Qilin pills combined with bromocriptine for idiopathic hyperprolactinemic oligoasthenozoospermia / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the therapeutic effect of Qilin Pills combined with bromocriptine on idiopathic hyperprolactinemic (HPRL) oligoasthenospermia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We conducted a randomized controlled study on 40 cases of idiopathic HPRL oligoasthenospermia, who were equally assigned to a trial group and a control group to be treated with Qilin Pills (6 g tid) combined with bromocriptine and bromocriptine alone, respectively, both for a course of 12 weeks. Then we observed the changes in the semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility and the levels of serum prolactin and testosterone, and compared the therapeutic results between the two groups before and after medication.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the parameters before medication, both the trial and the control group showed significant improvement after treatment in sperm concentration ([11.60 +/- 3.90] x 10(6)/ml vs [28.10 +/- 13.50] x 10(6)/ml and [12.03 +/- 4.10] x 10(6)/ml vs [18.85 +/- 8.50] x 10(6)/ml), the percentage of grade a sperm ([8.75 +/- 6.65]% vs [24.35 +/- 13.25 ]% and [8.70 +/- 6.70] % vs [19.65 +/- 10.05]%), the percentage of grade a + b sperm ( [28.45 +/- 11.35]% vs [45.80 +/- 16.55]% and [27.65 +/- 10.65]% vs [35.66 +/-13.25]%), and sperm motility ([38.22 +/- 16.35]% vs [60.05 +/- 20.65]% and [37.25 +/- 15.75 ]% vs [52.65 +/- 18.25 ]%) (all P<0.01). No significant differences were found in semen volume (P>0.05). The serum prolactin levels were significantly decreased in the trial and control groups ([152.00 +/- 22.32] and [160.45 +/- 26.65] mIU/L), as compared with premedication ([482.25 +/- 65.32] and [477.32 +/- 60.25] mIU/L) (P<0.01), while the serum testosterone levels were remarkably higher ([16.35 +/- 5.52] and [11.15 +/- 4.65] nmol/L) than before treatment ([3.75 +/- 1.10] and [4.05 +/- 1.30] nmol/L) (P<0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in the serum prolactin and testosterone levels between the two groups after treatment (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Qilin Pills combined with bromocriptine have a significantly better efficacy than bromocriptine alone in the treatment of idiopathic HPRL oligoasthenospermia.</p>

Regulatory effect of GDNF on the proliferation and differentiation of mammalian spermatogonial stem cells / 中华男科学杂志

The glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a member of the transforming growth factor beta (Tgf-beta) superfamily, which is produced by Sertoli cells and plays an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSC). The addition of proper amount of GDNF to the culture media can promote SSC proliferation in vitro. Besides, GDNF regulates the self-renewal and differentiation of SSCs through various signaling pathways. This review focuses on the effects of GDNF on the proliferation and differentiation of mammalian SSCs and GDNF-mediated signaling pathways.