Y spermatozoa in normal, oligospermic and in residual spermatozoa of post-vasectomy human semen
Chinsomboon, S.; Nuttharit, P.; Sudsam-Ang, A.; Osathanondh, V.
Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand 71(Suppl 1): 38-41
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0125-2208 PMID: 3418266 Document Number: 371408
From October 1986-February 1987, researchers at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand conducted a study of 175 men to detect the percentage of Y spermatozoa in normal and oligospermia semen and in residual sperm of postvasectomy semen. After 3 days of abstinence, 46 medical student volunteers, 109 infertility clinic patients, and 20 post vasectomy patients masturbated to collect the needed samples. Researchers identified Y sperm by staining the semen with quinacrine hydrochloride and looking for the distinctive fluorescent spot at the head of the Y sperm. The semen of 124 cases was normal and the semen of the remaining cases was oligospermia. 98% of the medical students, 67% of the infertile men, and 30% of the postvasectomy patients had normal semen. Overall the average percentage of Y sperm stood at 43.8 (range=12.5-62). The total for normal and oligospermia semen was 44.36 and 41.32 respectively, but this difference was not significant (p.05). The infertile men had the highest average percentage of Y sperm (45.6) followed by medical student (43.86) and postvasectomy patients (30.82). Researchers do not know why the semen of postvasectomy men has a low percentage of Y sperm. The difference between the percentage of Y sperm of the postvasectomy patients and that of both the medical students and the infertile men was significant (p.0001). The percentage of those with Y sperm below 40% stood at 21.8 for the medical students, 16.5 for the infertile men, and 65 of the postvasectomy patients. Researchers need to conduct further studies to determine if these type of men are more likely to father female children. Possible explanations for the less than expected 50% of all sperm to be Y sperm may be that the F body technique cannot detect 10% of them or the Y chromosome is deep in the head and cannot be seen using this technique.