Effects of Acute Dengue Infection on Sperm and Virus Clearance in Body Fluids of Men.

We investigated the effects of dengue virus (DENV) on semen using samples collected 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days after symptom onset from 10 infected volunteers on Réunion Island. We assessed characteristics of semen and reproductive hormones and isolated motile spermatozoa from semen. We assayed semen for DENV using reverse transcription PCR and searched for DENV RNA by virus isolation in Vero E6 cell cultures. Four volunteers had >1 DENV RNA-positive semen samples; 2 volunteers had DENV RNA-positive semen at day 15 and 1 at day 30. No motile sperm were DENV positive. After exposure to positive semen, few Vero E6 cells stained positive for DENV antigens, indicating low levels of replicative virus. We found DENV had shorter duration in semen than in blood. These findings support the possibilities that DENV is sexually transmissible for a short period after acute dengue illness and that acute dengue induces reversible alterations in sperm.

[Assisted reproductive technology outcomes of infertile men carrying balanced chromosomal rearrangements or Y-chromosome microdeletions - Retrospective study]. / Résultats de l'assistance médicale à la procréation chez les hommes infertiles porteurs de remaniements chromosomiques équilibrés ou de microdélétions du chromosome Y ­ Étude rétrospective.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ART outcomes for infertile males carrying a balanced structural chromosomal rearrangement or a Y-chromosome microdeletion, and to compare the results with a control group. The primary outcome was the clinical pregnancy rate. A retrospective case-control study has been carried out in the ART departments of the university hospitals of Bordeaux and la Réunion. Results of karyotypes and Y-chromosome microdeletions analysis of infertile men with sperm concentration lower than 5 millions/mL have been extracted from the softwares Jfiv® (Bordeaux) and MédiFirst® (la Réunion). The clinical pregnancy rate for carriers of balanced chromosomal rearrangements and Y-chromosome microdeletions was 28% and 43% respectively. The clinical pregnancy rate for the controls was 24% (non-significant difference). According to this study, balanced chromosomal rearrangements and Y-chromosome microdeletions are not found to affect the clinical pregnancy rate in conventional ART. Further larger scale studies are required to confirm these results.

Fertility preservation and sperm donation in transgender individuals: The current situation within the French CECOS network.

BACKGROUND: Many studies reported that reproductive desire could be high among transgender individuals. In France, fertility preservation and sperm donation were very little proposed to transgender individuals until recently, mainly because the Bioethics Law allows the use of assisted reproductive technologies only in infertile couples and prohibits surrogacy. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the distribution of care on the French territory concerning fertility preservation and sperm donation in transgender individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicentric national survey was carried out between January 2019 and October 2020 in 28 assisted reproductive technology centres of the French CECOS (Centres d'Etudes et de Conservation des Oeufs et du Sperme) network. Each centre was questioned to find out how many transgender individuals came, were informed and cared for fertility preservation and sperm donation. RESULTS: Concerning fertility preservation, 71.4% of centres received transgender individuals and performed gamete cryopreservation; 581 transgender individuals consulted for fertility preservation. Transgender women were more likely to desire (p < 0.0001) and achieve (p < 0.0001) fertility preservation than transgender men. Concerning sperm donation in couples including a transgender man, 68% of centres offer the complete course from the first consultation to the completion of the assisted reproductive technology cycles; 122 offsprings have been conceived with sperm donation in couples including a transgender man since 1999. DISCUSSION: Our results showed that even if all centres do not propose fertility preservation or sperm donation in transgender individuals, these assisted reproductive technologies are present throughout the French territory. The major point is that both fertility preservation and sperm donation in transgender individuals have grown significantly and that the care of these patients is improving year after year. CONCLUSION: In France, most of CECOS centres can take care of transgender individuals for fertility preservation and sperm donation. The French Bioethics Law allows these latter, and transgender individuals can benefit from a financial support of the national health care insurance for fertility preservation and sperm donation.