Topics in reproduction &
development
Here’s what we’re gonna do:
Write down any questions you have.
Don’t need names, we’ll collect it at the
end of class
Table of contents
Human Pappillomavirus and cervical/penile cancers
Impotence, prostatitis and prostate cancer
If two sexes are such a good idea then why not have
more?
SRY gene
Mifepristone
Spontaneous abortions & Down Syndrome
Folic acid deficiency & brain defects
Risks to young mothers
Thalidomide
Cloning
Newborn organ donor ethics
HPV
• A group of about 100
strains of virus
• Some cause warts
• Others alter nuclei in
cervix
• Almost all cases of
cervical cancer had HPV
first
– Strains 16 & 18 cause 70%
• Merck’s got a vaccine
out, marketed towards
females 9-26
– Have to take it before
infection
From medicinenet.com
• Some types of HPV
you’ll have for life
• Some you’ll never
know
• HPV: most common
STD in US
• ~ 20 mil have it,
• 5.5 mil new cases a
year, that’s 10/min
Cervical cancer
• 2006 ~10,000 U.S.
women diagnosed
– 4,000 will die from it.
• Regular pap smears
needed to catch it pre-
malignantly
– Just getting a sample of
cervical cells
• Trivia pap in pap smear
and pap in papillomavirus
don’t have anything to do
with each other.
Impotence (erectile dysfunction)
(Brewer’s Droop)
• Physical or psychological
causes erections
– Touch or the limbic system
– Nitric oxide a vasodilator is
secreted
• Physical or psychological
things take them away
– Diabetes can cause it
• Psychologically there’s a
strong placebo effect
– Ever had a wet dream?
Your brain is in control
• You go to the doctor and
report this.
– They’ll get blood tests to make
sure there’s no underlying
disease causing it.
• Also your general health, diet,
weight, and heart contribute
• They see if you ever have
erections
– As opposed to sometimes
– 5 or 6 happen during R.E.M.
sleep
• Selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs) are a class of
antidepressants used in
the treatment of
depression, anxiety
disorders and some
personality disorders.
– Zoloft, prozac, paxil
• Some of these can
cause E.D. some for
months after you’re off
of them
Does circumcision lead to an
increased risk of E.D.?
• People argue this both ways
• However everyone agree excessive
drinking is a cause.
• Also cycling can increase risk
• Cyclic guanosine
monophosphate (cGMP) is your
– Note relation to ATP, ADP,
or AMP friend for relaxing
• relaxes smooth
muscle.
• leads to vasodilation
and increased blood
flow.
• When it breaks down
blood flow decreases
– Phosphodiesterases
(PDEs) do this
Viagra
• Viagra inhibits PDE’s
so cGMPs stay
around increasing
blood flow
• Also making some
people very very rich
Herbal Supplements
• Enzyte
– Weak evidence for this
supplement, and is
currently in Big
Lawsuits for false
advertising
• Korean Red Ginseng
– There’s a double blind
study showing that this
is better than a
placebo. That’s 1
study
Why muck about with blood vessels?
• Lets get right to the libido in the CNS
• Lets mess with your brain
• Bremelanotide is a nasal spray
– A synthetic aphrodisiac
• This is how close it is to being released
– Phase 3 trials starts in 2007
– RICH RICH PEOPLE
Word of the Day: Priapism
• From ancient god
Priapus, fertility god
• Painful medical
condition where an
painful erection does
not painfully go away
for a long painful time.
• Don’t mess around
with your bodies
homeostasis
What gets us into this situation in
the first place?
• Our SRY gene
• Its one of the few things
that the Y chromosome is
good for
• There are other more
important sex determining
genes in mammals
• If you have this gene
you’re going to be male,
no matter what else you’ve
got
• Mr. T is 120% man
– 5 % gold
– 3 % pity
SRY and olympics
• In 1992 olympics they ruled that anyone
with an SRY gene can’t compete as a
woman, but has since been eliminated
• XXY or XXYY humans exist usually as
males
• XXY females exist, with no SRY gene
Tough Question
• Suppose that during meiosis in a man,
the SRY of his Y chromosome crossed
over and rejoined to his X chromosome.
What would be the consequences to his
sons and daughters?
Big answer
• His XX children will appear to be boys and his
XY children will appear to be girls.
• Before the advent of antibiotics, how would
society’s view of syphilis have been similar to
today’s view of HIV?
• Both infections most often exist without
symptoms for a long time. Most STD’s also
have several features in common, according to
Saladin: an incubation period, a
communicable period, and certain
asymptomatic carriers. (Clinical application
27.5 on p. 1043) Some students may also
know that syphilis, like HIV, for most of our
history was incurable.
• If the cilia of the uterine tubes were to reverse the
direction towards which they beat and the muscles of
the tubes were also to reverse directions, what might
the consequences be?
• It would be much more difficult for the ova to pass
down the tubes and into the uterus. On the other hand,
the sperm would have an easier time going up the
uterine tubes. (p. 1052) Those eggs that were fertilized
would most likely implant in the tubes, an ectopic
pregnancy, or in the abdominal cavity, an abdominal
pregnancy. (Table 28.5) Many eggs would fall into the
abdominal cavity and die (p. 1066).
• Sally started training seriously to participate in
the 10,000 meter run for the summer
Olympics. After a few months of training, she
noticed that she stopped menstruating. What
is the probable cause of this failure?
• Sally probably trained to such an extent that
she lost a lot of body fat, dropping below 22%
fat. Since this makes it difficult for a woman to
maintain a fetus and to milk production.
Therefore, her body acted to prevent
pregnancy so her menstruation also stopped
Case 06 A day in the histopathology
lab
Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue.
Worldwide, it is the most common form of cancer in
females, affecting approximately one out of eleven to
twelve women at some stage of their life in the
Western world.
Risk factors: age, genes, alcohol, hormones
Men can get it but it is rare
Less breast tissue, also hormonal differences
• What finding
suggests Ms.
Bennett’s tumor
is benign?
• Circular shape
and surrounding
of dense fibrous
connective
tissue containing
it.
• Fibroadenoma:
Common benign
breast tumor
appearing before
age 30
• Why might Ms.
Malcom’s doctor
recommend a
biopsy of the
axillary lymph
nodes?
• Since malignant
cancer cells break
off of the tumor
and spread
throughout the
blood stream
checking the
lymph nodes will
determine if the
cancer has spread
there.
1. Why would the mitotic
index be relevant to a
diagnosis of breast cancer?
• The mitotic index is a ratio
between the number of
cells in mitosis and the total
number of cells.
• The closer to 1 the index is
then the more cells are
undergoing mitosis.
• Cellomics makes kits to
detect this with fluoroscopy.
MRI Showing Malignant Breast
Cancer
• Tamoxifen blocks estrogen
receptors so that estrogen
cannot bind to them. How
could tamoxifen help in the
treatment of certain forms of
breast cancer?
• Estrogen promotes the growth
(mitosis) of breast cancer cells.
If breast cells can’t receive the
signal for estrogen then it
should reduce mitosis.
Tamoxifen is the world’s largest
selling breast cancer treatment.
sold under the brand names
Nolvadex, Istubal, and Valodex.
Tamoxifen is sometimes used
to treat gynecomastia in men.
• Photomicrograph of Tamoxifen
• The National Surgical
Adjuvant Breast and
Bowel Project (NSABP) is
a clinical trials cooperative
group supported by the
National Cancer Institute
(NCI).
• Based in Pittsburgh
• NSABP is undertaking a
Study of Tamoxifen and
Raloxifene (STAR). To
see if Raloxifene which is
used to treat osteoporosis
could be as effective as
Tamoxifen. Its using
19,000 volunteers at 400
sites around the country.
• Interestingly side effects
of Tamoxifen include
increased chance of
uterine cancer and blood
clots in the lungs.
• Considering that X rays are known
to induce mutations and that
mutations cause cancer, why are
women in their 40s and beyond
advised to have routine
mammograms?
• It’s the widest and most easily
available form with the highest
success rate. Ultrasound,
Ductography, and Magnetic
Resonance are adjuncts to
mammography. The National
Cancer Institute, the American
Cancer Society, and the American
College of Radiology
• Despite continuous improvements
and innovations, mammography
has garnered a sizable opposition
in the medical community because
of an error rate that is still high and
the amount of harmful radiation
used in the procedure.
Mammography has a false-
negative (missed cancer) rate of at
least 10 percent. This is partly due
to dense tissues obscuring the
cancer and the fact that the
appearance of cancer on
mammograms has a large overlap
with the appearance of normal
tissues.
Died from Breast Cancer
• Carina Bleeth, Mother of Yasmine Bleeth
• Rachael Carson, Pittsburgh Environmentalist
went to Catham, author of Silent Spring
• Madonna’s Mother Died when Madonna was 6
• Hitler’s Mother
• Nas’ Mother
• Clinton’s Mother
• Paul McCartney’s Mother and Wife
• Bernie Mac’s Mom
• Condie Rice’s Mom
Fighting/Surviving with Breast
Cancer
• Andre Agassi’s Mom and
Sister
• Baldwin Brother’s Mother
• Brigette Bardot
• Shirley Temple
• Sheryl Crow
• Melissa Etheridge
• Betty Ford
• Nicole Kidman’s Mom
• Kylie Minogue
• Sandra Day O'Connor
• Nancy Reagan
• Richard Roundtree
Is there female sexual dysfunction?
• Female sexual arousal disorder
decreased, insufficient, or absent
lubrication in females during sex, even
despite normal sexual arousal
– More psychological usually
– Lifelong versus Acquired, Generalized versus
Situational,
– Childhood impact, relationship impacts,
Stress, fatigue
– Physical causes vary, diabetes sometimes.
What if you’re XY and your SRY
gene is mutated
• There are XY women.
• It varies but some can’t have kids
Turner’s & Klinefelter’s