Comparative Investigation on the Concentrations of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and Testosterone Levels in Infertile Males attending a Private University Teaching Hospital, in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the concentrations of Dehydroepiandrosterone hormone (DHEAS) and testosterone in infertile males and compared with fertile males attending Madonna University Teaching Hospital (MUTH) Elele. Thirty apparently infertile males and 30 apparently fertile male as control had their Dehydroepiandrosterone hormone (DHEAS) and testosterone determined using competitive immune enzymatic colorimetric method and Enzyme Immunoassay while the semen analysis was done using Microscopy method. There was significant increase (P<0.05) in DHEAS of 1.23+0.07 ug/ml obtained in infertile male compared with 3.78 +0.13 ug/ml in the control. There was significant difference in Semen count of 56.27 +2.82million/ml in fertile males compared with 7.73+ 0.10 million/ml while testosterone in infertile males of 2.53+0.09 was significantly lower than 7.52+0.31 in fertile males(P<0.05). The study showed that DHEAS is elevated in infertility hence should be considered an indicator of infertility.