Questionnaires and interviews with 768 female students in residence at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria revealed that the mean and median ages of menarche were respectively 13.4 +/- 1.4 and 13.5 years and 80.8% had menstrual cycles between 25 and 35 days. The duration of menstrual bleeding was 4.5 +/- 0.8 days; 72.3% had dysmenorrhea and 17.8% complained of nausea and vomiting during menstruation.

Twenty adult male rats per group in 4 treatment groups were injected intraperitoneally at 08.00 hours with 0.1 ml of an aqueous cotton seed extract (Gossypium barbadense Linn.) (Malvaceae) in concentrations of (a) 105.25, (b) 21.21, (c) 4.65, (d) 2.325 mg ml-1 (kg body weight)-1, respectively. A fifth group (control) was given 0.1 ml of pyrogen free distilled water per rat. Five rats per treatment group were sacrificed at 2, 8, 24 and 168 hours respectively after treatment. Plasma follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) showed no change. Plasma testosterone was lower (p less than 0.05) than that of control at 2 and 8 hours, with recovery by 168 hours post treatment. Plasma creatinine was raised by 2 hours, with recovery by 8 hours. Plasma urea rose gradually but persistently to a maximum of 168 hours. Plasma aspartate (AST) and alanine (ALT) transaminases were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than that of controls throughout the study. Testicular histology showed early germ cell disorganization followed by progressive fibrosis (sperm cytoskeleton) by 24 hours. There was evidence of recovery by 168 hours. It is concluded that aqueous extract of cotton seed meal contains substances that can rapidly cause damage to testicular, liver, kidney and muscular tissues.

The fertility potential of any male can be predicted through the evaluation of his semen. Over the years, it seems the figures of sperm density considered compatible with fertility have gradually been reducing. Macleod and Gold 1 and the American Fertility Society 2 recommended that sperm density of 20-40x10 6 /mL should be regarded as the minimum for fertility. These studies were conducted a long time ago and the data were on fertile males from the developed countries.In 1992, the World Health Organization (WHO) 3 proposed that 20xl0 6 /mL should be the universally accepted limit of fertility. This limit has up to recent times been used in assessing the fertility potential of males in both developed and developing countries. However, a wealth of evidence in the reproductive biomedical literature indicates that factors such as nutritional, stress, environmental and demographic status affect the sperm picture of males. 4,5 This implies that there is the need for each country and each region of a country, and even individual laboratories, to establish their own reference parameters. The above studies laid more emphasis on sperm counts. More recent reports specify that other conventional semen parameters, such as morphology, motility and vitality, are equally important in assessing the fertility potentials of males. 6,7 Hence, there is need for the inclusion and increased emphasis on these parameters in all semen analyses and evaluation exercises.A recent study using the Western and WHO's limits of fertility indicates that the male factor to infertility in IleIfe, Nigeria, may be as high as 63.1%. 8 Such a conclusion can only be validated if the normal semen values in fertile males in this environment are known.Chukudebelu 9 and Osegbe et al. 10 have attempted to establish seminal indices in fertile males in Enugu and Lagos, Nigeria, respectively. The results of these studies showed a wide variation in the parameters estimated. It is against this background that we conducted the present study to establish the seminal fluid indices of fertile black males in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where none exist, and to compare the results with those obtained from other parts of the same country. Subjects and MethodsThis study took place in the antenatal clinics of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, IleIfe, Nigeria. A period of 16 months was fixed for this study. Clearance was sought and obtained from the Research and Ethical Committee of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex for the study.Every consecutive subject who was contacted and agreed to participate in the study was included. They were made up of male partners of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics of this hospital. Each woman who attended the clinic within the study period was requested to bring the husband to the succeeding clinic. The purpose of the study was explained to husbands who responded and their informed consent obtained. A total of 148 husbands of fertile couples responded, however, only 100 of them agreed to partici...

The changes in the levels of individual phospholipids were studies in women during prolonged use of three types of steroidal contraceptive preparation: high-dose combined pills (Noriday 1 + 50 Fe); low-dose combined pills (Nominest Fe) and progestin-only injectables (Depo-Provera). Women on high-dose combined pills had significantly higher (p less than 0.05) mean lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), sphingomyelin (SPH), phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) levels, respectively, than the women on low-dose combined pills, progestin-only injectables and the controls, respectively. Women on low-dose combined pills had significantly lower (p less than 0.01) mean LPC and PS levels, respectively, than the controls, while women on progestin-only injectables had significantly lower (p less than 0.01) mean PS and PE levels, respectively, than the controls. Based on the reported high activities of PS and PE in hemostasis, the PE/total plasma phospholipids, PS/total plasma phospholipids and the sum of PE and PS/total plasma phospholipids ratios were calculated to assess the possible overall effect of the changes in plasma phospholipids in steroidal contraceptive users. The results obtained using these indices agree with some earlier reports of an estrogen dose-dependent risk/incidence of thrombosis in steroidal contraceptive users. It is concluded that the observed dose-dependent estrogen-induced alterations in phospholipids, and, most especially, the PE and PS fractions may bear a relationship with thrombotic conditions.

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