No abstract

The reports of a decline in the reproductive health of men worldwide prompted the present study to be undertaken so that baseline semen parameters could be established in Indian men. Semen profile and sperm function parameters were evaluated in 368 Indian men of proven fertility, settled in Delhi. The results of the study were compared with available published information from Indian men. The mean sperm concentration and semen volumes were 68.22 +/- 15.14 x 10(6) ml(-1) and 3.20 +/- 0.94 ml, respectively. Rapid, linear progressive motility and sluggish linear motility were 40.95 +/- 9.15% and 24.95 +/- 7.01%, respectively. A comparison of the results of the present study with earlier published data did not support the contention of a decrease in the semen quality in Indian men.

BACKGROUND The incidence rate for cancer reflects the number of new cases occurring in a specific population during a year, expressed as the number of cancer diagnosis per 10,000 people. Cancer is globally a major cause of death and morbidity and is currently witnessing an exponential increase in the number of malignancies. The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge regarding self-care among patients receiving chemotherapy, to evaluate the effectiveness of information booklet regarding selfcare among patients receiving chemotherapy and to find out the association between knowledge score regarding self-care among patients receiving chemotherapy in selected hospitals. METHODS An experimental study was undertaken on 60 purposively selected patients receiving chemotherapy in selected hospitals of Wardha and Nagpur district. One group pretest post-test research design was used in the study. Data was collected by using structured questionnaire during the month of December 2019. The duration of study was for 5 months from October 2019 to February 2020. RESULTS The findings of the study show that 33.33 % patients had average knowledge score, 61.67 % patients had good knowledge score and 5 % patients had very good knowledge score in pre-test. Minimum knowledge score was 8 in pre-test and maximum knowledge score was 23 in pre-test. Mean knowledge score in pre-test was 15.53 ± 2.98 and mean percentage of knowledge score in pre-test was 44.38 ± 8.52. 11.67 % of patients had good knowledge score, 81.67 % of patients had very good knowledge score and 6.67 % of patients had excellent knowledge score in post-test. Minimum knowledge score was 20 in post-test and maximum knowledge score was 30 in the post-test. Mean knowledge score in pre-test was 24.61 ± 2.53 and mean percentage of knowledge score in post-test was 70.33 ± 7.25. It indicates that information booklet is effective in improving knowledge of patients receiving chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Patients receiving chemotherapy have average knowledge regarding chemotherapy self-care. After providing information booklet, there was a very significant increase in the knowledge. The combined ‘t’ test was assessed in all hospitals for value of pretest knowledge and post-test knowledge score. Thus, it is concluded that the booklet on chemotherapy self-care is effective in improving the knowledge of patients receiving chemotherapy. KEY WORDS Cancer, Chemotherapy, Effectiveness, Self-Care

Ultrastructural changes in the efferent duct and in different regions of the epididymis in men with obstructive azoospermia were compared with corresponding tissues collected from men of proven fertility who underwent castration due to malignancy of the prostate. Major degenerative changes were seen in the efferent duct and the caput epididymidis of men with obstruction at the caput epididymidis which may have been induced by fluid pressure due to defective absorption of testicular fluid in the caput epididymidis. These degenerative changes included decrease in tubular and lumen diameter of the caput and the cauda epididymides, decrease in height of the stereocilia, reduction in rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi material, and presence of lipofuscin and osmiophilic dense bodies. The degenerative changes were less when the site of obstruction was in the cauda epididymidis since fluid reabsorption would continue to take place normally in the caput epididymidis. In men who had undergone vasoepididymostomy (VEA), the ejaculated spermatozoa showed a high percentage of morphological abnormalities which may have occurred due to adverse effects of long-term obstruction on spermatogenesis.

Progress in diagnosis of infertility, has been dramatically increased during the past decades with changes occurring in virtually all aspects of infertility research, thus providing innovative diagnostic testing and sophisticated instrumentation for improved management and treatment of infertility. There are about 50% of infertile couples who are suffering because of male infertility. Semen examination is a basic investigation for these infertile couples. It not only reveals the quantity and quality of sperm but also the quality of the seminal plasma, which is essential for normal sperm function. In this review, the recent advancement in investigation procedures has been analyzed which are very important in clinical practice to (a) evaluate the sperm fertilizing ability (Acrosin, aniline blue, HOS), (b) characterization of male accessory sex glands secretions (Fructose, alpha-glucosidase, PSA) and (c) the management of azoospermic patients. It is believed that use of such diagnostic procedures will facilitate wide selection of patients for whom an effective therapy might be then possible.