Increased DHEAS and Decreased Total Testosterone Serum Levels in a Subset of Men with Early-Onset Androgenetic Alopecia: Does a Male PCOS-Equivalent Exist?
Table 3
Sperm parameters and testicular volume in patients with early-onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and in controls.
Parameters
Patients with AGA: n = 43
Group 1a: n = 21
Group 2b: n = 22
Control subjects: n = 36
Conventional sperm parameters
Volume (ml)
3.6 (2.2)
4.2 (2.8)
3.0 (1.5)
2.8 (1.3)
pH
7.9 (1.3)
8.0 (0.3)
7.7 (1.8)
8.0 (0.3)
Sperm concentration (mil/ml)
66.6 (49.8)
51.7 (42.4)d
79.9 (53.1)
52.4 (33.2)
Total sperm count (mil/ejaculate)
193.8 (142.8)
51.7 (42.7)
79.9 (53.1)
147.7 (104.3)
Forward motility (%)
18.7 (10.6)
21.3 (10.2)
16.3 (10.6)
15.9 (10.8)
Total motility (%)
56.6 (14.5)
60.9 (9.9)c
52.8 (17.0)
59.5 (8.3)
Normal morphology (%)
6.3 (2.9)
7.2 (3.0)
5.6 (2.7)
5.8 (3.3)
Leukocyte concentration (mil/ml)
2.1 (3.8)
1.2 (1.2)
3.0 (5.0)
2.5 (5.7)
Total leukocyte count (mil/ejaculate)
2.9 (8.2)
0.6 (0.7)
5.1 (11.1)
2.7 (3.6)
Biofunctional sperm parameters
Low mitochondrial membrane potential (%)
29.0 (20.8)
26.2 (17.5)
31.4 (23.6)
19.8 (17.8)
Abnormal chromatin compactness (%)
25.1 (8.1)
25.7 (5.7)
24.8 (9.5)
25.9 (8.2)
Alive spermatozoa (%)
73 (12.0)
72.2 (12.9)
73.8 (11.6)
75.5 (14.2)
Phosphatidylserine externalization (%)
1.9 (1.9)
2.4 (2.3)
1.5 (1.3)
1.8 (1.5)
Sperm apoptosis (%)
10.7 (12.6)
7.8 (7.5)c,d
13.5 (16.0)
3.4 (3.7)
DNA fragmentation (%)
2.9 (3.5)
1.7 (1.1)
4.2 (4.8)
1.2
Testicular volume
Total testicular volume (ml)
29.5 (7.5)
24.9 (4.7)
32.6 (9.1)
30.9 (7.9)
Left testicular volume (ml)
13.7 (3.7)
12.3 (2.8)
15.4 (4.1)
15.0 (4.3)
Right testicular volume (ml)
15.8 (4.3)
14.6 (2.6)
17.2 (5.6)
15.8 (4.0)
aPatients with early-onset AGA with at least one of the following parameters: body mass index (BMI) >25 Kg/m2, insulin-resistance (IR), and/or sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) <25 nmol/l. bPatients with early-onset AGA which did not satisfy any of the aforementioned criteria. compared to controls; compared to Group 2; compared to controls; compared to Group 2 (Student’s t-test). The DNA fragmentation was evaluated through TUNEL test. Results are expressed as mean value (standard deviation).
