Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to N Hofmann.
An improved method for differential staining and high-resolution flow cytometric measurement of human sperm cells is presented. Involving a mild pretreatment with citric acid/detergent and staining with DAPI, the new procedure provides excellent preservation and good discrimination of all cells present in normal and pathologic semen samples.
The Düsseldorf classification of spermatozoal morphology in semen is based on the spermatogenesis in the testis. So it is possible in some cases to relate a pathological finding in semen to a special disorder in the testis. We have tested the filtering effect of the cervical mucus on the various spermatozoal forms by performing a post-coital test from the upper cervical region after artificial insemination from the husband (AIH). It was found that in addition to the motility of spermatozoa their outer shape is very important for their transport through the cervical canal. Pathological spermatozoa with a rather normal-shaped head like AI and AII forms will pass the cervix almost like normal spermatozoa. In a superficial post-coital test they can be classified as 'normal'. Still, they are not able to fertilize an egg.
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Chlamydiae represent the aetiological agent in non-gonococcal urethritis in about 50% of the cases, but it is also increasingly recognized that Chlamydia trachomatis can cause prostatitis or epididymitis. The introduction of methods for the direct detection of chlamydia in clinical materials allows early diagnosis and therefore effective antibiotic therapy. The new tests however give both false positive and false negative results.
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The distribution of thiamine pyrophosphatase (TPPase) was studied in the human testicular biopsy tissue with the help of a modified histochemical gel method. The spermatogonia showed a large round strongly positive reaction zone in the supranuclear region. The pachytene spermatocytes exhibited a large semicircular TPPase reaction zone around the nucleus directing towards the lumen. The early round spermatids were characterized by a small, round, and weak supranuclear reaction zone. The elongated late spermatids were devoid of TPPase activity. The Sertoli cells possessed a "streamer" like formation of strong TPPase activity spreading from basal to apical portion.
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Case report about a 45 year old man with hyperkeratotic papules and plaques on both lower legs now persisting for more than 20 years. After detection of arterio-venous shunts the initial clinical and histological diagnosis of Kaposi-sarcoma had to be replaced by the diagnosis of pseudo-Kaposi's sarcoma, a benign reactive process. In the pathogenesis of this disease arteriovenous shunts are of great importance.
Microscopic studies on human spermatozoa with the Normarski technique showed, that duplicate spermatozoa are mostly built by conjugation of two or even more complete spermatozoa, and not by any partial duplication of spermatozoa. This phenomenon is originated in the course of spermatogenesis:spermiogenesis by incomplete division of germ cells, which could be demonstrated by the results of histological studies on testicular tissue specimens. In cases of isolated syndrome of conjoined spermatozoa, incomplete divisions were found at the spermatogenial level already; in cases of acquired syndromes the incomplete divisions were found at the level of spermatids. In these conditions, varicocele, orchipathy and exfoliative disorders of spermatogenesis/spermiogenesis due to genital infections were the predominant diseases; severe "toxic" damages of germinal epithelium were found as well.
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Two forms of human Sertoli cell disorders were characterized enzyme histochemically from the testicular biopsy material of infertile and subfertile patients. Sertoli cell asthenia: a slight injury of the Sertoli cell with exfoliation of individual germ cells; marked by the rarefaction of reaction zones of thiamine pyrophosphatase (TPPase) and a decrease in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Sertoli cell insufficiency: severe Sertoli cell damage with the formation of a "puff" and a heavy exfoliation of germ cells (dislocation of Sertoli cell nucleus and cytoplasm along with the related germ cells into the lumen of seminiferous tubule); marked by a heterogeneous activity pattern of TPPase, the disappearance of LDH, maintenance of a slightly weakened activity of alkaline phosphatase, and an increase of acid phosphatase. In the case of Sertoli-cell-only syndrome, the high prismatic Sertoli cells showed strong acid phosphatase activity with scattered weak TPPase reaction, whereas the flat or cube-like Sertoli cells exhibited weak acid phosphatase activity with only one small round reaction zone of TPPase in each cell. In addition, the frequency of the occurrence of Sertoli cell asthenia, Sertoli cell insufficiency, and Sertoli-cell-only syndrome is reported, and its correlation with the andrological diseases discussed.
Case report of a 51 years old woman with an acute generalized pustulosis. The histopathological findings in the epidermis were those of pustular psoriasis. But vascular findings in the corium were suggestive of a drug reaction, as was the history of a drug-induced onset of the disease in the course of an infect of the upper respiratory tract. Thus exanthematic pustular psoriasis may be considered as both diseases, psoriasis and drug reaction.
The DNA content of morphologically normal Feulgen-stained human spermatozoa (SP) without and with vacuoles was determined by visible light absorption at 560 nm. In an experimental device designed according to the sperm penetration meter of Kremer, sperm penetration into cervical mucus (CM) was allowed to take place for a 60-min period. Smears of the native and mucus-penetrated spermatozoa were applied to glass slides and fixed in a mixture of methanol, formalin, and acetic acid for 1 h. Hydrolysis was performed in 1 N HCl. The slides were stained using hematoxylin. Bull spermatozoa stored at -96 degrees C were applied as an internal standard to ach slide. Of a total of 1,464 spermatozoa measured, 485 came from the ejaculate, 491 had travelled through the cervical mucus for a distance of 15-30 mm, and 193 had migrated for 31-45 mm. The remaining 295 bull spermatozoa were also measured. It was found that after cervical mucus passage the content of Feulgen DNA material measured changed in two different ways: in some of the samples the Feulgen DNA content increased with passage through the cervical mucus, whereas in other samples the Feulgen DNA content decreased during cervical mucus passage. As in the ejaculate, we found a marked variation of the DNA content of spermatozoa after CM passage. The filtering effect of the CM on pathologic SP was not complete.
In the last five years, a distinct increase of allergic reactions to surfen, a constituent of various insulin preparations, was observed. The allergic reactions were tuberculoid granulomas of the delayed type (type IV of Gell and Coombs). Intracutaneous tests with surfen or surfen-containing insulin preparations confirmed the diagnosis. Dermal infiltrates and mild erythema developed 24 to 96 hours after the injection of insulin. In some patients a post-inflammatory pigmentation was noted. Histological examination of the lesions and the intracutaneous test sites revealed a granulomatous inflammation without signs of foreign body reaction. At present, the cause of the increased incidence of allergic reactions to surfen remains hypothetical.