Effect of Varicocele on Fertility Potential: Comparison Between Impregnating and Nonimpregnating Groups

Abstract

Sixty patients with varicocele, complaining of infertility, underwent a corrective operation. Eighteen (30%) of the 60 patients impregnated their mates (impregnating group). Sperm concentration significantly increased after the operation in the impregnating group (p < .05), but not in the patients who failed to impregnate their mates (nonimpregnating group). Sperm motility was not altered after the operation in these two groups. Sperm velocity significantly increased postoperatively in the impregnating group (p < .05), while linearity was not altered in either group. Sperm swelling significantly increased postoperatively in the impregnating group (p < .05), but not in the nonimpregnating group. Preoperative sperm parameters were not different between the two groups. Varicocele may disturb sperm function including sperm motion besides spermatogenesis and may impair the fertility potential. However, a prospective large-scale controlled study is required to obtain a definitive conclusion.

Specialized sperm function tests in varicocele and the future of andrology laboratory

“…The authors divided the patients into two groups (i) Group 1 consisted of 18 men with varicocele who successfully achieved pregnancy, and (ii) Group 2 consisted of 42 men who did not. The magnitude of postoperative improvement in HOST results was shown to be associated with pregnancy outcomes, 29 but preoperative values were not different between the groups.…”

The effect of varicocele treatment on human sperm plasma membrane integrity and pregnancy rate in infertile men after varicoceloctomy

“…Also, may cause deleterious effects by affecting sperm penetration and motility in the female genital tract which in turn may affect gamete interaction (27). In addition, improvement in sperm membrane swelling was detected in a group of non-varicocelic infertile patients who achieved pregnancies as compared with those who failed to achieve pregnancies (28). In contrast, significantly better semen characteristics (concentration, motility, and normal morphology) as well as enhanced acrosin activity for non-varicocele infertile patients (29).…”

Protective effect of royal jelly on the DNA integrity of sperms and early in vitro embryonic development in ofloxacin treated rats

“…There are reports indicating that any disorder which resulted in a failure in epididymal sperm maturation, causes impaired sperm fertilizing ability (31, 33, 34). Development of spermatozoal ability to expose forward motility, undergoing capacitation, and penetrate the zona pellucida of the oocyte is examples of the several important properties, which the spermatozoa acquire during epididymal sperm passage (1).…”