A possible link between hormonal and immune theories?

[emi_b]

While thinking, I come across this idea:

Could a hormonal imbalance (testosterone or anything else), modify semen composition, and in turn the amount of "allergenic" components, causing a decrease or increase in the strenght of the immune response because of the quantity of those allergenic components in the semen?

I don't know if immune system reacts to the entire semen or only a certain part of it.
Also as I said I don't know how the composition of semen is regulated, maybe hormones could play a central role in such a regulation of semen composition (I am thinking at percentage of components, or maybe the presence of some components). Do you have some information about this?
And maybe people suffering from POIS have some substances present in semen, which shouldn't be there, or them are there because them are genetically determined. But this could be a far idea. Also there could be a reaction only to usual semen components.

Also I am thinking that the endocrine system regulates the immune system (cortisol comes in my mind), so a change in hormone levels during orgasm could trigger or predispose to a immune reaction which would anyway happen but maybe more slow.
On the other side I am thinking if also immune system could do changes in the endocrine system. Maybe it attacks prostate or other glands, and makes them produce allergenic substances in the semen.

On thing also come in my mind: does the immune reaction to semen is happening, because semen is entering the blood stream, the lymphatic system and from there in the entire body, or it is only a local contact with sensitive cells found in the semen pathway which trigger the reaction. If it is locally, why you have systemic symptoms. Maybe antibodies released for semen are attacking other organs, or tissues causing the entire set of symptoms.

What you think?

[Vincent M]

These seem like plausible ideas to me and it shows how complex it's going to be to determine what specifically causes POIS to occur.

[Daveman]

A lot of viable possibilities there.

One of the things I would like to do at this forum is dedicate more firmly to the isolation of different possibilities. Part of that of course arises from questions, the other part, and obviously more difficult part, resolves in answers.

It's a matter of thorough, dedicated isolation.

At NSF we've always had good ideas. But the physical nature of the forum didn't allow for "isolation". So we'd always get one or two good ideas, we'd try things here and there (without much focus or science) and then get bored when some new idea would surface.

Not a problem of the people or desire, but more one of ahbot formed by the medium... the single active thread.

Although your last post presents a lot of options, I think that we can go a long way by continuing with the investigation and testing of a number of things we've already been pursuing.

For instance, among the ale contraceptive methods, there are those which don't stop sperm production but stop it's ejection from the system. There are others that stop sperm production but permit ejaculation. There are others that don't stop the sperm, but kill it. etc. etc. With those few tests we should be able to isolate between sperm or other semen content. But before trying to determine if it's hormones or some other factor that produces the problem, it's probably better to find out what is the alergenic component. Once identified more specifically, perhaps it will be easier to see how to prevent it.

Obviously there's no reason to keep investingating this theory in parallel, but we should try to focus on a common and continuous goal that doesn;t burn out with new ideas.

Unfortunately with Demo's "semi-failure" we have persued the same tests with others, with perhaps more extensive before and after measurements. Also to see if ithers too feel negatice effects of progestins. Initial trials of this contraceptive methods have not seen this problem.