title: New discriminatory level for glucosidase activity to diagnose epididymal obstruction or dysfunction.
abstract: Neutral alpha-glucosidase activity was measured in seminal plasma of 30 patients consulting for infertility with a variety of disorders, and compared with 25 normal controls. Significantly more of the study populations (asthenozoospermia, 4/6; oligozoospermia, 3/5; azoospermia 8/15) had a neutral alpha-glucosidase activity less than 10 mIU/mL as compared with control samples (3/25). Also the mean (+/- SD) neutral alpha-glucosidase activity in patients with asthenozoospermia (11.7 +/- 9.2) oligozoospermia (11.3 +/- 7.2), and post vasectomy azoospermia (5.3 +/- 3.4) was significantly (p < .05) less than ejaculate from controls (21.2 +/- 14). A seminal alpha-glucosidase level of 10 mIU/mL appears to be a useful discriminatory marker in the diagnosis of epididymal obstruction or dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kret
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milad
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Jeyendran
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D004822:Epididymis; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012661:Semen / Q000201:enzymology*; D013733:Testicular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases