|
|
Clin Exp Immunol. 1981 June; 44(3): 567–575. | PMCID: PMC1537323 |
Dexamethasone therapy of infertile men with sperm autoantibodies: immunological and sperm follow-up. M De Almeida and P Jouannet Abstract A group of 14 infertile men with significant titres of anti-sperm antibodies in their sera and seminal plasma were treated with dexamethasone acetate at 2 of 3 mg/day for s13 or 9 weeks respectively. Response to the treatment was evaluated by the evolution of seminal and circulating anti-sperm antibodies and semen characteristics. An overall decline in the anti-sperm antibodies was observed. Serum spermotoxicity and seminal agglutinins decreased below detectable levels in 67 and 58% of the men respectively. The decrease in both kinds of antibodies was closely correlated. Serum sperm agglutination titres fell slightly (2 to 3 log2 dilutions) in most cases. The disappearance of antibodies from the semen was accompanied by decreased autoagglutination and increased percentages of progressively motile spermatozoa. In two oligozoospermic men a striking increase in the sperm count was observed. Pregnancies occurred in three couples at times when serum spermotoxic and seminal agglutinating antibodies were undetectable and semen characteristics were normal. Full text Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (860K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References. These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article. - Butler WT, Rossen RD. Effects of corticosteroids on immunity in man. I. Decreased serum IgG concentration caused by 3 or 5 days of high doses of methylprednisolone. J Clin Invest. 1973 Oct;52(10):2629–2640. [PubMed]
- De Almeida M, Soufir JC. Corticosteroid therapy for male autoimmune infertility. Lancet. 1977 Oct 15;2(8042):815–816. [PubMed]
- Dondero F, Isidori A, Lenzi A, Cerasaro M, Mazzilli F, Giovenco P, Conti C. Treatment and follow-up of patients with infertility due to spermagglutinins. Fertil Steril. 1979 Jan;31(1):48–51. [PubMed]
- Fauci AS, Dale DC, Balow JE. Glucocorticosteroid therapy: mechanisms of action and clinical considerations. Ann Intern Med. 1976 Mar;84(3):304–315. [PubMed]
- Halim A, Antoniou D, Lane J, Blandy J. The significance of antibodies to sperm in infertile men and their wives. Br J Urol. 1974 Feb;46(1):65–67. [PubMed]
- Hamerlynck J, Rümke P. A test for the detection of cytotoxic antibodies to spermatozoa in man. J Reprod Fertil. 1968 Oct;17(1):191–194. [PubMed]
- Hellema HW, Rümke P. The micro-sperm immobilization test: the use of only motile spermatozoa and studies of complement. Clin Exp Immunol. 1978 Jan;31(1):1–11. [PubMed]
- Hendry WF, Stedronska J, Hughes L, Cameron KM, Pugh RC. Steroid treatment of male subfertility caused by antisperm antibodies. Lancet. 1979 Sep 8;2(8141):498–501. [PubMed]
- Husted S, Hjort T. Sperm antibodies in serum and seminal plasma. Int J Fertil. 1975;20(2):97–105. [PubMed]
- Katz M, Newill R. Steroid treatment for infertility associated with antisperm antibodies. Lancet. 1980 Jun 14;1(8181):1306–1306. [PubMed]
- Kremer J, Jager S, Kuiken J. Treatment of infertility caused by antisperm antibodies. Int J Fertil. 1978;23(4):270–276. [PubMed]
- Mancini RE, Lavieri JC, Muller F, Andrada JA, Saraceni DJ. Effect of prednisolone upon normal and pathologic human spermatogenesis. Fertil Steril. 1966 Jul–Aug;17(4):500–513. [PubMed]
- Rumke P, Van Amstel N, Messer EN, Bezemer PD. Prognosis of fertility of men with sperm agglutinins in the serum. Fertil Steril. 1974 May;25(5):393–398. [PubMed]
- Shulman S. Treatment of immune male infertility with methylprednisolone. Lancet. 1976 Dec 4;2(7997):1243–1243. [PubMed]
- Shulman S, Harlin B, Davis P, Reyniak JV. Immune infertility and new approaches to treatment. Fertil Steril. 1978 Mar;29(3):309–313. [PubMed]
- Tuchinda M, Newcomb RW, DeVald BL. Effect of prednisone treatment on the human immune response to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol. 1972;42(4):533–544. [PubMed]
|