Assessment of seminal plasma laminin in fertile and infertile men / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>AIM</b>To assess laminin levels in the seminal plasma of infertile and fertile men, and to analyze the correlation of laminin levels with sperm count, age, sperm motility and semen volume.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty-five recruited men were equally divided into five groups according to their sperm concentration and clinical examination: fertile normozoospermia, oligoasthenozoospermia, non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), obstructive azoospermia (OA) and congenital bilateral absent vas deferens (CBAVD). The patients' medical history was investigated and patients underwent clinical examination, conventional semen analysis and estimation of seminal plasma laminin by radioimmunoassay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Seminal plasma laminin levels of successive groups were: 2.82 +/- 0.62, 2.49 +/- 0.44, 1.77 +/- 0.56, 1.72 +/- 0.76, 1.35 +/- 0.63 U/mL, respectively. The fertile normozoospermic group showed the highest concentration compared to all infertile groups with significant differences compared to azoospermic groups (P<0.05). Testicular contribution was estimated to be approximately one-third of the seminal laminin. Seminal plasma laminin demonstrated significant correlation with sperm concentration (r = 0.460, P < 0.001) and nonsignificant correlation with age (r = 0.021, P = 0.940), sperm motility percentage (r = 0.142, P = 0.615) and semen volume (r = 0.035, P = 0.087).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Seminal plasma laminin is derived mostly from prostatic and testicular portions and minimally from the seminal vesicle and vas deferens. Estimating seminal laminin alone is not conclusive in diagnosing different cases of male infertility.</p>

Postradiotherapy erectile dysfunction in patients with prostate cancer: prospective study of sildenafil treatment of 31 patients

Out of 35 patients, 31 assessable ones participated in this prospective study. Using a 25-point scale based on the International Index of Sexual Function, erectile dysfunction was assessed weekly; during this time, the patients received sildenafil 50 mg orally once a week for eight consecutive weeks. The response was defined as a score of 18 or more corresponding to at least one successful attempt at sexual intercourse per week. It was concluded that oral sildenafil is safe, well-tolerated and can reverse erectile dysfunction after radiotherapy in a substantial proportion of the prostate cancer patients