Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of short abstinence on sperm function tests and semen parameters. Materials and methods: This prospective study included 65 male patients with increased DNA injury in their ejaculated sperm and a history of recurrent pregnancy loss and/or assisted reproductive techniques failures. The effects of antioxidants medical therapy and short abstinence on semen quality were assessed (TUNEL test and CMA3 staining). Results: Antioxidants have statistically significant effects on mean sperm concentration (untreated, 67.51 ± 44.40 million/ml, vs. treated, 56.09 ± 37.85 million/ml; P-value=0.005) and mean TUNEL score (untreated, 24.56 ± 9.49, vs. treated, 20.64 ± 10.28; P-value = 0.013). Moreover, a short abstinence period might have positive effects as shown on the TUNEL assay (20.64 ± 10.28 vs. 17.38 ± 8.59; P-value = 0.028) and CMA3 staining (47.79 ± 20.78, vs. short 41.92 ± 18.49; P-value = 0.019), when considering all study subjects. However, different results were obtained using more precise analysis based on a TUNEL cutoff score of 20. The analysis showed that short abstinence might improve sperm DNA integrity in patients with TUNEL score > 20 (mean TUNEL score from 27.85 ± 8.32 to 19.14 ± 8.90; P-value =0.001). However, it might have deleterious effects on sperm DNA integrity in patients with TUNEL score < 20 (mean TUNEL score from 11.89 ± 3.21 to 15.17 ± 7.79; P-value = 0.045) Conclusion: Our results showed that short abstinence may not be beneficial in all infertile males, and it should only be used in selected patients with abnormal DNA integrity. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.