A case-control study was conducted to examine whether occupational or environmental exposures, particularly to heavy metals, are associated with male infertility in Lebanon, a war-torn country with a history of environmental degradation. Seventy-four infertile cases and 76 fertile controls were selected from 2 major fertility clinics in Beirut. Data collection involved risk-factor interviews, s...

BACKGROUND The development of a spermatogonial transplantation technique has provided new possibilities for the treatment of male infertility. Previous studies have shown that spermatogonial stem cells could reinitiate spermatogenesis after cryopreservation and reintroduction into the seminiferous tubules of infertile recipient males, and this raised the possibility of banking frozen stem cells...

BACKGROUND Infertility represents a major challenge to the emotional balance and sexual life of couples, with long-lasting and gender-specific effects. The objective of this study is to explore personality features of infertile patients and detect possible sexual disorders in couples undergoing infertility treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this prospective study 60 infertile couples and 52 ...

Recent studies have shown Y chromosome microdeletions associated with male infertility. The factors responsible for Y chromosome microdeletions in spermatozoa remain unresolved. However, the environmental pollutants are known to damage DNA in differentiating and maturing germ cells in the male reproductive tract. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of seminal hexachl...

BACKGROUND The androgen receptor (AR) gene contains a polymorphic trinucleotide repeat that encodes a polyglutamine tract in its N-terminal transactivation domain (N- TAD). We aimed to find a correlation between the length of this polymorphic tract and azoospermia or oligozoospermia in infertile men living in Khuzestan, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this case-control study during two years t...

BACKGROUND Worldwide, infertility affects 10%-15% of couples and most of them seek medical help including Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatments. Undergoing ART treatments create many physical and emotional burdens. This study examined the psychological consequences of infertility in Iranian infertile males and females as well as their spouses, unlike previous studies that examined m...

OBJECTIVE This paper aimed to estimate the frequency of occurrence and the types of chromosomal abnormalities found in 141 infertile men with abnormal semen parameters. METHODS the frequency and type of chromosomal abnormalities were determined with male mitotic karyotype analysis from peripheral blood through chromosome banding techniques before assisted reproduction procedures. RESULTS In...

OBJECTIVE To establish cutoff value, sensitivity, specificity and intra- and interobserver variability of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in seminal plasma from healthy donors (controls) and infertile patients. DESIGN Seminal plasma from proven fertile donors (n = 55), nonproven fertile donors (n = 45), and infertile patients (n = 42) were examined for TAC level. SETTING Reproductive resea...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether normospermic infertile men have high seminal oxidative stress, using 3 measures of oxidative stress: reactive oxygen species (ROS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and a composite ROS-TAC score. Forty-three normospermic men without leukocytospermia and 19 healthy donors who came to our infertility clinic were included. Patients were categoriz...

Background: Infertility is a major public health problem in Nigeria, contributing to inappropriate contraceptive behavior and poor sexual and reproductive health of women. To date, there is a paucity of scientific information relating to the factors that place men and women at risk of infertility in this population. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis are: (1) to provide substantive scien...