Onychomycosis, a fungal nail infection, has become one of the most important dermatophytoses. The current laboratory methods for diagnosis are the potassium hydroxide (KOH) scraping technique and fungal culture. Unfortunately, a predictably successful diagnostic approach to onychomycosis does not yet exist. The purpose of this study was to develop a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based diagnostic method to improve the sensitivity and ... Read more

BACKGROUND: Normal spermatogenesis is under the control of both the immune and endocrine systems. OBJECTIVE: To examine the types, distributions, and numbers of immune cells in testes of azoospermic men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Testicular biopsies were obtained from 31 azoospermic men showing normal spennatogenesis (n = 10), germ cell arrest (GA, n = 12) and Sertoli Cell Only Syndrome (SCO, ... Read more

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and its high affinity receptor, tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) are essential for nervous system development. Recently, it has been shown that these members of the neurotrophin family are also involved in murine hair morphogenesis and cycling. However, it remains to be elucidated whether NGF and other neurotrophins play any role in human skin and hair biology. ... Read more

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of increased sperm DNA damage in relation to seminal oxidative stress in men with idiopathic and male factor infertility. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Infertility clinic at a tertiary care academic institution. PATIENT(S): Ninety-two infertile men with normal female partners. Sixteen fertile donors served as the control group. INTERVENTION(S): Standard semen analysis and assessment of levels ... Read more

_ _BACKGROUND: Normal spermatogenesis is under the control of both the immune and endocrine systems. OBJECTIVE: To examine the types, distributions, and numbers of immune cells in testes of aroospermic men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Testicular biopsies were obtained from 31 azoospermic men showing normal spermatogenesis (n = 10), germ cell arrest (GA, n = 12) and Sertoli Cell Only Syndrome ... Read more

Fas (Apo-1/CD95) ts a widely expressed mem brane-anchored protein that induces apoptosis. Keratinocytes constitutively express Fas antigen and Fas-mediated apoptosis may characterize several pathological conditions affecting human skin. Soluble Fas (sFas) has been demonstrated in serum by alternative mRNA splicing of Fas re ceptor. It can antagonize cell surface Fas func tion by downregulating Fas-mediated apoptosis and its level may ... Read more

Onychomvcosis , a fungal nail infection, has become one of the most important dermatophytoses. The current laboratory methods for diagnosis are the potassium hydroxide (KOH) scraping technique and fungal culture. Unfortunately, a predictably successful diagnostic approach to onychomvcosis does not yet exist, The purpose of this study was to develop a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based diagnostic method to improve the sensitivity ... Read more

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate levels of sperm nuclear DNA damage in infertile men with normal and abnormal standard semen parameters. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Male infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): Ninety-two men seeking infertility treatment and 16 fertile volunteers. INTERVENTION(S): Standard semen analysis was performed according to the World Health Organization guidelines. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm DNA damage was assessed by sperm chromatin ... Read more

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of increased seminal leukocytes in enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by human spermatozoa. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Male infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): Forty-eight infertile men. INTERVENTION(S): Standard semen analysis. Assessment of sperm nuclear DNA damage by sperm chromatin structure assay. Incubation of spermatozoa from nonleukocytospermic samples with blood neutrophils. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Spontaneous and ... Read more

Objective: Rapidly accumulating data, in recent years, indicate that increased sperm DNA damage is detrimental to the fertility potential of men. The objectives of this study were to examine: i) levels of sperm DNA damage in infertile men with idiopathic and male-factor infertility, and ii) the effects of sperm DNA damage on the outcome of assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Design: ... Read more