Andrologic studies and sexual potency in chronic human brucellosis

A 100 male patients aged from 20 to 45 years were treated for chronic brucellosis. Sixty-eight complained of impaired sexual potency. The percentage of patients with sexual disorders increased parallel to the duration of the disease. Andrologic investigations comprised a study sexual history, physical examination of the external sexual organs, examination of the seminal fluid and in a few cases biopsy of testes material. Impaired sexual potency was mostly associated with changes in the gonads and in the seminal fluid. In some cases, however, decreased sexual potency appeared without any visible involvment of the genital organs. The pathogenesis of the changes in the genital organs and in semen in relation to age and sexual potency are discussed.