Preservation of Amputated Extremities by Extracorporeal Blood Perfusion; a Feasibility Study in a Porcine Model

Successful extremity transplantations and replantations have to be performed within 6 h of amputation to avoid irreversible tissue loss. This study investigates ex vivo the technical feasibility and the limb preservation potential of extracorporeal whole blood perfusion in a porcine model.

Sperm analysis of patients after successful treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia with chemotherapy

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with radiotherapy are at risk for impaired fertility. Whether chemotherapy alone is also long-term gonadotoxic is unclear. We assessed gonadal function in 11 male ALL-survivors treated with the same chemotherapy regimen and compared sperm analysis to healthy men. While sex hormone levels were normal in all subjects, 5/11 survivors showed pathological sperm concentration and 4/11 a decreased total sperm count compared to WHO criteria. Compared to healthy controls, all quantitative parameters in semen analysis of survivors were decreased. This suggests that treatment with chemotherapeutic agents alone, even in moderate doses, might have a gonadotoxic effect.

Petrous bone cholesteatoma removal with hearing preservation

Clinical and radiologic outcome analysis after petrous bone cholesteatoma (PBC) removal with simultaneous functional reconstruction.

Effects of TNF antagonists on sperm characteristics in patients with spondyloarthritis

To study the influence of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists on spermatogenesis in a cohort of patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA).

A double role of sperm in scorpions: the mating plug of Euscorpius italicus (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) consists of sperm

Mating plugs occluding the female gonopore after mating are a widespread phenomenon. In scorpions, two main types of mating plugs are found: sclerotized mating plugs being parts of the spermatophore that break off during mating, and gel-like mating plugs being gelatinous fluids that harden in the female genital tract. In this study, the gel-like mating plug of Euscorpius italicus was investigated with respect to its composition, fine structure, and changes over time. Sperm forms the major component of the mating plug, a phenomenon previously unknown in arachnids. Three parts of the mating plug can be distinguished. The part facing the outside of the female (outer part) contains sperm packages containing inactive spermatozoa. In this state, sperm is transferred. In the median part, the sperm packages get uncoiled to single spermatozoa. In the inner part, free sperm is embedded in a large amount of secretions. Fresh mating plugs are soft gelatinous, later they harden from outside toward inside. This process is completed after 3-5 days. Sperm from artificially triggered spermatophores could be activated by immersion in insect Ringer's solution indicating that the fluid condition in the females' genital tract or females' secretions causes sperm activation. Because of the male origin of the mating plug, it has likely evolved under sperm competition or sexual conflict. As females refused to remate irrespective of the presence or absence of a mating plug, females may have changed their mating behavior in the course of evolution from polyandry to monandry.

Improving fertility preservation in cancer: ovarian tissue cryobanking followed by ovarian stimulation can be efficiently combined

This pilot study evaluated whether combination of partial removal of ovarian tissue for cryobanking followed by ovarian stimulation and cryopreservation of oocytes can improve the efficacy of fertility preservation without further delaying cancer treatment. Initial partial removal of ovarian tissue did not substantially affect the average number and quality of retrieved oocytes after ovarian stimulation in this study.

Fertility preservation in >1,000 patients: patient's characteristics, spectrum, efficacy and risks of applied preservation techniques

Data on the characteristics of female patients counselled for fertility preservation and the efficacy and risk of the applied procedures are still poor. We therefore analysed the registry of a network of 70 infertility centers which are involved in fertility preservation in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, called FertiPROTEKT ( hhtp://www.fertiprotekt.eu ).

Clinical recommendation on fertility preservation in borderline ovarian neoplasm: ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval after conservative surgery

To evaluate safety and fertility outcome after assisted conception in patients who were treated conservatively for a borderline ovarian tumor (BOT).

Sperm of colourful males are better protected against oxidative stress

Sperm cells are highly vulnerable to free radicals, and sperm quality and male fertility are critically affected by oxidative stress. Recently, sexual ornaments, particularly carotenoid-based colourful traits, have been proposed to depend on a male's capacity to resist oxidative stress, and thus to signal sperm quality. We conducted an experimental test of this hypothesis on great tits Parus major, in which adults are sexually dichromatic in carotenoid-based breast plumage. We report the first evidence that ornaments and sperm quality may be linked through oxidative stress. When experimentally subjected to oxidative stress resulting from increased workload, less colourful males suffered a greater reduction in sperm motility and swimming ability, and increased levels of sperm lipid peroxidation compared to more colourful males. Moreover, the level of sperm lipid peroxidation was negatively correlated with sperm quality. Finally, carotenoid supplementation increased sperm quality of less colourful males, suggesting that pale males are deficient in carotenoid antioxidants.

Sperm morphology, swimming velocity, and longevity in the house sparrow Passer domesticus

Sperm competition exerts strong selection on males to produce spermatozoa with an optimal morphology that maximizes their fertilization success. Long sperm were first suggested to be favored because they should swim faster. However, studies that investigated the relationship between sperm length and sperm competitive ability or sperm swimming velocity yielded contradictory results. More recently, ratios of the different sections of a spermatozoon (the head, midpiece, and flagellum) were suggested to be more crucial in determining swimming velocity. Additionally, sperm ability to remain and survive in the female storage organs may also influence fertilization success, so that optimal sperm morphology may rather maximize sperm longevity than velocity. In this study, we investigated how sperm morphology is related to sperm velocity and sperm longevity in the house sparrow Passer domesticus. Sperm velocity was found to be correlated with head/flagellum ratio. Sperm with small heads relative to their flagellum showed higher swimming velocity. Additionally, shorter sperm were found to live longer. Finally, we found sperm morphological traits to vary substantially within males and the head/flagellum ratio to be unrelated to total sperm length. We discuss the hypothesis that the substantial within-male variation in sperm morphology reflects a male strategy to produce a diversity of sperm from long, fast-swimming to short, long-living sperm to maximize their fertilization success in a context of sperm competition.

Preservation of lesser metatarsophalangeal joints in rheumatoid forefoot reconstruction

A standard rheumatoid forefoot reconstruction consists of arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint and resection arthroplasty of the lesser metatarsal heads. However, preservation of the metatarsal heads has gained renewed interest since the medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has improved dramatically.