title: Fresh semen quality in ejaculates produced by nocturnal emission in men with idiopathic anejaculation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the quality of fresh semen samples collected by nocturnal emission (NE), penile vibratory stimulation (PVS), or electroejaculation (EEJ) from idiopathic anejaculation patients with those collected by masturbation from healthy control subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-one men with idiopathic anejaculation.
  
  
  METHODS
  NE, PVS, EEJ, computer-assisted semen analysis system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sperm volume, concentration, motility, and morphology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean percentage of motile sperm in the NE group was 30.6% ± 3.5% (range 11.2%-50.9%), which is 1.5- and 1.9-fold higher than that of the PVS (20.5% ± 1.3%, range 6.9%-40.2%) and EEJ (16.1% ± 0.9%, range 3.7%-27.3%) groups, respectively. The percentage of sperm that have normal morphology in the NE group was 61.4% ± 4.8%, which is significantly higher than that in the PVS (38.4% ± 2.8%) and EEJ groups (29.5% ± 1.7%), respectively. However, compared with the healthy control group, the sperm motility and normal morphology in the NE, PVS, and EEJ groups were significantly lower. The sperm concentration in the NE group (149.4 ± 16.3 × 10(6) mL(-1)) was similar to that of the PVS group (143.8 ± 13.1 × 10(6) mL(-1)) but was higher than in the EEJ group (96.3 ± 8.6 × 10(6) mL(-1)) and lower than in the control group (225.0 ± 15.0 × 10(6) mL(-1)). Furthermore, the semen volume in the NE group (2.6 ± 0.2 mL) was lower than that of the control group (3.0 ± 0.1 mL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first to report on the quality of fresh semen obtained by NE in patients with idiopathic anejaculation. Sperm motility and normal morphology were higher in patients who collected sperm by NE than in those who collected sperm by PVS and EEJ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xianghu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Longchang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jihong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Junkai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shaogang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhangqun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D004542:Ejaculation; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008418:Masturbation; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055101:Semen Analysis; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000473:pathology*; D014732:Vibration; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Idiopathic anejaculation; electroejaculation; infertility; nocturnal emission; penile vibratory stimulation