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The team led by AIIMS Patna researchers found that COVID-19 can cause multiorgan damage through the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptor...
Digital Desk: Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have a negative impact on semen quality, according to a study on 30 males conducted by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The team led by AIIMS Patna researchers found that COVID-19 can cause multiorgan damage through the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptor (ACE2), which is abundant in testicular tissue.
ACE2 acts as a receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which allows the virus to enter host cells. However, little is known about the shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in semen (the thick, white fluid that contains sperm) and its impact on sperm production and fertility potential.
The study, published in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science, investigated for SARS-CoV-2 in the semen of COVID-19 males.
The researchers also examined the effect of the disease on semen quality and the sperm DNA fragmentation index, which reflects the integrity and damage to the DNA and can be used to detect possible sperm damage.
Thirty COVID-19 male patients, aged 19–45, registered at the AIIMS Patna hospital took part in the trial between October 2020 and April 2021.
"We conducted a real-time reverse transcriptase test on all the semen samples. Detailed semen analysis, including the sperm DNA fragmentation index, was done at first sampling that is during COVID-19," the authors of the study said.
"After 74 days of the first sampling, we obtained the second sampling and repeated all the tests," they said.
The study, which included researchers from AIIMS Managalagiri and AIIMS New Delhi, found that all sperm samples tested with real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were negative for SARS-CoV-2.
According to the researchers, semen volume, vitality, total motility, sperm concentration, and total sperm count were considerably lower in the first sampling.
In contrast, semen agglutination or sperm heap formation, head defect, DNA fragmentation index, liquefaction time, semen viscosity, and leukocytes or white blood cells increased.
Liquefaction time is the amount of time it takes for the sperm to become liquid, whereas viscosity is the thickness of the seminal fluid.
According to the researchers, these results were reversed at the second sampling although not to the optimum level.
The findings were statistically significant, indicating that "COVID-19 negatively affects sperm parameters, particularly sperm DNA fragmentation index," the authors noted.
"Although we did not find SARS-CoV-2 in the semen, the semen quality remained poor until the second sampling," they said.
The researchers noted that assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinics and sperm banking facilities should consider assessing the semen of COVID-19 infected males.
ART includes all fertility treatments in which either eggs or embryos are handled.
The researchers added that males with a positive history of SARS-CoV-2 should be excluded from these clinics until their sperm quality returns to normal.
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