alpha-1,4-Glucosidase activity in infertile oligoasthenozoospermic men with and without varicocele.

This work aimed to assess seminal alpha-1,4-glucosidase activity in infertile oligoasthenozoospermic men associated with and without scrotal varicocele. Eighty men were investigated. They were divided into three groups: group 1 (n = 20), fertile normozoospermic men; group 2 (n = 30), oligoasthenozoospermia with varicocele; and group 3 (n = 30), oligoasthenozoospermia without varicocele. The patients underwent medical history, clinical examination, conventional semen analysis and estimation of seminal plasma alpha-1,4-glucosidase activity by double-beam spectrophotometer method and serum testosterone by radioimmunoassay method. There was a significant decrease in the mean seminal alpha-1,4-glucosidase activity levels in infertile men versus controls (mean +/- SD; 7.66 +/- 0.433, 2.088 +/- 0.565, 5.384 +/- 0.85 mU ml(-1) respectively). Mean serum testosterone levels demonstrated nonsignificant differences between studied groups. Seminal alpha-1,4-glucosidase activity levels demonstrated significant correlation with sperm count, sperm motility percentage and serum testosterone in oligoasthenozoospermia with varicocele group and demonstrated nonsignificant correlation in other groups. It is concluded that varicocele-induced hypoxia is the adverse effect that causes both oligoasthenozoospermia and decreased seminal alpha-1,4-glucosidase levels.

Salient features and HLA markers of childhood psoriasis in Kuwait.

A total of 305 consecutive Kuwaiti children with psoriasis were studied for clinical features and 50 children were tissue typed for HLA class I and class II antigens. The salient features of psoriasis in these children included: female preponderance (M : F ratio, 1:1.5); peak age of onset between 2 and 8 years; scalp as the most common site of onset (30%); scalp and extensors of legs as commonly affected sites (52.5% each); plaque psoriasis the most common clinical type (89%); and a positive family history of psoriasis in 34% of the patients. Kuwaiti children with psoriasis showed a significant association with HLA-A3, Cw1, and DR7 antigens and those with a positive family history of psoriasis had a significant association with HLA-DR8 antigen.