[Etiologic approach in infertile couples in Mahajanga]. / Approche étiologique des stérilités du couple à Mahajanga.

In Madagascar, as in other places in the world, infertility is associated with social stigmatism and an underlaying long-term risk for separation of the couple. A 12 months prospective study was carried out in 1999 in the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Health at the University Hospital in Mahajanga in order to collect data related to possible causes of infertility. For the women, serologic tests for Treponema pallidum (syphilis) and Chlamydia trachomatis were performed. And, in addition to sonography and hysterosalpingography, cervico-vaginal smears were obtained as part of the pelvic examination. A semen sample was obtained from each male partner. Of the 37 couples enrolled in the study 35 were classified as primary infertile (n = 9) or secondary infertile (n = 28). The mean age of the women and the men was 30.7 years (ranged 20 to 41 years) and 34.3 years (ranged 24 to 46 years), respectively. Various potential causes of infertility among the women were observed, such as hormonal disturbance (76%), tubal occlusion (76%), genital infection (70%). The figures indicate that there seems to coexist the possibility of multiply causes of infertility. Of 37 semen samples 24 (65%) were found with abnormalities, predominantly of oligospermia type. In 21 couples a possibly cause of infertility was observed in both partners.

[An evaluation of the first two years of activity at the in vitro fertilization center in the +Notre Dame Clinic in Charleroi+(Belgium)]. / Bilan des deux premières années d'activité du Centre de Fécondation in vitro de la Clinique Notre-Dame à Charleroi (Belgique).

An in vitro fertilisation unit has been working since the 1 st May 1988 in the Notre-Dame Clinic in Charleroi in the Beligium province of Hainaut. This work analyses the practice and results of the first two years activity in which 185 oocytes retrievals were carried out. The account not only deals with the results (according to 8 criteria for evaluation) but also on the factors that modify these results (9 parameters). It is scientific tools that makes it possible to analyse objectively and precisely, the factors leading to success or failure in our technique. The results are compared with those in the literature and in the French national enquiries (these do not exist in Belgium) show that even in modest conditions (2 gynaecologists and a biologist who have other duties) it is possible to carry out in the first year 62 and in the second year 123 oocyte recoveries. The scrupulous attention to technical details in this university centre of reference made it possible from the beginning to achieve worthwhile results (21% pregnancies for all recoveries and 32% pregnancies for all embryo transfers).

[The hamster test. Practical consequences]. / Le test de hamster. Conséquences pratiques.

The result of the in vitro human sperm penetration test into hamster eggs must not be considered as absolute. It is a step in the management of male infertility and must be interpreted in regard of the results of other tests. In our experience, if the test is negative, the probability to observe a pregnancy in the patient's partner is about one in seven and half years; if the test is positive, it is about one in two and half years. On the other hand, if a pregnancy occurs, with a positive or a negative test, it will start 5 to 7 months later.

The hamster test in a series of 120 infertile patients.

The value of a test based on penetration of human sperm into zona-free hamster ova is evaluated by the authors. Rudak's technique was used in 120 infertile patients. The Authors affirm that the hamster test is at present the only practical functional test for the evaluation of the fertilizing capacity of human spermatozoa and that it will probably be more widespread in the future.

Organ cultures of mammalian testes. II. Meiotic chromosomes of adult mice in vitro.

Meiotic chromosomes of adult mice testes cultured in vitro have been studied. All meiotic stages are present and normal until the 8th day; suitable figures for chromosome studies may be obtained with routine cytogenetic methods. During the 9th and 10th day in vitro, the number of cells in meiotic progress falls abruptly. By the 14th day, only a few pachytene stages are still observed. This breakdown of meiosis, linked with the disappearance of the germ cell line, is not due to chromosome anomalies that could have arisen in the new environment. Labeling with tritiated thymidine suggests that spermatogonia do not enter meiotic division in vitro. Chromosomes observed with this technique belong to cells already involved in meiotic processes at time of the initiation of the culture.