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Zhang G, Zhi W, Ye F, Xiong D, Zhang Y, Liu F, Zhao Y, Du X, Wu Y, Hou M, Liu J, Wei J, Silang Y, Xu W, Zeng J, Chen S, Liu W. Systematic analyses of the factors influencing sperm quality in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8132. [PMID: 38584153 PMCID: PMC10999436 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58797-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
To figure out how does SARS-CoV-2 affect sperm parameters and what influencing factors affect the recovery of sperm quality after infection? We conducted a prospective cohort study and initially included 122 men with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The longest time to track semen quality after infection is 112 days and 58 eligible patients were included in our study eventually. We subsequently exploited a linear mixed-effects model to statistically analyze their semen parameters at different time points before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Semen parameters were significantly reduced after SARS-CoV-2 infection, including total sperm count (211 [147; 347] to 167 [65.0; 258], P < 0.001), sperm concentration (69.0 [38.8; 97.0] to 51.0 [25.5; 71.5], P < 0.001), total sperm motility (57.5 [52.3; 65.0] to 51.0 [38.5; 56.8], P < 0.001), progressive motility (50.0 [46.2; 58.0] to 45.0 [31.5; 52.8], P < 0.001). The parameters displayed the greatest diminution within 30 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection, gradually recovered thereafter, and exhibited no significant difference after 90 days compared with prior to COVID-19 infection. In addition, the patients in the group with a low-grade fever showed a declining tendency in semen parameters, but not to a significant degree, whereas those men with a moderate or high fever produced a significant drop in the same parameters. Semen parameters were significantly reduced after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and fever severity during SARS-CoV-2 infection may constitute the main influencing factor in reducing semen parameters in patients after recovery, but the effect is reversible and the semen parameters gradually return to normal with the realization of a new spermatogenic cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guohui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study and the Center for Medical Genetics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Weiwei Zhi
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Fei Ye
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Dongsheng Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Yanan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Fulin Liu
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study and the Center for Medical Genetics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Yuhong Zhao
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500, China
| | - Xinrong Du
- Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China
| | - Yang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Mingxia Hou
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Jiu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Jiajing Wei
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Yangzhong Silang
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China
| | - Wenming Xu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Joint Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine (SCU-CUHK), Key Laboratory of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Pediatric Diseases and Birth Defects of Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Jiuzhi Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China.
| | - Shiqi Chen
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China.
| | - Weixin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, 610045, China.
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Zeginiadou T, Symeonidis EN, Symeonidis A, Vakalopoulos I. SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) and male fertility: Something we should be worried about? Urologia 2023; 90:726-734. [PMID: 37278004 PMCID: PMC10247691 DOI: 10.1177/03915603231175941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
As of 2021, roughly 5 million deaths were linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection based on World Health Organization estimates. The pandemic takes its staggering death toll, severely affecting the healthcare systems and leading to detrimental implications globally. While the severe impact on the respiratory system is well-established, the exact effect on male reproduction is still largely uncharted territory. When it comes to gender, men appear more vulnerable compared to women. Increasing evidence suggests that COVID-19 adversely affects spermatogenesis and hormonal balance in diverse ways. Semen parameters seem to be compromised at least temporarily, while long-term worsening needs to be clarified in studies with extended follow-up. For the time being, no data support the adverse effect of COVID-19 vaccines on a male's reproductive health. In the present article, we examine the available literature and briefly discuss the impact of the virus on reproduction and fertility. We further provide a comprehensive overview of the current status of vaccination and its potential effect on male fertility. Ultimately, we address the need for future well-designed large-scale trials before drawing definite conclusions on the exact impact of the virus on a male's fecundity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Evangelos N Symeonidis
- 1st Department of Urology, Aristotle University, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Asterios Symeonidis
- 1st Department of Urology, Aristotle University, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis Vakalopoulos
- 1st Department of Urology, Aristotle University, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Khanna NN, Maindarkar M, Saxena A, Ahluwalia P, Paul S, Srivastava SK, Cuadrado-Godia E, Sharma A, Omerzu T, Saba L, Mavrogeni S, Turk M, Laird JR, Kitas GD, Fatemi M, Barqawi AB, Miner M, Singh IM, Johri A, Kalra MM, Agarwal V, Paraskevas KI, Teji JS, Fouda MM, Pareek G, Suri JS. Cardiovascular/Stroke Risk Assessment in Patients with Erectile Dysfunction-A Role of Carotid Wall Arterial Imaging and Plaque Tissue Characterization Using Artificial Intelligence Paradigm: A Narrative Review. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:1249. [PMID: 35626404 PMCID: PMC9141739 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12051249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The role of erectile dysfunction (ED) has recently shown an association with the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) via the atherosclerotic pathway. Cardiovascular disease (CVD)/stroke risk has been widely understood with the help of carotid artery disease (CTAD), a surrogate biomarker for CHD. The proposed study emphasizes artificial intelligence-based frameworks such as machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) that can accurately predict the severity of CVD/stroke risk using carotid wall arterial imaging in ED patients. METHODS Using the PRISMA model, 231 of the best studies were selected. The proposed study mainly consists of two components: (i) the pathophysiology of ED and its link with coronary artery disease (COAD) and CHD in the ED framework and (ii) the ultrasonic-image morphological changes in the carotid arterial walls by quantifying the wall parameters and the characterization of the wall tissue by adapting the ML/DL-based methods, both for the prediction of the severity of CVD risk. The proposed study analyzes the hypothesis that ML/DL can lead to an accurate and early diagnosis of the CVD/stroke risk in ED patients. Our finding suggests that the routine ED patient practice can be amended for ML/DL-based CVD/stroke risk assessment using carotid wall arterial imaging leading to fast, reliable, and accurate CVD/stroke risk stratification. SUMMARY We conclude that ML and DL methods are very powerful tools for the characterization of CVD/stroke in patients with varying ED conditions. We anticipate a rapid growth of these tools for early and better CVD/stroke risk management in ED patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narendra N. Khanna
- Department of Cardiology, Indraprastha APOLLO Hospitals, New Delhi 110076, India;
| | - Mahesh Maindarkar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, India; (M.M.); (S.P.)
- Stroke Monitoring and Diagnostic Division, AtheroPoint, Roseville, CA 95661, USA;
| | - Ajit Saxena
- Department of Urology, Indraprastha APOLLO Hospitals, New Delhi 110076, India;
| | - Puneet Ahluwalia
- Max Institute of Cancer Care, Max Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi 110017, India;
| | - Sudip Paul
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, India; (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Saurabh K. Srivastava
- College of Computing Sciences and IT, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad 244001, India;
| | - Elisa Cuadrado-Godia
- Department of Neurology, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Aditya Sharma
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA;
| | - Tomaz Omerzu
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia; (T.O.); (M.T.)
| | - Luca Saba
- Department of Radiology, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy;
| | - Sophie Mavrogeni
- Cardiology Clinic, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre, 176 74 Athens, Greece;
| | - Monika Turk
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia; (T.O.); (M.T.)
| | - John R. Laird
- Heart and Vascular Institute, Adventist Health St. Helena, St. Helena, CA 94574, USA;
| | - George D. Kitas
- Academic Affairs, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley DY1 2HQ, UK;
- Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Unit, Manchester University, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Mostafa Fatemi
- Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, NY 55905, USA;
| | - Al Baha Barqawi
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA;
| | - Martin Miner
- Men’s Health Centre, Miriam Hospital Providence, Providence, RI 02906, USA;
| | - Inder M. Singh
- Stroke Monitoring and Diagnostic Division, AtheroPoint, Roseville, CA 95661, USA;
| | - Amer Johri
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada;
| | | | - Vikas Agarwal
- Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226014, India;
| | - Kosmas I. Paraskevas
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Central Clinic of Athens, 106 80 Athens, Greece;
| | - Jagjit S. Teji
- Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60611, USA;
| | - Mostafa M. Fouda
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA;
| | - Gyan Pareek
- Minimally Invasive Urology Institute, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA;
| | - Jasjit S. Suri
- Stroke Monitoring and Diagnostic Division, AtheroPoint, Roseville, CA 95661, USA;
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Tip of the iceberg: erectile dysfunction and COVID-19. Int J Impot Res 2022; 34:152-157. [PMID: 35152276 PMCID: PMC8853253 DOI: 10.1038/s41443-022-00540-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 caused the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that resulted in more than 150 million infections and 3.5 million deaths globally. COVID-19 affected men more than women, emerging with more severe disease and higher mortality rates. Androgens may be responsible for the underlying reason of more severe disease, as androgen receptors have been implicated to mediate viral cell entry and infection. Besides, male reproductive organs have been reported to be affected by the especially severe disease, resulting in erectile dysfunction (ED). In this narrative review, we aimed to gather possible mechanisms of the development of ED led by COVID-19. Current evidence illuminates endothelial dysfunction, direct testicular damage, and the psychological burden of COVID-19 that are of the pathways of ED. Although the proposed underlying mechanisms partly fail to answer the questions by which COVID-19 leads to ED, it is important to monitor men who recovered from COVID-19 regarding the sexual dysfunction sequelae of infection and address the long‐term consequences.
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