Objective Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenoma (PA) is an extremely rare functioning form of PA that accounts for 0.7-2% of all such cases. The previously reported outcomes of the surgical removal of TSH-PA are poor. Owing to its extremely low incidence, most available reports on TSH-PA are case reports or small case series. Thus, we investigated the clinical and endocrinological outcomes of surgically treated TSH-PA through our institutional series. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 14 consecutive cases of surgically treated TSH-PA, focusing on the clinical, radiological, surgical, and endocrinological data. Results There were seven male (50%) and seven female (50%) patients. The mean age was 42.5 years (range, 19-63). The mean tumor size was 16.6 mm (range, 4-30). Optic chiasm compression was noted in six patients (42.9%), and no patient showed cavernous sinus invasion. Thirteen of 14 patients (92.8%) underwent transnasal transsphenoidal approach (TSA), and one patient underwent TSA followed by transcranial approach for residual tumor removal. Thirteen of 14 patients (92.8%) showed endocrinological remission; all patients who experienced remission showed subnormal levels of TSH ( less then 0.4 μU/mL) on postoperative day 2. AK 7 Sirtuin inhibitor Recurrence occurred in two patients (14.2%). One patient underwent subsequent revision transnasal TSA for recurrent tumor removal, and the other patient underwent gamma knife radiosurgery for recurrence. Conclusion Surgical treatment showed excellent surgical outcomes. The TSH level in the immediate postoperative period may be a predictor for endocrinological remission.OBJECTIVE Irregular patterns of marital cohabitation are a common problem in upper Egypt due to employment conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of irregular marital cohabitation on the quality of life and sexual function of infertile men. METHODS In total, 208 infertile men were included and divided into two groups. The first group included 134 infertile men with an irregular pattern of marital cohabitation and the second group included 74 infertile men with a regular pattern of marital cohabitation. All subjects were assessed through a clinical evaluation, conventional semen analysis, the fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) questionnaire, the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) score, and the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PMEDT). RESULTS The two groups were compared in terms of conventional semen parameters, FertiQoL, IIEF-5 score, and PMEDT. Infertile men with an irregular pattern of marital cohabitation had significantly lower subscale and total FertiQoL and IIEF-5 scores. Additionally, they had significantly higher PMEDT scores. Erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation were more common in them than in infertile men with a regular pattern of marital cohabitation. CONCLUSION Irregular patterns of marital cohabitation had an adverse effect on quality of life and sexual function in infertile men.OBJECTIVE Since sperm abnormalities are known to be a major reason for recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), any defects in DNA structure and chromatin condensation can place embryos at risk in the early stage of development and implantation. As antioxidants such as vitamin C may play a protective role against the destruction of protamine genes in sperm chromatin, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of vitamin C on chromatin and the expression of protamine genes in the male partners of couples with RPL. METHODS Twenty male partners of couples with RPL were selected as the intervention group and received vitamin C supplementation (250 mg daily for 3 months). Healthy fertile men (n=20) were included as controls. Sperm chromatin, DNA integrity, and the expression levels of protamine genes were evaluated before and after treatment. RESULTS Significant differences were found in sperm morphology, protamine deficiency, and apoptosis between the two groups and before and after vitamin C administration. A significant change was found in mRNA levels of PRM1, PRM2, and the PRM1/PRM2 ratio after treatment. CONCLUSION Daily oral administration of vitamin C may improve human sperm parameters and DNA integrity by increasing protamine gene expression levels in the male partners of couples with RPL. The beneficial effects of vitamin C supplementation as an antioxidant for the male partners of couples with RPL could lead to improved pregnancy outcomes in these cases.OBJECTIVE In this study, specimens from testicular biopsies of men with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) were used to investigate whether RNF8 gene could serve as a biomarker to predict the presence of sperm in these patients. METHODS Testicular biopsy specimens from 47 patients were classified according to the presence of sperm (positive vs. negative groups) and investigated for the expression of RNF8. The level of RNF8 gene expression in the testes was compared between these groups using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS The expression level of RNF8 was significantly higher in testicular samples from the positive group than in those from the negative group. Moreover, the area under the curve of RNF8 expression for the entire study population was 0.84, showing the discriminatory power of RNF8 expression in differentiating between the positive and negative groups of men with NOA. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that RNF8 expression had a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 84%, with a cutoff level of 1.76. CONCLUSION This study points out a significant association between the expression of RNF8 and the presence of sperm in NOA patients, which suggests that quantified RNF8 expression in testicular biopsy samples may be a valuable biomarker for predicting the presence of spermatozoa in biopsy samples.OBJECTIVE Recently, microRNA (miRNA) has been identified both as a powerful regulator involved in various biological processes through the regulation of numerous genes and as an effective biomarker for the prediction and diagnosis of various disease states. The objective of this study was to identify and validate miRNAs and their target genes involved in inflammation in placental tissue. METHODS Microarrays were utilized to obtain miRNA and gene expression profiles from placentas with or without inflammation obtained from nine normal pregnant women and 10 preterm labor patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blots were performed to validate the miRNAs and differentially-expressed genes in the placentas with inflammation. Correlations between miRNA and target gene expression were confirmed by luciferase assays in HTR-8/SVneo cells. RESULTS We identified and validated miRNAs and their target genes that were differentially expressed in placentas with inflammation. We also demonstrated that several miRNAs (miR-371a-5p, miR-3065-3p, miR-519b-3p, and miR-373-3p) directly targeted their target genes (LEF1, LOX, ITGB4, and CD44).AK 7 Sirtuin inhibitor
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