Andrology
Growth hormone (GH) and insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) receptors are present on pituitary gonadotrophs and on testicular Leydig and Sertoli cells. Thus, the GH/IGF‐I system may modulate the pituitary‐gonadal axis in males. This is a randomized cross‐over study. Eight healthy male volunteers (mean age 35, range 29–46 years) were treated with GH for 3 weeks (1st week 0.01, 2nd week 0.02, 3rd week...
Osteocalcin (OC) – released by osteoblasts and known as a marker of bone turnover – has been suggested to influence male fertility in murine models by enhancing testosterone production and sperm count. Results from clinical studies are scarce, however. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate the proposed association of OC, undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) or carboxylated osteocalcin...
We have previously demonstrated that the mitochondria‐derived cytoprotective peptide humanin (HN), when administered intratesticularly to rats, rescues germ cells from apoptosis secondary to testicular stress of hormonal deprivation induced by gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH‐A). To decipher the cellular mechanisms of HN action in the amelioration of GnRH‐A‐induced germ cell apoptosis,...
The decline in testosterone levels found in men with testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) is associated with a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). To study the safety profile and efficacy of testosterone treatment on BMD in patients with TDS. In this 2‐year prospective open‐label study, patients were administered 50 mg of testosterone gel daily (adjustable after 3 months up to 75–100 mg or down...
Traditional cardiovascular risk factors have been acknowledged as major contributors to sexual dysfunction in the general population. The purpose of this study was to explore their impact on sexual function in rheumatologic patients. A total of 557 consecutive rheumatologic patients, 449 females and 108 males, had their sexual function evaluated with the Female Sexual Functioning Index (FSFI) and...
Sperm agglutinating factor (SAF) isolated from Staphylococcus aureus immobilizes spermatozoa by agglutination and causes sperm death. This interaction of SAF with spermatozoa is receptor mediated and this receptor has been isolated and purified from human spermatozoa. In this study we attempt to study whether the receptor could ameliorate the detrimental effects of SAF on sperm parameters. Receptor...
Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing standardized guidelines to mitigate metabolic and bone side effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with non‐metastatic prostate cancer. We conducted a 2‐year prospective cohort study at a tertiary referral teaching hospital. Overall, 236 men (mean age 69.8 ± 7.1) commencing ADT for non‐metastatic prostate cancer attended...
Udenafil is a potent phosphodiesterase type‐5 inhibitor (PDE5) previously shown in studies conducted in populations of Eastern‐Asian ethnicity, to significantly improve sexual function, in addition to a favourable safety profile. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of udenafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), for the first time in a non‐Eastern‐Asian population...
Retrograde ejaculation (RE) and erectile dysfunction may be caused by diabetes mellitus (DM), but the prevalence of RE among DM patients is unknown. A prospective, blinded case–control study comparing men with DM with matched controls according to RE and erectile dysfunction was performed. Twenty‐seven men with DM matched the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study, and of these...
The fertility of young bulls impacts on reproduction rates, farm profit and the rate of genetic progress in beef herds. Cattle researchers and industry therefore routinely collect data on the reproductive performance of bulls. Genome‐wide association studies were carried out to identify genomic regions and genes associated with reproductive traits measured during the pubertal development of Tropical...
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a highly prevalent disease whose aetiology is mostly vasculogenic. It is nowadays considered a marker of future cardiovascular events reflecting the underlying endothelial dysfunction, the common link with the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The recent association between MetS, endothelial dysfunction and peripheral artery disease, but not with coronary artery disease (CAD),...
Hypogonadism, which is highly prevalent in men with sickle cell disease (SCD), affects quality of life and causes great morbidity. The safety of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in SCD in relation to priapism episodes is relatively unknown. Our aim was to monitor the safety of TRT in a cohort of seven hypogonadal men with SCD. Testosterone undecanoate (Nebido) 1 g was administered intramuscularly...
In the basic clinical work‐up of infertile couples, a semen analysis is mandatory and the sperm concentration is one of the most essential variables to be determined. Sperm concentration is usually assessed by manual counting using a haemocytometer and is hence labour intensive and may be subjected to investigator bias. Here we show that image cytometry can be used to accurately measure the sperm...
Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are bone marrow‐derived cells required for endothelial repair. A low EPC number can be considered as an independent predictor of endothelial dysfunction and future cardiovascular events. Recent evidence shows that patients with hypogonadal symptoms without other confounding risk factors have a low number of circulating progenitor cells (PCs) and EPCs,...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the seminal 8‐Isoprostane, reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in subjects with different level of physical fitness. A total of 161 semen samples were obtained from three groups of healthy males, including elite athletes (23.8 ± 5.2 years, n = 56) who had regular training...
The pharmacological treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) is mainly represented by the administration of inhibitors of phosphodiesterase‐5 (PDE5). However, in the clinical practice many patients do not benefit from such a treatment, hence the scientific interest extends to other therapeutic strategies; in particular, to the vascular regenerative therapy. This review describes the main acquisitions...
It has been previously shown that men with chromosomal structural abnormality had a higher rate of sperm DNA fragmentation. We studied 11 male carriers of a chromosomal structural abnormality (seven with a balanced reciprocal translocation, three with a Robertsonian translocation, one with a pericentric inversion) to determine whether spermatozoa with unbalanced chromosomes were more likely to have...
Recent studies have shown associations of aberrant DNA methylation in spermatozoa with idiopathic infertility. The analysis of DNA methylation of specific genes could therefore serve as a valuable diagnostic marker in clinical andrology. For this purpose, rapid and reliable detection methods, reference values and the temporal stability of spermatozoal DNA methylation need to be established and demonstrated...
Sperm cryopreservation is widely used in clinic for insemination, in vitro fertilization and other procedures such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The assessment after freezing/thawing of spermatozoa viability, motility and sometimes DNA integrity (mainly using fragmentation assays) has been considered enough to guarantee the safety and effectiveness of the technique. However, it is known that,...