oxidative stress induced sperm dna damage, a possible reason for male infertility

background: sperm dna damage is an important factor in the etiology of male infertility. objective: the aim of the study was to evaluate the association of oxidative stress induced sperm dna damage with the pathogenesis of male infertility. materials and methods: the study comprised a total of 66 subjects, including fertile men (n=25) and infertile men (n=41) matched by age. seminal malondialdehyde (mda), phospholipid hydroperoxide (php), superoxide dismutase (sod), total antioxidant status (tas) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy guanosine (8-ohdg) were estimated by spectrophotometric and elisa based methods and the association with the sperm parameters was assessed. results: the percentages of motile and morphologically normal cells were significantly lower (p < 0.001, p <0.001, respectivly) in infertile men. seminal levels of mda, php and 8-ohdg were significantly higher (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p=0. 02, respectively) while the sod and tas were significantly lower (p=0. 0003, p< 0.001, respectively) in infertile men. sperm parameters were negatively correlated with mda, php and 8-ohdg while positively correlated with sod and tas. a positive correlation of 8-ohdg with mda and php and a negative correlation with tas and sod were also found. conclusion: these results suggested that oxidative stress induced sperm dna damage might have a critical effect on the etiology of infertility. therefore, evaluation of oxidative status, antioxidant defense systems and dna damage, together with sperm parameters might be a useful tool for diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.