Decline in sperm count in European men during the past 50 years

Purpose:

To investigate whether the sperm concentration of European men is deteriorating over the past 50 years of time.

Materials and Methods:

We analysed the data published in English language articles in the past 50 years in altering sperm concentration in European men.

Results:

A time-dependent decline of sperm concentration ( r = −0.307, p = 0.02) in the last 50 years and an overall 32.5% decrease in mean sperm concentration was noted.

Conclusion:

This comprehensive, evidence-based meta-analysis concisely presents the evidence of decreased sperm concentration in European male over the past 50 years to serve the scientific research zone related to male reproductive health.

The Disappearing Sperms: Analysis of Reports Published Between 1980 and 2015

Reports regarding the changes in sperm concentration in different counties of the world are inconsistent. Furthermore, the reports that sprung up from specific epidemiological and experimental examinations did not include data of prior studies or geographical variations. The current study, following a previous report of massive fall in semen volume over the past 33 years, attempts to delineate the trend of altering sperm concentrations and factors responsible for this by reviewing article published from 1980 to July 2015 with geographic differences. The current study identified an overall 57% diminution in mean sperm concentration over the past 35 years ( r = -.313, p = .0002), which, when analyzed for each geographical region, identified a significant decline in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. An increasing trend of sperm concentration was identified only in Australia. The association of male age with such a trend ( R² = .979) is reported. The authors also correlated male fertility with sperm concentration. Thus, this comprehensive, evidence-based literature review aims to concisely and systematically present the available data on sperm concentration from 1980 to 2015, as well as to statistically analyze the same and correlate male health with the declining pattern of sperm count in a single scientific review to serve the scientific research zone related to reproductive health. It points to the threat of male infertility in times ahead.

Pulsatile LHRH therapy in patients with oligozoospermia and disturbed LH pulsatility

Pulsatile administration of LHRH can drive the pituitary to secrete LH and FSH in a pattern that closely mimics the physiological pattern of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. As there is evidence that infertility in some men is due to dysfunction of this axis, 14 men with reported infertility of more than 2 years duration were treated by long-term pulsatile LHRH therapy. They were 24-42 years of age, with variable degrees of oligozoospermia, elevated FSH levels but normal LH and testosterone levels. The number of endogenous LH pulses/24 h was less than eight in all 14 subjects. The degree of testicular damage was assessed semi-thin sections prepared from biopsies of both testes. Scores for spermatogonia per seminiferous tubule (SPT) were calculated from the actual number of Ad-spermatogonia/tubule. Patients were grouped according to sperm density and SPT score (groups I-III). Pulsatile LHRH therapy was administered by means of a portable infusion pump; 4 micrograms LHRH were administered subcutaneously every 120 min for a period of 6 months. This treatment restored the normal pattern of LH secretion to 12 LH pulses/24 h in all patients. A statistically significant decrease of mean FSH levels to normal, and an increase of mean LH levels was observed in most of the 14 patients. Testosterone values did not change in any group. Marked improvement of the sperm count was observed in eight out of 14 patients (groups I and II) and three pregnancies were reported during the treatment periods. These results suggest that some states of male infertility are due to hormonal dysregulation and that these patients may benefit from pulsatile LHRH therapy.

Pulsatile luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone treatment of male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) secretion from the hypothalamus follows a rhythmic pattern, inducing pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion from the pituitary gland. Consideration of this physiologic principle led to the introduction of pulsatile LH-RH therapy via infusion pump for the treatment of different forms of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. We report on 10 male patients, 16 to 28 years of age, suffering from idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) including Kallman's syndrome (n = 2) and delayed puberty (n = 2). All presented with complete eunuchoidism and had undergone no treatment for their conditions during the previous 2 years. LH-RH was administered in subcutaneous pulses of 4 to 16 micrograms, with a portable infusion pump (ZYKLOMAT, Ferring Corp., Kiel, FRG); treatment periods ranged from 6 to 24 months. With therapy, the subjects improved secretion of LH, FSH and testosterone. Testicular volumes and penis size increased; all patients developed normal secondary sexual characteristics. Spermatogenesis was induced in all patients. The time to onset of spermatogenesis ranged from 3 to 15 months. No major side effects were observed, and no patient dropped out of the study. The results indicate that pulsatile LH-RH therapy is an highly effective treatment for IHH and delayed puberty.

Clinical microdose study of gossypol: effect on sperm motility and renal function

This study is part of a series designed to identify the smallest effective gossypol dose for male fertility control. Three men, aged 31-35 years, were administered gossypol, 10 mg/day, orally for 3 months. Urinalysis and assays for plasma hormone values, including cortisol, beta 2-microglobulin, potassium, and BUN, showed no changes during treatment. Forward sperm motility, however, was severely affected by the end of the treatment period (less than 4% forward motility). Sperm density also showed a marked decrease. The subjects developed no undue side effects.

Phthalate esters and semen quality parameters

Analysis of reports in the world's literature suggests that average sperm densities for groups of unselected males were relatively constant at about 108 million cells per ml prior to 1950. Subsequent to that time mean sperm densities appear to have declined. Regression analysis indicates the existence of significant negative correlations between mean sperm densities and production of synthetic organic chemicals among other parameters. Phthalate esters are one class of large volume organic chemicals that are known to disturb testicular function in laboratory animals. These compounds are also the most abundant man-made chemicals in the environment. Plots of the concentration of dibutylphthalate in the cellular fraction of ejaculates against either the sperm density or the total number of sperm for the same ejaculates gave two clusters of points. These clusters suggest the existence of two or more populations vis à vis phthalate metabolism; both of which show a negative correlation between phthalate concentration and sperm production.