Most of the general population is exposed to carbaryl and other contemporary-use insecticides at low levels. Studies of laboratory animals, in addition to limited human data, show an association between carbaryl exposure and decreased semen quality. In the present study we explored whether environmental exposures to 1-naphthol (1N), a metabolite of carbaryl and naphthalene, and 3,5,6-trichloro-...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to define the effect of apoptosis on sperm quality and function. METHODS The apoptotic features in sperm were assessed in 60 subfertile subjects, using Annexin-V staining for phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization and Tdt-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay for DNA fragmentation. RESULTS On average, about 45% of the sperm were found to...

BACKGROUND A high body mass index (BMI) has been associated with reduced semen quality and male subfecundity, but no studies following obese men losing weight have yet been published. We examined semen quality and reproductive hormones among morbidly obese men and studied if weight loss improved the reproductive indicators. METHODS In this pilot cohort study, 43 men with BMI > 33 kg/m² were f...

The study attempted to clarify the role of total antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma (SP-TAC) on boar sperm survival and fertility after artificial insemination (AI). SP-TAC differed (P < 0.001) among boars (n° = 15) and, to a lesser degree, among ejaculates within male (4 ejaculates/boar). SP-TAC also differed (P < 0.001) among ejaculate fractions (43 ejaculates and 3 fractions per ejaculat...

BACKGROUND Density gradient is the preferred technique for sperm processing for ART. However, no study has examined sperm quality using different processing media simultaneously and under identical conditions. Therefore, we evaluated semen quality following sperm preparation by three commonly used commercially available density gradient media in a well-designed controlled trial. METHODS We ob...

The effects of aqueous extract of Enantia chlorantha were studied on sperm motility, viability and counts in adult albino rats. Oral administration of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight of the extract daily for a week caused dose-dependent changes in the sperm motility and viability without a significant change in the sperm counts. There was a significant increase in sperm motility and viability (P <...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to analyse the semen quality of patients before and after gonadotoxic therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS We evaluated semen quality in 314 patients over a 26 year period. The diagnostic categories were leukaemia (n = 13); lymphoma (n = 128); testicular cancer (n = 102); benign conditions (n = 13); and other malignant neoplasms (n = 58). The degree of azoospermi...

The development of male infertility increased rapidly worldwide, which coinciding with the epidemic of obesity. However, the impact of weight abnormalities on sperm quality is still contestable. To assess the correlation between BMI and sperm parameters, we searched relevant articles in PubMed, Embase, Web of science, and Wanfang database published until June 2015 without language restriction. ...

Computer-assisted sperm analysis of fresh and frozen-thawed bovine sperm requires proper handling and preparation, and the type of slide used in the assessment is critical if the resultant data are to be useful quality control measurements. In the present study, 4 different slide viewing chambers, a Makler chamber, a clean slide-coverslip, or a 2- or 4-cell chamber Leja slide, were compared wit...

OBJECTIVES To provide information of semen quality among normal young Japanese men and indicate the frequency of reduced semen quality. DESIGN Cross-sectional, coordinated studies of Japanese young men included from university areas. The men had to be 18-24 years, and both the man and his mother had to be born in Japan. Background information was obtained from questionnaires. Standardised and...