Lack of significant difference between internal spermatic vein and brachial vein ischemia modified albumin levels in patients with varicocele

Abstract

Varicocele is the most common and surgically correctible cause of male infertility in men attending to infertility clinics. Infertility affects 15% of all couples and male factor is the primary or contributing cause in 40% to 60% of cases. Varicocele has been shown to cause male infertility in about 15% of infertile couples. Molecular mechanisms responsible from varicocele induced testicular dysfunction and male infertility have not been completely unknown. Recent years have witnessed a huge amount of scientific works devoted to the mechanism of varicocele associated male infertility and rapid progress in research on its cellular and molecular mechanisms, including apoptosis and oxidative stress of germ cells. Here we evaluated internal spermatic vein and brachal vein ischemia modified albumin (IMA) level in 40 adult male patients with varicocele. IMA level was analyzed using albumin cobalt-binding test. Spermatic vein and brachial vein IMA levels were 0.381 ± 0.135 ABSU (absorbance units) and 0.385 ± 0.131 ABSU, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two areas. IMA levels in the internal spermatic vein of patients with varicocele should not be used as a marker of hypoxia.

Keywords

• Infertility
• Ischemia modified albumin
• Oxidative stress
• Varicocele