The value of sperm pooling and cryopreservation in patients with transient azoospermia or severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.

BACKGROUND: A transient state of azoospermia may occur due to toxic, environmental, infectious or iatrogenic conditions. Finding sperm in the ejaculate of such patients is often unpredictable and may be critical in IVF treatment. In the present study, the approach of pooling and cryopreservation of sperm is evaluated. Cryopreservation was performed in a unique group of patients in whom no sperm had been found in at least one previous sperm examination and in patients diagnosed as suffering from non-obstructive azoospermia in whom, occasionally, sperm were found. METHODS: A total of 157 semen pooling and cryopreservation procedures in 53 patients was performed between January 1998 and December 2000 in our centre. Forty five of these patients underwent an IVF-ICSI treatment during the study period. In 32 patients, fresh sperm were used to perform ICSI. In 13 patients no sperm were available, and the previously frozen sperm were used. RESULTS: Using our pooling system, 13 IVF-ICSI cycles were rescued. In seven patients with a previous testicular biopsy due to azoospermia, sperm cryopreservation was possible. Overall, 13 pregnancies (10 deliveries, two ongoing pregnancies and one missed abortion) were achieved. CONCLUSION: The introduction of semen banking for patients with transient azoospermia may increase the chance of pregnancy using their own sperm.

Evaluation of ureterocele with Doppler sonography.

Ureterocele is a common disorder characterized by cystic dilatation of the terminal submucosal portion of 1 or both ureters. Conventional imaging modalities for the diagnosis of ureterocele include intravenous urography and voiding cystourethrography; gray-scale sonography, augmented by color Doppler and spectral analysis studies, can be useful in diagnosing and managing this condition as well. We describe the diagnosis of ureterocele using transvaginal gray-scale and color Doppler sonography with spectral analysis in 2 women. Color Doppler sonography demonstrated urine flow into the bladder, and spectral analysis was used to measure the flow velocity. Together, these modalities can provide additional information about urinary flow dynamics, aid in implementing treatment for patients with ureterocele, and eliminate the need for invasive diagnostic procedures.

Retinal and choroidal ischemic syndrome, digestive tract and renal small vessel hyalinosis, intracerebral calcifications and phenotypic abnormalities: a new family syndrome.

A new family syndrome is described that affected three of seven siblings and another patient who had been abandoned at birth but came from the same area of France. All four patients were young women with a very peculiar phenotype, poikiloderma and greying of the hair, and idiopathic non-arteriosclerotic cerebral calcifications. Pathological studies demonstrated small-vessel hyalinosis due to basal membrane thickening, mainly in the digestive tract, kidneys and calcified areas of the brain. The clinical and biological expressions of these vascular changes varied. Peripheral retinal ischemic syndrome and chorioretinal scars were found in the ocular fundi of three patients. Malabsorption and protein-losing enteropathy was the main problem in all four, and was the cause of one patient's death. A subarachnoid hemorrhage due to a right sylvian aneurysm also occurred in two of the three sisters and was lethal for one. Nephropathy with renal failure and systemic hypertension is the major problem of the two surviving patients.

Primary vertebral tumor in an adolescent girl.

A 13-year-old girl presented with a 6-month history of back pain, a palpable paravertebral mass, and a left third lumbar radiculopathy. Radiologic studies were consistent with a primary vertebral neoplasm. Posterior biopsy yielded material consistent with osteoblastoma. Anterior tumor excision and vertebral reconstruction followed. Elements consistent with aneurysural bone cyst were present in the resected tumor.