New perspectives on PPAR, VDR and FXRα as new actors in testicular pathophysiology.

The incidence of reproductive disorders is constantly increasing and affects 15% of couples, with male's abnormalities diagnosed in almost half of the cases. The male gonads exert two major functions of the testis with the productions of gametes (exocrine function) and of sexual hormones (endocrine function). In the last decades, next to steroid receptors such as estrogen and androgen receptors, the involvement of other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily have been described such as Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1), Nerve growth factor IB (NGFIB), Liver-X-Receptorα (LXRα) and Dosage-sensitive sex reversal, adrenal hypoplasia critical region, on chromosome X, gene 1 (DAX-1). The purpose of this review is to highlight the emerging roles of some members of the nuclear receptor superfamily among which the vitamin-D Receptor (VDR), Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR), Farnesoid-X-Receptor-α (FXRα). We discuss how these receptors could participate to explain male fertility disorders; and their potential to be use as biomarkers or therapeutic targets for management of fertility disorders.

[Present-day aspects of leprosy in Martinique]. / Aspects actuels de la lèpre a la Martinique

Altogether my observations agree with the facts reported by others authors. Two data however should be pointed out: -- in spite of the progresses for its demonstration, lepra remains frequent in La Martinique; -- with 47% lepromatous forms and 25% tuberculoid forms, lepra in the West Indies constitutes an intermediary level between African lepra (60% tuberculoid forms) and South-American lepra (60% lepromatous forms).