Correlation of seminal plasma zinc alpha-2 glycoprotein with semen quality in obese males / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To investigate the relationship between seminal plasma zinc alpha-2 glycoprotein (ZAG) and semen quality in obese males.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study included 130 obese male patients with idiopathic infertility Based on the concentration of seminal plasma ZAG, we divided the patients into three tertile groups: tertile 1 (T1, 73.45－97.15 μg/ml, n = 43), T2 (97.16－115.46 μg/ml, n = 44), and T3 (115.47－220.11 μg/ml, n = 43). We measured the concentrations of seminal plasma zinc (SPZ) and ZAG of the patients by ELISA, obtained the semen parameters, and analyzed the correlation of semen quality with the levels of SPZ and ZAG and the influence of obesity on SPZ, ZAG and semen quality.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean level of seminal plasma ZAG in the 130 obese male patients was (111.29 ± 26.50) μg/ml. There were statistically significant differences in sperm concentration and total sperm count among the three tertile groups (P < 0.05). The level of seminal plasma ZAG was correlated negatively with the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), sperm concentration and sperm count (P < 0.01), that of SPZ positively with BMI and WC (P < 0.05) but negatively with semen volume and the percentage of progressively motile sperm (P < 0.05). The level of serum ZAG, however, exhibited no correlation with SPZ, seminal plasma ZAG or semen quality. Obesity was found to be associated with significantly decreased concentration of seminal plasma ZAG and percentage of progressively motile sperm but remarkably increased level of SPZ (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Obesity may induce the metabolic disorder of SPZ and ZAG, change the microenvironment of seminal plasma, and consequently affect semen quality.</p>

Correlation of reproductive hormone levels and seminal plasma oxidative stress with semen quality in obese males / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To investigate the correlation of the levels of reproductive hormones and oxidative stress in the seminal plasma with semen parameters in obese males.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Based on the body mass index (BMI), we divided 138 infertile men into three groups: normal (BMI <24 kg/m2, n = 48), overweight (24 kg/m2≤BMI<28 kg/m2, n = 47), and obesity (BMI ≥28 kg/m2, n = 43). We determined the concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteotropic hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) in the serum by electrochemiluminescence and measured the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the seminal plasma by ELISA, compared the above indexes among the three groups, and analyzed their correlation with the semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, and percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The semen volume was significantly lower in the obesity than in the normal group (［2.63 ± 0.74］ vs ［3.37 ± 1.00］ ml, P < 0.05), and so was the percentage of PMS in the overweight and even lower in the obesity than in the normal group (［47.91 ± 12.89］ and ［41.27 ± 15.77］ vs ［54.04 ± 13.29］%, P < 0.05). Compared with the normal group, both the overweight and obesity groups showed markedly decreased levels of serum T (［4.83 ± 1.42］ vs ［3.71 ± 1.22］ and ［3.49 ± 1.12］ ng/ml, P<0.05), T/LH ratio (1.53 ± 0.57 vs 1.19 ± 0.54 and 0.97 ± 0.51, P<0.05), SOD (［112.05 ± 10.54］ vs ［105.85 ± 6.93］ and ［99.33 ± 8.39］ U/ml, P<0.05), and GSTs (［31.75±6.03］ vs ［29.54±5.78］ and ［29.02±4.52］ U/L, P<0.05), but remarkably increased seminal plasma ROS (［549.93±82.41］ vs ［620.61±96.13］ and ［701.47±110.60］ IU/ml, P<0.05) and MDA (［7.46 ± 2.13］ vs ［8.72 ± 1.89］ and ［10.47 ± 2.10］ nmol/L, P<0.05). BMI was correlated positively with ROS and MDA, but negatively with the semen volume, PMS, T, T/LH, SOD and GSTs (P<0.05); LH negatively with sperm concentration, total sperm count and GSTs (P<0.05); PRL negatively GSTs (P<0.05); E2 positively with SOD (P<0.05); T positively with SOD (P<0.05) but negatively with MDA (P<0.05); T/LH positively with PMS and SOD (P<0.05) but negatively with ROS and MDA (P<0.05); SOD positively with semen volume, PMS and GSTs (P<0.05) but negatively with ROS and MDA (P<0.05); GSTs negatively with sperm concentration; total sperm count and MDA (P<0.05); ROS positively with MDA (P<0.01) but negatively with PMS (P<0.05); and MDA negatively with semen volume (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the independent factors influencing the semen volume were BMI and GSTs, those influencing the total sperm count were BMI and T, and those influencing PMS were BMI and MDA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Increased BMI induces changes in the levels of male reproductive hormones and seminal plasma oxidative stress and affects semen quality, which may be associated with male infertility.</p>

Correlation of insulin resistance with male reproductive hormone levels and semen parameters / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To investigate the influence of insulin resistance on male reproductive hormones and semen quality.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using the electrochemiluminescence method, we measured the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) in the serum of 83 infertile males. We detected the levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin (FINS) and calculated the insulin resistance index presented as homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Based on HOMA-IR, we divided the patients into three tertile groups, T1 (HOMA-IR 0.36－0.55, n = 27), T2 (HOMA-IR 0.56－0.80, n = 28) and T3 (HOMA-IR 0.81－1.97, n = 28), obtained their semen parameters by computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) and analyzed the correlation of HOMA-IR with male reproductive hormone levels and semen parameters.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>With the elevation of HOMA-IR, the patients of the T1, T2 and T3 groups showed significant decreases in the serum T level (［14,26 ± 4.27］ vs ［14.75 ± 5.00］ vs ［11.62 ± 3.68］ nmol/L, P <0.05) and the percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS) (［51.04 ± 15.10］% vs ［48.04 ± 16.24］% vs ［37.84 ± 18.23］%, P <0.05). HOMA-IR was correlated negatively with the serum T level (r = －0.333, P = 0.002), semen volume (r = －0.23, P = 0.029) and PMS (r = －0.27, P = 0.015), and so was FINS with the serum T level (r = －0.327, P = 0.003) and PMS (r = －0.315, P = 0.004), while the semen volume was correlated positively with the levels of serum T (r = 0.221, P = 0.048) and FSH (r = 0.222, P = 0.047). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that HOMA-IR was an independent influencing factor for PMS and the body mass index (BMI) was that for the semen volume and total sperm count.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Insulin resistance may reduce semen quality by changing the levels of male reproductive hormones.</p>

Personality characteristics and blood Lipid levels in Infertility patients with depression / 医学研究生学报

Objective To discuss the personality characteristics and blood lipid levels in patients with infertility and depression,and further analyze the relationship between the degree of depression and the two aspects.Methods We selected 190 infertility patients and they were tested with Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS) in Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology from December,2015 to December,2016.All the patients were allocated into depression group (with depression symptom) and non-depression group (without depression symptom).Blood lipid levels,including triglycerides (TG),total cholesterol(TC),low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ) was applied to evaluate the personality traits in both groups.Results The patients in the depression group were mainly mild-to-moderate depression accouting for 64.4％,and patients with moderate to severe depression accouted for approximately 30.0％.The levels of TG and TC of patients in the depression group were significantly higher than those in the non-depression group(P＜0.01).The scores of neuroticism(N),validity scale(L) and psychoticism(P) of patients in the depression group were significantly higher than those in the non-depression group,while there was no significant difference in exextraversion (E) between the two groups.TG,E dimension,P dimension and L dimension were effective predictors of depression in infertile patients,and the Beta coefficient were 0.199,-0.240,0.424 and 0.220.Pearson partial correlation analysis showed that TG was positively correlated with P,N and L dimensions.Conclusion Infertility patients with depression may have dyslipidemia and personality changes.The degree of depression is positively correlated to the level of TG and the score of P and N.

Metabonomics in the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility / 中华男科学杂志

Metabonomics is an emerging branch of science for the study of endogenous small molecule metabolites in organisms, which plays an important role in evaluatingthediagnosis and treatment of male infertility by exploring the metabolites of body fluids, cells and tissues. With its advantages ofmass information, noninvasiveness, and celerity, metabonomics will be widely applied to clinical researches in the future. This review introducesmetabonomics and its analytical techniques and data processing procedures,its latest application in the studies of the etiology, diagnosis and the treatment of male infertility, and the prospect of its future application in the researches of male reproduction.

Correlation of semen parameters with inflammatory factors in the seminal plasma of obese males / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the influence of inflammatory factors on semen parameters in the seminal plasma of obese men.@*METHODS@#Based on the body mass index (BMI), 171 males were divided into a normal group (BMI 0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 are increased and that of VEGF decreased in the seminal plasma of obese males, which may affect the semen quality.

Correlation of serum zinc alpha 2 glycoprotein with blood lipid and reproductive hormone levels in men / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To study the changes of the serum zinc alpha 2 glycoprotein (ZAG) level in men and its relationship with blood lipid male reproductive hormones.@*METHODS@#We enrolled 297 men aged 25－ 65 years in this study, 152 with hyperlipemia (HL) and the other 145 with normal blood lipid (normal control). We divided them into four age groups (25－35 yr, 36－45 yr, 46－55 yr, and 56－65 yr) and three tertile groups (Q1, Q2, and Q3) according to the tertiles of the serum ZAG level, and examined their blood lipid, blood glucose, serum ZAG, and reproductive hormones.@*RESULTS@#The serum ZAG level was decreased gradually with the increase of age in both the HL patients and normal controls, significantly in the 36－45 and 56－65 yr age groups (P <0.05), and markedly lower in the HL than in the control men in the 25－35 and 36－45 yr groups (P <0.05). The levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and total testosterone (TT) changed significantly with the ZAG level. The level of serum ZAG was correlated negatively with age (r = －0.58, P<0.05), waist circumference (r = －0.21, P <0.05), body mass index (BMI) (r = －0.22, P <0.05), fasting blood glucose (r = －0.16, P <0.05) , and triglyceride (TG) (r = －0.27, P <0.05) but positively with TT (r = 0.36, P <0.05). Age, BMI and TG were independent factors influencing the serum ZAG level.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The serum ZAG level is decreased with the increase of age and associated with lipid metabolism, abdominal obesity, and reproductive hormone levels in males.

Analysis of serum reproductive hormone levels in men with hyperlipemia in the urban area of Shijiazhuang / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To investigate the aging-related changes of reproductive hormones in hyperlipemia men in the urban area of Shijiazhuang and the relationship between the levels of reproductive hormones and that of blood lipid.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We enrolled 297 males aged 25－65 years in this study, determined the levels of serum total testosterone (TT), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2), prolactin (PRL), triglyeride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and fasting blood glucose (FBG), and compared the parameters among different age groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The level of serum TT was decreased while that of FSH increased significantly in the 36－45 years group and that of LH elevated only in the 56－65 years old hyperlipemia males(P<0.05). No statistically significant changes were observed in PRL and E2 among different age groups. Spearman correlation analysis manifested that age was correlated negatively with TT, FSH, and LH (r=－0.266, 0.514, and 0.350, P<0.05), TT weakly negatively with TC and TG (r=－0.215 and －0.286, P<0.05) but weakly positively with HDL-C (r=0.281, P<0.01), and FSH and LH weakly positively with TG (r=0.282 and 0.343, P<0.05). Regression analysis showed age to be an independent influencing factor of TT, FSH and LH, while HDL-C to be that of TT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The levels of serum TT and FSH gradually change with aging and low TT and high FSH and LH are closely related to hyperlipemia in adult men.</p>

Study of relative mechanism of the disorder of learning and memory in lead exposure rats / 临床神经病学杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between the disorder of learning and memory in lead rats and the argnine vasopressin (AVP) and the somatotatin (SS) of hippocampus.Methods Sixty healthy 2-month old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group and lead group. Normal control group was given deionized water and the lead group was given 0.1% lead acetate deionized water for 3 months to make chronic lead rat. Learning and memory ability was tested by the Y-maze test. The content of AVP and SS in hippocampus were tested by the immunohistochemical method. Results The learning memory ability and the content of AVP and SS in hippocampus CA1 section of the lead group were degraded obviously than the control group(all P0.05)in hippocampus CA3 section of the lead group were degraded also.Conclusion The disorder of the learning and memory of the lead exposure rats may be due to the decrease of the content of AVP and SS in hippocampus.