Why do we determine α‐glucosidase activity in human semen during infertility work‐up?

Summary. α‐Glucosidase is a normal constituent of human semen, produced mainly in the epididymis. It is significantly correlated to sperm count. Its activity is low in cases of epididymal obstruction. We evaluated α‐glucosidase activity in 653 semen samples of patients, who attended our department for marital infertility, with respect to associations to clinical and other seminal parameters. The normal range (mean ± 2 SD) in samples with normal parameter values was 7.2–46.4 mU ml−1. The determination in patients with azoospermia revealed mean values of 7.7 ± 9.5mU ml−1 in obstructive azoospermia, and 15.8 ± 11.5 mU ml−1 in nonobstructive azoospermia. The difference was not statistically significant in that the sensitivity of determination with respect to the presence of obstruction was only 0.66, and the specificity 0.83. A significant correlation (r= 0.34) of α‐glucosidase activity with log sperm count was observed. The mean α‐glucosidase activity was not significantly different in groups formed according to sperm motility, according to leucocyte count or according to semen volume. A difference between smokers and nonsmokers with comparable sperm count, as reported in the literature, did not occur. We conclude from our results that the determination of α‐glucosidase activity does not give additional information of the fertility status exceeding that of other clinical investigations or parameters of semen analysis.