Deficiency of alpha-tocopherol in seminal fluid as a probable factor in low fertility in Côte d'Ivoire.

To evaluate the level of alpha-Tocopherol in seminal fluid of patients with low fertility, forty subjects with low fertility (17 with asthenospermia and 32 with oligoasthenospermia) and 21 subjects with normal sperm parameters were recruited into this study for assessing their alpha-Tocopherol seminal fluid level. The mean level of alpha-Tocopherol in subjects with normal sperm profile was 0.62 micromol/l compared to those with pathological profile such as asthenospermia (0.29 micromol/l) and oligoasthenospermia (0.28 micromol/l). The determination of alpha-Tocopherol in human seminal fluid provides useful information concerning the exploration of low fertility in Cote d'Ivoire.

HPV seminal shedding among men seeking fertility evaluation in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the semen shedding of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in African men. OBJECTIVES: To detect and identify HPV types in semen samples from men seeking fertility evaluation in Abidjan, Ivory Cost. STUDY DESIGN: Sixty-three semen samples were tested by PCR using consensus primers and HPV types were determined by PCR product sequencing or by line probe assay (LiPA) when sequencing was inconclusive. RESULTS: A total of 19 HPV isolates belonging to 11 HPV types were identified in semen samples from 18 (28.6%) men. Ten (55.5%) of the HPV-positive men shed oncogenic HPV types. An association of borderline significance (P=0.06) was observed between HPV semen shedding and a lower sperm count. CONCLUSION: HPV shedding in semen is common in African men. The relationship between HPV semen shedding and sperm quality merits to be further investigated.