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Sperm caspase-9 in oligoasthenoteratozoospermic men with and without varicocele
Adel Zalata1, Mohamed El-Mogy, Ahmed Abdel-Khabir
1Medical Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Objective:
To assess sperm caspase-9 activity in infertile oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT) men with and without varicocele.
Design:
Prospective.
Setting:
Academic setting.
Patient(S):
Eighty men: healthy fertile control subjects (n = 20), OAT (n = 25), and OAT associated with left-side varicocele (n = 35).
Intervention(S):
History taking, clinical examination, semen analysis,assessment of seminal caspase-9.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Semen analysis, sperm caspase-9.
Result(S):
Sperm caspase-9 was significantly increased in infertile OAT men associated with varicocele compared with OAT men without varicocele and healthy fertile control subjects. Sperm casapse-9 activity demonstrated significant negative correlation with sperm count, sperm motility, sperm velocity, sperm linear velocity, sperm linearity index, and sperm normal morphology.
Conclusion(S):
Sperm caspase-9 is exaggerated in infertile OAT cases with varicocele compared with infertile OAT cases without varicocele or healthy fertile men. Sperm caspase-9 demonstrated significant negative correlation with semen variables.
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