Improvement of Sperm Quality by Pseudoephedrine in Spinal Cord Injured Males.

, Cho, Sung Rae; , Kim, Deog Young; , Park, Chang il; , Shin, Ji Cheol; , Kim, Yong Wook; , Park, Ji Woong; , Park, Jin Hee; , Min, Kyoung Hoon

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine 2007;31(2):182-187.

Cho, Sung Rae , Kim, Deog Young , Park, Chang il , Shin, Ji Cheol , Kim, Yong Wook , Park, Ji Woong , Park, Jin Hee , Min, Kyoung Hoon

Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Korea. IONSU@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr

남성 척수손상인에서 슈도에페드린 복용이 정액의 질에 미치는 효과

조성래, 김덕용, 박창일, 신지철, 김용욱, 박지웅, 박진희, 민경훈

연세대학교 의과대학 재활의학교실 및 재활의학연구소

Abstract

Objective
To investigate the changes of sperm quality by taking adrenergic agonist in spinal cord injured (SCI) males treated by repeated electro-ejaculation.
Method
Twenty-six SCI males were induced three times to ejaculate with rectal probe electrical stimulation, and then semen analysis for their antegrade and retrograde ejaculates was performed, at weekly interval, while they either took pseudoephedrine (Sudafed^Ⱂ) for 2 weeks or no medication as a control.
Results
Before pseudoephedrine medication, there was no significant difference in sperm quality between two groups. However, after 2 weeks' medication, SCI males taking pse-udoephedrine showed increased semen concentration, motile sperm count and sperm motility of the antegrade ejaculates compared to control group, although there was no difference in any parameter of the retrograde ejaculates. Moreover, sperm motility of the antegrade ejaculates significantly improved after 2 weeks' medication compared with those at the baseline.
Conclusion
Pseudoephedrine, a sympathomimetic adrenergic agonist, may potentiate the improvement of sperm quality in SCI males undergoing repeated electro-ejaculation for short periods. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2007; 31: 182- 187)

Key Words: Spinal cord injury, Adrenergic agonist, Electro-ejaculation, Semen analysis