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SUMMARY:Reduction of O2 delivery to tissues damage them, including the seminiferous epithelium. Recently, population working in high altitude has increased, so that the study of hypobaric hypoxia on spermatogenesis becomes of interest. In this study we used two groups of male, sexually mature mice Control (C) (540 meters above sea level (masl)) and chronic simulated hypobaric hypoxia (CSHH) (4,600 masl) exposed during 8, 16, 24 or 33 days. Hematocrit; reticulocytosis; testicular, epididymal and seminal vesicle weight; seminiferous epithelium height, tubular diameter, sperm count and morphology and testicular parenchyme and spermatozoa membranes lipoperoxidation were measured. Weight of testis, epididymis and seminal vesicle were reduced but they recuperate at 33 days. Tubular diameter and epithelial height are reduced, subsequently they tend to increase without returning to normal values. The count and sperm morphology fluctuate along the exposure time. Lipoperoxidation levels of spermatozoa and testicular parenchyme are reduced. Therefore, we can conclude that exposure to CSHH induce damage in the seminiferous epithelium, decrease of lipoperoxidation in spermatozoa and testicular tissue, and damages the testicular and sperm morphology.

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Treatment of dementing illnesses is still unsatisfactory and agents that might have potential for improving cognitive functions are therefore under extensive investigation. Over a 3-month period a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted in 190 patients with dementia to examine whether administration of the xanthine derivative propentofylline at 0.9 g/d might either improve cognition or slow the progression of the disease. Improvement in performance on the Gottfries-Brane-Steen scale (GBS) and in at least two of eight psychometric assessments were defined a priori as the primary efficacy measures. The total scores on the GBS decreased in both the propentofylline and the placebo groups, with improvement however being significantly (p < 0.0001) higher in the propentofylline group. The mean scores in the Mini-Mental State Examination increased significantly (p < 0.05) in both groups, but the increase was significantly (p < 0.02) higher in the propentofylline-treated group. In contrast, psychometric assessments and the cognitive difficulties scale failed to demonstrate a therapeutic benefit of propentofylline after three months. Performance in these categories showed a significant (p < 0.05) improvement for the propentofylline-treated patients and for the placebo-treated patients, but was comparable for both groups. Thus, in spite of the positive results in GBS, the efficacy of propentofylline could not be established according to the definition of the primary efficacy measures. The clinical parameters, however, can be positively influenced by propentofylline. In addition, the results indicate that patient performance can already be enhanced if subjects are required to engage in cognitive tasks.

SUMMARY:Since normal sperm parameters can be altered by organophosphorous pesticides, this study intended to determine if melatonin is able to prevent the damage on sperm quality after an acute exposure to diazinon. Adult male mice were injected intraperitoneally with melatonin, diazinon (1/3 or 2/3 LD50) or both, and sperm parameters were evaluated on days 1 or 32 post injection. Groups treated with diazinon showed elevated lipid peroxidation levels on day 1 post treatment, while groups pretreated with melatonin before diazinon showed no difference compared to control. Sperm count showed a significant decrease in both diazinontreated groups only on day 32 post injection; no differences were observed in groups pretreated with melatonin prior to diazinon compared to control. The percentage of abnormal sperm morphology increased in the diazinon-treated groups only on day 32 postinjection. The administration of melatonin prior to exposure to diazinon prevents the alteration of sperm parameters commonly caused by organophosphates, possibly due to its antioxidant properties.