The relationship between lifestyle and SEMEN QUALITY is of popular interest to patients and the general public. However, new findings are often accepted uncritically without reference to the biological complexities of the male reproductive system. Many factors influence SEMEN QUALITY, including: (i) the inherent sperm production capacity of the testicles; (ii) the period of time since the last ejaculation; (iii) general health; (iv) the duration and nature of pre-ejaculatory sexual stimulation; and (v) the structural and functional integrity of the male reproductive tract, ejaculatory ducts and accessory glands. Each of these factors will have its own bearing on ejaculate QUALITY and any proposed lifestyle factors need to be interpreted with them in mind. This lecture will discuss two important checkpoints where lifestyle factors may have an important effect on adult SEMEN QUALITY. First is the pre-natal exposure of the male foetus to risk during its time in utero through maternal behaviors such as diet, the use of cosmetics and smoking that may have a detrimental effect on testicular development that in turn impact on adult testicular function. Second is the exposure of adult men to factors that affect the function of the post-pubertal testicle and risks are thought to include the effect of temperature (e.g. hot baths, tight underwear), poor diet and a number of chemical exposures either in the workplace or at home. Whilst lifestyle is an important risk factor in male infertility, its potential effects should be taken in context with other biological variables and known medical conditions.

In this study we have described our varicocele cases, in terms of associated symptoms/signs. In addition, we have tested the correlation between SEMEN parameters and varicocele grades and compared the relative frequencies of associated symptoms/signs in different varicocele grades. 119 referred cases of varicocele were categorized based on clinical criteria into 3 grades by one examiner. The relative frequencies of associated symptoms/signs of the grades were compared. 52 of the cases whose SEMEN analyses were performed at the same laboratory were included for comparison of SEMEN parameters.Most of the cases were single conscripts. Age range was 18to 38 years and the mean age was 23 years. Pain was the most common associated finding in our mostly singlephysically active cases. Of all the 119 cases, 9 were grade 1,63 grade 2, and 47 grade 3. Mean sperm concentration was 60.3 million per cubic centimeter. No significant difference was found in the relative frequencies of associatedsymptoms/signsamongdifferentgrades.DifferenceinSEMENparameters among grades was negligible and not significant at 0.1 (0.05 as well).Pain could be the most common associated finding in young singlephysically active varicocele cases. It seems that varicocele grade bears no significance over the relative frequencies of associated symptoms/signs. Our data is against any clinically and/or statistically significant relationship between varicocele size and SEMEN parameters.

Background: Infertility as well as obesity are risng global concern. Whilst there is an established association between female obesity and infertility, a similar link is yet to be proven in men. Objective: To determine the effects of elevated body mass index (BMI) on SEMEN QUALITY among male partners of infertile couples attending an infertility clinic. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 206 men who met the inclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Selected participants were grouped according to their BMI (kg/m2): normal BMI (18. 5-24. 9 kg/m2) and elevated BMI (≥ 25 kg/m2). The effect of weight on SEMEN QUALITY was assessed based on sperm count, percentage motility, and morphology. Results: The number of participants with normal BMI was 110 (53. 4%) while those with elevated BMI were 96 (46. 6%). Of the participants in elevated BMI group, 52 (25. 2%) were overweight and 44 (21. 4%) were obese. There was no statistically significant difference in the SEMEN QUALITY as well as the pattern of SEMEN parameter abnormalities between males with normal and elevated BMI (overweight or obese) (p=0. 813). Conclusion: Elevated BMI did not significantly influence SEMEN QUALITY.

Background: Infertility can be a major concern for couples trying to conceive, and occupational hazards may constitute a main cause of infertility in men. Studies conducted throughout the world indicate that physical and chemical hazards in the workplace can have a negative impact on male fertility. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequency of occupational categories of men who attended an infertility clinic, and to evaluate the differences in the SEMEN QUALITY parameters among occupational categories.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1164 males who were referred to the Infertility Research Center in Tehran for treatment of infertility in order to evaluate the effects of certain occupations on infertility. The participants were divided into several categories according to their occupations and evaluated by means of a questionnaire for duration of infertility, BMI, sperm count, percentage of normal sperm morphology and percentages of sperm with class A and class B motilities. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and correlations were conducted using SPSS 16.0 for Windows.Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the mean sperm count or sperm morphology between occupational categories. Assessment of the differences in the frequency of sperm motility classes between occupational categories revealed a significant difference only in the frequency of sperm with class B motility. The lowest mean percentages of sperm with class B motility were seen in those involved in the transportation industry, a finding in agreement with a number of other researches.Conclusion: Our findings revealed an association between occupation and sperm motility. Since our study population was relatively small and in many cases exposures to work hazards were brief, a larger study group must be evaluated in order to support the preliminary results of this study.

Background: Zinc in human SEMEN seems to play an important role in the physiology of spermatozoa. Zinc deficiency leads to gonadal dysfunction, decreases testicular weight, and causes shrinkage of seminiferous tubules.The adult human body contains 1-3 g of zinc, about 0.1% of which is replenished daily. Excessively high amounts of zinc has been reported in human seminal plasma by many authors, the mean ranges from 78.9 to 274.6 mg/L. The major contributor of seminal plasma zinc is the prostate gland. This high concentration of prostatic zinc ions comes into contact with sperm after their functional maturation. On the other hand, the seminal zinc ions get diluted by the vaginal and cervical fluids immediately after ejaculation. Therefore, it is not clear as to how this high zinc level in seminal plasma affects the sperm function. Zinc has also been reported to be the primary factor responsible for the antibacterial activity of the seminal plasma. It has suggested that zinc may have a role in sperm production and/or viability, in the prevention of spermatozoa degradation, and in sperm membrane stabilization Although some beneficial effects of zinc on SEMEN have been accepted, controversies continue regarding zinc levels between different subfertile groups as well as the relationship between zinc and SEMEN parameters. The aim of this review study, therefore, was to examine the relationships between concentrations of zinc in blood and seminal plasma and sperm QUALITY among infertile and fertile men.Materials and Methods: This review article prepared by studdying of articles obtained from Google, pub med sites with key words such as: zinc; infertility SEMEN QUALITY.Results: Dissanayake (2010) studied SEMEN parameters of 152 healthy men To assess the relationship between seminal plasma zinc and SEMEN QUALITY using two markers; zinc concentration (Zn-C) and total zinc per ejaculate (Zn-T). The results show Count, motility, viability, pH and viscosity are affected by variations of seminal plasma zinc. Zn-C was significantly high in the asthenozoospermics compared with the normal motile group; 138.11 mg/mL (83.92) vs.110.69 11 mg/mL (54.59) (p<0.05).Zn-T was significantly low in samples with hyperviscosity compared with samples with normal viscosity; 220.06 mg (144.09) vs.336.34 mg (236.33) (p<0.05).Conversely, Zn-T was high in samples with low viability compared with those with normal viability; 437.67 μg (283.88) vs.305.15 mg (221.19) (p<0.05) there was a negative correlation between pH and Zn-C (r=-0.193, p<0.05) as well as Zn-T (r=-0.280, p<0.01). On the other hand, correlations were positive between Zn-T and sperm count (r=0.211, p<0.05) Zhao and Xiong (2005) studied 90 asthenozoospermic patients, 60 oligoasthenozoospermic patients and 20 fertile men with normal sperm QUALITY and found that a positive relationship between the feebleness of sperm production and motility of asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic patients and the lower content of seminal plasma zinc.Colagar et al. (2010) assess the relationship between Zn levels in seminal plasma with sperm QUALITY in fertile and infertile men. SEMEN samples were provided by fertile [smoker (n=17), nonsmoker (n=19)] and infertile men [smoker (n=15), nonsmoker (n=21)]. Fertile subjects, smoker or not, demonstrated significantly higher seminal Zn levels than any infertile group (p<0.001). A trend was observed for a lower Zn levels in seminal plasma of smokers compared with nonsmokers. Seminal Zn in fer tile and infertile (smokers or nonsmokers) males correlated significantly with sperm count (p<0.01) and normal morphology of sperm (p<0.001).Conclusion: According to the results, the andrological variables sensitive to seminal plasma zinc. There is a positive relationship between the feebleness of sperm production and motility of asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic patients and the lower content of seminal plasma zinc.

Background: Ubiquitin, an 8.5 kDa peptide that marks other proteins for proteasomal degradation, tags defective sperm during epididymal passage. Thus, sperm ubiquitination is a universal marker for sperm defects and can be used as a sperm function test. The objective of the present study was to examine the relationships between sperm ubiquitination and clinical SEMEN parameters, using simplified immunofluorescence assays in order to establish ubiquitin as a biomarker of male infertility.Methods: SEMEN samples from 100 couples attending Avicenna Infertility Clinic, Tehran, Iran, were collected and analyzed according to WHO criteria. Each sample was washed and adjusted at 106 sperm/ml concentration. Sperm were coated on slides, using cytospin centrifugation and were fixed in buffered formaldehyde. Subsequently ubiquitinated spermatozoa were evaluated by direct immunofluorescence microscopy using FITC-labeled anti-ubiquitin antibodies. After counting at least 200 sperm per sample, while employing light microscopy, the percentage of ubiquitinated spermatozoa was recorded on the same fields through epifluorescence microscopy.Results: Negative correlations were obtained between sperm ubiquitination and sperm count (r=-0.278, P< 0.001), sperm concentration (r=-0.37, P< 0.001), viability (r=-0.407, P< 0.001), sperm morphology (r=-0.509, P< 0.001), rapid progressive motility (a) (r=-0.246, P< 0.001) and slow progressive motility (b) (r=-0.474, P< 0.001). There was a positive correlation between ubiquitinated sperm and the percentage of immotile spermatozoa (r=0.486, P< 0.000).Conclusion: Increased sperm ubiquitination is inversely associated with good SEMEN QUALITY parameters, supporting the use of ubiquitin as a biomarker for evaluation of human sperm QUALITY.