Clinical study of exercise rehabilitation and gait analysis during the perioperative period of lumbar percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the clinical effect of exercise rehabilitation during perioperative period on residual pain, gait and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) after lumbar percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy(PTED).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of 48 patients with LSS underwent PTED from December 2015 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into observation group and control group according to different rehabilitation patterns, being 24 cases in each group. The patients of observation group received exercise rehabilitation and the patients of control group received conventional rehabilitation. Visual analogue scale(VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the ratio of supporting phase were recorded before operation and 12 days, 6 months after operation. The correlation between the ratio of supporting phase and VAS, ODI was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ratio of supporting phase of observation group was significantly higher than that of control group at 12 days after operation(<0.05). The VAS and ODI in observation group were significantly lower than that of control group at 6 months after operation(<0.01). There was no correlation between the ratio of supporting phase and ODI or VAS in two groups (>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Lumbar percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy combined with exercise rehabilitation during the perioperative period can release or eliminate postoperative residual pain, improve gait balance, enable activities of daily living, and has a positive effect in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.</p>

Do reproductive hormones explain the association between body mass index and semen quality? / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>AIM</b>To examine whether reproductive hormones play a role in the association between body mass index (BMI) and semen quality.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Semen quality and testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol (E(2)) were evaluated in 990 fertile males with age 38.9 +/- 9.7 (mean +/- SD) years recruited from the Chinese general population in 2001 and 2002.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Semen quality was reduced among underweight (BMI < 18.5) compared with normal (BMI 18.5-24.9) and overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9), but the associations were independent of reproductive hormones. After adjustment for the potential confounders, underweight men had reductions in sperm concentration (22.4 X 10(6)/mL), total sperm count (52.9 X 10(6)) and percentage of normal sperm forms (6.9%) compared with men with normal BMI. Being underweight may be a risk factor for low sperm concentration (OR: 4.68, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 2.01-10.91). Otherwise, being overweight may be a protected factor for low sperm concentration (OR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.08-0.83) and low total sperm count (OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.15-0.87).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Low BMI was associated with reduced semen quality. The associations between BMI and semen quality were found statistically significant even after adjustment for reproductive hormones. Reproductive hormones cannot explain the association between BMI and semen quality.</p>

Does exposure to computers affect the routine parameters of semen quality? / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>AIM</b>To assess whether exposure to computers harms the semen quality of healthy young men.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 178 subjects were recruited from two maternity and children healthcare centers in Shanghai, 91 with a history of exposure to computers (i.e., exposure for 20 h or more per week in the last 2 years) and 87 persons to act as control (no or little exposure to computers). Data on the history of exposure to computers and other characteristics were obtained by means of a structured questionnaire interview. Semen samples were collected by masturbation in the place where the semen samples were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No differences in the distribution of the semen parameters (semen volume, sperm density, percentage of progressive sperm, sperm viability and percentage of normal form sperm) were found between the exposed group and the control group. Exposure to computers was not found to be a risk factor for inferior semen quality after adjusting for potential confounders, including abstinence days, testicle size, occupation, history of exposure to toxic substances.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The present study did not find that healthy men exposed to computers had inferior semen quality.</p>