Gonadal evaluation in male systemic lupus erythematosus / Avaliação da função gonadal em pacientes do sexo masculino com lúpus eritematoso sistêmico

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2006

RESUMO

Objective: To assess gonadal function in male systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods: Thirty-five consecutive male SLE patients (American College Rheumatology criteria) were prospectively evaluated for demographic, clinical features, previous and current treatment, urologic evaluation, testicular Döppler ultrasound, hormone profile, semen analysis including morphology and anti-sperm antibodies, and to compare them to 35 agematched healthy controls. Results: SLE patients had a lower median testicular volume in both testes (p=0.003 and p=0.004), total sperm count (p=0.002) and total motile sperm count (p=0.004) compared to controls. Likewise, the mean sperm volume and percentage of normal sperm forms were lower in SLE versus controls (p=0.015 and p=0.015). Since all SLE patients (100%) had semen alterations they were further subdivided according to the severity of theses abnormalities in: group A with 18 patients (teratozoospermia) and group B with 17 patients (azoospermia or teratozoospermia in combination with oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia). Of note, the frequency of intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCYC) after the first ejaculation was higher in group B than in A (p=0.001), likewise the higher median cumulative dose (p=0.005), number of pulses (p=0.005), and duration of IVCYC (p=0.006). Moreover, the medians of testicular volume measured by ultrasound in both testicles were lower in group B compared to A (p=0.001 and p=0.001). Interestingly, elevated FSH levels were higher in group B compared to A (p=0.018). Conclusions: SLE patients have a high frequency of sperm abnormalities associated with reduced testicular volume. The post-pubertal IVCYC use was the major factor of permanent potential damage to the testes.

ASSUNTO(S)

hormone hormônios lúpus eritematoso sistêmico male sêmen testículo ultra-sonografia systemic lupus erythematosus sperm ultrasound homens gonadal

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