Morphometric and biochemical evaluation of rat prostate and seminal vesicle following chemical sympathectomy with guanethidine

Effects of altered epididymal sperm transit time on sperm quality

The epididymal sperm transit time seems to have an important role in the process of sperm maturation, and it seems that alterations to the transit can harm the process. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of altered sperm transit time through the epididymis on sperm parameters and fertility of rats, as well as the role of testosterone in the alterations. Sprague-Dawley adult male rats were randomly assigned to four different groups and were treated for 12 days: (i) 10 microg/rat/day DES, to accelerate the transit; (ii) 6.25 mg/kg/day guanethidine sulphate, to delay the transit; (iii) same treatment as group 1, plus androgen supplementation; (iv) control animals received the vehicles. Guanethidine treatment delayed the sperm transit time through the epididymal cauda, provoking increased sperm reserves in this region. Animals exposed to DES showed an acceleration of sperm transit time in the epididymis, and consequently decreased sperm density in both epididymal regions, the caput-corpus and cauda, and diminished sperm motility. In both cases sperm production was not altered. Testosterone supplementation was able to restore the transit time to values close to normality, as they were higher than in the control rats. The same occurred in relation to sperm motility. Rats exposed to DES presented lower fertility after in utero artificial insemination using sperm collected from the proximal cauda epididymis. Therefore, it was concluded that the acceleration of rat sperm transit time appeared to harm normal sperm maturation, thus decreasing sperm quality and fertility capacity, in an androgen-dependent way.

Evaluation of serum and seminal levels of prostate specific antigen in men with spinal cord injury

PURPOSE

Recent studies have used prostate specific antigen (PSA) as an indicator of prostate gland activity in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Thus, the present study was performed to determine whether SCI can induce alterations in total serum and seminal PSA, and to compare the findings obtained to those of normal men (controls).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 44 men with SCI (cases, mean age +/- SD 33.98 +/- 9.12 years) and 44 controls (mean age +/- SD 34.09 +/- 9.16 years) were studied. Blood and semen samples were collected after 3 days of abstinence from ejaculation and stored at a controlled temperature between -70 and -79C. Seminal fluid was kept at room temperature for 15 minutes before storage. The tests for determination of total serum and seminal PSA were performed using AxSYM equipment and reagents.

RESULTS

The mean total seminal PSA obtained from patients (0.609 mg/ml) was lower than the 0.773 mg/ml value obtained from controls (p = 0.0012), but the mean total serum PSA of patients (0.918 ng/ml) did not differ significantly from that obtained from controls (0.976 ng/ml, p = 0.9967).

CONCLUSIONS

SCI patients have a significant decrease in total seminal PSA but total serum PSA is not affected by this lesion.

Serum and semen prostate specific antigen concentrations are different in young spinal cord injured men compared to normal controls

PURPOSE

Recent investigations have indicated that factors within the seminal plasma may contribute to the condition of low sperm motility in men with spinal cord injury. To determine whether the prostate gland functions normally in these men we chose prostate specific antigen (PSA) as a marker of prostatic function, and compared serum and semen concentrations in spinal cord injured and healthy noninjured men.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study included 21 spinal cord injured men (mean age 33.3+/-1.2 years) and 22 noninjured normal men (mean age 30.3+/-1.5 years). Blood was obtained from subjects following at least 24 hours of abstinence from ejaculation and serum PSA was determined by modified enzyme immunoassay. Antegrade ejaculates from all subjects were frozen to -80 C, exactly 15 minutes after collection. Seminal plasma PSA was determined using Hybritech Tandem MP assay.

RESULTS

Mean serum PSA concentration was 1.20+/-0.19 ng./ml. in spinal cord injured and 0.69+/-0.07 ng./ml. in noninjured men (p<0.02). Mean seminal plasma PSA concentration was 0.59+/-0.11 mg./ml. in spinal cord injured and 1.29+/-0.15 mg./ml. in noninjured men (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings of elevated serum and decreased seminal plasma PSA concentrations indicate that prostatic secretory dysfunction is present in men with spinal cord injury.