INFLUENCE OF LOW CORRECTED SEMINAL FRUCTOSE LEVELS ON SPERM CHROMATINSTABILITY IN SEMEN FROM MEN ATTENDING AN INFERTILITY SERVICE

Objective: To determine any correlation between sperm chromatin stabil ity under sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and SDS-ethylendiamine tetraac etic acid (SDS and EDTA) conditions with levels of corrected seminal f ructose, obtained multiplying logarithm of sperm count by seminal fruc tose concentration, in men attending an infertility service. Design: C ross sectional study to compare semen parameters of two groups (contro l and experimental), one with normal levels of corrected fructose (con trol) and the second with low levels of corrected fructose (experiment al). Subjects were also grouped according to number, motility and morp hology of sperm, and according to results of hypo-osmotic test. Settin g: Andrology laboratory at the Institute de Investigaciones de la Altu ra, Lima, Peru. Patient(s): Two hundred and twenty five male partners in infertile couples attending the Andrology Laboratory Intervention(s ): None Main Outcome Measure(s): semen analysis, hypo-osmotic swelling test, sperm chromatin stability after SDS, and SDS and EDTA, and semi nal fructose. Result(s): Seminal volume, sperm motility, and seminal f ructose were significantly lower in samples from subjects with low lev els of corrected fructose. Subjects with low levels of corrected fruct ose had also high sperm chromatin stability under SDS, and SDS and EDT A treatment. After SDS treatment, sperm chromatin stability was simila r in normal samples and in those with oligozoospermia, asthenozoosperm ia, teratozoospermia, or abnormal hypo-osmotic swelling test. After SD S and EDTA treatment, a high sperm stability was observed in samples w ith asthenozoospermia. This hyper-stability is observed in asthenozoos permic samples with low corrected fructose levels, but not in asthenoz oospermic samples with normal corrected fructose levels. The logistic regression analysis applied to asthenozoospermic data showed that chro nological age, seminal volume, acid phosphatase per ejaculate and perc ent of stable sperm after SDS and EDTA treatment were significantly as sociated to levels of corrected fructose. Conclusion(s): Low levels of corrected fructose were associated to low seminal volume, low sperm m otility, and high sperm chromatin stability under SDS and EDTA treatme nt. (C) 1997 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.