Seminal oxidative stress in patients with chronic prostatitis

Objectives. An association between prostatitis and male infertility has bee n suspected, yet is poorly understood. Prostatitis is often associated with granulocytes in the prostatic fluid that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), known to impair male fertility. We compared ROS, the total antioxida nt capacity (TAC), and a novel index of oxidative stress.(ROS-TAC score) in patients with chronic prostatitis and in healthy controls. Methods. Semen specimens from 36 men with chronic prostatitis (National Ins titutes of Health category IIIa), 8 men with prostatodynia (National Instit utes of Health category IIIb), and 19 controls attending our urologic clini c were examined according to the World Health Organization criteria. Leukoc ytospermia was measured by the Endtz test (myeloperoxidase assay). ROS and TAC production was measured by chemiluminescence assay. A composite ROS-TAC score was also calculated in patients and controls. Results. The sperm concentration, percentage of motility, and morphology am ong the groups did not differ. The mean +/- standard error log-transformed ROS level was significantly higher in patients with leukocytospermia (3.2 /- 0.6) than in patients without leukocytospermia (1.8 +/- 0.2; P = 0.04) a nd controls (1.3 +/- 0.3, P = 0.01). TAC was significantly lower in patient s with or without leukocytospermia (859.69 +/- 193.0 and 914.9 +/- 65.2, re spectively) than in controls (1653.98 +/- 93.6, P = 0.001). The mean ROS-TA C score of controls (50.0 +/- 4.1) was significantly higher than those of p atients with chronic prostatitis and leukocytospermia (8.2 +/- 9.2) and tho se without leukocytospermia (34.2 +/- 2.9; P <0.001). Conclusions, Men with chronic prostatitis or prostatodynia have seminal oxi dative stress, irrespective of their leukocytospermia status. These observa tions may help shed light on the long-standing controversy surrounding pros tatitis and infertility. UROLOGY 55: 881-885, 2000. (C) 2000, Elsevier Scie nce Inc.