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Biomedical subjects

B Hudson

Publications and source records attributed to B Hudson.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Testicular vein ligation and fertility in men with varicoceles.

Pregnancy rates in 651 subfertile couples in which the man had a varicocele were analysed by life table methods and were not found to be significantly different before and after testicular vein ligation performed in 283 patients. Estimated proportions of couples conceiving were roughly 30% by one year and 45% by two years in both groups. The operation was also not associated with improvement in results of semen analysis. These findings suggest that testicular vein ligation for varicoceles does not improve fertility.

Female↗

Variability in the apparent molecular weight of inhibin.

An in vitro bioassay based on suppression of GnRH-stimulated FSH secretion by pituitary cells in culture was used to monitor inhibin activity after dialysis, gel filtration or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of protein preparations from a variety of gonadal secretions and extracts under native and dissociating conditions. The suggestion that inhibin is a peptide of molecular weight less than 5000 was not confirmed. Although some fractions of low molecular weight suppressed FSH secretion, the amount of activity was low and the dose response curves were not parallel with a standard preparation of inhibin. Under most conditions, inhibin eluted with an apparent molecular weight of about 90 000. However, gel filtration of rete testis fluid protein in 1 M acetic acid resulted in elution of inhibin activity with a lower apparent molecular weight and with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 0.1% (w/v) sodium dodecylsulfate, the apparent molecular weight was 30 000. It is concluded that inhibin is a protein which tends to aggregate and coelute with larger molecules.

Animals↗

Ultraviolet resonance Raman excitation profiles of nucleic acid bases with excitation from 200 to 300 nanometers.

Raman spectra are presented for dilute aqueous solutions of the four ribonucleotides AMP, GMP, UMP, and CMP obtained with laser excitation at 299, 266, 253, 240, 229, 218, 209, and 200 nm. Distinct evidence of strong, selective resonance enhancement is obtained. Low-resolution excitation profiles have been constructed for the strongest bands by using the phosphate band at 994 cm-1 as an internal reference. The excitation spectra for many of the vibrational bands are dominated by a peak corresponding to the lowest-energy electronic transition near 260 nm. Smaller peaks are seen for higher-energy electronic transitions. For some modes, the resonance enhancement is dominated by the higher-energy transitions. It is clear from these new data that a full description of the resonance Raman profiles of the nucleic acids will have to include several excited electronic states. Two examples are given of cases where ionic species can be distinguished easily by using far-UV excitation, but these species are indistinguishable with 266-nm excitation. This demonstrates the utility of far-UV resonance Raman spectroscopy for obtaining structural information.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗

Loxapine abuse.

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Adult↗

The management of persistent menopausal symptoms with oestradiol-testosterone implants: clinical, lipid and hormonal results.

Seventeen patients attending two menopause clinics were treated with combined subcutaneous implants of oestradiol (40 mg) and testosterone (100 mg), because oral oestrogens had not provided adequate symptomatic relief, particularly of decreased libido. There were significant improvements in libido, enjoyment of sex and tiredness (P less than 0.01), and in lack of concentration (P less than 0.05), but there was no significant change in flushes, sweats and depression. Based on an analogue scale, libido increased from a mean basal score of 13.5 to a maximum of 86.1 at 3 mth. Symptomatic improvement was maintained for 4-6 mth. There were no significant changes in total serum cholesterol and triglycerides nor in cholesterol subfractions. When expressed as a percentage of the preimplant values, maximal changes in hormonal parameters were observed at 1 mth. Thus, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) was 53% of basal, luteinising hormone (LH) 54%, oestradiol 186%, total testosterone 291%, and free testosterone 342%. Only 1 patient complained of hirsutism and weight gain. We conclude that the hormonal implants provided substantial symptomatic relief, particularly of loss of libido, while causing rises to mid-follicular concentrations of oestradiol and maximal testosterone levels about three times normal, without significant effects on plasma lipids.

Adult↗

A controlled trial of the use of erythromycin for men with asthenospermia.

A double-blind crossover controlled trial of Erythromycin was conducted in 78 men with asthenospermia (mean pretreatment sperm concentration greater than or equal to 20 X 10(6)/ml and motility less than 60%). Sperm motility increased above the pretreatment mean after the first one month course of treatment for both Erythromycin (7.9 +/- 2.6% P less than 0.01; mean +/- SEM) and the placebo group (7.5 +/- 2.2% P less than 0.01) and also after the second one month course of treatment, given one month after the first, for both Erythromycin (11.8 +/- 2.7% P less than 0.001) and placebo (11.4 +/- 2.8% P less than 0.001). There was no significant difference between the changes in sperm motility with Erythromycin and placebo. Twelve pregnancies occurred during the four month trial time--eight with Erythromycin and four with placebo (chi 2 = 2.51 P = NS). It is concluded that in infertile men, sperm motility tends to increase spontaneously with time. Erythromycin treatment has no significant effect on semen quality and a larger trial will be required to determine if Erythromycin increases fertility.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Melittin induces fusion of unilamellar phospholipid vesicles.

Melittin, the soluble lipophilic peptide of bee venom, causes fusion of phospholipid vesicles when vesicle suspensions are heated or cooled through their thermal phase transition. Fusion was detected using a new photochemical method (Morgan, C.G., Hudson, B. and Wolber, P. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 26-30) which monitors lipid mixing. Electron microscopy and gel filtration confirmed that most of the lipid formed large vesicular structures. Fluorescence experiments with a water-soluble, membrane-impermeable complex of terbium (Wilschut, J. and Papahadjopoulos, D. (1979) Nature 281, 690-692) demonstrate that these ionic contents are released during fusion. The large structures formed by melittin-induced fusion are impermeable to these ions and are resistant to further fusion. This is in contrast to the behavior observed for the cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CETAB). The large size of the vesicles formed, the extreme speed of the fusion event and the appearance of electron microscope images of the vesicles prior to fusion suggest that the mechanism of the fusion process includes a preaggregation step.

Bee Venoms↗

Changes in the pituitary-testicular axis with age.

A large number of endocrinological studies of testicular function in men of different ages suggest that primary testicular failure becomes common and more severe with aging. There is an increasing frequency of impotence, reduced secondary sex hair and testicular atrophy. Serum LH and FSH levels rise, androgen production rates and levels fall and oestrogen levels rise. The clearance of oestradiol falls but the production rate is maintained, in part, through increased peripheral conversion of testosterone to oestradiol. The levels of SHBG rise and free testosterone levels are reduced. Leydig cell responsiveness to hCG is probably reduced but gonadotrope responsiveness to GnRH reasonably maintained in the elderly. There are histological changes in the seminiferous epithelium of old men but these are non-specific. Senescent testicular failure is mainly a primary gonadal disorder but its cause and significance are only poorly understood.

Adult↗