Semen

About: Semen is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 14571 publications have been published within this topic receiving 407739 citations. The topic is also known as: come & ejaculate.

Does weight loss improve semen quality and reproductive hormones? results from a cohort of severely obese men

Abstract: A high body mass index (BMI) has been associated with reduced semen quality and male subfecundity, but no studies following obese men losing weight have yet been published. We examined semen quality and reproductive hormones among morbidly obese men and studied if weight loss improved the reproductive indicators. In this pilot cohort study, 43 men with BMI > 33 kg/m2 were followed through a 14 week residential weight loss program. The participants provided semen samples and had blood samples drawn, filled in questionnaires, and had clinical examinations before and after the intervention. Conventional semen characteristics as well as sperm DNA integrity, analysed by the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) were obtained. Serum levels of testosterone, estradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin B (Inh-B) were measured. Participants were from 20 to 59 years of age (median = 32) with BMI ranging from 33 to 61 kg/m2. At baseline, after adjustment for potential confounders, BMI was inversely associated with sperm concentration (p = 0.02), total sperm count (p = 0.02), sperm morphology (p = 0.04), and motile sperm (p = 0.005) as well as testosterone (p = 0.04) and Inh-B (p = 0.04) and positively associated to estradiol (p < 0.005). The median (range) percentage weight loss after the intervention was 15% (3.5 - 25.4). Weight loss was associated with an increase in total sperm count (p = 0.02), semen volume (p = 0.04), testosterone (p = 0.02), SHBG (p = 0.03) and AMH (p = 0.02). The group with the largest weight loss had a statistically significant increase in total sperm count [193 millions (95% CI: 45; 341)] and normal sperm morphology [4% (95% CI: 1; 7)]. This study found obesity to be associated with poor semen quality and altered reproductive hormonal profile. Weight loss may potentially lead to improvement in semen quality. Whether the improvement is a result of the reduction in body weight per se or improved lifestyles remains unknown.

T Lymphocytes and Macrophages, but Not Motile Spermatozoa, Are a Significant Source of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Semen

Abstract: The cellular fraction of semen contains spermatozoa, immature germ cells, leukocytes, and epithelial cells Recent evidence implicates seminal cells as a major source of sexually transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in semen, but the identity and infectious potential of infected cells remains poorly understood HIV provirus was found in 75% of viable semen cell samples by polymerase chain reaction and in 88% of paired blood cell samples from HIV-seropositive men When semen cell subpopulations were isolated by an immunomagnetic bead technique, T cells were found to be most commonly HIV-infected (75% of samples), followed by macrophages (38% of samples) Viral DNA was never detected in motile spermatozoa or immature germ cell populations Semen leukocytes proliferated in response to mitogenic and antigenic challenge and produced p24 following stimulation with irradiated allogeneic cells These data provide evidence that both T cells and macrophages, but not germ cells, are cellular vectors of HIV transmission in semen

Correlation between semen parameters and sperm aneuploidy rates investigated by fluorescence in-situ hybridization in infertile men.

Abstract: Spermatozoa from 32 infertile patients and 13 controls with normal semen parameters were analysed using dual and triple colour fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) techniques, in order to investigate the rates of aneuploidy for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y. The patients were divided into three groups according to their karyotypes or the karyotypes of their offspring: 15 were infertile men with abnormal semen parameters and normal karyotypes (group 1), 13 were infertile men with abnormal karyotypes and normal or abnormal semen (group 2) and four were infertile men with abnormal semen and normal karyotypes but whose wives conceived a child (or a fetus) with a numerical chromosomal abnormality through an intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle (group 3). Patients with abnormal semen parameters showed a significantly higher aneuploidy rate for the investigated chromosomes in their spermatozoa compared to controls (P < 0.005). Our data suggest the presence of a correlation between poor semen parameters and an increase in aneuploidy rate of chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y in spermatozoa (r = -0.81071, P < 0.002); therefore the risk of a chromosomal aneuploidy in spermatozoa seems to be inversely correlated to sperm concentration and total progressive motility. Patients with abnormal karyotypes showed a higher incidence of diploidy and chromosomal aneuploidies compared to controls (P < 0.002). This strongly suggests the presence of an interchromosomal effect of the cytogenetic rearrangement. Men who fathered a child with an abnormal karyotype through intracytoplasmic sperm injection did not present a higher aneuploidy rate for the investigated chromosomes in spermatozoa compared to patients with infertility due to a similar male factor but showed higher incidence of chromosomal aneuploidy compared to normal controls.