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Radionuclide-based Diagnosis and Therapy of Prostate Cancer
Published in Michael Ljungberg, Handbook of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging for Physicists, 2022
Sven-Erik Strand, Mohamed Altai, Joanna Strand, David Ulmert
The human prostate is a secretory chestnut-shaped male accessory gland, located at the base of the urinary bladder, and encloses the upper part of the urethra, Figure 19.1. The prostate consists of muscle fibres (mostly unstriped), fibrous-, elastic-, vascular-, nerve-, connective, and glandular tissue.
Andrological causes of recurrent implantation failure
Published in Efstratios M. Kolibianakis, Christos A. Venetis, Recurrent Implantation Failure, 2019
Chrisanthi Marakaki, Georgios A. Kanakis, Dimitrios G. Goulis
Chronic inflammatory conditions of the genital tract, such as male accessory gland infections (MAGIs), are frequently encountered in male fertility problems. With regard to their impact on male reproductive function, epididymitis seems to be more relevant than inflammation/infection of the prostate and/or seminal vesicles. Chronic epididymitis may result in reduced sperm count and motility. Besides changes in the conventional sperm parameters, alterations in DNA integrity have also been observed.88 A reduction in natural and assisted cumulative pregnancy rate and an increase in miscarriage rate are related to the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) at the sperm level. The exact mechanisms by which MAGI are able to impair implantation rates remain unclear, with increased oxidative stress or a direct effect of microorganisms on sperm being the most plausible.89,90
Initial investigation of the infertile couple
Published in David K. Gardner, Ariel Weissman, Colin M. Howles, Zeev Shoham, Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques, 2017
Isabelle Roux, Ruth Ronn, Peter T.K. Chan, Togas Tulandi, Hananel E.G. Holzer
The bulk of the semen volume is made up of secretions from the male accessory gland in the reproductive tract, mainly seminal vesicles and prostate. Low semen volume may be associated with the absence or blockade of the seminal vesicles or the ejaculatory duct in the prostate. In men with CBAVD, low semen volume is often seen due to the poor development of the seminal vesicles. Low semen volume can also be the result of a collection problem, androgen deficiency, obstruction to the ejaculatory duct, or partial retrograde ejaculation. High semen volume may reflect exudation in cases of active inflammation of the accessory organs.
Extracellular vesicle cargo of the male reproductive tract and the paternal preconception environment
Published in Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, 2021
Ahmet Ayaz, Emily Houle, J. Richard Pilsner
Epididymosomes were first identified from hamster epididymis in the mid-1980s and were found to interact with the sperm plasma membrane in the epididymal lumen (Yanagimachi et al. 1985). These vesicles were later described from various species including mice, rats, bulls, rams, and men (Sullivan and Saez 2013). Similar to prostasomes, epididymosomes are derived from epithelial cells of the epididymis, are heterogeneous population of vesicles ranging in size from 50 to 250 nm vesicles (Sullivan and Saez 2013; Sullivan 2015). Epididymosomes have been studied from different segments of the epididymis (caput, corpus, and cauda) and proteins in the epididymal intraluminal compartment have been found to be involved in sperm maturation. When epididymosomes are incubated with spermatozoa in vitro, some epididymosome-associated proteins are transferred into the gamete cell, and researchers found that this process was dependent on temperature, pH, and cations, in particular Zn2+ (Frenette et al. 2002). Additionally, localization of transferred proteins was also found to be enriched at the acrosome (Frenette et al. 2002). While it is certainly feasible that other secondary male accessory glands contribute EVs to seminal plasma, these are less characterized compared to the aforementioned prostasomes and epididymosomes.
Bilateral disease and intratesticular haemodynamics as markers of dyspermia in patients with subclinical varicocele: A prospective study
Published in Arab Journal of Urology, 2019
Georgios Tsampoukas, Athanasios Dellis, Athanasios Papatsoris
FSH was found to be markedly elevated in men in Group B, an observation that was expected due to the deterioration in semen parameters in this group. Semen volume and pH were included in the comparison between the two groups in order to investigate if, in the absence of other pathology, semen abnormalities in men with SV were accompanied with changes in these parameters that could implicate impairment of the male accessory glands. Semen volume did not differ significantly between the groups and our observations were similar with previous reports showing that clinical varicocele has limited impact on semen volume [48]. Similarly, having previously excluded conditions that could dramatically alter the acidity of the seminal fluid, semen pH did not differ between the two groups either [1]. Importantly, we did not find a conclusive impact of SV on endocrine testicular function, as serum testosterone was found to be within normal limits in all patients but a significant difference was observed between the groups. Previously, clinical varicocele has been reported as a possible cause of male hypogonadism [49], whereas surgical treatment may increase serum testosterone levels in men regardless of age; however, patients with near baseline values seem to enjoy the greatest benefit [50]. In our present study, we did not find any dramatic impact of SV on serum testosterone, although patients with abnormal semen parameters had lower levels, a finding that may indicate a cumulative effect of SV on testicular function.
Associations between biochemical components of human semen with seminal conditions
Published in Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, 2019
Giulia Collodel, Fabiola Nerucci, Cinzia Signorini, Francesca Iacoponi, Elena Moretti
Many pathological conditions such as the presence of infection/inflammation or varicocele may cause oxidative stress that adversely alters the seminal fluid composition and sperm function by affecting membrane fluidity, permeability and impairing sperm functional competence (Collodel et al. 2015). It was reported that seminal plasma proteins could be considered as important biomarkers for male infertility (Macanovic et al. 2015). Feng et al. (2015) presented a pilot comparative study of biochemical markers in seminal plasma and serum of infertile men. Twenty four out of 26 evaluated biochemical markers were significantly different in seminal plasma and serum. The authors suggest that the differences might be associated with the selective secretion of testis, epididymis, and male accessory glands and the specific environment required for sperm metabolism and function maintenance. Among the conditions related to male infertility, include leukocytospermia a well-known indicator of infection or inflammation of urogenital tract (Fraczek et al. 2016) and the presence of germinal cells in ejaculates that may indicate an altered spermatogenesis (Rodríguez-Martínez et al. 2011). Furthermore, it was reported that seminal fluid hyperviscosity represents a peculiar aspect of prostate asymptomatic chronic inflammation (La Vignera et al. 2012). Another discussed risk factor for the alterations of seminal fluid is the smoking habit; although the real impact of tobacco on male fertility is still debated, a number of studies have claimed that cigarette smoking is correlated with alterations in sperm quality (Collodel et al. 2009).