value of interleukin-8 assay in semen as an indicator of leukospermia

To determine if interleukin-8 [IL-8] is a normal constituent of seminal plasma and if leukospermia is a factor determining its elevation, semen samples were obtained from 34 infertile men with leukospermia, 27 infertile men without leukospermia, and 15 proven fertile men. The samples were analyzed for the determination of IL-8, myeloperoxidase activity and ceruloplasmin levels. The correlation of amount of IL-8 in seminal plasma with some spermiogram parameters and myeloperoxidase activity was statistically evaluated. The IL-8 levels in seminal plasma of infertile patients with leukospermia were significantly higher than those in seminal plasma of patients without leukospermia and of fertile men [p <0.001 for each]. The myeloperoxidase activity and ceruloplasmin levels in infertile men with leukospermia were significantly higher than those levels in semen of infertile patients without leukospermia and fertile men [p <0.001 for each]. A significant positive correlation [p <0.01] was also observed between the myeloperoxidase activity and IL-8 levels in semen of infertile patients with leukospermia. Thus, determination of IL-8 levels in semen can provide a useful information for the detection of leukospermia associated with infertility

study on HLA-class I antigens in vitiligo: Significant association with A-19

31 unrelated patients with familial vitiligo were examined for a possible association of class I human lymphocyte antigen [HLA] with this disease by microlymphocytic assay. The results were compared with 92 unrelated healthy controls. 9 out of the 31 patients showed a significant increased expression of the antigen HLA-A19 [Pc <0.0001] compared with controls. Extensive vitiligo was marked by a significant increase of HLA-A19 [Pc <0.01], while limited vitiligo showed a significant association with HLA-A3 [Pc <0.05]. Moreover, patients with late age at disease onset showed raised expression of HLA-A3 [Pc <0.05]. These findings suggested that immunogenetic mechanism may be responsible for vitiligo and that unique HLA phenotypes may influence the expression of the disease. A more extensive study of HLA markers in vitiligo patients is necessary before more definitive conclusions can be reached

Gonadal function male leprotics: hormonal study

In this study 90 leprotic adult males and 20 controls were investigated for the levels of FSH, LH, prolactin [PRL], testosterone [T] and estradiol 17 B [E2] by radioimmunoassay. FSH and LH were significantly increased in LL, BL, BB and BL. In TT, values of FSH and LH were not significantly different from controls. In all leprotic patients [T] level was significantly decreased and the level of [E2] was significantly increased as compared to controls. As regards PRL, highly significant - increased value was noticed in LL and BL groups. In BB and BT the rise in PRL values was not significant on comparison to controls. In TT, highly significant increased values of PRL were found as compared to controls. The results of the study were discussed