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Efficacy of Low‐Dose Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Therapy in Dogs with Spermatogenic Dysfunction: A Preliminary Study
Author(s) -
Kobayashi M,
Hori T,
Kawakami E
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12366
Subject(s) - human chorionic gonadotropin , medicine , endocrinology , semen , gonadotropin , semen quality , sperm , testosterone (patch) , andrology , testicle , spermatogenesis , equine chorionic gonadotropin , biology , hormone , ovulation
Contents Human chorionic gonadotropin ( hCG ) is a glycoprotein used in the treatment of spermatogenic dysfunction. However, previous studies performed in dogs show that repeated administration of large doses of hCG produces antibodies against hCG . In this study, we examined the efficacy of low‐dose injections of hCG in four male dogs with spermatogenic dysfunction and low plasma testosterone ( T ) levels. We administered 100 IU hCG per animal, five times at 3‐day intervals, and evaluated the changes in semen quality and plasma T levels. The total number of sperm in ejaculate, the percentage of progressively motile sperm and the plasma T levels had increased by 3–5 weeks after the first injection of hCG in three of the four dogs, but were unchanged in the fourth dog. These findings indicate that temporary improvement of the semen quality of dogs with spermatogenic dysfunction and low plasma T levels is possible after five low‐dose injections of hCG .