Association of Ureaplasma urealyticum infection with varicocele-related infertility.

BACKGROUND: The role of seminal colonization of Ureaplasma urealyticum in varicocele-related infertility was investigated. METHODOLOGY: Semen samples were obtained from infertile patients with or without varicocele and healthy controls and were subjected to routine semen analysis and PCR. DNA was extracted by Cadieux method and analyzed by PCR protocol with species-specific primers for U. urealyticum (urease gene). RESULTS: U. urealyticum was detected by PCR in 23 of 146 (15.75%) semen specimens from infertile patients and in 3 of 100(3%) healthy men (P<0.001). Infertile patients with varicocele had higher U. urealyticum colonization [17/81(20.98%)] than those without varicocele [6/65(9.23%), P=0.086] or healthy controls [3/100 (3%), P<0.001].The percentage of sperm cells with motility, volume of semen fluid, concentration of sperm cells, and sperm cell with normal morphology were significantly decreased in infertile men (P<0.001). In the group of varicocele patients with PCR positive for U. urealyticum the volume, count and morphology of semen samples were lower than those in the varicocele patients with PCR negative results, but the differences were not significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Although the colonization of U. urealyticum does not affect the semen quality, the high prevalence of this microorganism in varicocele patients may be an additional negative factor affecting varicocele status and worsening reproductive potential.

Genital Ureaplasma urealyticum infection in varicocele-related infertility.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the existence of a possible infectious factor in varicocele-related infertility. METHODS: A total of 925 seminal plasmas from 590 infertile men with varicocele and 335 infertile patients without palpable varicocele were cultured for Ureaplasma urealyticum infection, and routine semen analysis was made. RESULTS: The infection rate of Ureaplasma urealyticum in seminal plasmas was 48.22%. The asymptomatic genital infection of Ureaplasma urealyticum was traced in 329 (55.76%) varicocele men and 117 (34.93%) infertile patients without varicocele (control group). A significant quantitative difference in the incidence of genital Ureaplasma urealyticum infection between the varicocele and control group was observed (P < 0.005) and asthenozoospermia was significantly more prevalent in the patients with varicocele than in the other patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Genital Ureaplasma urealyticum infection may play a role in varicocele-related infertility. To prevent future infertility, men with both varicocele and genital Ureaplasma urealyticum infection may benefit from early evaluation and treatment.

Seminal biochemistry and sperm characteristics in infertile men with bacteria in ejaculate.

Sperm examination, quantitative sperm culture, citric acid, acid phosphatase, and fructose were assayed in three groups of men: fertile controls without significant bacteriospermia (group I), infertile men with significant bacteriospermia; idiopathic infertile men (group II), and infertile men with varicocele (group III). Level of significance of bacteriospermia was greater than or equal to 10(4) germs/ml of ejaculate. In group II, motility and typical morphology percentages were lower, independently of the degree and the nature of bacteriospermia. Incidence of pathogenic bacteria was higher than in group III and linked to the degree of bacteriospermia. Fructose was unaltered in the two groups of infected men. No modification of prostatic markers was observed in any groups, except in group II, where they decreased when bacteriospermia was lower than 10(5) germs/ml and when biological pattern of semen evoked chronic prostatitis. Thus, the presence of germs in ejaculate alters the motility and the typical morphology percentages but does not result in any obvious modifications of biochemical markers of prostate and seminal vesicles. For idiopathic infertile men, it is suggested that the quantitative criterion of pathogenic bacteriospermia is a germ count greater than or equal to 10(5)/ml.