Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Gandini

Publications and source records attributed to L Gandini.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Antisperm immunity in natural and assisted reproduction.

Research conducted in the last 40 years has provided evidence that antisperm antibodies (ASA) can impair the fertilizing capacity of human spermatozoa. It is established that ASA can be present at different sites, can act against different antigens and can impair fertility in various ways. In fact, in the past it was amply demonstrated that ASA can act negatively on sperm motility and on cervical mucus penetration. In recent years, owing to the improvement and spreading of IVF techniques, it has been possible to demonstrate the effect of antibody-bound spermatozoa at the level of in-vitro gamete interaction. The literature demonstrates that the various previously used treatments for immunological infertility, i.e. medical therapy, intrauterine insemination with husband's spermatozoa (AIH) and IVF, usually had poor success. The primary choice of treatment in immunological infertility, especially in the most severe cases and when the sperm head is involved, is ICSI. ASA evaluation in all couples who undergo the various techniques of insemination or IVF is imperative.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunoglobulins in human seminal plasma.

Single radial immunodiffusion has been used to evaluate immunoglobulins and secretory piece (SP) in human seminal plasma. Samples were collected from 90 healthy volunteers, 202 subjects submitted to vasectomy for contraceptive purposes, tested at various intervals after surgery, and 725 patients grouped according to selected andrological disorders. Results may be summarized as follows. In normal subjects IgG and IgA were constantly present (mean values +/- SD: 8.14 +/- 2.82 mg/dl; 1.91 +/- 1.03 mg/dl, respectively) while IgM were detected in trace amounts (from 0.7 to 3.3 mg/dl) in 10% of subjects, and negligible or absent in the remaining subjects. In vasectomized subjects IgG and IgA showed a significant increase only in the first 3 months after vasectomy, probably due to surgery. In andrological patients Ig showed an increase in cases with antisperm antibodies (A b) and in those with infections of genital tract and positive semen culture. On the basis of these findings and the secretory piece assay data the importance appears to be stressed of the local immunocompetent system at least in some andrological diseases.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radio-immuno binding test for anti-sperm antibody detection: analysis and critical revision of various methodological steps.

The authors report the results of a methodological study to optimize a radioimmunoassay to detect anti-sperm antibodies. They describe here the definitive methodology with all the data relating to the laboratory trials conducted at each step of the technique. Results seem to demonstrate that this radioimmunological method is sufficiently simple, specific, sensitive and reliable for use in a highly specialized laboratory of reproductive immunology. Furthermore, this type of analytical approach, whilst indicating once more the difficulty of the technical study of anti-sperm autoimmunity, confirms (with concrete data) the necessity of being extremely "prudent" in evaluating the results of this kind of anti-sperm antibody test.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antisperm antibodies in young boys.

The authors report the results of antisperm antibody tests carried out on a group of 159 pre-pubertal boys suffering from various testicular pathologies. The data show that 21% of the patients' sera showed antibody activity against antigens on the sperm of healthy fertile donors. None of the control sera was ASA positive. Some differences were observed in pathology and age distribution of positivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lack of immunization after intraperitoneal insemination of spermatozoa.

Twenty infertile patients with normal tubal patency were inseminated intraperitoneally (11 once, seven twice, and two three times) with spermatozoa (mean 14 x 10(6), range 0.6-48 x 10(6)) prepared by the standard swim-up technique. The occurrence of immunization to spermatozoa was looked for by the Gelatin Agglutination Test (GAT) and Tray Agglutination Test (TAT). Both tests gave negative results for all the controls (10 pregnant and 10 puerperal women). Antisperm antibodies were measured in the serum before, 30 d and 4-7 months after Intraperitoneal Insemination (IPI). The last check was done for only 14 patients, since six became pregnant as a consequence of the first treatment. Of the 14 patients studied after 4-7 months, seven had two, and two had three IPI. In the group of inseminated patients, 18 women with no basal sperm antibody did not show evidence of antibody formation after the treatment and it was not increased after insemination in the two patients who already had low antibody titre (1/32). In conclusion, despite the large number of spermatozoa inseminated and even after several IPI attempts, there was no evidence of de novo production of or increase in already present anti-sperm antibodies according to the methods used for the detection of ASA in this study.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glutathione therapy for male infertility.

Eleven infertile men were treated with glutathione (600 mg/day IM) for 2 months. The patients were suffering from dyspermia associated with various andrological pathologies. Standard semen and computer analyses of sperm motility were carried out before treatment and after 30 and 60 days of therapy. Glutathione exerted significant effect on sperm motility patterns. Glutathione appears to have a therapeutic effect on some andrological pathologies causing male infertility.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Statistical andrology: standard semen analysis and computer-assisted sperm motility analysis.

Results are reported of a statistical evaluation of the variables obtained by standard microscopic semen analysis and by computer-assisted sperm motility analysis. Descriptive statistical analysis and cluster analysis were carried out on both sets of data. A contingency table was created to compare the classifications obtained by the two clustering procedures. A canonical correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the classification power of the variables obtained by the two semen analyses. The results show that the two techniques of semen analysis are complementary and not substitutive and that the correlated variables "percentage forward motility" and "sperm velocity" are the most discriminating.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Computer assisted sperm motility analysis.

The CellSoft system was employed to study its reliability in the evaluation of seminal data in fertile and infertile subjects. In addition new motility data were introduced and added to the classic parameters. Various clinical and experimental applications are reported. The system is valid and extremely useful in seminal research. In order to obtain the above mentioned benefits it is necessary for the users to have extensive experience of seminology and computer technology.

Cryopreservation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Therapy of immunologic infertility.

Infertility afflicts 10-15% of the couples and the incidence is progressively increasing. There are many possible causes for infertility, but immunological factors are among the most recently proposed causes. Once have ascertained that couple's infertility problem is due to sperm antibodies, the next obvious step is to attempt some form of therapy. In this paper we review the various classic and up-to-date methods of management of immunologic infertility.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Clinical results of the modified Marshall-Marchetti procedure in female urinary incontinence].

We considered 49 patients suffering from urinary stress incontinence, operated from January 1984 to December 1989 by Marshall-Marchetti modified after Symmonds procedure. 13 patients had one or more previous surgical procedures. We made urodynamic preoperative tests and a stress test (after Ferrari) in all our cases. We obtained: complete recovery in 80% of our cases, improvement in 14% and failure in 6%; particularly the recovery percentage in our patients operated for the first time was the 97.2%; in the recurrences we had complete success in 46%, an improvement in 38.5% and surgical failure in 15.5%. Complications were observed in 1 patient affected by pubic osteitis, treated with medical therapy. Only 3 patients had an incomplete bladder emptying one year after the surgical operation, with value of the post micturitional residual volume of about 1/3 of the maximal cystometric capacity.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation between tests for the detection of antibodies bound to the sperm surface.

Direct tests for antisperm antibody detection are considered one of the first steps in the screening of a suspected male immunological infertility especially when one of the assisted fertilization protocols is being considered. With these techniques we can detect the presence of antisperm antibodies bound to the sperm surface. In this work we report the results of a laboratory correlation study carried out on the three direct techniques: IgG-MAR Test, the IgG-Latex Sperm MAR Test and the IgG-IgA-IgM-Immunobead Test. We analyzed data on 96 subjects, examined in our laboratory for a suspected antisperm antibody pathology. The three techniques were carried out in a blind experimental protocol by different technicians and the main results can be summarized as a strict correlation with regard to percentage and degree of positivity and a poor correlation with regard to the localization of the marker of the immune reaction (red blood cells, latex particles, polyacrylamide spherules).

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunological usefulness of semen manipulation for artificial insemination homologous (AIH) in subjects with antisperm antibodies bound to sperm surface.

The authors report trials carried out in the preparation of semen for homologous artificial insemination in subjects with antisperm autoantibodies. The tests have demonstrated that swim-up is not able to select spermatozoa free of antibodies bound to the sperm surface. All the experiments of migration, dilution, antigenic competition and cryoconservation, carried out to evaluate the theoretical possibility of a better recovery of non "immunologically compromised" spermatozoa, have confirmed such negative results both with the Immunobead Test and Cytofluorimetric analysis.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prognostic factors in patients with with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of risk factors for node metastases and to estimate survival in patients with cervical cancer, stages IB and IIA. In a retrospective study of 103 patients with cervical cancer stages IB and IIA, all treated with radical hysterectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy, we estimated survival curves according to different prognostic parameters. Mean follow-up time was 97 months. A significant difference between clinical pre-operative assessment and histological determination of real extent of the disease was evidenced. Pelvic lymph node metastases (P = 0.0005) significantly correlated with survival. This study shows that only lymph node involvement is an independent prognostic factor. Stage acts through nodal status in its impact on survival. A surgical-pathological staging in early stage cervical cancers is found to be more appropriate to correctly estimate patients' survival and prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗