Semen quality is suggested to be a universal biomarker for future health. Previous studies have mostly been registry based excluding the possibility to address the importance of lifestyle, fertility status, health and socio-economic status. We aimed to investigate whether the association between semen quality and subsequent risk of hospitalization could be explained by differences in occupation...

This commentary celebrates the publication of the 5th edition of the World Health Organization Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen. This is the most complete text to date on the creation of a conventional semen profile and includes invaluable reference limits for specific aspects of semen quality based on the analysis of over 1 900 recent fathers. The new edition...

BACKGROUND Semen quality, a predictor of male fertility, has been suggested declining worldwide. Among other life style factors, male coffee/caffeine consumption was hypothesized to influence semen parameters, but also sperm DNA integrity. To summarize available evidence, we performed a systematic review of observational studies on the relation between coffee/caffeine intake and parameters of m...

BACKGROUND Standard semen analysis has low objectivity and reproducibility and is not closely related to fertility. We assess the prognostic value of automated measurements of sperm motility and morphology. METHODS During 1997-1999, 1191 infertile couples with no known absolute barrier to conception were assessed by conventional semen analysis, and automated measurements of average straight-l...

OBJECTIVES To assess the technical feasibility and compare the semen quality in men with or without pregnancy after percutaneous embolization of varicoceles in the management of infertility. METHODS The records of 102 patients who underwent retrograde varicocele embolization between January 1997 and January 2002 were reviewed through the Hospital Information Support System. Infertility was th...

BACKGROUND/AIM The question of whether body mass index (BMI) affects semen quality and male fertility is controversial. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there is a correlation between BMI and semen analysis parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 617 male infertility patients were recruited and separated into 3 groups according to BMI values as follows: normal weight...

Nonhuman primates are extensively used to assess strategies to prevent infection from sexual exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to study mechanisms of mucosal transmission. However, although semen represents one of the most important vehicles for the virus, the vast majority of preclinical challenge studies have used cell-free simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) or simian/human ...

Despite semen being the main vector of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) dissemination worldwide, the origin of the virus in this bodily fluid remains unclear. It was recently shown that several organs of the male genital tract (MGT) are infected by HIV/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and likely to contribute to semen viral load during the primary and chronic stages of the infection. These...

The objective of this study was to assess how characteristics of the intercourse and the couple relate to semen exposure during use of the female condom. From 1996 to 1998, 210 women in Birmingham, Alabama, were trained to use the female condom and follow study procedures during a group session and individually practiced inserting the device. The outcome was semen exposure as defined by compari...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance on semen parameters, histology of reproductive organs and serum concentrations of testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH). Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 180 - 200g were made diabetic by intravenous injection of alloxan (40 mg/kg): and insulin resistant by chronic fructose feeding (25% fructo...