A follow‐up study of semen quality and fertility in men with varicocele testis and in control subjects

Abstract

Objective To evaluate semen quality and fecundity in a men with and without reduced semen quality. There were no diCerences between the groups in sperm group of men with initially untreated varicocele testis, in comparison with control subjects. motility values (straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity) evaluated using computer-assisted semen analyPatients, subjects and methods In a prospective, longitudinal study, 77 men (39 with varicocele and 38 sis. Paternity was achieved by 10 of 14 men in the varicocele group, compared with 14 of 16 in the control subjects) were evaluated in 1989 and re-investigated after 8 years. Fifty-seven men (29 with control group. Conclusions There was no evidence that varicovaricocele, 28 controls) were available for evaluation and they all completed a questionnaire. Semen from celectomy might benefit patients, because the sperm concentration did not decline among men with varicoa total of 46 men (24 with varicocele) was compared with findings in 22 men from the control group.cele over time. Computer-assisted semen analysis provided a good assessment of various sperm motility Results There was a decline in sperm count in the control group from 80×106/mL to 55×106/mL over characteristics and we recommend evaluation using such objective methods, to allow comparison among the 8-year period, but nearly no change in the sperm count in the men with varicocele. The withdrawal studies Keywords Varicocele testis, semen, fertility, male rate from each group was the same and included both in a group with initially untreated varicocele and a

Differences in the clinical characteristics of primarily and secondarily infertile men with varicocele

“…This finding does not support the theory of varicocele as a progressive lesion. In fact, this observation is more consistent with studies that show no evidence of deteriorating semen quality in asymptomatic men with varicocele followed over an 8-year period compared with men without varicocele (13). Although there is strong evidence that varicocele has a progressive effect in adolescence, evidenced by both declining semen parameters and hypotrophy, a similar strong relationship may not exist in adults (14,15).…”

“…By design, the present study cannot conclusively determine whether or not varicocele is a progressive lesion. For that determination, controlled prospective longitudinal studies are necessary (13,16). Indeed, longitudinal studies with small numbers of men have suggested that semen parameters do deteriorate with time in healthy men with varicoceles.…”

Impact of clinical varicocele and testis size on seminal reactive oxygen species levels in a fertile population: a prospective controlled study

“…However, in this population, it is difficult to demonstrate a firm association between varicocele and abnormal semen parameters or decreased fertility (16,17). Studies on unselected fertile men with and without varicocele have shown no significant differences between standard seminal parameters (mainly sperm count, motility, and morphology) (18)(19)(20).…”

Are varicoceles associated with increased deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation?

“…Pregnancy is also of limited value in assessing the influence of varicocele on male fertility potential because this outcome is also influenced by female factors (39). Overall, studies of noninfertility populations provide conflicting results on the relationship between varicocele and fertility (40)(41)(42)(43)(44). Similarly, there is no consistent relationship between varicocele and abnormal semen paramaters in noninfertility populations (2,(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50).…”