The Pattern of Seminal Fluid Analysis among Male Partners Attending an Infertility Clinic in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

Background: Semen analysis has remained an objective, inexpensive and readily available means of assessing male factor infertility. Aim and Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence of male infertility, the types and semen quality among infertile couples attending infertility clinic at UDUTH, Sokoto. Materials and Method: This is a retrospective study carried out between January, 2012 to December, 2016. All case notes of infertile patients managed were retrieved The data obtained was analysed using SPSS version 20 and the results were presented in text, tables and charts. Results: Eight hundred and seventy-six out of 11,938 total gynaecological consultations over the study period were due to infertility, giving a prevalence of 7.3%. Among them, 34.4% (320) accounted for male factor infertility. The age ranged between 22 to 75 years with a mean of 37.44 years ± 7.44. Majority, 50.2% were within the ages of 35 - 44 years and up to 73.8% of them had at least secondary education and were mostly, 39.7% civil servants. Up to 75.4% had sperm abnormalities, among which 65% (196/301) had primary infertility while, 35% (105/301) had secondary infertility. About half of them (47.5% (153/301)) had Azoospermia, 22.3% (67/301) Oligospermia and only 30.3% (91/301) had a normal sperm count. More than half of them, 121/227 (53.3% had multiple abnormalities). Conclusion: Male factor infertility contributes significantly to the burden of infertility in our environment. Therefore, there is the need to create awareness so that males fully participate in the evaluation, as the blames are mainly on the females.

Seminal fluid changes in the COVID-19 era:During infection and Post-vaccination

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)predilection for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2)receptors allows its entrance and replication;however,they are not biochemically required for viral fusion into the cell membrane.Testicular tissue has abundant ACE2 receptors,making it a target for the COVID-19 virus.Seminal fluid pa-rameters are measures of male fertility.Changes in semen parameters have been caused by coronavirus disease and vaccines.Some attribute that effect to direct hematogenic spread to the testis;others propose that the excessive immunological response triggered by the infection causes a deleterious effect.An unsubstantiated claim questioned whether the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could trigger an unintentional immunological response that would impair male fertility once receiving the vaccine.Extensive research confirms the transient nature of those changes that affect sperm motility and count with full recovery post-COVID-19 infection and after vaccination.The vac-cine's safety was reaffirmed;however,there are currently no recommendations for screening sperm donors.Research is warranted to guarantee the safety of couples undergoing assisted reproduction.

Fertility outcomes following bariatric surgery

Obesity impacts human health in more than one way.The influence of obesity on human reproduction and fertility has been extensively examined.Bariatric surgery(BS)has been used as an effective tool to achieve long-term weight loss in both sexes.BS improves hormonal profiling,increasing the odds of spontaneous pregnancy and success rates following assisted reproductive techniques in infertile females.For obese males,BS does improve sexual function and hormonal profile;however,conflicting reports discuss reduced sperm parameters following BS.Although the benefits of BS in the fertility field are acknowledged,many areas call for further research,like choosing the safest surgical techniques,determining the optimal timing to get pregnant,and resolving the uncertainty of sperm parameters.

Semen analysis in chronic bacterial prostatitis： diagnostic and therapeutic implications

The significance and diagnostic value of semen analysis in chronic bacterial prostatitis has been extensively debated and remains controversial. To investigate the diagnostic relevance of semen culture in the bacteriological workup of prostatitis patients, we retrospectively analyzed a clinical database of 696 symptomatic patients. All patients were routinely subjected to a four-glass test, followed by semen culture and analysis. This allowed to dissect from the database three different diagnostic scenarios, and to compare the ＇two-glass＇ pre-/post- massage test and the standard ＇four-glass＇ test with a ＇five-glass＇ test （four-glass plus post-VB3 semen culture）. The ＇five-glass＇ test showed 3.6- or 6.5-fold increases in relative sensitivity and lesser reductions （-13.2% or -14.7%） in relative specificity for traditional uropathogens （TUs） compared with the four-glass or two-glass test, respectively. The area under the ROC curve and Jouden＇s index were increased, whereas positive and negative likelihood ratios were lower than comparators, indicating that the ＇five-glass＇ assay may be superior in confirming the negative outcome of both standard tests. The five-, four-, and two-glass tests detected TUs （Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococci, etc.） in 120, 33, and 20 patients and unusual pathogens （Streptococci, other Gram-positive species, Mycoplasmata, and others） in 130, 56, and 45 patients, respectively. When patients were subjected to pharmacological treatment, including a combination of a fluoroquinolone and a macrolide, no differences in eradication rates were observed between groups diagnosed with different tests, irrespective of pathogen category. Eradication was associated with long-term sign/symptom remission; no significant intergroup differences in sign/symptom scores were observed throughout a 24-month off-therapy follow-up period. In conclusion, our data support the usefulness of semen analysis in the diagnostic workup ofprostatitis patients when this test is used to complement the four-glass Meares and Stamey test. Improvement of microbiological assays conveys important diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

Increased serotonin concentration and tryptophan hydroxylase activity in reproductive organs of copulator males:a case of adaptive plasticity

Individual male rats may systematically display or not copulatory behavior when paired with receptive females. Although these phenotypes are associated with differences in brain organization and function, they might also do so at the level of the reproductive organs. We then used high performance liquid chromatography to quantify serotonin concentration and the activity of tryptophan hydroxylase in the reproductive organs of copulator and non-copulator males. Sexual behavior display was compared between groups and parameters of fertility and reproductive fitness were determined for copulator males. Copulator males had higher concentrations of serotonin in the epididymis, testicle and ventral prostate than their non-copulator counterparts, as it was found for epididymal and testicular tryptophan hydroxylase activity. However, preliminary data shows that serotonin elevation occurs in copulator males only until they have accumulated several sexual encounters, so it might be a response to genital gratification or sexual rewarding. Interestingly, only epididymal serotonin concentration correlated with reproductive fitness, offspring number, mating success and seminal plug volume in copulator males. Our results support that copulator and non-copulator male rats feature a phenotype-specific serotoninergic tone in the epididymis, testicle and ventral prostate gland. The observation documenting that epididymal serotonin concentration correlated with parameters that monitor male fertility and reproductive fitness in copulator males predicts that epididymal factors increase their chances of parenting offspring.

Studies on the anti-aging properties of bovine whey supplementation on reproductive hormonal profiles and sperm structure and function of adult and senile rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate how well whey might protect against aging related alterations in sperm structure,seminal and antioxidant enzymes and serum hormonal profiles.Male Wistar albino rats aged 8 and 30-months were divided into two primary groups with or without whey supplementation(n=8).After the experiments of whey supplementation,the rats were euthanized,blood was collected,and serum was separated.Sperm ultrastructure and flow cytometry of annexin-V and mitochondrial membrane potential were carried out.Seminal antioxidant and malondialdehyde concentrations were determined.Serum hormonal profiles of testosterone,growth(GH),follicle stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone(LH)and thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH)as well as pituitary gland ultrastructure were investigated.Results showed that whey supplementation improved the structure and function of sperm and seminal fluid as well as the serum hormonal levels of adult.In aged rats,whey supplementation increased the serum levels of GH,FSH,LH and TSH as well as seminal superoxide dismutase.Whey supplementation also caused reduction of seminal alkaline and acid phosphatases and lipid peroxidation in aged rat compared to that in adult ones.They also improved sperm motility and viability but reduced sperm abnormalities by increasing sperm mitochondrial membrane potential and lowering annexin v levels.In conclusion,whey contains antioxidant components that alleviated oxidative stress involved in damaging sperm macromolecules during aging process.