SEMINAL REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND SPERM MOTILITY AND MORPHOLOGY IN MEN WITH SPINAL-CORD INJURY

Objective: To assess the generation of reactive oxygen species and its relation to semen characteristics in men with spinal cord injury. Des ign: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Andrology laboratory at a tertiar y care facility and research laboratory at a major medical center. Pat ient(s): Men with spinal cord injury and normal men. Intervention(s): Collecting ejaculates from men with spinal cord injury by electroejacu lation and vibratory stimulation and from normal men by masturbation.M ain Outcome Measure(s): Measurement of reactive oxygen species before and after stimulation with 50 mu M N-formyl-methionyl-leucylphenylalan ine (FMLP) and 100 nM 12-myristate 13-acetate phorbol ester (PMA), whi te blood cell(WBC) concentration, sperm motility and morphology, and e jaculation method. Result(s): Compared with controls, levels of reacti ve oxygen species in men with spinal cord injury were significantly hi gher in unstimulated, f-MLP-stimulated, and PMA-stimulated specimens. The WBC concentration was significantly elevated in patients with spin al cord injury. Sperm motility in men with spinal cord injury was inve rsely related to the level of reactive oxygen species. The percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa was significantly lower in men w ith spinal cord injury. Levels of seminal reactive oxygen species did not differ when comparing specimen type (antegrade versus retrograde) or method of ejaculation in men with spinal card injury. Conclusion(s) : Men with spinal cord injury had elevated levels of reactive oxygen s pecies in their semen. Levels of reactive oxygen species were negative ly correlated with sperm motility. Levels of reactive oxygen species w ere independent of the method of ejaculation or the type of specimen. (C) 1997 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.