Histological, histochemical and morphometric studies on the effect of hypervitaminosis A on rat testis and epididymis

Adult male albino rats were administered vitamin A in excess for 6 weeks and the histological, histochemical and morphometric structures of testis and epididymis were studied. After 6 weeks, the testes of treated animals displayed a patchy distribution of degenerative areas of the seminiferous tubules. The affected areas exhibited marked germ cells depletion, pyknosis of some of their cells, exfoliation and appearance of spaces among the germ cells. Necrotic spermatid cells, many of which were identified as multinucleated giant cells, appeared in the seminiferous tubules as well as in the lumen of the epididymis. Impairment of spermiogenesis was identified by reduction of the acrosomal system to PAS reaction. The neutral mucopolysaccharides and nuclear DNA were reduced as demonstrated by PAS and Feulgen reactions, respectively. However, the principal and the basal cells of the epididymis exhibited pyknosis and destruction of their stereocilia. Failure of maturation of spermatozoa in the epididymis was identified by absence of or curling in the acrosomal system and stacking of spermatozoa. Impairment of the absorptive and phagocytic functions of the epididymis were detected by the presence of residual bodies and necrotic germ cells in its lumen. Compensatory thickening of the muscle layer may be due to cilia degeneration. Nuclear DNA reduction appeared by Feulgen reaction, while glycogen content demonstrated by PAS reaction was not affected. The diameters of both the seminiferous tubules and the epididymal duct did not change

Histopathological study of the fallopian tubes in the intrauterine contraceptive users

Intrauterine contraceptive devices are thought to cause inflammatory disease, mainly in the form of salpingitis. In this study, a histological examination of the Fallopian tubes in 80 women was carried out. All specimens were collected by partial resection during minilaparotomy for voluntary bilateral tubal ligation. Histological examination of the resected tubes showed chronic inflammatory reaction in 40% of IUDs users, in 6.6% of those who had IUDs removed within two months previously and in 5% in those who had never used intrauterine contraceptive devices. There was no evidence of pelvic inflammatory disease except in three cases on group I. The findings suggested that the chronic inflammatory changes in these cases are reversible local non infective tissue reaction in the Fallopian tubes. Most probably they are harmless and may have a role in the contraceptive mechanism of the intrauterine contraceptive devices

Circulating immune complexes in patients with complete molar pregnancy

Circulating immune complexes [CICs] were measured in 14 patients with complete molar pregnancy to investigate CICs and trophoblastic tumor burden, when 11 of the 14 patients were first seen, CICs were in the normal range. All the 3 patients with elevated levels of CICs had concurrent bilharziasis and 2 of them had preeclampsia. Patients with normal CICs, when followed up, developed increased levels when entered remission. Circulating immune complexes remained elevated during gonadotropin remission from 6 to 17 weeks and then declined to initial levels. The decreasing antigen load, when the patient approaches gonadotropin remission, may provide a more favorable antigen: antibody ratio for the formation and detection of CICs using the polyethylene glycol [PEG] turbidity assay

Combination assay of CEA and CA125 for cervical cancer

The levels of CEA and CA125 were measured simultaneously in 10 healthy non pregnant women, 10 women having cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN] and 33 women having cervical cancer. The level of CEA ng/ml was [1.28 +/- 0.27 for control, 2.73 +/- 2.61 for CIN, 5.75 +/- 8.08 for FTGO stage Ib, 9.94 +/- 9.5 FIGO stage II, 22.4 +/- 16.90 FIGO stage III, 18.2 +/- 13.02 FIGO stage IV 17.1 +/- 16.0 in recurrent cases and [ +/- 6.46 adenocarcinoma] while the level of CA125 U/ml was [23.7 +/- 10.95 for control 30.62 +/- 15.75 for CIN, 43 +/- 58.74 for stage Ib, 66.57 +/- 83.42 stage II, 93.4 +/- 106.22 stage III, 98 +/- 77.97 stage IV 161.5 +/- 207.05 in recurrent cases and 83.33 +/- 61.1 adenocarcinoma]. During follow up of cases with cancer cervix it is evident that there is correlation between incidence of recurrence in stage Ib and stage II with elevated CEA above 5 ng/ml and CA125 above 65 U/ml. Measurement of CEA and CA125 may be of value for detecting high risk cases with early cancer cervix, that will require additional modalities for treatment

random study of a hundred consecutive cases of chronic bilharzial patients with special reference to refluxing ureters

A hundred consecutive bilharzial patients with urinary symptoms were investigated; blood chemistry intravenous pyelography, ascending cystography and endoscopic examination.The incidence of ureteric reflux is 21%. The possible etiology of ureteric reflux in chronic bilharzial patients was discussed