AIM: To investigate age-related inflammatory events in the male genital tract. METHODS: In a total of 4265 randomly collected patients attending the andrological outpatient clinic of the Center for Dermatology and Andrology, University of Giessen, Germany, ejaculate volume, pH-value, sperm concentration, total and progressive sperm motility, concentration of polymorphonuclear (PMN) elastase, number of peroxidase-positive cells and fructose were measured and correlated with patient's age. RESULTS: While ejaculate volume, motility and fructose all correlated negatively with age, sperm concentration, PMN elastase and the pH-value showed a positive correlation. The prevalence of male genital tract inflammation (as defined by PMN elastase > 250 ng/mL) and its severity increased significantly. PMN elastase did not correlate with sperm motility. Fructose as a marker of seminal vesicle function showed a significant negative relationship with the PMN elastase levels, the number of peroxidase-positive cells and sperm motility. CONCLUSION: The significant increases of PMN-elastase levels as marker of male genital tract inflammation in older men appear to be indicative of age-related changes in local immunoregulatory mechanisms. Because there is no association of PMN elastase with sperm motility, a direct inhibitory effect of this enzyme can be excluded.
AIM: To investigate age-related inflammatory events in the male genital tract. METHODS: In a total of 4265 randomly collected patients attending the andrological outpatient clinic of the Center for Dermatology and Andrology, University of Giessen, Germany, ejaculate volume, pH-value, sperm concentration, total and progressive sperm motility, concentration of polymorphonuclear (PMN) elastase, number of peroxidase-positive cells and fructose were measured and correlated with patient's age. RESULTS: While ejaculate volume, motility and fructose all correlated negatively with age, sperm concentration, PMN elastase and the pH-value showed a positive correlation. The prevalence of male genital tract inflammation (as defined by PMN elastase > 250 ng/mL) and its severity increased significantly. PMN elastase did not correlate with sperm motility. Fructose as a marker of seminal vesicle function showed a significant negative relationship with the PMN elastase levels, the number of peroxidase-positive cells and sperm motility. CONCLUSION: The significant increases of PMN-elastase levels as marker of male genital tract inflammation in older men appear to be indicative of age-related changes in local immunoregulatory mechanisms. Because there is no association of PMN elastase with sperm motility, a direct inhibitory effect of this enzyme can be excluded.
Authors: Rakesh Sharma; Sajal Gupta; Ashok Agarwal; Ralf Henkel; Renata Finelli; Neel Parekh; Ramadan Saleh; Mohamed Arafa; Edmund Ko; Armand Zini; Nicholas Tadros; Rupin Shah; Rafael F Ambar; Haitham Elbardisi; Pallav Sengupta; Marlon Martinez; Florence Boitrelle; Mara Simopoulou; Paraskevi Vogiatzi; Jaime Gosalvez; Parviz Kavoussi; Hussein Kandil; Ayad Palani; Marcelo Rodriguez Peña; Osvaldo Rajmil; Gian Maria Busetto; Christina Anagnostopoulou; Sava Micic; Marco G Alves; Lucia Rocco; Taymour Mostafa; Juan G Alvarez; Sunil Jindal; Hassan N Sallam; Israel Maldonado Rosas; Sheena E M Lewis; Sami AlSaid; Mesut Altan; Hyun Jun Park; Jonathan Ramsay; Sijo Parekattil; Marjan Sabbaghian; Kelton Tremellen; Kareim Khalafalla; Damayanthi Durairajanayagam; Giovanni M Colpi Journal: World J Mens Health Date: 2021-06-09 Impact factor: 5.400