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Biomedical subjects

S W Seager

Publications and source records attributed to S W Seager.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The effects of rectal probe electrostimulation on spinal cord injury spasticity.

Spasticity is a common sequel of spinal cord injury (SCI) with well documented effects on daily activities and increased morbidity. In the course of our fertility studies using rectal probe electrostimulation (RPES) and SCI men to produce ejaculation, we observed that a majority of the men experienced significant improvement in their spasticity for many hours. This paper describes a preliminary effort to quantitate this phenomenon in 14 consecutive subjects treated for anejaculation on 65 occasions in our SCI Fertility Clinic. The effectiveness of RPES on spasticity was evaluated by pre- and post-RPES subject assessment and neurological examinations and follow-up self reports via telephone interviews. Six of the 14 patients (42%) experienced excellent relief following 30 of 33 RPES treatments; 4 (29%) had good to fair relief following 14 of 15 RPES treatments and 4 (29%) had no effect on all 17 RPES trials. The mean duration of relief was 9 hours (3-24). There was no relation between subject age, age of injury, level or completeness of injury or ejaculatory response with relief of spasticity. All men taking medications felt RPES was more effective than drugs in relieving spasms. No untoward effects were reported and 7 (50%) said they would use a home model for daily RPES, if available.

Adolescent

Sperm retrieval by electro-ejaculation. Preliminary experience in patients with secondary anejaculation.

Twelve patients with spinal cord injury and 2 diabetics with secondary anejaculation underwent 26 sessions of electro-ejaculation, using a technique which has previously been popular only in veterinary medicine. Ejaculate was obtained on 21 occasions. Semen quality was adequate for cryostorage on 9 occasions (8 patients); on 8 occasions (5 patients) it was used for immediate artificial insemination of the partner. To date, there has been 1 pregnancy resulting in a live birth.

Adult

Reproductive laparoscopy.

Reproductive laparoscopy can be used to examine, photograph, and perform surgery on the internal reproductive organs of both the male and female of many species of animals. The equipment and teaching have been adapted from human medicine. This article discusses laparoscopy's use in this context in small and large animals and non-domestic species both in captivity and in the wild.

Animals

Electroejaculatory stimulation of a quadriplegic man resulting in pregnancy.

Reproductive rehabilitation of men after spinal cord injury has been made possible by the application of assisted ejaculatory techniques such as electroejaculation. Although this technique may predictably overcome the barrier of semen recovery, the problem of seminal dysfunction still remains. This report describes one of the few pregnancies established by a quadriplegic man using electroejaculatory stimulation for semen acquisition and standard in vitro semen preparation methods for intrauterine insemination.

Adult

Seasonal variation in serum testosterone, testicular measurements and semen characteristics in the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu).

Blood samples and testicular measurements were obtained from 4-8 captive adult collared peccaries monthly for 18 months and from wild adult males during summer (N = 16) and winter (N = 22) seasons. Serum concentrations of testosterone were determined by radioimmunoassay. Semen samples were collected monthly by electroejaculation from captive males for 1 year. Serum testosterone concentrations and testicular measurements varied in a low-amplitude circannual pattern, with maximum mean testosterone concentrations in fall and winter (1150-1400 pg/ml) and minimum values in summer (500-700 pg/ml). Circannual rhythms appeared to be related to dominance. Serum testosterone levels in wild males generally were lower than in captive males, although this difference was not significant (P greater than 0.05). Semen characteristics did not exhibit a circannual rhythm. These results suggest that the male peccary remains reproductively fertile throughout the year, yet may undergo a facultative summer quiescence influenced by ambient temperature and social factors.

Animals

Clinical electroejaculation.

Anejaculation is a disorder that occurs infrequently in the general population, but it occurs in some cases of spinal cord injury and dissection of retroperitoneal lymph nodes for testicular cancer. It is associated with multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, and diabetes mellitus. Electroejaculation, which involves electrodes in a probe placed in the rectum, electrically stimulates emission of seminal fluid. Semen thus obtained can be used for artificial insemination if a patient and his spouse wish to become natural parents.

Ejaculation

Electroejaculation of paraplegic males followed by pregnancies.

Semen obtained by electroejaculation was used to achieve pregnancies in the spouses of T5-6 and T4-5 paraplegics. Viable semen was recovered in both an antegrade and retrograde fashion. In both cases, the SPA test was positive. Semen recovered for AIH IUI was washed and swum up prior to insemination.

Adult

Electroejaculation for recovery of semen after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection: case report.

Electroejaculation with a rectal probe was used successfully for semen recovery 8 years after bilateral suprarenal hilar lymph node dissection for stage IIB embryonal cell cancer. An adequate ejaculate was obtained in relation to total sperm count, motility and normal morphology. Prior use of sympathomimetic drugs, including imipramine and ephedrine, was unsuccessful in producing an ejaculation. Electrostimulation via a rectal probe seems to be a useful technique for semen recovery in the patient with anejaculation after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection.

Adult

Rectal probe electrostimulation in the treatment of anejaculatory spinal cord injured men.

This paper reviews our experience with rectal probe electroejaculation (RPE) which is part of a larger effort to determine the correlates of successful ejaculation and fertility in SCI men. RPE is performed in the outpatient clinic using specially designed rectal probes. Over the past 18 months, we have attempted RPE on 38 occasions in 12 subjects (eight paraplegics and four quadriplegics) with an age range of 23-38 years and 0.5-18 years since onset of injury. Anterograde ejaculation occurred in nine subjects with improvement in percent motility and total live sperm count on repeated stimulations in five subjects. Significant retrograde ejaculation occurred in one person and sperm acceptable for artificial insemination (AI) was obtained from four subjects. The major side effects were mild dysreflexia (three subjects) and disruption of a normal bowel program (one subject). We conclude that RPE is a safe, relatively brief outpatient procedure and, with repeated stimulations, has a good potential for producing sperm acceptable for AI in selected patients.

Adult

Physiological responses of the adult male collared peccary, Tayassu tajacu (Tayassuidae), to severe dietary restriction.

Metabolic and hormonal responses of eight adult male collared peccaries (Tayassu tajacu) to an ad libitum diet intake, or 25% of an ad libitum intake, were examined. Blood samples for hematological, serum-biochemical and hormonal profiles were collected at three week intervals during the nine week experiment starting 4 August 1983. Males fed on the restricted diet lost an average of 26% of their body weight during the trial, compared to a slight weight gain for those fed ad libitum. Characteristics of the red and white blood cell populations were not influenced by diet intake, with the exception of mean corpuscular volume, which was consistently lower amongst males fed on the restricted diet. Restricted food intake resulted in significantly elevated serum values for urea nitrogen, urea nitrogen:creatinine, urea index, alpha globulin:beta globulin, gamma globulin:albumin, nonesterified fatty acids, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase isozymes (LD1 and LD2). Restricted food intake resulted in significantly lowered serum values for total alpha globulin, alpha-1 globulin, total beta globulin, beta-1 globulin, beta-2 globulin, glucose, triglycerides, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, copper and triiodothyronine. Serum levels of creatinine, total protein, albumin, alpha-2 globulin, uric acid, total bilirubin, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, phosphorus, calcium:phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc and thyroxine were unaffected by diet intake level. Semen evaluation indicated spermatogenesis was not affected by dietary restriction despite reductions in scrotal circumference and ejaculate gel volume. Serum testosterone levels were significantly lower among males fed on the restricted diet after nine weeks. These data suggest male libido might be depressed during poor range conditions, while maintenance of spermatogenesis might permit them to take immediate advantage of improved range conditions. Blood analysis of metabolic and hormonal function can provide useful information for predicting the adult male's nutritional and reproductive condition.

Animals

Effect of prostaglandin F2 alpha on endocrine-ovarian function in the domestic cat.

The effect of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) on endocrine and ovarian function during the early luteal phase of the domestic cat was investigated. Queens were induced to ovulate and then injected subcutaneously with 0.5-5.0 mg PGF2 alpha/kg body weight. The greatest dose was found to approach toxicity. Concentrations of progesterone were similar in cats following treatment with PGF2 alpha compared to values of controls. Development and regression of corpora lutea as determined by serial laparoscopy were similar in all groups. These data indicate that PGF2 alpha at the tested dosages, given during the early luteal phase is not luteolytic in this species and suggest that these regimens would be ineffective for the premature termination of pseudopregnancy.

Animals

Serum luteinizing hormone and ovulatory response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone in the estrous and anestrous domestic cat.

A heterologous double antibody radioimmunoassay was developed to measure changes in serum luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations in estrous and anestrous queens (female domestic cats), following a single injection of varying doses (0--25 microgram) of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). No increase in serum LH was detected in any of the estrous or anestrous queens following a single saline injection. Treatment with LH-RH resulted in a sharp increase in serum LH concentration in both estrous and anestrous queens. Ovulations as observed by the presence of corpora lutea at laparoscopy occurred in none of four, one of four, two of four and four of four estrous queens receiving 0, 5, 10 or 25 microgram of LH-RH, respectively. Mean serum LH concentration of the ovulating queens was maintained at a higher level and did not return to basal level at the same time as that of nonovulating queens. The data show that: LH-RH can cause release of LH in both estrous and anestrous queens and induce ovulation in the estrous cat; the magnitude of LH response is influenced by the stage of the reproductive cycle; and the duration during which LH is maintained above basal level may play a significant role in ovulation induction in this coitus-induced ovulatory species.

Anestrus

Semen collection by electroejaculation in the domestic cat.

A procedure for electroejaculation of domestic cats was developed. The method involved anesthetization of adult male cats with ketamine HC1 (33 mg/kg) or CI 744 (5.5 mg/kg). Optimal results were obtained with a 120-V ac electric stimulator capable of a continuous range of 0 to 60 V and 0 to 1 A. Using a 1- by 12-cm rectal probe constructed of teflon and stainless steel electrodes, ejaculation was obtained with an electrical stimulus over a range of 2 to 8 V and 5 to 220 mA. Voltage and amperage were increased at specific intervals in order to compensate for refractory ejaculatory response due to continued nerve and muscle stimulation. The procedure provided a means of obtaining ejaculates from domestic cats for purposes of semen evaluation and artificial insemination.

Animals

Laparoscopy in zoological medicine.

The technique of laparoscopy was adapted and utilized in zoological medicine for various mammals, birds, and reptiles for reproductive and diagnostic studies as well as clinically related research. It was concluded that since anesthesia was routinely required for most manipulative procedures in zoo animals, and since laparoscopy adds little additional risk, the use of this technique provides an additional diagnostic aid when indicated. Laparoscopy was found to be effective for evaluating reproductive status, particularly ovarian anatomy and function, direct visual biopsy of internal organs, sex determination in selected birds, and as a surgical means of fertility control.

Animals