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Biomedical subjects

R Weissenberg

Publications and source records attributed to R Weissenberg.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol in the treatment of steroid-dependent chronic bronchial asthma in adults.

15 adult chronic asthmatic patients who were on daily maintenance dose of oral steroid for at least 6 months were studied. Following an investigation period of 2 weeks, the patients were started on BDA, 100 microgram four times daily. The daily oral steroid dose, which averaged 12 mg of prednisone or its equivalent, was gradually reduced by about 1 mg per day. The trial lasted 8 weeks, at the end of which, ten patients were as good or better on BDA than on oral steroids. Two patients had to return to oral corticosteroid therapy before the trial ended and three patients were unable to discontinue their oral steroid treatment. The lack of systemic effects of BDA was demonstrated by the appearance of symptoms which were apparently previously suppressed by the oral steroids and the excretion of normal amounts of 17-OHCS in the urine in some to the patients who had evidence of adrenal suppression while on oral steroids.

17-Ketosteroids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Procarbazine effects on spermatogenesis in golden hamster: a flow cytometric evaluation.

The response of hamster testis to the administration of 450mg/kg procarbazine (PCB) over a period of 4 weeks was evaluated. Flow cytometry was used to investigate changes in cell populations in testicular single cell suspensions and to correlate these changes with those observed in histological sections. PCB caused significant decrease in testicular and epididymal weight and a drastic reduction in haploid cells and spermatogenic arrest, demonstrating variation among the test animals. The results obtained confirm previous observations concerning detrimental effects of PCB upon spermatogenesis in species such as the rat and mouse, though its effect on hamster testis is milder and does not include the germinal stem cells. The histological evaluation of the testis showed a good correlation with flow cytometric evaluation, emphasizing the usefulness of this method in providing quantitative and rapid results.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Survey of carnitine content of human semen using a semiquantitative auxanographic method: decreased semen total carnitine concentration in patients with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia.

A microbiological method, using the carnitine-requiring yeast, Torulopsis bovina ATCC 26014, was developed to identify samples of human semen which contained low levels (less than 250 micron M) of total carnitine. Of 399 semen samples from a male infertility clinic which were tested, 30 (7.5%) were low in carnitine. Of these, 14 were azoospermic and 16 were severely oligozoospermic. Some azoospermic samples (19 = 58%) and severely oligozoospermic samples (51 = 79%) did not give evidence of low carnitine concentrations. These results indicate that decreased total carnitine concentration in semen occurs in certain classes of azoospermic and severely oligozoospermic patients.

Biological Assay↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Semen quality and hormonal status of patients following testicular torsion.

16 patients, 4 months to five years following unilateral torsion of the testis were evaluated as to semen quality and hormonal status. In patients operated within 12 hours of the onset of pain 44% had normal semen quality while in those operated following more than 12 hours only 20% had normal semen analysis. FSH, LH and testosterone levels were normal in 14 of the 16 patients. One patient had a low testosterone level and slightly elevated FSH, another patient had slightly elevated levels of both FSH and LH.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The fertilizing capacity of golden hamster epididymal spermatozoa in relation to age, number, motility and morphology.

Experiments with spermatozoa of prepubertal hamsters aged 35-48 days were performed in order to determine if the appearance of spermatozoa with fertilizing capacity in the cauda epididymis during puberty is related to changes in their morphology, motility and number. Epididymal spermatozoa of prepubertal animals were evaluated for number, motility and morphology and were injected into one uterine horn of a female, following induction of ovulation. A comparable number of sperm from mature animals (which served as control) was injected into the contralateral horn. Prior to 40 days fertilizing capacity was nil. It increased thereafter and reached control levels of 74% at 48 day age. Concomitantly there was an increase in the number of sperm per cauda epididymidis from less than 1 million to 55 million. Following removal of spermatozoa from the cauda the motility increased from 24% motile cells at the age of 39 days to 66% at the age of 48 days when most cells exhibited progressive motility. The percentage of cells having normal morphology increased from 18% at the age of 39 days to 50% at the age of 48 days. Developmental processes resulting in improvement of cell motility, morphology and number are correlated with attainment of fertilizing capacity. These processes seem to be gradual and occur between time of completion of spermatogenesis and time when capacity for fertilization is achieved.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Successful GnRH treatment in a patient with Kallmann's syndrome, who previously failed HMG/HCG treatment.

A successful GnRH treatment for hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is described. A 40 year old infertile patient due to Kallmann's syndrome, associated with obesity and NIDDM, was treated with HCG (5,000 IU/week) for 8 years. In an attempt to induce spermatogenesis HMG (75 IU/daily) was added for 2 years. During the combined gonadotropin treatment semen analysis indicated an improvement from azoospermia to 2 x 10(6) sperm/ml. Since semen quality remained poor and obviously no pregnancy was achieved, the last regime was replaced by a pulsatile GnRH treatment (5 mcg/90 minutes). Following 6 months sperm count increased up to 15 x 10(6) associated with normal motility and morphology. Patient's wife conceived after the second intrauterine insemination and delivered a full term healthy baby.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antifertility effects of sulfapyridine on male hamsters.

Sulfapyridine was administered to mature male golden hamsters either by impregnation in feed pellets, or by subcutaneous injection as a solution in dimethylsulfoxide. The average litter size for control males was 8.3 +/- 3.3 (n = 13) vs. 4.2 +/- 2.7 (n = 11) for sulfapyridine-fed treated animals. Histology of the testis and epididymis was normal and sperm were normal in morphology and motility. Subcutaneous injection of sulfapyridine caused much more dramatic inhibition of male fertility than was achieved by feeding the drug. Sulfapyridine (750 mg/kg body weight in 0.2 ml DMSO) injected subcutaneously for 60 days was effective in reducing testis size and sperm quality. Histology of testes showed spermatogenic arrest at young spermatids. Two classes of animals were found in both sulfapyridine-fed and -injected treatment groups. One class was relatively resistant to the antifertility effects of the drugs. This difference may reflect differing abilities of the animals to convert sulfapyridine to an active form or to excrete its metabolites.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intra-uterine insemination with prepared sperm vs. unprepared first split ejaculates. A randomized study.

In this randomized prospective study, we determined the conception rate following intra-uterine insemination with washed and prepared sperm, or with the first portion of a split ejaculate, in couples with longstanding male (n = 27, 70 treatment cycles) or cervical infertility (n = 14, 29 treatment cycles). Folliculogenesis and ovulation were induced by human menopausal gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin. Significantly more couples conceived in the male infertility group following intra-uterine insemination with washed sperm, than after intra-uterine insemination with split ejaculate (9 vs. 2; P less than 0.05), while no difference in pregnancy rate (2 vs. 2) was found by the two intra-uterine insemination methods in the cervical infertility group.

Cell Separation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of clomiphene citrate and its Zu or En isomers on the reproductive system of the immature male rat.

The effect of clomiphene citrate (CC) and of its Zuclomiphene (ZuC) and Enclomiphene (EnC) isomers on the reproductive organs of immature male rats under different experimental conditions is reported. CC, ZuC, and EnC were administered daily to groups of either intact or castrated rats between the age of 21-44 d. This led to inhibition of weight increase of testis and accessory glands in the intact group. Spermatogenesis was arrested at the stage of primary spermatocyte following CC and ZuC treatment, and at the stage of young spermatids by EnC treatment. In the castrated group clomiphenes significantly stimulated weight increase of seminal vesicles (SV) compared with castrated control animals, but the former group were unable to achieve organ weight gain comparable to that in normal controls. Administration of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) together with CC or each of its isomers to intact animals, abolished the drug effect on spermatogenesis and on reproductive organ growth. Administration of CC, ZuC, and EnC together with testosterone to castrated animals, abolished the drug effect on growth inhibition of accessory glands. In intact treated rats LH and testosterone secretion were suppressed by all forms of clomiphenes. In the castrated group ZuC proved to be the most potent inhibitor of LH secretion. Therefore, it is inferred that ZuC and EnC have different potencies as far as their biological activity in the immature male rat is expressed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changes during puberty in chromatin condensation, morphology and fertilizing ability of epididymal spermatozoa of the golden hamster.

Male golden hamster sperm acquire complete fertilizing ability at about 48 days of age. In this study hamsters, 27-130 days of age were killed and their male reproductive tracts examined. Sperm were found in the caudae epididymides from 37 days onward. None of the sperm from animals younger than 41 days were capable of fertilizing ova when placed in the uteri of superovulated females. Using flow cytometry of acridine-orange-stained cells, the chromatin condensation in cauda epididymal sperm was investigated. It was seen that DNA from sperm from the younger animals (under 40 days of age) was less tightly bound to protamine than that obtained from mature animals. In summary, the earliest sperm produced by pubertal hamsters were immature with regard to chromatin condensation, morphology, motility, and ability to fertilize ova, and they developed mature characteristics in the period between 40-48 days of age.

Aging↗