Alteración de la fertilidad masculina por hiperplasia suprarrenal congénita: Azoospermia reversible con terapia de glucocorticoide / Congenital adrenal hyperplasia causing male infertility: Report of one case

In males, congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21 hydroxylase deficiency is associated to normal fertility or infertility caused by a hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH) or gonadal damage caused by intratesticular adrenal remnants. We report a 29-year-old male with azoospermia, without any important personal or family background. Physical examination was normal, his height was 150 cm and his testicular volume was 10 ml (normal 15 to 25 ml). Laboratory showed a normal testosterone and FSH and LH in the low normal limit. These results discarded a HH, whose diagnostic requirements are a low testosterone and inadequately normal or low gonadotrophins. A testicular biopsy was informed as compatible with HH. A 21 hydroxylase deficiency was suspected and confirmed with extremely high levels of 17 hydroxyprogesterone at baseline and after stimulation with fast acting ACTH. Clomiphene citrate did not increase testosterone or gonatrophin levels. Testicular ultrasound discarded the presence of adrenal nodules. Betametasone therapy resulted in a normal testicular development, normalization of sperm count, reduction of 17 hydroxyprogesterone and testosterone levels with an ulterior rise of the latter. Spontaneous paternity was achieved twice. It must be remembered that in cases of azoospermia due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia, testosterone produced by adrenal glands hinders the laboratory diagnosis of HH.

Terapia médica de la ginecomastia con tamoxifeno. Influencia del volumen y duración de la ginecomastia en el resultado terapéutico / Influence of size and duration of gynecomastia on its response to treatment with tamoxifen

Background. Gynecomastia is treated when it is painful, there are psychosocial repercussions or it does not revert in less tan two years. It is treated with the antiestrogenic drug tamoxifen, but there are doubts about its effectiveness in high volume gynecomastias or in those lasting more than two years. Aim. To assess the effectiveness and safety of tamoxifen for gynecomastia and the influence of its volume and duration on the response to treatment. Patients and methods. Forty three patients with gynecomastia, aged 12 to 62 years, were studied. Twenty seven patients had a pubertal physiological gynecomastia, in eight it was caused by medications, in four it was secondary to hypogonadism, in three it was idiopathic and in one it was due to toxic exposure. Twenty patients had mastodynia and in 33, gynecomastia had a diameter over 4 cm. It lasted less than two years in 30 patients, more than two years in nine and four did not recall its duration. All were treated with tamoxifen 20 mg/dayfor 6 months. A follow up evaluation was performed at three and six months of treatment. Results. Mastodynia disappeared in all patients at three months. At six months gynecomastia disappeared in 26 patients (62 percent), but relapsed in 27 percent. All gynecomastias caused by drugs with antiandrogen activity disappeared. Fifty two percent of gynecomastias over 4 cm and 90 percent of those of less than 4 cm in diameter disappeared (p<0.05). Fifty six percent of gynecomastias lasting more than two years and 70 percent of those of a shorter duration disappeared (p=NS). Two patients had diarrhea or flushes associated to the therapy. Conclusions: Tamoxifen is safe and effective for the treatment of gynecomastia. Larger lesions have a lower response to treatment.

Aumento del daño en el ADN y estrés oxidativo en espermatozoides de pacientes con oligozoospermia idiopática y antecedentes de criptorquidismo / Extent of sperm DNA damage in spermatozoa from men examined for infertility. Relationship with oxidative stress

Background: Cryptorchidism and oligozoospermia are clinical conditions closely associated with impaired fertility. Oxidative stress and related sperm DNA damage have been identified as significant causes of male infertility. Aim: To determine the extent of sperm nuclear DNA damage in patients affected with idiopathic oligozoospermia or undescended testes and to examine its relationship with oxidative stress. Patients and methods: We studied 20 patients with idiopathic oligozoospermia and 18 with undescended testes (who previously underwent orchiopexy) and 25 normozoospermic healthy controls. All subjects underwent semen analysis. Sperm DNA damage was evaluated by the sperm chromatin structure assay/flow cytometry (SCSA-FCM) and by the dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were assessed by a chemiluminescence assay. Results: DFI (percentage of sperm with denatured DNA) values and percentage of TUNEL positive cells were significantly greater in patients with oligozoospermia (DFI: 28.8±5.6; TUNEL+: 26.9±3.0) or cryptorchidism (DFI: 26.4±10.1; TUNEL+: 29.1±3.9), compared with controls (DFI: 7.1±0.9; TUNEL+: 14.2±1.2). Similarly, both groups of patients had significantly higher (p <0.01) levels of ROS. TAC levels did not differ between control and patient groups, suggesting that the DNA damage occurs before spermiation. Conclusions: Sperm DNA damage is significantly increased in men with idiopathic oligozoospermia and in cryptorchid subjects. The finding of increased ROS levels may indicate that seminal oxidative stress may be involved in the pathogenesis of sperm DNA damage in these patients.

Etiología de la ginecomastía: Importancia de no subdiagnosticar una ginecomastia patológica / Etiological study of gynecomastia: Results of a prospective study and recommendations

Background : Gynecomastia can be physiological or pathological. A limited study of gynecomastia is recommended during puberty and in the elderly, ages in which gynecomastia is usually considered physiological. Other authors suggest that this condition should be studied when it is painful, rapidly growing, of recent onset, when its diameter is more than 4 cm and when is associated to testicular masses. Aim: To investigate the causes of gynecomastia and to evaluate the above mentioned criteria to exclude pathological conditions. Material and methods: Prospective study of 117 patients aged 10 to 83 years, consulting for gynecomastia. All were subjected to a standardized study including a clinical examination and measurement of plasma estradiol and testosterone levels. Results: Forty one percent of gynecomastias were considered pathological and the rest, physiological. Among pathological conditions, 18 patients had an endocrine etiology (hypogonadism in ten patients, estrogen secreting tumors in three, hyperestrogenism of unknown etiology in four and peripheral resistance to androgens in one), in 17 it was secondary to medications and in 13 it was secondary to other causes (idiopathic, pesticide exposure, alcoholism, diabetes or re feeding). In 79 percent of 86 patients of less than 20 years, the condition was physiological and in four of five elderly subjects, it was pathological. Thirty nine percent of pathological gynecomastias lacked the signs and symptoms that according to authors, should prompt a thorough study. Conclusions: All patients with gynecomastia should be studied with a complete medical history and the measurement of estradiol and testosterone levels. The criteria proposed to conduct minimal studies in gynecomastia, would miss a large volume of pathological conditions.

Factores causales de infertilidad masculina: contribución del factor endocrino / Causes of male infertility: the contribution of endocrine factors

Background: Male infertility is responsible for 35 percent of infertile couples. Aim: To investigate the causes of male infertility and the relative importance of endocrine factors. Patients and methods: Patients referred to an andrology clinic due to an abnormal spermiogram were studied. A testitular examination, spermiogram and determination of FSH, LH, testosterone and prolactin were done to all. Testicular biopsy was done to patients with severe oligospermia or azoospermia. Causes of infertility were defined and classified as pretesticular, testicular, posttesticular or unclassified. Results: Two hundred fifty seven males were studied. In 3.5 percent of them, the cause of infertility was defined as pretesticular (that included hypothalamic and pituitary endocrine causes), in 66.9 percent it was classified as testicular, in 15.6 percent as posttesticular and in 14 percent, as unclassified. Thirty percent of infertility cases were idiopathic, 17.9 percent were associated to varicocele, 12.8 percent were associated to cryptorchidism, 8.9 percent to Klinefelter syndrome and 6.6 percent to exposure to toxic substances. In 50 percent of patients with cryptorchidism, this abnormality was found during the specialized andrological examination and referrals for surgical correction were made late. Two thirds of patients with Klinefelter syndrome were hypoandrogenic. Conclusions: Causes for male infertility should be investigated and diagnosed accurately. Primary hypoandrogenic testicular failures must be treated with hormone replacement therapy

Evaluación del potencial fecundante del espermatozoide humano en un programa de fertilización asistida a traves del ensayo de sobrevida espermática / Evaluation of fecundity potential of human spermatozoa in an assisted fertilization programme through the sperm survival essay

Numerosos estudios han sido desarrollados para evaluar el potencial fecundante del espermatozoide humano. En conjunto estas pruebas permiten orientar al clínico sobre la capacidad fecundante del espermatozoide. El ensayo de sobrevida espermática (ESE) ha sido definido como la capacidad del espermatozoide de mantener la motilidad en el tiempo. El objetivo de la presente comunicación es investigar la unidad del ESE como predictor de la capacidad fecundante del espermatozoide en un programa de fertilización asistida (EA). Las muestras seminales se obtuvieron de 113 pacientes que participaron en el programa de FA de nuestro Instituto. La calidad seminal se evaluó según los criterios de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (1992). Se practicó la separación espermática por swin-up, y posteriormente incubación a 37 ºC en ambiente húmedo bajo 5 por ciento de CO2 por 24 horas. Se definió el ensayo de sobrevida espermático como la razón entre la mobilidad progresiva a las 24 horas y la motilidad progresiva post swim-up, multiplicado por 100. Se destacaron dos grupos: grupo I = ESE bajo 30 por ciento y grupo II = ESE sobre mayores o igual a 31 por ciento. Se analizaron los porcentajes de fecundación, clivaje y tasas de implantación en ambos grupos. La diferencia en los porcentajes de fecundación y clivaje fueron estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos I y II. ESE por edad, mujeres bajo 35 años y sobre 36 años en los grupos I y II, destacan diferencias significativas en el porcentaje de fecundación en las mujeres bajo 35 años comparado con mujeres sobre 36 años en ambos grupos estudiados. Los valores predictivos para fecundación en el grupo I fueron: positivo 0,60, negativo 0,70, sensibilidad 0,28 y una especificidad de 0,93. Para clivaje fueron; predictivo positivo 0,47, valor predictivo negativo 0,92, sensibilidad 0,87 y especificidad 0,91. En nuestro laboratorio se plantea el uso rutinario ESE como predictor del poder fecundante espermático en los programas de FIV