A factor of nominal molecular weight 6K-10K Daltons, isolated from bovine aorta, has previously been shown to inhibit neovascularization and tumor growth in vivo and the growth of some tumor cells as well as endothelial cells in culture. This factor, termed A-10, was tested alone and in combination with Adriamycin against TA3Ha mammary adenocarcinoma cells in tissue culture. It was found to have cytotoxicity additive to that of Adriamycin in inhibiting the growth of these cells. In vitro and animal studies show that the sequence of Adriamycin----A-10 is superior to either agent alone in delaying the appearance of palpable tumors after subcutaneous injection of 10(5) pre-treated tumor cells in the tail of strain A mice. While the growth rate of the primary tumor was not affected by such treatment, survival was prolonged to a greater degree by the this sequence than by either of these agents used alone. A-10 treatment reduced the number of metastases to the adrenal gland but not to lung, liver, or lymph nodes. It did, however, reduce the size of metastases to para-aortic lymph nodes.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

The effect of glycerol on cochlear function and ionic concentration.

The use of glycerol continues to be a popular clinical test for diagnosing reversible hearing loss in patients with Meniere's disease, although its mechanism of action remains obscure. The purpose of this investigation was to study experimentally the alterations in the ionic composition and function of the cochlea which occur following glycerol administration. Immediate decreases in inner ear pressure and increases in AP threshold were seen. Delayed decreases in the endocochlear potential with increases in inner ear electrolytes occurred. However, we were unable to find any substantial changes in inner ear oxygen concentrations. Our findings support the concept that the principal action of glycerol is in osmotic reduction of inner ear pressure.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1985

Implantation, abortion, and birth after in vitro fertilization using the natural menstrual cycle or follicular stimulation with clomiphene citrate and human menopausal gonadotropin.

The incidence of pregnancy and abortion was analyzed in 1679 patients having embryos replaced after oocyte recovery and in vitro fertilization in order to alleviate their infertility. In these patients, 364 pregnancies were achieved and 108 abortions occurred. Patients were treated either on their natural cycle, having a spontaneous luteinizing hormone (LH) surge to induce ovulation, or after ovarian stimulation using clomiphene citrate alone or in combination with human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG). The data were assessed in relation to the numbers of embryos replaced, the follicular stimulation and ovulation induction regime used, the dose of gonadotropins and the dose of antiestrogens, and the age of the patient. The most successful treatment for the number of live births per laparoscopy was the use of clomiphene citrate in combination with human menopausal gonadotropin followed by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to induce follicular maturation and ovulation. This treatment produced a significantly higher (P less than 0.001) number of patients with multiple embryos (86.5%). There was no significant effect on pregnancy or abortion with a low (less than 400-mg) or high (greater than or equal to 400-mg) dose of clomiphene. The total dose of gonadotropins used did not influence the incidence of pregnancy or abortion. The use of hCG with hMG induced a significant (P less than 0.01) positive effect on the incidence of pregnancy. The incidence of pregnancy showed a progressive decline with increasing age but there was a highly significant (P less than 0.01) increase in the incidence of abortion with increasing age. With increasing numbers of embryos replaced, up to three, the incidence of deliveries increased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMed1985

Pregnancies following the frozen storage of expanding human blastocysts.

Human blastocysts were frozen in Earle's solution containing pyruvate and human serum, using glycerol as cryoprotectant, and stored in liquid nitrogen. Thawed blastocysts were replaced in 11 patients, which resulted in two pregnancies. One blastocyst giving a pregnancy was hatching when replaced. Three parameters appeared to be important for embryo survival and implantation: the interval between ovulation and replacement of the thawed blastocysts, satisfactory embryonic development before freezing, and the stage of blastulation when cooling began.

Blastocyst↗

PubMed1985

Seminal bacterial pathogens and in vitro fertilization.

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Fertilization in Vitro↗

PubMed1985

Cancer of the minor salivary glands of the larynx.

Minor salivary gland carcinomas of the larynx are rare and few large series have been reported from a single institution. Eighteen patients were treated for this disease at M.D. Anderson Hospital between 1944 and 1982. Of these, 8 patients had adenoid cystic carcinoma and 10 had poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Characteristically these tumors presented as predominantly submucosal masses in the supraglottic or subglottic regions. Surgery was the primary treatment modality used in most cases. The average 2 and 5 year survival rates for patients with this disease were 70.6 percent and 42.8 percent, respectively. Although the 5 year survival rates were comparable between the adenocarcinoma and cystic carcinoma groups, adenocarcinoma was a more rapidly lethal disease than adenoid cystic carcinoma. Salvage after recurrence was seldom possible, although local and regional control could usually be achieved. Distant metastases remain the principal cause of treatment failure.

Actuarial Analysis↗

PubMed1985

Pregnancy following in vitro fertilization using cryopreserved semen from a man with testicular teratoma.

Semen for cryopreservation was collected in a man with a testicular teratoma after unilateral orchidectomy but before chemotherapy which rendered him azoospermic. After two years artificial insemination using this semen in his wife failed repeatedly. The semen quality on thawing was extremely poor in terms of sperm motility. A pre-freeze motility of 90 per cent was reduced to 2 per cent, and the movement was graded as sluggish. Using the techniques of semen and oocyte preparation and in vitro fertilization, a number of cleaving embryos was produced. A pregnancy was established after four of these embryos were replaced in the wife. The pregnancy aborted spontaneously, but a subsequent course of treatment resulted in an on-going twin pregnancy. The potential of in vitro fertilization for overcoming the poor quality of semen after storage by cryopreservation from men with testicular neoplasms is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Gender differences in life expectancy among kibbutz members.

A literature review of findings reveals that the life expectancy (LE) of females is longer than that of males and that a strong relationship exists between LE and gender differences in LE. The arguments of biological vs societal reasons for such gender differences are presented and the kibbutz society is offered as a setting to test the rivaling hypotheses. It is argued that the kibbutz society offers more similar roles for both genders than outside the kibbutz and therefore the gender differences in LE should be reduced in comparison to what is expected, given the very high LE of kibbutz members. Statistical data of the kibbutz population between the years 1975-1980 are analyzed and the results support the following conclusions: female members have higher LE but the difference is much less than expected on the basis of a regression analysis of data from 73 societies; the difference is smaller due to the relatively higher gain in LE by males; the gender differences are even smaller at age 50 compared to LE differences at birth. The Discussion section dwells upon interpretations of the findings and argues against alternative interpretations that assume selection processes for the kibbutz population. Suggestions for further studies are also made.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

The leukocytic reaction of the human uterine cervix to spermatozoa.

Cervical smears were taken before, and at intervals after, artificial insemination and scored for the ratio of leukocytes to squamous cells. Most women showed a significant rise in this ratio after insemination with whole fresh or frozen/thawed semen, but this was not seen when fresh or frozen sperm-free seminal plasma was used. Some women had received spermatozoa naturally less than 24 hours before our tests, and most showed some leukocytosis before insemination; even these women showed further response to artificial insemination with spermatozoa. It is concluded that women, like rabbits, normally respond by leukocytosis to cervical deposition of spermatozoa. The primary function of the leukocytes may be sperm selection by phagocytosis or the "mopping up" of introduced bacteria. Some of the patients became pregnant at the monitored cycle; so it is very clear that this is a physiologic response of the cervix, not a pathologic leukocytic reaction.

Cervix Uteri↗

PubMed1985

In vitro fertilization: a treatment for male infertility.

Three-quarters of 41 women whose husbands were the cause of infertility in the couple had one or more embryos replaced after in vitro fertilization. One-third became pregnant despite their long history of infertility; the incidence of pregnancy was 45% after one or more replacements of embryos. In a group of 61 couples where both partners were infertile, 26% became pregnant. These data indicate that the lower chance of fertilization with poor semen is balanced by a higher chance of pregnancy in women with a normally functioning reproductive system. Oligospermia, asthenospermia, teratospermia, and autoimmunity are among the many forms of male infertility which can now be successfully treated by in vitro fertilization. Overall, 57% of the oocytes were fertilized, and almost 50% of men with very low numbers of active spermatozoa (less than or equal to 0.5 X 10(6)/ml motile spermatozoa) were successful in establishing pregnancy. Two semen parameters impaired fertilization most: seminal inflammatory cells and low progressive activity. The collection of split ejaculates and the careful preparation of spermatozoa, by sedimentation and layering methods, proved to be beneficial, improving sperm motility and raising the chance of fertilization.

Embryo Transfer↗

PubMed1985

In vitro fertilization using cryopreserved donor semen in cases where both partners are infertile.

The incidence of pregnancy after in vitro fertilization (IVF) was studied in a group of 38 couples (55 cycles) where both partners were infertile. Cryopreserved donor semen (IVF-D) was used in all cycles. Results were compared with those in a control group of couples where the husband's semen was considered normal and only the wife was infertile. No significant differences were found between the IVF-D and control groups in the incidence of fertilization (80% versus 72%), pregnancy per cycle (33% versus 29%), and abortion (18% versus 20%), despite the considerably lower percentage of motile spermatozoa in the IVF-D group. Forty percent of patients, each treated unsuccessfully with at least 12 artificial inseminations with donor semen, became pregnant after one or two IVF-D cycles. It is concluded that IVF with frozen donor semen is a beneficial treatment for couples where both partners are infertile.

Female↗

PubMed1985

Prolonged storage of human spermatozoa at room temperature or in a refrigerator.

Spermatozoa from patients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy were prepared free from seminal plasma with the use of IVF culture medium supplemented with 8% human serum. Samples were then stored either at room temperature or in a refrigerator, and their motility and ability to penetrate zona-free hamster eggs were assessed every second day. With storage at room temperature, motility declined by less than half over the first 14 days, with some samples still active 20 days after preparation. The ability of the samples to penetrate hamster eggs was unchanged during the first 6 days of storage, and most of the samples still had positive tests after 14 days. Some spermatozoa could still penetrate after 17 days. Room-temperature-stored spermatozoa were still able to fertilize human oocytes 5 days after preparation. With storage in a refrigerator motility declined rapidly, and few sperm were motile after 14 days. However, these samples penetrated relatively more hamster eggs after 14 days' storage than room-temperature-stored samples did. Spermatozoa stored overnight in a refrigerator had significantly higher hamster egg penetration rates than spermatozoa stored overnight at room temperature. After storage overnight at room temperature, false-positive and false-negative results of hamster egg penetration tests were common in relation to IVF outcome; after refrigerated storage, no false-negative results were found.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Treatment of idiopathic infertility, cervical mucus hostility, and male infertility: artificial insemination with husband's semen or in vitro fertilization?

Couples with male infertility (n = 86), idiopathic infertility (n = 68), and cervical mucus hostility (n = 48) of a long duration were treated either by in vitro fertilization (IVF) or artificial insemination with husband's semen (AIH). The incidence of pregnancy per cycle in couples in whom the male partner was infertile was significantly (P less than 0.01) higher after IVF, compared with AIH (21% versus 5%, respectively). The differences were most apparent in couples with asthenospermia (47% versus 0%, respectively); no significant difference was found when the infertility was caused by oligospermia only (11% versus 9%, respectively). More patients with idiopathic infertility became pregnant after one cycle with IVF, compared with AIH (20% versus 8%, respectively); but, because of intragroup disparity in size, this difference was not significant. A highly significant difference (P less than 0.01) was found after one attempt with IVF, compared with AIH, in patients with cervical mucus hostility (38% versus 3%, respectively).

Cervix Mucus↗

PubMed1985

Infertile men and in vitro fertilization therapy.

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Fertilization in Vitro↗