Сondition of urogenital tract microbiotes and pro- and antioxidant system in male azoospermia

Over the past 20 years, there has been a clear trend to increase in the number of infertile men in Ukraine, their percentage reaches 50% in infertile couples. There is a significant percentage of male infertility caused by azoospermia – the lack of sperm in the ejaculate. In male infertility, azoospermia is found in 10–15% of patients, among other forms of pathospermia. Given the ambiguity of ideas about the etiology, pathogenesis and treatment and diagnostic approaches for various types of infertility, it remains important to clarify the relationship of urogenital infections with the regulatory systems of cells, including the state of the pro- and antioxidant system and the search for additional markers. 119 patients with various forms of azoospermia were examined. All patients underwent the following studies: spermogram, infectious screening, inhibin B, lipid peroxidation, activity of enzymes of the glutathione antioxidant system in sperm plasma and blood serum. Infectious screening included analysis of urethral secretions, bacteriological examination of sperm or prostate secretion, assessment of the species and quantitative composition of the microflora of the male urogenital tract. According to the results of spermogram and other diagnostic methods, a non-obstructive form of azoospermia was detected in 69 patients. In obstructive azoospermia, ejaculate as such was absent. It is suggested that inhibin B may be an important medical diagnostic test for azoospermia. As a result of the conducted researches the importance of determining the concentration of inhibin B as a marker of azoospermia was demonstrated and a negative correlation of moderate strength between the content of inhibin B and testosterone level in the plasma of men with non-obstructive azoospermia was revealed. It was found that Ureaplasma pervum and Ureaplasma urealyticum infect the male genitourinary system to the greatest extent among a number of microorganisms, both in non-obstructive and obstructive forms of azoospermia. Enterococcus faecalis is more pronounced in the sperm fluid in the non-obstructive form of azoospermia and prostate secreton in the obstructive form of azoospermia. In the non-obstructive form of azoospermia in the seminal plasma and serum, the processes of lipid peroxidation intensify, the concentration of reduced glutathione decreases and the activities of the enzymes of the glutathione antioxidant system (glutathione peroxidase and glutathione transferase) decrease. It can be considered that an important diagnostic test for the nonobstructive form of azoospermia is the ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione in sperm plasma.

The Effect of Combination Therapy with Melatonin on the Enzymes of Glutathione System and the Level of Transforming Growth Factor- β1 in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease

Aim. The aim of the work was to assess the effect of combination therapy with melatonin on the clinical and biochemical parameters of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), the level of transforming growth factor-β1, lipid profile, activity of the glutathione antioxidant system enzymes and the activity of NADPH-generating enzymes in patients.Materials and methods. The study involved 60 people (19 men and 41 women, average age 65.6 ± 9.3 years) with chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes. The patients were divided into 2 groups. The first group of patients received basic treatment (n = 30, 8 men and 22 women, mean age 64.1 ± 7.9 years); the second group of participants (n = 30, 11 men and 19 women, mean age 69.0 ± 10.5 years) received 2 mg of melatonin in addition to the basic therapy. The control group consisted of 65 apparently healthy individuals (30 men and 35 women, average age 42.3±17.7 years) with normal indicators of general and biochemical blood tests. In the course of the work, the analysis of clinical and biochemical indicators and lipid profile in blood serum, the level of transforming growth factor-β1 by enzyme immunoassay, the activity of enzymes of the glutathione antioxidant system and NADPH-generating enzymes by the spectrophotometric method were carried out.Results. The use of melatonin additionally with basic treatment compared with standard therapy led to a decrease in proteinuria (p=0.010), hyperglycemia (p=0.019), urea concentration (p=0.043), glycated hemoglobin (p=0.045) and transforming growth factor-β1 levels (p=0.020) in patients with CKD. In addition, the use of this drug led to a changing of the lipid profile, and the activity of glutathione antioxidant system enzymes and NADPH-generating enzymes.Conclusion. The differences observed during the study were apparently caused by the action of melatonin, which has nephroprotective and hypoglycemic properties, the ability to neutralize reactive oxygen species and activate the antioxidant system functioning.