Evaluation of seminal zinc levels by atomic absorption in men with spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study evaluating seminal zinc level in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. OBJECTIVES: Patients with SCI have neurological prostate dysfunction. There are only some indications in the literature that seminal zinc level may be lower in these patients. Seminal zinc is mainly produced by the prostate and, therefore, can be considered to be a marker of prostate function. The objective of the present study was to determine whether SCI can induce changes in seminal zinc levels and to compare the results with those obtained for normal men (controls). SETTING: The study was carried out in Brazil. METHODS: A total of 24 men with SCI (mean age±s.d. 36.25±10.24 years) and 24 controls (mean age±s.d. 36.50±10.31 years) were studied. Blood and semen were collected after 3 days of abstinence from ejaculation. Semen was left at room temperature for 15 min, stored in liquid nitrogen, and lyophilized. Seminal zinc was determined by atomic absorption. Blood was stored at a controlled temperature of - 70 to -79 °C and later used for the determination of testosterone, prolactin and total prostate-specific antigen using an AxSYM apparatus and Abbott reagents. RESULTS: Mean seminal zinc concentration was 85.20 mg l(-1) for the patients, a lower value than that obtained for the controls (147.16 mg l(-1)) (P=0.0035). CONCLUSION: Patients with SCI have a significant reduction of seminal zinc.