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Cost‐effective diagnosis of male oxidative stress using the nitroblue tetrazolium test: useful application for the developing world
Author(s) -
Amarasekara D. S.,
Wijerathna S.,
Fernando C.,
Udagama P. V.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
andrologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1439-0272
pISSN - 0303-4569
DOI - 10.1111/and.12043
Subject(s) - oxidative stress , andrology , male infertility , infertility , reactive oxygen species , semen , semen analysis , asthenozoospermia , formazan , medicine , nitroblue tetrazolium , gynecology , biology , immunology , pregnancy , biochemistry , genetics
Summary Seminal oxidative stress plays an important role in male factor infertility ( MFI ), worldwide. A study was thus undertaken for the first time to establish seminal reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) as a clinical marker of MFI in a cohort of Sri Lankan males. The nitro blue tetrazolium ( NBT ) assay for ROS estimation and modified E ndtz test for detecting leucocytes were carried out on semen samples ( N = 102) of subfertile males. Age‐matched individuals ( N = 30) with proven past paternity served as controls. Significantly higher ROS production was evident in individuals with asthenozoospermia and unexplained infertility (Mann–Whitney U ‐test, P = 0.000), than in the fertile and the other subfertile groups tested. Receiver operating characteristic plot analysis established cut‐off points of 40.57 and 42.02 μg formazan/10 7 spermatozoa for ROS to distinguish fertile males from asthenozoospermics (71.4% sensitivity: 70% specificity; AUC = 0.82), and from unexplained infertile males (74.1 % sensitivity: 73.3% specificity; AUC = 0.85) respectively. As ROS appear to be a potential marker of male infertility, it is imperative to validate this test as a simple, cost‐effective hence a widely accessible diagnostic tool to be included in MFI investigations in the developing world.