Jonathan A. Bernstein, M.D., Roger Floyd, Ph.D., &
Adrienne S. Perez, M.A.
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati,
OH
Since returning from the Persian Gulf War (PGW) veterans
and/or their wives have reported burning after contact with their semen.
This has been called Burning Semen Syndrome (BSS). These reactions bear
striking resemblance to reactions experienced by women with localized
vaginal seminal plasma hypersensitivity. This project is attempting: 1)
to identify PGW couples experiencing BSS; 2) to determine whether these
symptoms represent an immunologic, infectious and/or toxicologic etiology;
and 3) to determine if there is a causal relationship between BSS and
PGW exposures. Screening questionnaires, designed to elicit demographic
information, nature of symptoms, Gulf War exposure history and information
on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were distributed to PGW veterans
with BSS symptoms. PGW veterans were primarily identified by local and
regional Gulf War screening physicians and through a BSS web page on the
Internet. There were 96 male respondents. 82 of these respondents had
sexual partners with vaginal burning after semen contact and 34 males
experienced burning after contact with their own semen. There was no correlation
between BSS and PTSD. Five PGW veterans and their sexual partners had
a more extensive evaluation including CBC, differential, chemistries,
liver function tests, ANA, sedimentation rate, vaginal/cervical or seminal
plasma cultures, skin testing to seasonal and perennial aeroallergens
and whole seminal plasma, and specific IgG, IgA and IgE antibodies to
seminal plasma proteins by ELISA. Four males and two females were atopic.
None elicited a positive skin test or specific antibodies to seminal plasma
proteins. Three women grew Ureaplasma urealyticum from their cervical
cultures, one grew streptococcus Group B, and one Candida. Two women had
positive ANA titers (1:80 titer) and one had an increased sedimentation
rate of 65 sec. Larger numbers of PGW veterans and their sexual partners
with BSS are currently being evaluated to differentiate between immunologic,
toxicologic, and infectious etiologies.
Keywords: Burning Semen Syndrome, Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity
Supported by the Department of the Army contract DAMD 17-96
- C-6107 |