Association of symptomatic late-onset hypogonadism and lower urinary tract symptoms in aging males: a community-based study

Objective:Testosterone deficiency may be a risk factor for lower urinary tract symptoms(LUTS),and there may be a causal ink between the emergence of LUTS and the incidence of late-onset hypogonadism(LOH).We perfomed an epidemiologic study to investigate the association between symptomatic late-onset hypogonadism(SLOH)and LUTS in middle-aged and elderly rural Chinese males.Methods:A total of 965 men completed a questionnaire and underwent a detailed physical examination.The Aging Males'Symptoms(AMS)scale was used to assess SLOH,and the International Prostate Symptom Score(IPSS)questionnaire was used to assess LUTS.Serum reproductive hormone levels of testosterone,sex hormone-binding globulin(SHBG)and luteinizing hormone(LH)were measured.Results:A total of 965 males(mean age:56.34±8.85,range:40-80 years)were recruited for the present study.A total of 20.93%(202/965)were diagnosed with SLOH.A total of 93.16%(899/965)had mild LUTS,5.18%(50/965)had moderate LUTS,and 1.66%(16/965)had severe LUTS.Among SLOH patients,13.40%(27/202)and 3.90%(8/202)had moderate and severe LUTS,respectively.Patients with severe LUTS had increased SHBG and LH compared with those with mild and moderate LUTS(P<0.01).Correlation analysis revealed that the AMS total score was positively correlated with the IPSS score(P<0.05).The prevalence of SLOH was significantly increased with LUTS severity In addition to the known effect of age,the results of mutiple regression analysis also showed that serum LH or SHBG appeared to have a weak link with SLOH and LUTS that requires etiological and biological clarification in our future study.Conclusion:In this cross-sectional analysis of SLOH and LUTS,LUTS severity was significantly associated with hypogonadism symptoms.Additionally,the prevalence of SLOH advanced with increasing LUTS severity.Serum SHBG or LH showed a positive correlation with SLOH and LUTS.

Seminal plasma miR-210-3p induces spermatogenic cell apoptosis by activating caspase-3 in patients with varicocele

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of seminal plasma miR-210-3p in the impairment of semen quality caused by varicocele.This study included 102 patients whose semen quality was normal when they were diagnosed with varicocele.A 2-year follow-up for included patients was performed,and they were divided into Group A(semen quality became abnormal)and Group B(semen quality remained normal)according to the results of semen analysis during the follow-up.Semen parameters and seminal plasma miR-210-3p expression were investigated by semen analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction,respectively.In vitro experiments with GC-2 cells were performed to explore the role of miR-210-3p in spermatogenic cells.The results of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that the level of seminal plasma miR-210-3p in Group A was higher than that in Group B both after 2-year follow-up and when they were diagnosed with varicocele(both P<0.01).Apoptosis and proliferation assays showed that miR-210-3p induces apoptosis of spermatogenic cells by promoting caspase-3 activation.In conclusion,our study indicated that seminal plasma miR-210-3p induces spermatogenic cell apoptosis by activating caspase-3 in patients with varicocele.Seminal plasma miR-210-3p may be a potential biomarker for predicting impaired semen quality caused by varicocele.