Multi-center evaluation of oxidation-reduction potential by the MiOXSYS in males with abnormal semen

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), oxidative stress (OS) is a significant contributor to male infertility. Seminal OS can be measured by a number of assays, all of which are either costly or time sensitive and/or require large semen volume and complex instrumentation. One less expensive alternative is to quantify the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) with the MiOXSYS. In this international multi-center study, we assessed whether ORP levels measured by the MiOXSYS could distinguish semen samples that fall within the 2010 WHO normal reference values from those that do not. Semen samples were collected from 2092 patients in 9 countries; ORP was normalized to sperm concentration (mV/106 sperm/ml). Only those samples with a concentration >1 × 106 sperm ml–1 were included. The results showed that 199 samples fell within the WHO normal reference range while the remaining 1893 samples did not meet one or more of the criteria. ORP was negatively correlated with all semen parameters (P < 0.01) except volume. The area under the curve for ORP was 0.765. The ORP cut-off value (1.34 mV/106 sperm/ml) was able to differentiate specimens with abnormal semen parameters with 98.1% sensitivity, 40.6% specificity, 94.7% positive predictive value (PPV) and 66.6% negative predictive value (NPV). When used as an adjunct to traditional semen analysis, ORP levels may help identify altered functional status of spermatozoa caused by OS in cases of idiopathic male infertility and in male partners of couples suffering recurrent pregnancy loss, and thereby directing these men to relevant medical therapies and lifestyle modifications.

Predictive value of oxidative stress testing in semen for sperm DNA fragmentation assessed by sperm chromatin dispersion test

“…The results are provided in milli Volts (mV) and subsequently normalized to the sperm concentration, hence, data are presented as mV/10 6 spermatozoa/mL. An ORP value of 1.34 mV/10 6 spermatozoa/mL, reported by Agarwal et al 38 to discriminate semen samples with abnormal semen parameters, was considered as a clinical cutoff value to subdivide patients in low (≤1.34 mV/10 6 spermatozoa/ mL) and high (>1.34 mV/10 6 spermatozoa/mL) ORP groups. 38 We calculated the motile sperm fraction (sperm count/mL × total motility).…”

Relationship of Seminal Oxidation-Reduction Potential with Sperm DNA Integrity and pH in Idiopathic Infertile Patients

“…The average of the two values obtained was subsequently normalized by the sperm concentration (nsORP-C) (mV/10 6 sperm/mL), seminal viscosity (nsORP-V) (mV/cps) and pH (nsORP-P) (mV/U pH). The cut-off value was set at 1.34 mV/10 6 sperm/mL to discern between good quality seminal samples (≤1.34 mV/10 6 sperm/mL) from altered seminal samples (>1.34 mV/10 6 sperm/mL), as has been established before [45]. Five samples were excluded after the device failed to measure their sORP, due to their high viscosity.…”

“…Correlations between sORP and semen parameters included in the diagnostic guidelines issued by the WHO in 2010 [43] have already been described. Thus, it has been described that sORP presents a negative correlation with motility, morphology, concentration and volume [45,54,55], meaning that when seminal plasma ORP increases, semen quality decreases. When compared to motility, the three different normalized ORP measures of our study showed correlation coefficients similar to those observed by other authors [45,55].…”

Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed

“…Oxidative stress (recently referred to as Male Oxidative Stress Infertility, MOSI) is thought to be responsible for 30%-80% of male infertility [65,66]. When increased sperm oxidative stress is suspected, lifestyle modifications and oral antioxidant therapy are often employed, as it is relatively inexpensive, readily available, and easily administered, with minimal side effects.…”