J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  2007 Apr;31(2):182-187.

Improvement of Sperm Quality by Pseudoephedrine in Spinal Cord Injured Males

• Cho SR
• Kim DY
• Park CI
• Shin JC
• Kim YW
• Park JW
• Park JH
• Min KH

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(R)) 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.

Keyword

Spinal cord injury; Adrenergic agonist; Electro-ejaculation; Semen analysis

MeSH Terms

Adrenergic Agonists
Electric Stimulation
Humans
Male*
Pseudoephedrine*
Semen
Semen Analysis
Sperm Count
Sperm Motility
Spermatozoa*
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal Cord*
Adrenergic Agonists
Pseudoephedrine