Male Factor Treatment · Medical Management
Safian F et al., 2020 · Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery
Enhanced sperm motility is necessary for the successful journey of sperm inside the female genital tract, successful fertilization, and the increased chance of pregnancy. We investigated the impact of red and near-infrared (NIR) ranges of photobiomodulation (PBM) alone and together on fresh human sperm to validate an optimized PBM protocol that would maximize sperm motility and viability in vitro. We randomly divided 30 normal human semen samples into 3 different PBM protocols (red, NIR, and red+NIR lasers). Each sample was divided into four subparts, one control group sample and three experimental group samples. Each experimental group received one of the PBM protocols (red, NIR, or red+NIR). Each protocol was adjusted to three energy densities (0.6, 1.2, and 2.4 J/cm2). After exposure to the selected protocol, we determined the percentage of either viable or progressive sperm motility (PSM) and measured the DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI). The NIR and red+NIR lasers at 2.4 J/cm2 energy density significantly increased PSM after 60 min compared with the control groups [least significant difference (LSD) test, p = 0.023 and p = 0.04, respectively]. Samples treated with the red laser at 0.6 J/cm2 had significantly decreased viability compared with the control group (LSD test, p = 0.003). Samples treated with the red+NIR lasers had significantly decreased viability at 0.6 J/cm2 (p = 0.003), 1.2 J/cm2 (p = 0.001), and 2.4 J/cm2 (p = 0.04) energy densities when compared with the control groups. The NIR laser resulted in no significant difference in sperm viability between the control and experimental groups. At 120 min after exposure, treatment with the red+NIR and red lasers at 2.4 J/cm2 density significantly increased DFI compared to the control groups (LSD test, p = 0.000, p = 0.007). In this study, sperm motility, viability, and DFI data confirmed the superiority of the NIR laser at 0.6 J/cm2 energy density compared with the red and red+NIR PBM protocols.
Male Factor Treatment · Medical Management
Ahmed R et al., 2024 · Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology
Improved sperm motility is necessary for successful sperm passage through the female genital system, efficacious fertilization, and a greater probability of pregnancy. By stimulating the mitochondrial respiratory chain, low-level laser photobiomodulation has been shown to increase sperm motility and velocity. The respiratory chain in mitochondria is the primary site of action for cytochrome c oxidase because it can absorb light in the visible and infrared ranges. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of red laser 650 nm, near infrared laser (NIR) 980 nm, and combination of both on human spermatozoa motility and DNA integrity at different doses. An in-vitro controlled trial was performed in Al Zahraa university hospital laboratory using thirty fresh human semen specimens. Samples were exposed to red laser 650 nm, near infrared laser (NIR) 980 nm, and combination of both for various irradiation times. Sperm motility for the test and control aliquots was assessed as recommended in the manual of WHO-2021. Sperm chromatin integrity was evaluated using the Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay. Results revealed almost 70%, 80% and 100% increase in the total motility after 3 min of the 650-nm, 980-nm and the combined laser irradiation, respectively. Additionally, the Sperm Chromatin Dispersion assay was carried out on sperm heads utilizing human sperm DNA fragmentation, demonstrating that none of the three laser types had any discernible effects.
Male Factor Treatment · Medical Management
Firestone RS et al., 2012 · Journal of andrology
The objective of this study was to determine the effects of low-level laser light exposure on the motility of spermatozoa and on DNA damage. Thirty-three semen samples were collected for routine analysis and were classified as normospermic, oligospermic, or asthenospermic. After routine semen analysis was performed, residual semen was divided into treated and control aliquots. Treated samples were exposed to a 30-second infrared laser pulse of 50 mW/cm(2) at 905 nm, a wavelength thought to increase light-sensitive cytochrome c oxidase in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Samples were then incubated at 37°C, and aliquots were analyzed at 30 minutes and 2 hours using computerassisted semen analysis. After incubation, 250 μL of each sample was frozen at 280°C until DNA fragmentation analysis by flow cytometry. A significant increase in motility, most prominent in oligospermic and asthenospermic samples (85% increase), was observed 30 minutes after the treatment (P < .0001). No significant increase in DNA damage compared with control samples was observed. Significant changes in sperm motion kinetics were observed. Low-level laser light exposure appears to have a positive short-term effect on the motility of treated spermatozoa and did not cause any increase in DNA damage measured at 2 hours. We conclude that some cases of asthenospermia may be related to mitochondrial dysfunction. The implications of this study in terms of future clinical applications needs further investigation.
Male Factor Treatment · Medical Management
Hasani A et al., 2020 · Life sciences
Heat stress shock affects the generation of free radicals and can have a harmful effect on spermatogenesis. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is very effective in andrology for treating male infertility. This research aimed at the evaluation of the impacts of PBM on spermatogenesis on the transient scrotal hyperthermia-induced oligospermia mouse model. This experimental research divided 24 mice into the following four groups: (1) Control, (2) Scrotal hyperthermia, (3) Scrotal hyperthermia receiving laser 0.03 J/cm2 for 30 s for each testis, 35 days after induction of scrotal hyperthermia every other day for 35 days, and (4) Scrotal hyperthermia receiving laser 0.03 J/cm2 for 30 s for each testis, immediately after induction of scrotal hyperthermia every other day for 35 days. Scrotal hyperthermia was induced by water bath with 43 °C for 30 min. Then, the mice were euthanized, and their sperm samples were collected for sperm parameters analysis. Then, we took the testis samples for histopathological experimentations, serum testosterone level, reactive oxygen species (ROS), RNA extraction for the examination of IL1-α, IL6 and TNF-α genes expression as well as production and glutathione disulfide (GSH) activity. Our outputs indicated that PBM could largely improve the sperms parameters and stereological parameters, like spermatogonia, primary spermatocyte, round spermatid and Leydig cells together with an increasing level of the serum testosterone and GSH activity compared to the scrotal hyperthermia induced mice. In addition, it was found that the diameter of seminiferous tubules, ROS production, as well as the expression of IL1-α, IL6, and TNF-α genes significantly decreased in the treatment groups by PBM compared to the scrotal hyperthermia induced mice, but there was not a significant difference in terms of testis weight and Sertoli cells between the studied groups. It could be concluded that PBM may be regarded as an alternative treatment for improving the spermatogenesis process in the scrotal hyperthermia induced mice.