BACKGROUND Male-factor infertility is a common condition, and etiology is unknown for a high proportion of cases. Abnormal epigenetic programming of the germline is proposed as a possible mechanism compromising spermatogenesis of some men currently diagnosed with idiopathic infertility. During germ cell maturation and gametogenesis, cells of the germ line undergo extensive epigenetic reprogramm...

Evaluation and surgical treatment of male infertility has evolved and expanded, now leading to more precise diagnoses and tailored treatments with diminished morbidity and greater success. Surgeries for male infertility are divided into four major categories: (i) diagnostic surgery; (ii) surgery to improve sperm production; (iii) surgery to improve sperm delivery; and (iv) surgery to retrieve s...

Currently, about 17% couples in industrialised countries seek medical advice for infertility (Cahill 2002). The definition of infertility is usually the failure to conceive after 1 year of unprotected intercourse (European Society 1996). Infertility can be primary, in women who have never conceived, or secondary, in women who have previously conceived. In the UK, about 10–20% of infertility cas...

Currently, about 17% couples in industrialised countries seek medical advice for infertility (Cahill 2002). The definition of infertility is usually the failure to conceive after 1 year of unprotected intercourse (European Society 1996). Infertility can be primary, in women who have never conceived, or secondary, in women who have previously conceived. In the UK, about 10–20% of infertility cas...

BACKGROUND Infertility affects approximately 10-15% of reproductive-age couples. Poor semen quality contributes to about 25% of infertile cases. Resulting from the direct effect on testicular function or hormonal alterations, heavy metals exposure has been related to impaired semen quality. The objective of this study was to assess the level of lead in the seminal plasma in men without occupati...

Zinc is an essential trace mineral for the normal functioning of the male reproductive system. Current studies have investigated the relationship between seminal plasma zinc and male infertility but have shown inconsistent results. Hence, we systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct/Elsevier, CNKI and the Cochrane Library for studies that examined the relationship between seminal p...

Male infertility normally refers a male's inability to cause pregnancy in a fertile female partner after 1 year of unprotected intercourse. Male infertility in recent years has been attracting increasing interest from public due to the evidence in decline in semen quality. There are many factors contributing to the male infertility including abnormal spermatogenesis; reproductive tract anomalie...

conclusions our findings indicated that oxidative stress could play an essential role in male infertility caused by varicocele and may impair spermatogenesis leading to infertility. objectives in the current study, we aimed to assess the tac (total antioxidant capacity) and mda (malondialdehyde) as stress oxidative markers in infertile men with varicocele and fertile men, and moreover, their co...

BACKGROUND The intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique selects sperm according to morphology and motility. However, these parameters cannot predict the chromatin integrity of sperm. Considering the detrimental effects of DNA-damaged sperm on reproductive outcomes, novel sperm selection procedures have been proposed to circumvent the possibility of inseminating DNA-damaged sperm. It h...

Infertility is a problem affecting an increasing number of couples worldwide. Currently, marker tests for male factor infertility are complex, highly technical and relatively subjective. Up to 40% cases currently diagnosed as idiopathic therefore, there clear need further research into better ways diagnosing it. Changes in sperm telomere length have been associated with closely linked DNA damag...