objective: in about 50% of infertile couples a male factor can be found to be present either alone or in addition to other female factors. a new molecular mechanism recently revealed to be involved in infertility is epigenetic pattern modification like as aberrant methylation. this mechanism can change or even silence gene expression. on the other hand, gstm1 (glutathione s-transferase mu 1) ...

Assisted reproduction with testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are fertility treatment options for couples with severe oligospermia or azoospermia. A retrospective review was performed of 146 TESE procedures in a specialist fertility centre in Ireland. The indication for TESE was obstructive azoospermia (OA) in 59% (n = 80) and non-obstructive azoospe...

introduction: the morphology and ultrastructure of germinal epithelum basement memberane (bm) in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia was studied by means of transmision electron microscipy. materials and methods: 10 biopsies of testis tissue from patients with non-obstructive azoospermia referred to royan institute as patients group and 5 biopsies from patients with prostatic cancer as co...

As the field of assisted reproduction has advanced, many previously untreatable men are now biological fathers. Although finding sperm in men with obstructive azoospermia is not difficult, locating and retrieving spermatozoa in men with non-obstructive azoospermia remains a clinical challenge, largely because sperm production in these men can be patchy or focal in nature. In response to this ch...

We have reported recently the first birth after intrauterine transfer of embryos obtained by injection of round spermatids into oocytes in cases of unexpected azoospermia. Here we provide a complete documentation of the series of 11 cases in which this novel method of infertility treatment was employed. In four of these cases, elongated spermatids were identified in the ejaculate, and it was de...

OBJECTIVE The present study introduces the application of percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) for diagnosis of obstructive azoospermia and non-obstructive azoospermia. PATIENTS AND METHODS 96 cases diagnosed with azoospermia were selected, standard methods were used to measure testicular volume, chemiluminescence was used to test serum sexual hormone levels, and No. 7 butterfly ne...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of maternal age on fertilization, embryo quality, and clinical pregnancy in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using testicular sperm from partners with azoospermia. METHODS A total of 416 ICSI cycles using testicular spermatozoa from partners with obstructive azoospermia (OA, n=301) and non-obstructive azo...

OBJECTIVE To search and to identify spermatozoa and spermatids, present in the ejaculate of non-obstructive azoospermic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS 27 patients, aged between 18 and 48 years, with initial diagnosis compatible with non-obstructive azoospermia, underwent up to 3 seminal samples, with assessment of macroscopic and microscopic parameters differentiated for each sample. In the ...

background:   objective: to investigate if the measurement of inhibin-b can help surgeon to reduce unnecessary diagnostic testicular biopsies in males with azoospermia.   materials and methods: this cross-sectional study was done during july 2006 to september 2007 on 41 patients with azoospermia. fsh and inhibin-b were measured and bilateral open testicular biopsy was performed for all patients...

BACKGROUND The causative mechanisms of male infertility are still poorly understood. Mutations in the Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene have been shown to be involved in male infertility; however, other mechanisms of pathogenesis, like promoter hyper-methylation, could also play a role. Therefore, in this study we compared the methylation status of the promoter region of MTHFR in...