I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Principles of Neural Science

In the United States alone, there are more than 200,000 individuals living with a chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). Healthcare for these individuals creates a significant economic burden for the country, not to mention the physiological, psychological, and social suffering these people endure everyday. Regaining partial function can lead to greater independence, thereby improving quality of life. To ascertain what functions are most important to the SCI population, in regard to enhancing quality of life, a novel survey was performed in which subjects were asked to rank seven functions in order of importance to their quality of life. The survey was distributed via email, postal mail, the internet, interview, and word of mouth to the SCI community at large. A total of 681 responses were completed. Regaining arm and hand function was most important to quadriplegics, while regaining sexual function was the highest priority for paraplegics. Improving bladder and bowel function was of shared importance to both injury groups. A longitudinal analysis revealed only slight differences between individuals injured 3 years. The majority of participants indicated that exercise was important to functional recovery, yet more than half either did not have access to exercise or did not have access to a trained therapist to oversee that exercise. In order to improve the relevance of research in this area, the concerns of the SCI population must be better known and taken into account. This approach is consistent with and emphasized by the new NIH roadmap to discovery.

/pdf/targeting-recovery-priorities-of-the-spinal-cord-injured-1sllg7pz60.pdf

Targeting recovery: Priorities of the spinal cord-injured population

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673602076031.pdf

Spinal-cord injury

Oxidative stress occurs when the production of potentially destructive reactive oxygen species (ROS) exceeds the bodies own natural antioxidant defenses, resulting in cellular damage. Oxidative stress is a common pathology seen in approximately half of all infertile men. ROS, defined as including oxygen ions, free radicals and peroxides are generated by sperm and seminal leukocytes within semen and produce infertility by two key mechanisms. First, they damage the sperm membrane, decreasing sperm motility and its ability to fuse with the oocyte. Second, ROS can alter the sperm DNA, resulting in the passage of defective paternal DNA on to the conceptus. This review will provide an overview of oxidative biochemistry related to sperm health and will identify which men are most at risk of oxidative infertility. Finally, the review will outline methods available for diagnosing oxidative stress and the various treatments available.

/pdf/oxidative-stress-and-male-infertility-a-clinical-perspective-2nu3kdi0jn.pdf

Oxidative stress and male infertility—a clinical perspective

https://uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/14-Male-Sexual-Dysfunction_LR1.pdf

Guidelines on male sexual dysfunction: erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.

An analysis of 653 trials of penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury

Treatment for Ejaculatory Dysfunction in Men With Spinal Cord Injury: An 18-Year Single Center Experience

Anesthetic block of the dorsal penile nerve inhibits vibratory-Induced ejaculation in men with spinal cord injuries

Sperm motility from the vas deferens of spinal cord injured men is higher than from the ejaculate

The semen of most men with spinal cord injury (SCI) contains sperm with abnormally low motility. Studies suggest that the seminal plasma is the source of this condition. The seminal plasma of men with SCI contains an abnormally high number of white blood cells (WBC), specifically, activated T cells. It is known that activated T cells secrete cytokines and elevated concentrations of cytokines can be harmful to sperm. It is not known if the seminal plasma of men with SCI contains elevated concentrations of cytokines. The purpose of this study was to determine if the seminal plasma of men with SCI contained elevated concentrations of cytokines. Using the method of enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA), ten cytokines were measured in the seminal plasma of men with SCI as well as healthy non-SCI control subjects. The cytokines of interest were grouped according to Th1 effector functions: interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 2, interleukin 12, tumor necrosis factor alpha, tumor necrosis factor beta, interferon gamma (IL1 beta, IL2, IL12, TNF alpha, TNF beta, INF gamma, respectively) and Th2 effector functions: interleukin 4, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, transforming growth factor beta 1 (IL4, IL6, IL10, TGF beta 1, respectively). The results showed a predominance of Th1 versus Th2 cytokine production in the seminal plasma of men with SCI compared with that of control subjects. This finding suggests an immunologic basis for infertility as a possible avenue of investigation in these men.

https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.1939-4640.2004.tb02785.x

Teodoro C. Aballa

Papers

An analysis of 653 trials of penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury

Treatment for Ejaculatory Dysfunction in Men With Spinal Cord Injury: An 18-Year Single Center Experience

Anesthetic block of the dorsal penile nerve inhibits vibratory-Induced ejaculation in men with spinal cord injuries

Sperm motility from the vas deferens of spinal cord injured men is higher than from the ejaculate

Inflammatory cytokine concentrations are elevated in seminal plasma of men with spinal cord injuries.