Abstract
BackgroundSeveral factors have been shown to influence semen parameters, one of which is sexual abstinence; a clinical criteria included in the semen evaluation to provide maximum sperm quality. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of a daily ejaculation frequency on conventional and functional semen parameters.MethodsSemen samples were collected daily over a period of two weeks of which every second sample per person was processed and analyzed according to the World Health Organization guidelines. Furthermore, mitochondrial function, intracellular reactive oxygen species production and sperm DNA fragmentation were evaluated by flow cytometry.ResultsTotal sperm count and seminal volume per ejaculation declined and remained decreased for the duration of the daily ejaculation period. However, conventional parameters such as sperm concentration, motility, progressive motility, morphology, vitality and functional parameters such as sperm plasma membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA fragmentation was not significantly affected and remained similar to the initial measurement throughout the daily ejaculation period. Despite intra- and inter individual variations, the average values of the basic semen parameters remained above the WHO (2010) reference values throughout the daily ejaculation period. Interestingly, a decreasing trend in intracellular ROS production was observed, although statistically not significant.ConclusionsThe study shows that an extended 2 week period of daily ejaculation does not have major clinical effects on conventional and functional seminal parameters.
Highlights
Several factors have been shown to influence semen parameters, one of which is sexual abstinence; a clinical criteria included in the semen evaluation to provide maximum sperm quality
Once human spermatozoa have been produced in the seminiferous tubuli, they are stored in the epididymis for future release [1]
Studies have found that human semen samples vary over time and this may be due to three principal factors: (i) pre-analytical influences; (ii) analytical randomization and systematic error; and (iii) inherent biological variation [9, 29,30,31]
Summary
Several factors have been shown to influence semen parameters, one of which is sexual abstinence; a clinical criteria included in the semen evaluation to provide maximum sperm quality. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of a daily ejaculation frequency on conventional and functional semen parameters. Once human spermatozoa have been produced in the seminiferous tubuli, they are stored in the epididymis for future release [1]. The negative effect of prolonged storage (epididymal transit) on sperm motility has been reported widely, but the effective storage period in the human is still uncertain [3, 5]. More recently new insights have been gained through the research conducted on epididymal function and its regulation of spermatozoa [6,7,8]
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