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Biomedical subjects

G R Cunningham

Publications and source records attributed to G R Cunningham.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Medical treatment of the subfertile male.

Specific and effective medical treatment is available for some subfertile males. Reproductive physiology should be reviewed with all patients and exposure to drugs and toxins known to impair testicular or accessory sex gland function should be terminated. Appropriate treatment of retrograde ejaculation, chronic infections of the genital tract, or gonadotropin deficiency is indicated. Accurate diagnosis and treatment of the impotent patient may restore potency and fertility. Pregnancies have been achieved in association with each of the empirical regimens; however, we believe that each must be viewed as experimental at this time, since results may be no better than those observed in the absence of treatment. It is our experience that patients with elevated serum levels of FSH, peritubular fibrosis, and hyalinization are unlikely to achieve fertility regardless of treatment; however, there are exceptions. As our knowledge of basic reproductive biology and clinical pathology increases, it is hoped that better guidelines and more rational and effective medical treatment for the subfertile male will evolve.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
PubMed1977

An FSH and prolactin-secreting pituitary tumor: pituitary dynamics and testicular histology.

A man with normal-sizes testes and a chromophobe adenoma of the pituitary was found to have elevated plasma levels of FSH and prolactin and severe deficiencies of other trophic hormones. Plasma FSH values doubled after administration of LH-releasing hormone but were not suppressed by exogenous testosterone. Prolactin concentrations were increased by TRH and were suppressed by L-dopa. Testicular histology revealed sparse and apparently inactive Leydig cells. Seminiferous tubules and Sertoli cells were well preserved, but there were few late spermatids.

Adenoma, Chromophobe↗
PubMed1975

Antiovulatory activity of synthetic corticoids.

A single dose of triamcinolone acetonide had antiovulatory properties in 7 of 11 women when injected on day 1 or 2 of the menstrual cycle. Daily blood studies in three subjects revealed that the FSH and LH surges were absent, and there was no rise in plasma progesterone. Follicular function, as manifested by estrogen levels, was maintained.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

4-MAPC, a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, reduces rat ventral prostate weight, DNA, and prostatein concentrations.

Several compounds, such as 4-MAPC (4-methyl-3-oxo-4-aza-5 alpha-pregnane-20- carboxylate), that inhibit conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by 5 alpha-reductase have been demonstrated to reduce prostate size in rats and dogs. The current studies were undertaken to determine if this effect is due to a reduction in cell number, in epithelial cell synthetic activity, or both. Eight-week-old intact rats were treated daily for 14 days with sesame seed oil, 4-MAPC (10 mg/kg), 4-MAPC + testosterone propionate (TP, 1 mg/kg), or 4-MAPC + TP (3 mg/kg). Rats were killed 24 hours after the last injection. In the animals treated only with 4-MAPC, ventral prostate weight was reduced 37%, but the 14% reduction in total DNA was not significant. The mean intraprostatic concentration of prostatein, a major secretory protein, was reduced 45% (P less than 0.05). The 3 mg/kg dose of TP increased ventral prostate weight, prostatein concentrations, and acid phosphatase activity, even though DNA/ventral prostate was similar to that in control animals. These observations indicate that the reduction in ventral prostate weight in adult rats is due in part to a reduction in cell number, but the primary effect was due to a reduction in synthetic activity, and possibly atrophy of the epithelial cells. Furthermore, TP in pharmacologic doses increased ventral prostate weight and synthetic activity without increasing DNA.

5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-androgen effects of the aromatase inhibitor, atamestane.

Prostatic hyperplasia can be induced in both intact and castrated dogs and in intact cynomolgus monkeys by the administration of androgenic steroids. Estrogenic steroids potentiate this effect in dogs. These changes also can be induced by androstenedione, which increases androgen and estrogen levels. Atamestane (ATA; 1-methyl-3,17-dione-androsta-1,4-diene), a potent aromatase inhibitor, inhibits some of the androstendione-induced effects; however, the nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, CGS-16949A, has been reported to decrease serum estradiol levels in adult rats but to have no effect on androgen-dependent organ weights. To examine the mechanisms by which ATA affects the rat prostate, in vivo and in vitro studies were conducted using adult rat ventral prostate (VP). Intact Sprague-Dawley rats were injected daily for 14 days with sesame seed oil, ATA (70 mg/kg/day), finasteride (FIN; 5 mg/kg/day), a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, or the combination of FIN plus ATA. A fifth group was castrated (CASTR) on day 1. The mean +/- standard error VP weight of the controls was 350 +/- 19 mg. It was reduced 17% (P < 0.05) by ATA, 29% (P < 0.001) by FIN, 48% (P < 0.001) by FIN plus ATA, and 86% (P < 0.001) by CASTR. The DNA/VP was reduced 22% (not significant) by ATA, 18% by FIN (not significant), 35% (P < 0.01) by FIN plus ATA, and 60% (P < 0.001) by CASTR. More significant changes were observed in RNA and protein. The mRNA for prostatein C3 was reduced by each of the treatments, but only CASTR increased the mRNA for TRPM-2, a marker of apoptosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Androgen Antagonists↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of finasteride on the rat ventral prostate.

The objectives of this study were to compare changes in the ventral prostate (VP) of young adult Sprague Dawley rats after 28 days of treatment with finasteride (F), a potent 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, with those caused by castration (Cx). VP concentrations of DHT were reduced to 20.2% and 6.6% of controls (1,947 +/- 207 pg/VP, mean +/- SE) by F (5 or 20 mg/kg/day) and to 2.6% of controls by Cx. VP weights were reduced 49% and 54% by F and 88% by Cx. DNA/VP fell 25% and 15% with F treatment and 72% after Cx, whereas RNA and protein/VP were reduced 37-51% by F and 91-93% by Cx. The RNA/DNA and the protein/DNA ratios fell to 30-36% of controls after F treatment and to 70% of controls after Cx. The mRNA concentrations of the C3 subunit of prostatein 28S ribosomal RNA fell after treatment with F (5 mg/kg/day) and after Cx, whereas the mRNA for TRPM-2, an androgen-suppressed protein associated with apoptosis, was increased only after castration. To examine further the effects of F on the rate of DNA synthesis, 7-day regressed adult rats were treated for 3 days with testosterone propionate +/- F, and incorporation of 3H-thymidine in minced ventral prostates was determined. F inhibited 3H-thymidine incorporation. We conclude that Cx causes a greater reduction in cell number/VP and a greater reduction in RNA and protein cell than F and that the differences between F treatment and castration probably result from differences in prostatic concentrations of T.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors↗