Effect of Varicocelectomy on Semen Parameters of Men Seeking Infertility Treatment in Tamale, Ghana

The study aimed to determine the effect of microsurgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy on semen parameters among men seeking infertility treatment in Ghana. This was an intervention study conducted at Tamale Teaching Hospital in the Tamale Metropolis from September 2017 to August 2021. The study involves two groups;the surgery group (n = 75) and the observed group (n = 63). Duplicate semen samples (mean values adopted) were collected at the onset and assessed according to the criteria established by World Health Organization (WHO), 2010. Varicocelectomy was performed for the surgery group and no intervention was given to the observed group. The two groups were followed for 180 days and repeated semen samples were collected and analyzed. The data was computed using GraphPad Prism (v8.0) at an alpha of 0.05. All the men had varicocele and were aged between 46.0 and 67.0 years old. There was no difference between semen parameters among the two groups before the surgery. However, after 180 days of follow-up, all of the semen parameters significantly improved in the surgery group (p < 0.0001), while sperm concentration (p = 0.0068), progressive motility (p = 0.0281), and normal sperm morphology (p = 0.0015) decreased in the observed group. The surgery group had an overall percent increase in total sperm count (840.7%;p = 0.0197), sperm concentration (582.1%;p = 0.0125), total viable sperms (155.2%;p < 0.0001), and normal sperm morphology (110.9%;p < 0.0001) while immotile sperms (-51.71%;p < 0.0001) reduced. A pregnancy rate of 25.3% (19/75) was reported among the surgery group but none was reported among the observed group after 180 days. Microsurgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy improves semen parameters and hence effective treatment of infertile men with a clinically palpable varicocele. It is recommended to use this choice for similar patients, however, further studies with a larger sample size are needed to provide more evidence to recommend this therapy.

Evaluation of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine on semen parameters in reproductive-age males:a retrospective cohort study

During the coronavirus disease(COVID-19)epidemic,there have been concerns about the impact of vaccines on people’s fertility,including the fertility of those who are currently preparing for pregnancy and those who might become pregnant in future.However,there is still a lack of research on the effect of the COVID-19 vaccine on male fertility,and it is not surprising that couples and donors have concerns regarding vaccination.In this study,a retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine semen quality before and after receipt of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine.There were no statistically significant changes in semen parameters(volume,sperm concentration,progressive motility,and total progressive motile count)after two doses of vaccine(all P>0.05).In summary,our study updates the most recent studies on the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine on male fertility,and the information from this study could be used to guide fertility recommendations for assisted reproductive technology(ART)patients and donors.

Sperm Donors in Shanghai,China:A Study of Motivations,Characteristics,and Semen Parameters of Actual Sperm Donors

Objective:To identify the sociodemographic characteristics,motivations,and semen parameters of sperm donors in Shanghai,China.Methods:The participants were sperm donors associated with the Human Sperm Bank of Fudan University in Shanghai,China.Among the 334 sperm donors that applied for participation,329 completed the survey process.The responses obtained in the questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were used to investigate the donor motivations and characteristics,and the semen quality was examined to identify the sperm parameter.Results:In terms of the sociodemographic characteristics,an altruistic donor in this study was aged between 26 and 30 years,was single,did not have a child,had a college or undergraduate education level,was of the Han ethnicity,and worked full time.The strongest motivation highlighted by sperm donors was a donation for altruistic(26.4%,n=87)reasons.The second-highest rated motivation was curiosity(20.7%,n=68),followed by a desire to procreate(17.9%,n=59)."Complimentary body checks"(14.3%,n=47)and"financial incentives"(14.7%,n=47)were regarded as less important.The average semen parameters of the 329 donors were as follows:the semen volume was 3.39±1.21 mL,the semen concentration was 82.75×10^(6)/mL,the progressive motility rate(PR%)was 63.77%±3.13%,the total motility rate was 66.26%,the total progressive motile count was 158.31%±54.43×10^(6)/mL,and the round cell concentration was 0.38±0.51×10^(6)/mL.The PR%of the procreation motivation group was significantly higher than that of the other motivation groups(P<0.05).Conclusions:Sperm donors in Shanghai,China,are altruistic about their donation,although curiosity is also a key motivator.In addition,the decisions of donors are culturally influenced,and the motivation to procreate may influence the PR%.

Comparison of sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation index between infertile men with infection and vaccines of COVID-19

Several preventive measures,including vaccination,have been implemented owing to the severe global effect of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),but there is still limited evidence in the effect of this disease and vaccination against it on male fertility.Therefore,this study is to compare sperm parameters of infertile patients with or without COVID-19 infection and the effect of COVID-19 vaccine types on them.Semen samples of infertile patients were collected consecutively at Universitas Indonesia-Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital(Jakarta,Indonesia).COVID-19 was diagnosed by rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction(PCR)tests.Vaccination was performed with three types of vaccine,namely inactivated viral vaccine,messenger RNA(mRNA)vaccine,and viral vector vaccine.Spermatozoa were then analyzed on the World Health Organization recommendations,and DNA fragmentation was assayed with the sperm chromatin dispersion kit.The results showed that the COVID-19 group experienced a significant decrease in sperm concentration and progressive motility(both P<0.05),but there was no significant change in morphology or sperm DNA fragmentation index(DFI;both P>0.05).The viral vector vaccine caused a decrease in morphology as well as an increase in DFI compared with the control(both P<0.05),meanwhile results for those who were vaccinated with the inactivated and mRNA types were not significant compared with the control(both P>0.05).We conclude that COVID-19 has negative effects on sperm parametes and sperm DNA fragmentation,and we found that the viral vector vaccines affect sperm parameter values and DNA fragmentation negatively.Further studies with a larger population and longer follow-up are needed to confirm the results.

Association of sexually transmitted infection with semen quality in men from couples with primary and secondary infertility

This study aims to compare the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections(STIs)with semen quality in men from couples with primary and secondary infertility.Semen samples were collected from 133 men who requested fertility evaluation.Seminal tract infection with Ureaplasma spp.(UU),Mycoplasma hominis(MH),Mycoplasma genitalium(MG),Chlamydia trachomatis(CT),Neisseria gonorrhoeae(NG),and herpes simplex virus-2(HSV-2)was assessed by PCR-based diagnostic assays.Among all patients,the prevalence of STIs was higher in men from couples with primary infertility than that in men from couples with secondary infertility(39.7%vs 21.7%,P=0.03).The prevalence of UU was 28.8%and 13.3%in men from couples with primary and secondary infertility,respectively.Men from couples with primary infertility were more likely to be positive for UU than men from couples with secondary infertility(P=0.04).Regarding the UU subtype,the prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum(Uuu)and Ureaplasma parvum(Uup;including Uup1,Uup3,Uup6,and Uup14)did not differ between the two groups.No associations between the prevalence rates of MH,MG,and CT were found in men from either infertility group.A lower sperm concentration was associated with STI pathogen positivity in men with primary infertility according to the crude model(P=0.04).The crude and adjusted models showed that semen volume(both P=0.03)and semen leukocyte count(both P=0.02)were independently associated with secondary infertility.These findings suggest the importance of classifying the type of infertility during routine diagnosis of seminal tract infections.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in the genital tractis associated with inflammation and hypospermia inthe infertile male of China

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial disease worldwide. However, unlikethat in female infertility, the role of CT infection in male infertility remains controversial. The objective of this retrospective studywas to explore the impacts of CT infection in the genital tract on sperm quality, sperm acrosin activity, antisperm antibody levels,and inflammation in a large cohort of infertile males in China. A total of 7154 semen samples were collected from infertile malesubjects, 416 of whom were CT positive (CT+ group) and 6738 of whom were CT negative (CT− group), in our hospital betweenJanuary 2016 and December 2018. Routine semen parameters (semen volume, pH, sperm concentration, viability, motility,morphology, etc.), granulocyte elastase levels, antisperm antibody levels, and sperm acrosin activity were compared between theCT+ and CT− groups. Our results showed that CT infection was significantly correlated with an abnormally low semen volume, aswell as an increased white blood cell count and granulocyte elastase level (all P < 0.05) in the semen of infertile males;otherroutine semen parameters were not negatively impacted. The antisperm antibody level and sperm acrosin activity were not affectedby CT infection. These findings suggested that CT infection might contribute to inflammation and hypospermia but does not impairsperm viability, motility morphology, and acrosin activity or generate antisperm antibodies in the infertile males of China.

Basic Phenotyping of Male Fertility from 2019 to 2020 at the Human Sperm Bank of Fudan University

The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to analyze the semen parameters of volunteers from the Human Sperm Bank of Fudan University,as well as the related factors influencing these parameters.From January 2019 to December 2020,semen parameters from a total of 5214 men were included in this survey.The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to detect differences associated with several independent variables.A total of 5214 volunteers were included.The volunteers were registered in 33 provinces,autonomous regions,municipalities(including Macao and Taiwan)and 294 prefecture-level cities.The average age of volunteers was 27.40 years.Overall,76.50%of the volunteers had a college education or higher.Volunteers with BMI values of 18.5-23.9 kg/m2 accounted for 60.70%of participants.Semen parameters were significantly different according to season,education level,duration of abstinence,age group and BMI.The basic male fertility phenotypes(semen parameters)showed new trends in the study period,and accurate long-term tracking of male semen parameters will help researchers to better understand the changes in male fertility phenotypes(semen).

Random sperm DNA fragmentation index is not associated with clinical outcomes in day-3 frozen embryo transfer

Damage to sperm DNA was proposed to play an important role in embryonic development.Previous studies focused on outcomes after fresh embryo transfer,whereas this study investigated the influence of sperm DNA fragmentation index(DFI)on laboratory and clinical outcomes after frozen embryo transfer(FET).This retrospective study examined 381 couples using cleavage-stage FET.Sperm used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI)or in vitro fertilization(IVF)underwent density gradient centrifugation and swim up processing.Sperm DFI had a negative correlation with sperm motility(r=−0.640,P<0.01),sperm concentration(r=−0.289,P<0.01),and fertilization rate of IVF cycles(r=−0.247,P<0.01).Sperm DFI examined before and after density gradient centrifugation/swim up processing was markedly decreased after processing(17.1%vs 2.4%,P<0.01;65 randomly picked couples).Sperm progressive motility was significantly reduced in high DFI group compared with low DFI group for both IVF and ICSI(IVF:46.9%±12.4%vs 38.5%±12.6%,respectively;ICSI:37.6%±14.1%vs 22.3%±17.8%,respectively;both P<0.01).The fertilization rate was significantly lower in high(≥25%)DFI group compared with low(<25%)DFI group using IVF(73.3%±23.9%vs 53.2%±33.6%,respectively;P<0.01)but was equivalent in high and low DFI groups using ICSI.Embryonic development and clinical outcomes after FET were equivalent for low and high DFI groups using ICSI or IVF.In this study,sperm DFI did not provide sufficient information regarding embryo development or clinical outcomes for infertile couples using FET.

Sperm acrosin activity may be a useful factor in choosing between ICSI and IVF for infertile male patients

The clinical applications of acrosin activity are limited.We analyzed 61578 male partners in infertile couples who visited the outpatient department of the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya(Changsha,China)between August 2014 and December 2019 to determine the reference ranges and thresholds for acrosin activity in infertile Chinese men;to determine whether correlations exist between acrosin activity and age,sperm concentration,sperm morphology,or sperm motility;and to evaluate whether acrosin activity could serve as an effective prognostic indicator for choosing between in vitro fertilization(IvF)and intracytoplasmic sperm injection(icsl)in the clinic.The cut-off value for the normal reference range of acrosin activity for male partners in infertile couples was 24.78μlU per 106 sperm.There was no significant association between acrosin activity and age,sperm concentration,semen volume,total sperm count,progressive motility,or total motile spermatozoa.A weak positive correlation was found between acrosin activity and normal sperm morphology.There was a statistically significant difference in abnormal acrosome morphology between the group with high acrosin activity(>24.78μlU per 106 sperm)and the group with low acrosin activity(<24.78μlU per 106 sperm).The group with a low IVF fertilization rate had a high index of abnormal acrosomal morphology at 21.2%,while the group with a high IVF fertilization rate had a low index of 0.2%.At an acrosin activity of<24.78μlU per 10 sperm,in one cycle of the same patient,the fertilization rate,normal fertilization rate,and good-quality embryo rate for Icsl were significantly higher than those for IVF.Therefore,the most promising application of acrosin activity could be in the selection of IcsI over IVF for infertile male patients with complete fertilization failure or a low fertilization rate.