Sociodemographic factors associated with semen quality among Malaysian men attending fertility clinic.

The worldwide declining trend in male fertility has been a steady concern since the past few decades. Male infertility reportedly accounts for half of the overall infertility cases in the world. Despite the evidences of reduced fertility rates in Malaysia in the recent years, there is lack of interventions regarding the reproductive parameters in Malaysian men. Complexity in determining the underlying causatives in most of the male subfertility and infertility cases limits the scope of management. The sociodemographic impacts upon overall health as well as on reproductive health of men are undeniable. The present study has analysed the data collected from patients' records in the Fertility Clinic, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), from the January 2009 until December 2018. A total of 300 male patients were included in the study and were categorised according to their seminal fluid analysis (SFA) records. The sociodemographic characteristics for each subject were analysed. The results presented significant correlations among essential sociodemographic factors, such as educational attainment, marital duration as well as the age of wife, with the levels of semen abnormalities in the subjects. The study thereby unleashes scope for further investigations focusing upon the demographic factors for better insights to ameliorate male reproductive health in the Malaysian population

Predictors of Quality of Life in Individuals Seeking Infertility Treatment: a Malaysian FertiQoL Study

Infertility problems can lower the quality of life (QoL). This study aims to predict the factors associated with QoL using the Malaysian FertiQoL. This cross-sectional study was conducted at four fertility clinics in Malaysia. Sociodemographic details and FertiQoL responses were collected. A total of 395 participants were analysed using SPSS v24 with a mean (SD) age of 33.18 (4.45). Respondents were predominantly female (57.2%) and Malay ethnicity (82.5%). The core domain means score (SD) was 74.68 (14.35) and consisted of mind-body 77.56 (17.55), emotional 70.26 (18.98), relational 77.32 (17.19) and social 73.56 (15.74). Positive predictors for QoL are Islamic faith, higher income, and general well-being.   Keywords: Malay FertiQoL; infertile; predictor, eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bsby e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5iSI3.256

Review: In vitro study revealed sugar as anticancer constituent = İn vitro Çalışmalar Şekeri Bir Antikanser Bileşeni Olarak Gösteriyor; Literatür Derleme

The majority of deaths among cancer patients are attributed to the metastatic spread of cancer cells to vital organs instead of primary tumor outgrowth. Plus, cancer therapeutics which focusing on conventional chemotherapy is often toxic not only to tumor cells but also to normal cells and caused their therapeutic use is limited. In this review, aberrant glycosylation is proposed to be a method of cancer diagnosis in order to identify cancer at its earliest and more treatable stage. Aberrant glycosylation is a universal feature of cancer cells. Glycosylation, the attachment of sugar moieties to protein, is a major form of post-translational modifi cation (PTM) that is observed in approximately half of all proteins. Certain glycan structures are well known markers for tumor progression and its availability and composition in the microenvironment may affect glycosylation of the cell. In order to understand the biological application of simple sugars as anticancer agents, it is vital to fundamentally investigate the relationship between simple sugars and cell proliferation using living cell lines in vitro. Various simple sugars have been studied previously in a number of cancer cell lines representing different evolutionary stages of cancer. It has been examined that there is a selective effect of individual simple sugars on the pattern of growth and metabolism of certain cell lines in tissue culture. The results from previous studies reported that certain simple sugars were able to alter the growth pattern and morphology of several cancer cell lines which indicate that sugars have antiproliferative effect on cancer cells

Identification of Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (BHcg) expression in frozen cleavage embryo of in vitro fertilization (Ivf) patients: an essential approach for better outcome towards human being inheritance in line with Maqasid Syari’ah concept

Expression of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (BHCG) mRNA in early cleavage cell stages is important in predicting embryo viability at blastocyst stage of development. Embryo viability is crucial for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment to be succeeded in terms of increment of implantation and pregnancy rate. In order to establish fertilization outside the human body, we should ensure the condition is optimum and as closer as inside the body in term of time and also the chemical processes that involved including hormones and growth factors. Imam Muslim narrated from Hudhayfa ibn Asad that the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: “After the sperm-and-ovum drop (nut.fa) has been [in the uterus] fortytwo days, Allah sends it an angel that gives it form and fashions its hearing, sight, skin, flesh, and skeleton.” Therefore the aim of this study is to find the significant association of BHCG expression with early cell stage cleavages and its relationship as predictive marker for potential embryo implantation. Our study focuses on leftover frozen embryos from eight patients consists of six pregnant patients and two non-pregnant patients. We assessed the human BHCG mRNA expression at different cell cleavage stages in these frozen embryos using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Our results have shown three out of eight patients with five to ten cells of blastomeres were expressed with BHCG. This study indicated that BHCG was expressed on frozethawed late cleavage stage of embryos in IVF patients

Identification of VASA gene expression in in-vitro culture from Non-Obstructive Azoospermia (NOA) testicular biopsy cells: a study to unlock knowledge of male infertility

The expression product of VASA gene is widely conserved germ line marker and participates in regulating the development of reproductive system and spermatogenesis in healthy man. Azoospermic is a condition which cannot produce sperm cells for reproduction activity. In Islam, seeking knowledge is an obligatory to each Muslim in order to solve problems and for a better live. Thus to unveiled the problem of azoospermic in infertile man we attempt to determine the gene expression of VASA level in testes cells of non-obstructive azoospermic (NOA) sample. Samples were taken from three NOA patients by testicular sperm extraction (TESE) to obtain testicular biopsyies. Testicular cells were isolated and cultured in supplemented knockout DMEM media. VASA gene expression was determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for spermatogonial marker. No VASA expression was detected in spermatogonial-like stem cells culture on day 1, 7, 14 and 21. Our finding shown VASA gene was not expressed in vitro culture spermatogenesis might be associated with the abnormal differentiation of primordial germ cells that lead to male infertility

Syringomyelia in pregnancy - is caesarean section the best option for delivery - a case report

Syringomyelia is a rare neurological disease, which is characterized by the formation of a cyst in the spinal cord. The aetiology of the disease still remains controversial. The damage to the spinal cord results in headache, weakness, stiffness and numbness on both lower and upper limbs. Only few a cases of syringomyelia in pregnancy have been reported thus far. As such, there is no standard management of intrapartum care. We present a case of symptomatic syringomyelia in pregnancy, its management and literature review. The mode of delivery with risks for vaginal route is discussed

Language and cross-cultural influences in the psychometric evaluation of the Malaysian FertiQoL

Introduction: FertiQoL questionnaire was developed and validated in 2011. It has been widely used and translated into many languages to measure QoL among infertile individuals. The use of translated psychometric tools is often subjected to cross-cultural variations. The objective of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of the Malaysian FertiQoL. Methods: A study was conducted among attendees of a public infertility clinic. Demographic details were collected and respondents answered the Malaysian FertiQoL. The questionnaire consists of 34 items. Factor analysis and internal consistency were analysed using SPSS v24. Results: Data from 175 respondents were analysed. Mean age is 32.1 ±3.8 SD with 56.6% female and 43.4% male. KMO index were 0.826 and significant Bartlett's test for sphericity. For Treatment domain, factor loadings for items T2 and T5 were < 0.32 but for all other items were acceptable between 0.32 - 0.80 with no cross loadings and Cronbach alpha for environment (0.717) and tolerability (0.660). For Core items, Q4, Q6 and Q14 loaded onto different domains and Q19 had poor factor loading. All other items were acceptable. Cronbach alpha for specific domains were emotional (0.788) mind-body (0.829), relational (0.639) and social (0.666). Cronbach alpha for emotional, relational, social improved to 0.857, 0.643 and 0.732 if Q4, Q6 and Q14 were omitted respectively. Conclusion: The study identified six items that affected the psychometric validity of the questionnaire and maybe explained by language or cross-cultural reasons. However, the Malaysian FertiQoL can still be useful to measure QoL in those with infertility

Identification of beta human chorionic gonadotrophin (bHCG) expression in frozen cleavage embryo of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients: An essential approach for better outcome towards human being inheritance in line with maqasid syari’ah concept

Expression of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (bHCG) mRNA in early cleavage cell stages is important in predicting embryo viability at blastocyst stage of development. Embryo viability is crucial for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment to be successful in terms of increment of implantation and pregnancy rate. In order to establish fertilization outside the human body, optimum condition mimicking the natural body environment like hormones and growth factors as well as impeccable timing must be established. Imam Muslim narrated from Hudhayfa ibn Asad that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “After the sperm-andovum drop (nut.fa) has been [in the uterus] forty-two days, Allah sends it an angel that gives it form and fashions its hearing, sight, skin, flesh, and skeleton”. Therefore the aim of this study is to find the significant association of bHCG expression with early cell stage cleavages and its relationship as predictive marker for potential embryo implantation. Our study focuses on leftover frozen embryos from eight patients consists of six pregnant patients and two non-pregnant patients. We assessed the human bHCG mRNA expression at different cell cleavage stages in these frozen embryos using reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Our results have shown three out of eight patients with five to ten cells of blastomeres were expressed with bHCG. This study indicated that bHCG was expressed on frozethawed late cleavage stage of embryos in IVF patients

Gender differences in fasting serum leptin level among Malaysian population

Serum leptin increases with progressive obesity in both genders. However, for any given measure of obesity, leptin levels are higher in women than men. This research is to study the gender differences of the fasting plasma leptin concentration in Malaysian people from east coast Malaysia with a back ground knowledge of ethnic variation. To be as a baseline for future research, and to consolidate our knowledge regarding leptin and it’s correlation with endocrine disorders. Objective: To study the gender differences of the plasma leptin and its relationship to the ethnic group, so that can establish a base line for future studies regarding leptin hormone and it’s association with different endocrine and fertility issues Method: This was a cross sectional study included 100 consented Malaysian people(50 male and female) were recruited from Kulliyyah of dentistry, International Islamic University Malaysia and medical department, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan, those with endocrine, diabetic illness, abnormal BMI, chronic illness and any patient on hormonal treatment were excluded from the study. Individual venous blood was taken between 0800–0900 am after an overnight fasting. Determination of serum leptin was done by enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA)and measured in ng/ml. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18 Result:. Mean age were, 34.5±6.4 and 31.2± 4.3 for male and female respectively, there was no significant difference between the age of both groups. Mean body mass index for male was 23 ± 1.91 Kg / m2 which were not significantly different from the female BMI which was 22 ± 0.87 Kg / m2. data were analysed by Mann-Whitney U-test, found that serum leptin levels in females are significantly higher (Z= 6.0, p<0.001) than those in males, 7.29 ng/ml vs 3.94 ng/ml respectively. Correlation coefficient of serum leptin level with female body mass index (kg/m2) is 0.693 in a value of <.0001 conclusion: Serum leptin is significantly affected by gender, with women have significantly higher serum leptin level than man, further study is required to measure the fat mass in addition to serum leptin in both genders as a possible reason for this difference,. Keywords LEPTIN , GENDER, Ethnic variatio

The outcome of the seminal fluid parameter collected via coitus interruptus versus mastubation

A one year study was carried out to determine the outcome of the seminal fluid parameters collected via masturbation and coitus interruptus in 151 patients who were undergoing intrauterine insermination (IUI) and patients who came for seminal analysis. There were no statistically significant difference in terms of volume, concentration, progressive motility and normal morphology from specimens collected via coitus interruptus compared to specimens collected via masturbation. Pregnancy outcomes were also comparable