Chimiothérapie anticancéreuse chez le mâle: risques pour la descendance

Up to now, studies concerning the progeny of males undergoing chemotherapy have been difficult to interpret because of their heterogeneity and conflicting nature. Morever, the long term follow up of children has not been carried out. Experimental studies carried out with the cytostatic drug cyclophosphamide have shown that if mating of male rats takes place during the treatment, the frequency of post-implantation losses and fetal malformations increases. If this mating takes place after a recovery period of one to two seminiferous cycles, there is no malformation but only neonatal deaths, and behavioral disorders in adult progeny including diminished learning capacity. These abnormalities are inherited and can present the characteristics of dominant autosomic syndromes. Biochemical analyses of the brains of the first and second generation offspring from treated males show a decrease in two biochemical substrates of memory: hippocampal choline acetyltransferase and fronto-parietal cortex norepinephrine. Abnormalities can also present complex genetic rearrangements revealed in the third generation by, amongst other things, increases in weight gain. Finally, the experimental results suggest that genetic repair may be possible with time. These data and the uncertainty concerning the consequences of chemotherapy in males should systematically lead to:

- the cryopreservation of sperm before any mutagenic treatment;

- a minimum of two years contraception from the end of treatment;

- the long term follow up of children born from treated fathers.

     

Sur le déterminisme de la formation de la grappe chez les abeilles

Conclusion Il existe une interattraction vraie chez les ouvrières d'Apis mellifica. Cette interattraction a pour point de dépárt un stimulus complexe pour une part de nature vibratoire et pour l'autre de nature olfactive.Le point de départ du stimulus olfactif se situe dans l'abdomen. Enfin pour que le stimulus soit perçu d'une manière efficace par l'abeille il faut que celle-çi soit intégrée à un groupe suffisamment nombreux.     

Température et plasticité du chromatisme de la coquille chez le mollusque pulmoné Helix aspersa

Phenotypic plasticity of shell pigmentation in the land snail Helix aspersa was investigated with the help of image processing followed by pixel counting for each colour present on the shell. Thus, the use of three different growth temperatures under artificial conditions showed, for the two subspecies considered, a continuous colour gradient from red to dark of the shell banding. Darker pigmentation characterized low temperatures while red bands were related to the higher temperature (25 °C). No interpretable difference appeared between the two forms.     

Préserver la fertilité chez les adolescents traités pour un cancer. Le point de vue du psycho-oncologue

The question of fertility is a major concern for young adults successfully treated for cancer, which is why semen preservation should be proposed to all adolescent boys prior to treatment of a cancer. This proposal is part of the oncologist’s approach to prevent sequelae. To ensure that semen cryopreservation is conducted under good conditions and is accepted by the adolescent, it is important to have a good understanding of the psychopathology and behaviour of adolescents with cancer: their preoccupation with their body, their appearance, their sexuality, their relationships to their peers and to their parents, their value and narcissism, their identity. This helps the clinician to understand and overcome the various reasons for their difficulty (and to lessen the painful feeling of failure) or their reticence to perform semen cryopreservation: paralysed by the diagnosis of cancer, sexual inhibition, lack of understanding and ignorance, pessimism concerning outcome, incapacity to project into the future, poor relationship with parents, discredit of parenthood, fear of transmitting the cancer, etc. A good understanding of these elements can avoid an excessively rapid acceptance of a superficial opposition to this procedure that the patient could subsequently regret. Closer collaboration should be developed between oncology-haematology departments and CECOS units to provide suitable information material to adolescents, to improve the understanding of the specific psychology of adolescents, and to understand the parents’ positions.     

Le recueil de sperme chez le blessé médullaire

Infertility is a major issue for men with spinal cord injury (SCI). Male infertility is due to a combination of ejaculatory dysfunction and abnormal sperm quantity and quality. The reported ability to ejaculate during sexual stimulation or masturbation is about 15%. Techniques to remediate ejaculation have vastly improved the fertility potential of men with SCI. Penile vibratory stimulation (PVS) to induce ejaculation is now recommended as first-line treatment due to its safety and relative efficacy. PVS can also be used at home for fertility purposes with success rates of more than 70%. Pharmacological treatments can be associated with PVS to enhance ejaculation. Midodrine, an alpha1-adrenergic agonist, has been recently used with success rates of 66% in SCI patients who failed PVS alone. PVS with midodrine can now be considered as second-line treatment for anejaculation, after PVS and before electroejaculation. It is a safe procedure, but requires cardiovascular monitoring. PVS with midodrine can also be effective in the treatment of retrograde ejaculation by inducing bladder neck closure.