Seminal vesicles and diabetic neuropathy: ultrasound evaluation in patients with couple infertility and different levels of glycaemic control

Sandro La Vignera, Rosita A Condorelli, Vicari E, Enzo Vicari, Rosario D'Agata, D'Agata R, Aldo E Calogero, Calogero AE
Asian journal of andrology · 2011 · vol. 13(6) , pp. 872–6 · doi:10.1038/aja.2011.47 · PMID:21804571 · PMC3739553
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Transrectal ultrasound reveals that infertile men with diabetic neuropathy exhibit seminal vesicle functional atony, characterized by altered dimensions and reduced ejaculatory changes that worsen with poor glycemic control.

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This study evaluated ultrasound characteristics of seminal vesicles in 45 infertile men with type 2 diabetes and symptomatic diabetic neuropathy, comparing them to healthy fertile controls and patients with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. Participants were stratified by glycaemic control levels, revealing that all diabetic patients exhibited a higher fundus-to-body ratio and reduced pre- and post-ejaculatory changes in seminal vesicle diameter compared to controls. The findings indicate that poor glycaemic control is associated with more pronounced functional atony of the seminal vesicles, as evidenced by specific morphological and dynamic ultrasound parameters. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ultrasound characteristics of the seminal vesicles (SVs) of infertile patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic neuropathy (DN) and to investigate possible changes in ultrasound characteristics related to glycaemic control. To accomplish this, 45 infertile patients with type 2 DM and symptomatic DN were selected. Twenty healthy fertile men and 20 patients with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia without DM represented the control groups. DM patients were arbitrarily divided into three groups according to glycaemic control level (A=glycosylated haemoglobin 10%). Patients underwent prostate-vesicular transrectal ultrasonography and sperm analysis. The following SV ultrasound parameters were recorded: (i) body antero-posterior diameter (APD); (ii) fundus APD; (iii) parietal thicknesses of the right and left SVs; and (iv) the number of polycyclic areas within both SVs. We then calculated the following parameters: (i) fundus/body (F/B) ratio; (ii) difference of the parietal thickness between the right and the left SV; and (iii) pre- and post-ejaculatory APD difference. All DM patients had a higher F/B ratio compared to controls (P<0.05). Group C had a higher F/B ratio compared to the other DM groups (P<0.05). All DM patients had a lower pre- and post-ejaculatory difference of the body SV APD compared to controls (P<0.05). Groups A and B had a similar pre- and post-ejaculatory difference of the body SV APD, whereas this difference was lower in Group C (P<0.05). In conclusion, infertile DM patients with DN showed peculiar SV ultrasound features suggestive of functional atony, and low glycaemic control was associated with greater expression of these features.
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| Volume 13, Issue 6 (November 2011) 13, 872–876; 10.1038/aja.2011.47 Seminal vesicles and diabetic neuropathy: ultrasound evaluation in patients with couple infertility and different levels of glycaemic control Sandro La Vignera, Rosita A Condorelli, Enzo Vicari, Rosario D’Agata and Aldo E Calogero Section of Endocrinology, Andrology and Internal Medicine and Master's Program in Andrological, Human Reproduction and Biotechnology Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine and Systemic Diseases, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy Correspondence: Dr S La Vignera, ([email protected]) Received 19 February 2011; Revised 18 March 2011; Accepted 12 April 2011; Published online 1 August 2011 | Abstract | | The aim of this study was to evaluate the ultrasound characteristics of the seminal vesicles (SVs) of infertile patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic neuropathy (DN) and to investigate possible changes in ultrasound characteristics related to glycaemic control. To accomplish this, 45 infertile patients with type 2 DM and symptomatic DN were selected. Twenty healthy fertile men and 20 patients with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia without DM represented the control groups. DM patients were arbitrarily divided into three groups according to glycaemic control level (A=glycosylated haemoglobin 10%). Patients underwent prostate-vesicular transrectal ultrasonography and sperm analysis. The following SV ultrasound parameters were recorded: (i) body antero-posterior diameter (APD); (ii) fundus APD; (iii) parietal thicknesses of the right and left SVs; and (iv) the number of polycyclic areas within both SVs. We then calculated the following parameters: (i) fundus/body (F/B) ratio; (ii) difference of the parietal thickness between the right and the left SV; and (iii) pre- and post-ejaculatory APD difference. All DM patients had a higher F/B ratio compared to controls (P<0.05). Group C had a higher F/B ratio compared to the other DM groups (P<0.05). All DM patients had a lower pre- and post-ejaculatory difference of the body SV APD compared to controls (P<0.05). Groups A and B had a similar pre- and post-ejaculatory difference of the body SV APD, whereas this difference was lower in Group C (P<0.05). In conclusion, infertile DM patients with DN showed peculiar SV ultrasound features suggestive of functional atony, and low glycaemic control was associated with greater expression of these features. Keywords: diabetes; glycaemic control; infertility; neuropathy; seminal vesicles PDF | PDF | 中文摘要 | | | | | Browse: 3856 | |

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MeSH descriptors

Blood Glucose Diabetic Neuropathies Infertility, Female Infertility, Male Seminal Vesicles Adult Blood Glucose Diabetic Neuropathies Diabetic Neuropathies Diabetic Neuropathies Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Infertility, Male Infertility, Male Infertility, Male Male Middle Aged

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