frequency of Yq microdeletion in azoospermic and oligospermic Iranian infertile men

About 15% of couples have infertility problems which 40% of them are related to the male factors. Genetic factors are candidate for about 10% of male infertility conditions. Among these, AZFa, AZFb, AZFc and AZFd regions on the Yq are considered most important for spermatogenesis. Microdeletions of these regions are thought to be involved in some cases of azoospermic or oligospermic infertile men. We studied the prevalence of AZF microdeletions among Iranian infertile men with non-obstructive azoospermia and oligospermia. A total of 50 Iranian azoospermic and oligospermic infertile men were selected for case group and 50 men with normal spermogram as control group. The molecular study of Y chromosome microdeletions was done by multiplex polymerase chain reaction [M-PCR] method by using of 13 sequence tagged site [STS] markers from AZF region. Four [8%] patients showed Y chromosome microdeletions among case group, deletion in AZFc region was the most frequent [80%] followed by AZFb [20%], in AZFa and AZFd region we did not detect any deletions. No deletion was detected in control group; the ratio of Y chromosome microdeletion in azoospermic men was higher than this ratio in oligospermic men [19% [3/16] among azoospermic men and 3% [1/34] among oligospermics]. Serum FSH level in men with microdeletions was higher than this level in men with no deletions [p=0.034]. Because of relatively high prevalence of microdeletions on the long arm of Y chromosome among Iranian azoospermic and oligospermic patients, screening of this microdeletion may be advised to infertile men particularly azoospermic and oligospermic men before using assisted reproductive treatments

Treatment of recurrent pregnancy loss by Levothyroxine in women with high Anti-TPO antibody

Recurrent pregnancy loss [RPL] is defined as two or more consecutive pregnancy losses before twenty weeks of gestation. It is caused by a variety of genetics and non-genetics factors. Thyroid autoimmunity could associate with pregnancy loss. To investigate the effectiveness of Levothyroxine in treatment of RPL in women with high auto-thyroid antibodies. In this observational cross sectional study, 900 women who had a history of recurrent pregnancy loss were studied. All women with high anti-TPO antibody without any other problems entered in this study. Levothyroxine was given to them two months before pregnancy till the end of pregnancy. The doses of levothyroxine were depended on the anti-TPO levels, which were decided by endocrinologist. Women followed for the results of pregnancies. The success rate of pregnancy in women with abnormal anti-TPO with Levothyroxine therapy was 82.85%. Mean of anti-TPO in women with treatment before taking medication was 488.35 and after that it was 123.35 UI/ml. This difference was significant [p<0.05]. The mean of the antibodies was not significantly different in women without treatment. This study showed that Levothyroxine reduces the incidence of spontaneous abortions in women with high Anti-TPO antibody. It decreased anti-TPO antibody levels after 2-3 months treatment