ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics of the semen parameters of native Tibetans and immigrated Tibetan Hans in the high-altitude area and analyze the influence of altitude adaptation on male fertility. METHODS: This study included 1 563 infertile male patients, including 698 native Tibetans and 865 immigrated Tibetan Hans, and 56 normal fertile men, including 33 native Tibetans and 23 Tibetan Hans. We obtained semen samples from the subjects for routine semen analysis and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) examination and collected peripheral blood for determination of the reproductive hormone levels. RESULTS: In the infertile patients, the native Tibetans, as compared with the immigrated Hans, showed significantly higher incidence rates of azoospermia (5.87% vs 2.89%, P <0.05), severe oligozoospermia (3.15% vs 1.73%, P <0.05) and abnormal seminal viscosity (43.12% vs 25.89%, P<0.01), but no statistically significant differences in the percentages of normozoospermia (81.08% vs 87.39%, P >0.05), oligozoospermia (5.44% vs 3.93%, P >0.05), severe asthenozoospermia (4.44% vs 4.04%, P >0.05) or severe teratozoospermia (4.58% vs 6.59%, P >0.05). In the normal fertile men, there were no statistically significant differences between the native Tibetans and immigrated Hans in age (ï¼»32.42 ± 4.82ï¼½ vs ï¼»34.57 ± 6.01ï¼½ yr, P >0.05), sperm concentration (ï¼»143.69 ± 85.74ï¼½ vs ï¼»155.11 ± 82.56ï¼½ ×106/ml, P >0.05), straight line velocity (ï¼»25.74 ± 3.94ï¼½ vs ï¼»27.24 ± 3.46ï¼½ µm/s, P >0.05), percentage of morphologically normal sperm (ï¼»8.22 ± 4.35ï¼½ vs ï¼»7.28±2.46ï¼½ %, P >0.05), total testosterone concentration (ï¼»17.97 ± 2.98ï¼½ vs ï¼»15.72 ± 6.38ï¼½ nmol/L, P >0.05), or follicle stimulating hormone level (ï¼»5.51 ± 1.62ï¼½ vs ï¼»4.17 ± 2.08ï¼½ IU/L, P >0.05). However, the immigrated Hans, in comparison with the native Tibetans, exhibited a higher sperm motility (ï¼»79.75 ± 14.67ï¼½ vs ï¼»66.58 ± 17.21ï¼½%, P <0.05), a lower curvilinear velocity (ï¼»60.97 ± 2.71ï¼½ vs ï¼»71.14 ± 82.13ï¼½ µm/s, P <0.05) and a lower level of luteinizing hormone (ï¼»4.28 ± 1.20ï¼½ vs ï¼»5.84 ± 1.15ï¼½ IU/L, P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: During the acclimatization to the plateau hypoxia environment, the immigrated Tibetan Hans undergo adaptive changes in sperm concentration and motility and have lower incidence rates of azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia than native Tibetan males.
Subject(s)
Acclimatization/physiology , Altitude , Emigrants and Immigrants , Infertility, Male/diagnosis , Semen Analysis , Azoospermia/blood , Azoospermia/diagnosis , Azoospermia/epidemiology , DNA Fragmentation , Fertility , Humans , Hypoxia/blood , Hypoxia/physiopathology , Infertility, Male/blood , Infertility, Male/epidemiology , Luteinizing Hormone/blood , Male , Oligospermia/blood , Oligospermia/diagnosis , Oligospermia/epidemiology , Semen , Sperm Count , Sperm Motility , Tibet , ViscosityABSTRACT
Testicular cancer (TC) is the most curable type of cancer, with a survival rate of more than 95%. Oncologists are faced with the challenge that gonadotoxic cancer treatments can compromise future fertility, either temporarily or permanently. Our aim was to investigate the long-term effects of TC treatments on male fertility and on the offspring of patients who had received these treatments. Between January 1996 and December 2010, 125 eligible patients, ranging from 18 to 54 years (median age 36.3 ± 15.7), with unilateral TC underwent surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy at our center. Some of these patients had their semen samples cryopreserved in the Shanghai Human Sperm Bank. The clinical data were evaluated, and questionnaire and telephone follow-up surveys were given to all patients. The data were analyzed to determine the patients' fertility status pre- and posttreatment. Of the 125 eligible patients, 93.6% (117/125) were accessible and were evaluated. Among 81 men who were married before diagnosis, 21 had conceived successfully before diagnosis and six reported azoospermia. Posttreatment conception was attempted by 73 men; of these, 16 conceived naturally and 19 conceived by artificial reproductive techniques, resulting in 37 healthy babies with no congenital malformations. Of the patients who had not conceived before treatment, 21.9% (21/96) banked their sperm and 23.8% of these patients (5/21) subsequently used the banked sperm. Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy were the most highly correlated with lack of conception post-TC treatment. Sperm banking should be recommended to TC patients with the desire for biological conception. There is no evidence to suggest that TC treatments are associated with birth defects or childhood malignancies.
