Login to Access Video or Poster Abstract: MP07-19
Sources of Funding: None

Introduction

Varicocele- associated infertile men tend to have poor sperm quality. However, the underlying pathophysiology of how it leads to poor sperm quality remains unclear. Oxidative stress (OS) has been recognized to be the possible mechanism. In order to determine the role of OS in infertile men with varicocele, we investigated the relationship between oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and poor sperm quality in this group of patients.

Methods

A total of 56 infertile men with varicocele, 132 infertile men without varicocele and 51 healthy males were recruited. The patients with varicocele were subdivided into three groups based on the clinical grade of their varicoceles. Semen analyses were performed based on the WHO 5th edition guideline. ORP measurements were obtained using the MiOXSYS analyzer. The comparisons between different groups were analyzed by Wilcoxon rank sum test and Kruskal Wallis test and a p value of <0.05 was considered significant.

Results

The mean age ± standard deviation of all patients with varicocele involved in the study was 35.3 ± 7 years. The results of sperm parameters and ORP values in patients with varicocele and normal healthy men are summarized in Table 1. Sperm concentration, motility and normal morphology were lower and ORP levels higher in patients with varicocele. However, there were no significant differences in these parameters when compared with the severity of disease (grade 1-3) or within fertile patients without varicocele.

Conclusions

Our result showed that both sperm parameters and ORP values distinguished infertile patients with varicocele from normal healthy men. The elevated ORP levels further support the role of OS as an underlying mechanism of infertility in varicocele patients.

Funding

None