Dr. Kristian Leisegang (School of Natural Medicine)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10566/2386

Dr. Kristian Leisegang

Position: Deputy HOD Clinical Sciences coordinator
Department: School of Natural Medicine
Faculty: Faculty of Community and Health Sciences
Qualifications: M.Tech. (Hom) (DUT); PhD (MBS) (UWC); PG Dip HE (T&L)
My publications in this repository
More about me: here,
Tel: 021 959 9515
Email: kleisegang@uwc.ac.za
PHD Thesis The effect of insulin, leptin and inflammatory cytokines on reproductive health and hypogonadism in males diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome

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    Obesity and metabolic syndrome associated with systemic inflammation and the impact on the male reproductive system
    (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2019) Leisegang, Kristian; Henkel, Ralf; Argarwal, Ashok
    Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are global epidemics, driven by an obe‐sogenic environment. This is mediated by complex underlying pathophysiology, in which chronic inflammation is an important aetiological and mechanistic phenom‐enon. A shift towards a subclinical TH1–lymphocyte mediated innate and chronic in‐flammatory response is well defined in obesity and MetS, demonstrated in multiple systems including visceral adiposity, brain (hypothalamus), muscles, vasculature, liver, pancreas, testes, epididymis, prostate and seminal fluid. Inflammatory cytokines dis‐rupt the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐testes axis and steroidogenesis cascades (hypogon‐adotropic hypogonadism), spermatogenesis (poor semen parameters, including DNA fragmentation and detrimental epigenetic modification) and results in subclinical prostatitis and prostate hyperplasia. This review aims to highlight the role of chronic inflammation in obesity and MetS, cytokines in male reproductive physiology and pathophysiology, the impact on steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis, prostate pa‐thology and erectile dysfunction. Currently, it is recommended that clinical assess‐ment of male infertility and reproductive dysfunction in obese and MetS patients includes inflammation assessment (highly sensitive C‐reactive protein), and appro‐priate advice and therapeutic options are incorporated in the management options. However, the mechanisms and therapeutic options remain poorly understood and require significant interdisciplinary research to identify potential novel therapeutic strategies
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    Effect of the metabolic syndrome on male reproductive function: a case-controlled pilot study
    (Wiley, 2014) Leisegang, Kristian; Bouic, Patrick J.D.; Henkel, Ralf
    The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of various risk factors. This study aimed to investigate the effect of MetS on testosterone and progesterone, and semen parameters, in a case-controlled pilot study. Male patients (n = 54) had body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure recorded. Blood was analysed for HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose. Saliva was assayed for free testosterone and free progesterone. Ejaculates were analysed for volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, motility, vitality, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), DNA fragmentation and leucocyte concentration. Participants were divided into the control group (n = 28) and the MetS group (n = 26). Differences were found between the groups for body mass index, WHR, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides and glucose. The MetS group showed significant reductions in sperm concentration (P = 0.0026), total sperm count (P = 0.0034), total motility (P = 0.0291), sperm vitality (P = 0.002), MMP (P = 0.0039), free testosterone (P = 0.0093) and free progesterone (P = 0.0130), while values for DNA fragmentation increased (P = 0.0287). Results indicate that patients with MetS have compromised sperm parameters in the absence of leucocytospermia. A reduction in free progesterone suggests that steroidogenesis cascades may be compromised. It is hypothesised that a systemic pro-inflammatory state with oxidative stress associated with MetS may provide a novel explanation.
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    Obesity is associated with increased seminal insulin and leptin alongside reduced fertility parameters in a controlled male cohort
    (BioMed Central, 2014) Leisegang, Kristian; Menkveld, Roelof; Bouic, Patrick J.D.; Henkel, Ralf
    Obesity appears to be associated with male reproductive dysfunction and infertility, although this has been inconsistent and inconclusive. Insulin and leptin are known mediators and modulators of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testes axis, contributing to the regulation of male reproductive potential and overall wellbeing. These hormones are also present in semen influencing sperm functions. Although abdominal obesity is closely associated with insulin resistance (hyperinsulinaemia), hyperleptinaemia and glucose dysfunction, changes in seminal plasma concentrations of insulin, leptin and glucose in obese males has not previously been investigated.
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    The impact of male overweight on semen quality and outcome of assisted reproduction
    (Medknow Publications, 2014) Leisegang, Kristian; Henkel, Ralf
    The impact of obesity on male reproductive health remains a contested topic as evidence is inconclusive and inconsistent. Even more debatable is the effect of male obesity in assisted reproduction. In the manuscript, “the impact of male overweight on semen quality and outcome of assisted reproduction” published in Asian Journal of Andrology, Thomsen et al. investigated the effect of male obesity on fertilization outcomes in intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) programs further contributes to the increasing body of evidence in this field.