BACKGROUND The prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities is assumed to be higher in infertile men and inversely correlated with sperm concentration. Although guidelines advise karyotyping infertile men, karyotyping is costly, therefore it would be of benefit to identify men with the highest risk of chromosomal abnormalities, possibly by using parameters other than sperm concentration. The aim of ...

Objective To develop a multiplex PCR protocol for routine screening of microdeletions on the Y chromosome Methods Five multiplex sets were established and Y chromosome microdeletions screening were carried out in 26 azoospermic men who undertook ICSI and 30 azoospermic men who undertook testicular biopsy. Results In 56 azoospermic men, 5 patients were found with AZFc/DAZ microdeletions, 2 patie...

We investigated the frequency and types of Y-chromosome microdeletions and chromosomal anomalies in non-obstructive azoospermic and severely oligozoospermic infertile males in northeastern China. The sample consisted of 519 infertile males (456 azoospermic, 63 severely oligozoospermic). PCR assays for Y-chromosome microdeletions and chromosome analysis were performed on all patients and co...

Genetic factors cause about 10% of male infertility. Azoospermia factors (AZFa, AZFb, AZFc) are considered to be the most important for spermatogenesis. We therefore made an attempt to evaluate the genetic cause of azoospermia, Y chromosome deletion in particular, in Indian men. We have analyzed a total of 570 men, including 340 azoospermic men and 230 normal control subjects. DNA samples were ...

Guidelines on karyotyping infertile men before ICSI treatment are not consistent. Most guidelines recommend chromosomal screening in azoospermic and severe oligozoospermic men, because they are assumed to have the highest risk of abnormalities. We performed a retrospective cohort study in azoospermic men and men eligible for ICSI. We determined the prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities in rel...

Total lipid concentration was elevated in the seminal plasma of oligo- and azoospermic men. The total cholesterol content was comparatively more in the seminal plasma of azoospermic men than in that of normo- and oligospermic men. In general, infertility was associated with increased seminal concentrations for most of the neutral lipid classes. However, total phospholipids and most of the phosp...

Azoospermia, the absence of any sperm cells from the ejaculated semen, poses a real challenge to the fertility urologist. While there are options to create happy families for azoospermic couples, such as the use of donor sperm and adoption, most couples still want to have genetically related offspring. Advances in urology, gynecology, and fertility laboratory technologies allow surgical sperm r...

Some men with non-obstructive azoospermia harbour fully formed spermatozoa within their testicular tissue that can be used to achieve pregnancy via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Recently, Reijo et al. (1995) provided compelling evidence that the DAZ gene cluster is a strong candidate for one of the elusive azoospermia factors (AZF) located on the long arm of the Y chromosome. The DAZ...

Approximately 1% of all men in the general population suffer from azoospermia, and azoospermic men constitute approximately 10 to 15% of all infertile men. Thus, this group of patients represents a significant population in the field of male infertility. A thorough medical history, physical examination and hormonal profile are essential in the evaluation of azoospermic males. Imaging studies, a...

Recent studies indicate a strong paternal influence on embryo development and progression of the embryo to the blastocyst stage. The aim of this study was to compare, during extended culture, the in-vitro development of embryos resulting from intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) of ejaculated spermatozoa (group 1, n = 347), epididymal (group 2, n = 22) or testicular (group 3, n = 18) spermat...