-
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023Modern societies face infertility as a global challenge. There are certain environmental conditions and disorders that damage testicular tissue and may cause male... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Modern societies face infertility as a global challenge. There are certain environmental conditions and disorders that damage testicular tissue and may cause male infertility. Melatonin, as a potential antioxidant, may protect testicular tissue. Therefore, we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of melatonin in animal models against physical, heat, and ischemic damage to the testicular tissue.
METHODS
PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched to identify animal trials evaluating the protective effect of melatonin therapy on rodent testicular tissue when it is exposed to physical, thermal, ischemic, or hypobaric oxygen stress. Random-effect modeling was used to estimate the standardized mean difference and 95% confidence intervals based on the pooled data. Additionally, the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool was used to assess the risk of bias. The study protocol was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022354599).
RESULTS
A total of 41 studies were eligible for review out of 10039 records. Studies employed direct heat, cryptorchidism, varicocele, torsion-detorsion, testicular vascular occlusion, hypobaric hypoxia, ischemia-reperfusion, stress by excessive or restraint activity, spinal cord injury, and trauma to induce stress in the subjects. The histopathological characteristics of testicular tissue were generally improved in rodents by melatonin therapy. Based on the pooled data, sperm count, morphology, forward motility, viability, Johnsen's biopsy score, testicular tissue glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase levels were higher in the melatonin treatment rodent arms. In contrast, the malondialdehyde level in testicular tissue was lower in the treatment rodent arms. The included studies suffered from a high risk of bias in most of the SYRCLE domains.
CONCLUSION
This study concludes that melatonin therapy was associated with improved testicular histopathological characteristics, reproductive hormonal panel, and tissue markers of oxidative stress in male rodents with physical, ischemic, and thermal testicular injuries. In this regard, melatonin deserves scientific investigations as a potential protective drug against rodent male infertility.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022354599.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Male; Melatonin; Semen; Testis; Disease Models, Animal; Infertility, Male
PubMed: 36798664
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1123999 -
Arab Journal of Urology Mar 2018To assess the role of differentially expressed proteins as a resource for potential biomarker identification of infertility, as male infertility is of rising concern in...
OBJECTIVE
To assess the role of differentially expressed proteins as a resource for potential biomarker identification of infertility, as male infertility is of rising concern in reproductive medicine and evidence pertaining to its aetiology at a molecular level particularly proteomic as spermatozoa lack transcription and translation. Proteomics is considered as a major field in molecular biology to validate the target proteins in a pathophysiological state. Differential expression analysis of sperm proteins in infertile men and bioinformatics analysis offer information about their involvement in biological pathways.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Literature search was performed on PubMed, Medline, and Science Direct databases using the keywords 'sperm proteomics' and 'male infertility'. We also reviewed the relevant cross references of retrieved articles and included them in the review process. Articles written in any language other than English were excluded.
RESULTS
Of 575 articles identified, preliminary screening for relevant studies eliminated 293 articles. At the next level of selection, from 282 studies only 80 articles related to male infertility condition met the selection criteria and were included in this review.
CONCLUSION
In this molecular era, sperm proteomics has created a platform for enhanced understanding of male reproductive physiology as a potential tool for identification of novel protein biomarkers related to sperm function in infertile men. Therefore, it is believed that proteomic biomarkers can overcome the gaps in information from conventional semen analysis that are of limited clinical utility.
PubMed: 29713541
DOI: 10.1016/j.aju.2017.11.016 -
Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica... Jul 2018In the work-up of patients with suspected pelvic congestion syndrome, venography is currently the gold standard. Yet if non-invasive diagnostic tools are found to be...
INTRODUCTION
In the work-up of patients with suspected pelvic congestion syndrome, venography is currently the gold standard. Yet if non-invasive diagnostic tools are found to be accurate, invasive venography might no longer be indicated as necessary.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A literature search in Pubmed and EMBASE was performed from inception until 6 May 2017. Studies comparing non-invasive diagnostic tools to a reference standard in the work-up of patients with (suspected) pelvic congestion syndrome were included. Relevant data were extracted and methodological quality of individual included studies was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool.
RESULTS
Nine studies matched our inclusion criteria. Six studies compared ultrasonography to venography and three studies described a magnetic resonance imaging technique. In using transvaginal ultrasonography, the occurrence of a vein greater than five mm crossing the uterine body had a specificity of 91% (95% CI; 77-98%) and occurrence of pelvic varicoceles a sensitivity and specificity of 100% (95% CI; 89-100%) and 83-100% (95% CI; 66-93%), respectively. In transabdominal ultrasonography, reversed caudal flow in the ovarian vein accounted for a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI; 84-100%). Detection of pelvic congestion syndrome with magnetic resonance imaging techniques resulted in a sensitivity varying from 88 to 100%.
CONCLUSIONS
The sensitivity of ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging seem to be adequate, which indicates a role for both tests in an early stage of the diagnostic workup. However, due to methodological flaws and diversity in outcome parameters, more high standard research is necessary to establish a clear advice for clinical practice.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Ovary; Pelvic Pain; Pelvis; Phlebography; Syndrome; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Ultrasonography; Varicose Veins
PubMed: 29381188
DOI: 10.1111/aogs.13311