While many studies have evaluated the effect of medications on semen quality, there is little guidance as to what is the true impact of many medications on male fertility. Further well designed studies are required to elucidate the precise associations between certain therapeutic medications and their effect on male fertility. *Corresponding author: Yulian Zhao, PhD, MD, MBA, Johns Hopkins Univ...

In higher plants, the developmental programs of the male and female organs are substantially independent of each other and of the vegetative plant. This developmental independence permits the genetic dissection of fertility processes without impairing vegetative growth. Male fertility requires a number of coordinated developmental events. These include the formation, as part of the flower, of s...

BACKGROUND Cytogenetic abnormalities have been known to be important causes of male infertility for decades. METHODS Research publications from 1978 to 2008, from PubMed, have been reviewed. RESULTS These studies have greatly improved our information on somatic chromosomal abnormalities such as translocations, inversions and sex chromosomal anomalies, and their consequences to the cytogenet...

Spermatogenesis is a complex process that involves stem-cell renewal, genome reorganization and genome repackaging, and that culminates in the production of motile gametes. Problems at all stages of spermatogenesis contribute to human infertility. Male infertility, is characterized by hypogonadism, decreased semen quality or ejaculatory dysfunction, accounts for approximately 20% of infertility...

In the United States since 1980, the birth rate in women aged > 35 years has increased by nearly 60%, whereas the birth rate for women aged 20 to 34 years has increased by only 10%. The trend in parenthood at an older age has also been seen in men. Since 1980, the fertility rate for men in their 30s has increased by 21% and for men aged 40 years and older, the rate has increased nearly 30%. In ...

We are in the age of genetic discovery. Now the human genome has been completely sequenced1, there will be increasing understanding and ability to manipulate biochemical pathways downstream of genes. At the same time, further development of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI) will enable procreation in situations that were formerly impossible and when there m...

Arginine vasopressin (VP) is neurohypophysial hormone has been implicated in stimulating contractile activity of the male reproductive tract in the testis. Higher levels of VP decrease sperm count and motility. However, very little is known about the involvement of VP in controlling mammalian reproductive process. The goal of this study was to confirm that effect of VP receptor (AVPR2) on sperm...

The male-specific Fruitless proteins (FruM) act to establish the potential for male courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster and are expressed in small groups of neurons throughout the nervous system. We screened ∼1000 GAL4 lines, using assays for general courtship, male-male interactions, and male fertility to determine the phenotypes resulting from the GAL4-driven inhibition of FruM expr...

Infertility rates among males with cystic fibrosis (CF) approximate 97%. No information is currently available within Ireland determining an understanding of fertility issues and the best methods of information provision to this specialized group. This study aimed to determine understanding and preferred approaches to information provision on fertility issues to Irish CF males. A Descriptive St...

Secretion of electrolytes and water by the epididymal epithelium is important in the formation an optimal fluid environment for sperm maturation and transport. This process is disrupted in the genetic disease cystic fibrosis caused by mutation of the cystic fibrosis transmemebrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Recent findings of CFTR gene mutations in healthy men with congenital bilateral ...