-osmotic swelling test does not add relevant information to that obtained by routine sperm analysis with regards to the fertilizing potential of semen.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison between cell motion analyser, autosperm, and conventional semen analysis.

With the aim of explaining some of the controversy on the value of computer-assisted methods of semen analysis, a study was conducted comparing the fully automated cell motion analyzer (CMA), the semi-computerized autosperm system (AS) and the conventional manual method. The CMA equipment gave higher values for sperm concentration than the mean of the three methods. Sperm concentration estimated with the conventional method was below the average of the three methods. The conventional method overestimated sperm motility, which was underestimated by CMA. The correlation between sperm velocity characteristics estimated by CMA and AS was significant, but only 18% of variability of one method could be explained by variability of the other. The reasons for the discrepancy between velocity measurements in the two methods are discussed in relation to possible shortcomings in sperm paths smoothing using the CMA method and the effect of technician training in the AS method. The AS method was found to provide more reproducible results which correlated better with those of the manual method as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effective cumulative pregnancy rate of different modes of treatment of male infertility.

The clinical efficacy of conventional and advanced methods of treatment was assessed in 814 couples with infertility due to a male factor. The monthly and effective cumulative rate of ongoing or term pregnancies was calculated during 4712 couple-months. Treatment of varicocele by transcatheter embolization, resulting in 3.9% pregnancies per cycle and an effective cumulative pregnancy rate of 41% after 1 year, is more effective than counselling and timed intercourse (9% pregnancies after 12 months). Intrauterine insemination (IUI) of washed spermatozoa produced 17% pregnancies in the initial 4 months, but the success rate of the subsequent cycles (1.7% per cycle) was not different from that of the controls. In vitro fertilization (IVF) resulted in 16% pregnancies per attempt, but the effective cumulative pregnancy rate was only 31% in 12 months due to the long interval between treatment attempts and the high drop-out rate. With subzonal microinjection of sperm, the fertilization rate was higher (71%) than with regular IVF (29%) but both the pregnancy rate per attempt (9%) and the effective cumulative pregnancy rate (17% after 12 months) were low. The 10th percentile of sperm characteristics (cut-off values) of successful cases showed intrauterine insemination to be advantageous in cases with a lower percentage of spermatozoa with progressive motility (9%) than in the controls (15%). The cut-off value of sperm morphology in IVF (4%) is lower than that of IUI (8%) and of the controls (9%), but higher than that of subzonal insemination (1%). Treatment strategy must be defined selecting or combining conventional and assisted reproductive technology for each individual couple with male factor infertility.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytokines in semen of normal men and of patients with andrological diseases.

PROBLEM: The potential value of assessment of cytokine concentrations for the diagnosis of certain pathological conditions of male reproduction has not been fully evaluated. METHOD: The concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6, pg/mL), its soluble receptor (IL-6 sR, ng/mL), and of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta, pg/mL) have been measured in semen samples of 114 men and 12 corresponding blood sera. RESULTS: The concentration of IL-6 was unrelated to that of its receptor. Both IL-6 and IL-6 sR were higher in the first (mean: 69 and 31 resp.) than in the second fraction (39 and 13) of split ejaculates, and were within normal limits in vasectomised men. The Interleukin 1 beta concentration presented a strong positive correlated with that of IL-6 (r = 0.74, P < 0.001). The concentrations of IL-6 and IL-1 beta were unrelated to sperm concentration, motility and morphology, and they were within normal limits in immunological cases. Both IL-6 and IL-1 beta were higher (P < 0.01) in cases with accessory gland inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of in particular IL-6 in semen may contribute to the diagnosis of inflammatory disease of the accessory sex glands (positive predictive value = 98%, sensitivity = 72%, specificity = 94%), but it is not relevant for the diagnosis of immunological disease.

Genital Diseases, Male↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The relation between reactive oxygen species and cytokines in andrological patients with or without male accessory gland infection.

The presence of various cytokines, namely hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1 RA), and interleukins (IL-1 alpha, IL-6, and IL-8), as well as the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated in seminal plasma of fertile and infertile patients in order to evaluate the possible value of measuring these substances for the diagnosis of male accessory gland infection, and to assess the possible relationship between oxidative stress and cytokines during leucocytospermia and male accessory gland infection (MAGI). Our findings indicate that all of the measured cytokines seem to be produced locally as well as by white blood cells (WBC) and that, due to the presence of higher numbers of WBC, accessory gland infection may exert a deleterious effect on sperm quality through the production of ROS and/or of particular cytokines such as IL-1 alpha, IL-1 RA, and IL-8. The most specific marker for a sensitivity of 95% in discriminating between cases with or without MAGI is the measurement of IL-6 in seminal plasma. In the absence of WBC several cytokines are constitutively produced and correlate with sperm concentration (HGF, IL-8), alpha-glucosidase (IL-6), and gamma-glutamyltransferase activity (HGF). The measurement of these cytokines in semen may provide clinically useful information for the diagnosis of male accessory gland infection, as well as in the absence of WBC where it can provide information about certain mechanisms of male reproductive function and dysfunction.

Androgens↗