Quality of life in cervical cancer treated with systematic nerve-sparing and modified radical hysterectomies.

The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life (QoL) between cervical cancer patients treated with systematic nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy (SNSRH) and modified radical hysterectomy (MRH). A total of 127 patients with early cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy (RH) were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups: MRH group (n = ) and SNSRH group (n = ). The patients' QoL scores were assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 questionnaire (Chinese version). The overall QoL scores were no different between the SNSRH and MRH groups in preoperative period (P > 0.05). In postoperative period, the overall QoL score in SNSRH group was slightly lower than that in MRH group at different follow-up time, but there was no difference between two groups (P > 0.05). Patients with early cervical cancer subjected to SNSRH or MRH are satisfied with their overall QoL scores. QoL may be negatively impacted by the cancer itself, surgery and adjuvant therapy.

Comparison of conventional in vitro fertilisation and intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes in patients with moderate oligoasthenozoospermia.

The method of choice for assisted reproductive technology treatment in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is usually based on the evaluation of male infertility factors. Decisions for couples with moderate oligoasthenozoospermia (OA) are often empirical because uniform treatment criteria are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of patients with moderate OA treated with conventional IVF and ICSI. A total of 199 couples with moderate OA undergoing their first IVF/ICSI cycle were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the type of insemination: conventional IVF group (n = 97) and ICSI group (n = 102). All patients were randomised to be inseminated either by conventional IVF or ICSI. The fertilisation rate, embryo quality, implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate were examined. No differences in the fertilisation, implantation and pregnancy rates were observed between conventional IVF and ICSI groups (P > 0.05). However, the number of good-quality embryos was significantly higher in the ICSI group than in the IVF group (P < 0.05). Couples with moderate OA did not influence on the overall clinical outcomes between IVF and ICSI treatments, and a negative influence by ICSI on blastocyst development was not confirmed.

A retrospective analysis of pathological changes of testicular tissue in normal adult rats.

Rat testicular model is widely used in experiments on andrology, pharmacology and reproductive toxicology. Generally, normal adult rat is considered to have normal testes. However, whether normal adult rats appeared abnormal testes have not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of abnormal testes in normal adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and pathological changes in testicular tissues. Six hundred and sixteen adult male SD rats used in previous studies as controls were retrospectively analysed. Testicular tissues were stained with haematoxylin-eosin for observation of pathology. Among 616 rats, 14 rats had pathological testes, and the incidence of abnormal testis was 2.3%. In the 14 rats with abnormal testes, 10 rats were microrchidia (71.4%) and four rats showed normal testicular size. Testicular abnormality included complete interruption of spermatogenesis, partial germ cell arrest, progressive hypospermatogenesis, seminiferous epithelia vacuolation and inflammatory status. Bilateral testicular tissues had similar pathological changes in abnormal testes. The findings in this study demonstrate that the normal adult rats have abnormal testes. We should pay attention to the possibility of abnormal testes when using normal adult male rats for establishing a testicular model.

DNA sequencing identifies mutation of the von Hippel-Lindau gene in tubal pregnancy.

Genetic mutations in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene are common in certain diseases. The effects on the VHL gene in the tubal pregnancy tissues are unknown but with further study, it was found that the VHL gene may be related to prognosis or therapy selection. This study was conducted to analyse the VHL gene in tissues of human fallopian tube and tubal pregnancy. A total of 35 patients undergoing salpingectomy for tubal pregnancy were recruited into the experimental group. Samples of ampullary fallopian tube during mid-secretory phase were collected from 10 patients with benign uterine disease as the control group. Fluorescent dye dideoxy termination method was performed to detect three exons sequences of the VHL gene in tissues of both the human fallopian tube and tubal pregnancy. The DNA sequences of three exons of VHL gene coding region in tubal pregnancy were not found in mutations. The present study suggested that the VHL gene mutations were not related with tubal pregnancy.