Toxicological characteristics of plant growth regulators and their impact on male reproductive health / 中华男科学杂志

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) have similar physiological and biological effects to those of plant hormones, and therefore are used widely in agroforestry. The residues of PGRs in agricultural products are seriously detrimental to human health because they have been found with hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, even carcinogenicity and teratogenicity. Furthermore, PGRs are suspected to disrupt the function of human and animal reproductive systems. This paper presents an overview on various toxicities of PGRs on human and animal reproductive health and their underlying mechanisms, aiming to arouse people's attention to PGR residues in food and environment and reduce PGR-induced damage to the male reproductive system and to human health as well.

Hysteroscopy for early abortion after IVF-ET: clinical analysis of 84 cases / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the results of hysteroscopy in early abortion patients after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We analyzed the hysteroscopy results of 84 early abortion patients after IVF-ET, treated their intrauterine diseases under the hysteroscopy, and observed the pregnancy outcomes of retransfer.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Intrauterine diseases were found in 58 (69.05%) of the patients, including intrauterine adhesion in 32 (32/84, 38.10%), endometrial polyps in 12 (12/84, 14.29%), endometritis in 10 (10/84, 11.90%), submucous leiomyoma in 3 (3/84, 3.57%) and septa in 1 (1/84, 1.19%). These 58 patients underwent IVF/ICSI or frozen embryo retransfer within one year after the hysteroscopic treatment, of whom 22 (37.93%) achieved pregnancy and 1 (4.55%) suffered early abortion.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hysteroscopy should be taken as the first-choice intervention measure in early abortion after IVF-ET, and appropriate hysteroscopic treatment may improve the outcome of IVF-ET.</p>

Autoimmune disorders affect the in vitro fertilization outcome in infertile women / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the effect of autoimmune disorders on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in infertile women.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 236 infertile women underwent IVF-ET, including 34 with antiphospholipid antibody (APA) positive, 33 anti-trophoblast antibody (ATA) positive, 35 anti-hCG antibody (hCGAb) positive, 32 anti-endometrium antibody (EmAb) positive, and 102 with antibodies negative that comprised the control group. Those with two or more antibodies positive were excluded in this study. Comparisons were made in the rates of embryo implantation, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage and biochemical pregnancy between the positive groups and the negative controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were no significant differences in the rates of embryo implantation and clinical pregnancy between the positive and negative groups (P > 0.05). The rate of biochemical pregnancy was higher in the APA, ATA and hCGAb positive than in the EmAb positive and the control group (P < 0.05). The miscarriage rate was higher while the ongoing pregnancy rate was lower in the positive groups than in the negative control (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Such autoantibodies as APA, ATA, HCG-Ab and EmAb may cause miscarriage in infertile women undergoing IVF and consequently reduce the rate of ongoing pregnancy, which necessitates the determination of these antibodies in these patients.</p>