OBJECTIVE To determine whether changes in the polymorphic trinucleotide (CAG) tract of the androgen receptor gene are associated with spermatogenic defects in patients with male infertility. DESIGN Case-control study of two ethnic groups. SETTING University referral centers for male infertility at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, and National University Hospital, Singapore. PAR...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to shed some light on the role of the Fas system in human semen, by investigating whether there is an association between the expression of the molecules regulating the Fas system [membrane-bound Fas ligand (mFasL), soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) and matrilysin, the metalloprotease cleaving mFasL to sFasL] and sperm parameters. METHODS We investigated, by flow ...

BACKGROUND Sperm motility is the reliable parameter that roles in success of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), especially in azoospermia. Selection of appropriate culture duration, temperature and media for enhancing the sperm motility is an important issue in assisted reproduction program. The aim was to evaluate the sperm motion characteristics after culturing of testicular sperm extra...

Objective: To find out relationship of zinc concentrations in blood and seminal plasma with various semen parameters between fertile and infertile men. Design: Prospective study. Setting: This study was carried out in the Infertility Clinic of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Karachi and Department of Biochemistry, Basic Medical Sciences Institute, JPMC, Karachi. Subjects & Methods: F...

The present study determined an association between idiopathic sperm disorders in a local Pakistani infertile male population and the MTHFR C677T polymorphism. After ruling out non genetic factors, a total of 437 idiopathic infertile men including 57 azoospermic, 66 oligospermic, 44 asthenozoospermic, 29 teratozoospermic, 20 oligoasthenospermic and 221 infertile normospermic men were recruited....

The objective of the present study was prospectively to evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in modulating intratesticular blood flow and sperm function. A total of 56 males, undergoing assisted reproduction, were divided into three groups according to semen analysis: (i) normozoospermic (n = 16); (ii) oligozoospermic (n = 21); and (iii) azoospermic (n = 19). All the subjects were submitted t...

Involvement of variety of genes, especially located on Y chromosome, is critical for the regulation of spermatogenesis. In particular, fertility candidate genes such as deleted in azoospermia (DAZ) are believed to have important function in sperm production, since DAZ is frequently deleted in azoospermic and severy oligozoospermic men. The role of the DAZ gene is supported by its exclusive expr...

Thirty-two infertile couples with obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia were included in this study. Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) was performed in 16 obstructive azoospermic cases where microsurgical sperm aspiration (MESA) or percutaneous sperm aspiration (PESA) were impossible because of totally destroyed epididymis and 16 non-obstructive azoospermia cases with severe spermatogene...

There no longer seem to be any categories of male factor infertility that cannot be treated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Even for men with azoospermia caused either by obstruction or by germinal failure, ICSI may be performed successfully. The only failures will be in azoospermic men who have neither spermatozoa nor spermatids retrievable from the testis, but these men comprise...

The DAZL (DAZ-like) gene is suggested to be an ancestral gene of the DAZ (deleted in azoospermia) gene on the Y chromosome, which is a strong candidate for the azoospermic factor. Recently, it has been reported that the T54A (Thr54-->Ala) polymorphism in exon 3 of the DAZL gene is associated with spermatogenic failure in the Taiwanese population. In this study, to investigate whether this polym...