Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How benign prostatic hyperplasia affects sperm shape and DNA in dogs
By Flores, R B et al.·Published in Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene·2017·Department of Animal Reproduction, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The influence of benign prostatic hyperplasia on sperm morphological features and sperm DNA integrity in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of older male dogs with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) showed signs of reduced sperm quality compared to healthy dogs. The study found that dogs with BPH had lower sperm DNA integrity and more defects in their sperm compared to those without the condition. This means that if you have an older intact male dog with BPH, it might affect his ability to reproduce. If you're considering breeding your dog, it's important to have his sperm analyzed to understand his reproductive health better.
People also search for: dog sperm quality BPH · older dog breeding issues · benign prostatic hyperplasia effects on dogs
Abstract
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has a high incidence in older intact dogs. Due to the increased prostatic oxidative stress and hormonal imbalance of BPH, sperm damage can arise, such as sperm morphological alterations and DNA fragmentation. This study aimed to compare the reproductive potential of healthy dogs and those affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia. Ten dogs were assigned to two experimental groups: dogs without BPH (control; n = 5) and dogs diagnosed with BPH (n = 5), based on clinical signs and ultrasonographic findings. Three semen collections were performed from each dog within one month and analysed using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and functional tests. Control group showed higher percentage of sperm DNA integrity (95 ± 1.8%) compared to the BPH group (79.2 ± 6.4%). On the other hand, the percentage of minor sperm defects, amplitude of lateral sperm head displacement of the spermatozoa and medium sperm mitochondrial activity were higher in the BPH group. In conclusion, BPH decreases sperm DNA integrity, increases mitochondrial activity, as well as modifies sperm movement pattern. Therefore, a careful sperm analysis of aged dogs with BPH is required before a reproductive programme can be established for such patients.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27774660/