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