Leukocytospermia in spinal cord injured patients is not related to histological inflammatory changes in the prostate.

PURPOSE: Patients with spinal cord injuries have abnormal seminal plasma, which contributes to impaired sperm motility and viability. A common finding in these patients is an elevated leukocyte count in semen. We examined the prostatic tissue of spinal cord injured patients vs young healthy controls to determine whether a pathological process related to the prostate gland is a possible source of leukocytospermia.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Seven men with a mean age of 26.1 years with spinal cord injury and 4 controls with a mean age of 35.0 years underwent standard transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy. Semen analyses were performed prior to biopsies. At least 3 biopsy cores were obtained from each prostate and all underwent routine hematoxylin and eosin staining.

RESULTS

No significant abnormalities were found in any prostate biopsy cores. Two spinal cord injured patients had minor evidence of prostatic inflammation in 1 core. No inflammation was seen in any control specimens. None of the specimens showed signs of malignancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Prostate biopsies obtained in this study did not show any signs of a chronic or acute significant inflammatory process that could explain increased leukocytospermia seen in patients with spinal cord injury.