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Biomedical subjects

N Laufer

Publications and source records attributed to N Laufer.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Effect of bromocriptine treatment on male infertility associated with hyperprolactinemia.

Hyperprolactinemia associated with male infertility or impotence was found in ten patients. Mean prolactin level was 83 +/- 49 ng/ml (range 46-26- ng/ml). The etiological bases of the hyperprolactinemia were a microadenoma in one patient, liver disease in two, and idiopathic in seven patients. Bromocriptine treatment, 2.5-7.5 mg daily for 8-16 weeks lowered prolactin to normal levels in all patients. Three oligoasthenospermic subjects showed a marked increase in sperm motility; their wives conceived within 5-8 weeks of treatment after longstanding infertility. Two of these women gave birth to normal babies and one aborted in the first trimester of pregnancy. The mechanism by which hyperprolactinemia interferes with sperm production and the effect of bromocriptine on this mechanism is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

The influence of splenic tissue implantation upon platelet population in rabbits after splenectomy.

An investigation of the behavior of the blood platelet population following splenectomy and autologous splenic tissue implantation has been done on the rabbit. A bimodal rise in platelet size and count is observed in the postoperative period. After splenectomy, a 722 per cent increase in the platelet count and a 21.9 percent rise in the platelet size are found. These increases are abolished by the implantation of splenic tissue. The existence of a splenic humoral factor that controls platelet production in the bone marrow is possible.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Asymmetry and discordance for congenital anomalies in conjoined twins: a report of six cases.

Six pairs of conjoined twins have been studied. The first case was a pair of 13-week-old omphalopagus fetuses. One was a holoacradius amorphus and the other had rachischisis and anencephaly. The second case was a pair of omphalopagus twins. One of the twins was macerated and corresponded to a developmental age of 13-14 weeks, while the other was developed to 28-30 weeks of gestation and exhibited urogenital and gastrointestinal defects not found in the smaller twin. In the third case, that of a thoracoomphalopagus, one had cleft lip and palate, pulmonic stenosis, and atresia of the ileocecal valve, while the other did not show these anomalies. In the fourth cae, also omphalopagus twins, one had a lumbosacral meningomyelocele and severe gastrointestinal and urogenital anomalies not found in the second twin. The fifth case was a pair of thoracoomphalopagus twins, sharing a common heart with asymmetrical anomalies. The sixth case was a diprosopus anencephalic conjoined twin. The first pairs of conjoined twins were discordant for several abnormalities in nonshared organs, in addition to having abnormalities of the conjoined organs. It seems that discordance in conjoined twins is not a rare finding. The factors that play a role in discordance of anomalies in conjoined twins are probably similar to the factors in monozygotic twins--i.e., environmental, genetic, and abnormal placental and/or fetal circulation.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1980

Quintuplet pregnancies.

Five quintuplet pregnancies, following induction of ovulation with clomiphene and HMG-HCG, are the subject of this communication. In 3 women, pregnancy was associated with ovarian overstimulation, and two patients required emergency surgery because of torsion of an ovarian cyst. Two women aborted in mid-trimester, while the other 3 delivered by cesarean section at 33-35 wk gestation. 15 babies were born, weighing 700-2200 g. 8 infants suffered from respiratory distress syndrome and 5 babies were born with correctable malformations. 13 newborns survived, and all are mentally and physically well-developed. Four of the 5 women conceived again. The management of the patients during multiple gestation and the outcome of pregnancy are discussed.

Clomiphene↗
PubMed1980

Exaggerated prolactin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone and metoclopramide in primary testicular failure.

Twenty-eight severely oligospermic and azoospermic men aged 20 to 42 years were challenged with luteinizing hormone (LH)-releasing hormone (LHRH), thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH), and the dopaminergic antagonist, metoclopramide, given at 30-minute intervals. According to basal gonadotropin levels, the patients were subdivided into three groups: those with severe testicular failure (basal LH > 20 mIU/ml and FSH > 14 mIU/ml); those with moderate testicular failure with predominant seminiferous tubule involvement (LH < 20 mIU/ml and FSH > 14 mIU/ml) and those with mild testicular failure (LH < 20 mIU/ml and FSH < 14 mIU/ml. With one exception, mean basal prolactin (PRL) levels were normal in all patients. In all three groups, however, there was an exaggerated PRL response to TRH, the response in severe and moderate testicular failure being greater than that in mild testicular failure. The response to metoclopramide was increased only in the first two groups, not in the group with mild testicular failure. When individual patients and control subjects were considered together, the peak PRL response to TRH correlated with both basal and peak gonadotropin responses to LHRH. However, the PRL responses did not correlate with 17 beta-estradiol, estrone, testosterone, or the estradiol-testosterone ratio. It is concluded that oligospermic and azoospermic subjects with the most severe testicular failure and the highest gonadotropin levels have the greatest PRL increases after TRH and metoclopramide, indicating that the PRL response is related to the degree of testicular failure.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Diurnal variation of fetal activity.

Fetal movements (FM) in utero are an expression of fetal well-being, and the importance of assessing these movements has been shown in cases of chronic fetal distress. The diurnal variations were studied in 2 groups of high-risk pregnant women who assessed FM by subjective perception. The patients in the first group assessed FM before and after meals. The majority (86%) reported no significant difference in fetal activity before and after meals; the remaining 14% noted a constant decrease after meals. Of the second group, which assessed FM 3 times daily 82% discerned no significant differences and 18% showed significant diurnal variations. It is concluded that assessment of FM is not necessarily dependent on a strict timetable.

Circadian Rhythm↗
PubMed1979

Effects of adenosine diphosphate, colchicine and temperature on size of human platelets.

An improved measuring system based on the Coulter principle and developed in our laboratory is used to size human blood platelets. The mean volume of platelets in 24 healthy subjects is found to be 8.45 micron 3 with a standard deviation of 1.07 micron 3; the typical size-distribution curve is unimodal and asymmetrical, with a marked skew to the right. The effects of different reagents on platelet size (shape factor x volume) are evaluated. Platelets increase in size by 23% following suspension in isotonic, phosphate-buffered saline and incubation with 10 microM adenosine diphosphate; no change is observed when the suspending medium is autologous plasma. Cooling the platelets to 0-4 degrees C results in a size increase of 25%; rewarming to 37 degrees C restores them to their initial size within 2 hr. A similar increase occurs when the platelets are incubated with 1-10 mM colchicine. It is proposed that these reagents, which are known to produce changes in the orientation of the marginal bundle of microtubules, cause platelets to undergo disc-sphere transformations. Calculations are made which show that such transformations increase platelet size by 27% as measured electrically, and we conclude that the so-called volume changes reported in the literature reflect shape changes only and that no true volume increase actually takes place.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1979

Male hyperprolactinemia:effects on fertility.

Male hyperprolactinemia was detected in 4% (7 of 171) of infertile men. In seven patients with excessive serum prolactin concentrations, the clinical manifestations were infertility, hypogonadism, impotence, and galactorrhea and the etiologic factors were pituitary adenoma, hypothalamic dysfunction, drug use, and idiopathic. The testes and prostate were small or normal and the semen analysis revealed low semen volume, normal or low sperm count, and normal or impaired sperm motility. The testicular biopsy showed normally preserved seminiferous tubules with normal or decreased spermatogenesis and damaged or fibrotic seminiferous tubules among normal ones. Patients with hyperprolactinemia were investigated by sellar polytomography, visual field examinations, and hormone assays. Treatment with bromocriptine (Parlodel) gave satisfactory results in all patients. The use of bromocriptine with human menopausal gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin was beneficial in treating hypogonadotropic hypogonadism with hyperprolactinemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The incidence of different types of fetal movements during pregnancy.

In high risk pregnancies with severe fetal distress, a reduction of fetal movements may take place before fetal death occurs. This decrease is accompanied by a weakening of the fetal movements. One hundred and twenty pregnant women (310 recordings) between 20 and 41 weeks gestation recorded fetal movements and classified them into weak, strong, and rolling. The movements noted by the woman were correlated to those recorded by a fetal movements recorder. The rate of weak movements gradually decreased until the 36 to 37th week, while the strong and rolling movements increased. From the 36 to 37th week till term weak movements increased again with a decline in strong and rolling movements. Before fetal death, or in severe fetal distress with decreased total movements, the relative rate of weak movements increased. Reduction in daily total movements without a change in the distribution of the type of movement may not indicate fetal distress.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The role of fetal movements assessment in cases of severe RH immunized patients.

Two cases of severe Rh-immunization are presented. The obstetric history, maternal serum anti-D titre, amniotic fluid spectrophotometric evaluation, amniography and ultrasound placentography suggest the diagnosis of hydrops fetalis. The reduction of fetal movements until cessation in the presence of an audible fetal heart point to a severely distressed fetus and impending death, thus providing additional data confirming the diagnosis of hydrops fetalis. The importance of diagnosed hydrops fetalis lies in the fact that most authors agree that in these cases treatment of the fetus should not be attempted.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Size of rat spermatozoa during maturation along the epididymis.

An electrical sizing apparatus based on the Coulter Counter was used to measure rat spermatozoa from the proximal (caput) and distal (caudal) ends of the epididymis and from the ejaculate. The typical size distribution is unimodal with a positive skew, the crescent shape of the cells precluding absolute volume determination. During their passage through the epididymis, spermatozoa decrease in size as part of maturation. Saponin causes cell lysis and chymotrypsin cell shrinkage, both effects being more pronounced in the proximal region. It would seem that, during the maturation process within the epididymis, changes occur in the spermatozoon membrane that make the cells more stable.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Autologous blood transfusions and pregnancy.

The application of autologous and frozen red blood cell (RBC) programs is described for 3 pregnant women with antibodies to high-incidence blood group antigens (anti-Lutheranb, anti-Cellano, anti-Vel). The cases illustrate how readily available supplies or rare blood types can be maintained throughout pregnancy using autologous and frozen RBC techniques, including selective predeposit, "family-sharing," and intensive phlebotomy with fluid replacement. The RBC phenotypes described in this paper are exceedingly rare since they occur in only 0.1-0.001% of random donors. However, the principles of autologous blood transfusions are universal and they can be applied to the general problems of blood group incompatibility in pregnancy.

Adult↗