From 1 August 1993 until 30 September 1994, 69 couples suffering from azoospermia underwent testicular sperm extraction and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In 50 couples with obstructive azoospermia a total of 631 metaphase-II oocytes were injected after testicular sperm extraction yielding a 2-PN fertilization rate of 57%. In female patients <40 years of age an ongoing pregnancy rate per tra...

Objective: To investigate the of epididymal width in identifying non obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and obstructive azoospermia (OA). Methods: Using scrotal ultrasound to compare difference of epididymal width between OA (n=18) and NOA (n=10) patients. Results: In the patients with OA average bilateral epididymal width is 0.7+0.1 cm, which is higher than the NOA patients (P<0.05) by ultrasonic m...

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a well-recognized, but uncommon, cause of azoospermia and infertility in men. Commonly this is due to undertreatment of excessive adrenal androgen secretion which suppresses gonadotrophin stimulation of the testes. A less common complication of CAH is development of adrenal tissue within the testes; this is important to recognize because it may be confuse...

Human chromosome deletions in Yq11 seem to occur frequently as de novo mutation events in men with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. However, the molecular extensions of these deletions are variable. They can be large and therefore visible under the microscope or small, not visible under the microscope, and containing the deletion of one or more DNA loci recently mapped in an ap...

BACKGROUND The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway has an essential role in transposon silencing, meiosis progression, spermatogenesis, and germline maintenance. HIWI genes are critical for piRNA biogenesis and function. Therefore, polymorphisms in HIWI genes contribute to spermatogenesis defects and can be considered as risk factors for male infertility. The aim of the present study was to in...

Balanced chromosomal translocations in men can cause failure of spermatogenesis owing to meiotic impairment. Male carriers may exhibit normozoospermia, although clinical manifestations can include oligozoospermia or azoospermia, oligozoospermia or normozoospermia. Here, we reported the characteristics of balanced reciprocal translocations in men from northeastern China, and explored the relatio...

Men with severe oligospermia (<5 million sperm/mL ejaculate fluid) or azoospermia should receive genetic testing to clarify etiology of male infertility prior to treatment. Categorization by obstructive azoospermia (OA) or non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is critical since genetic testing differs for the former with normal testicular function, testicular volume (~20 mL), and follicle-stimulati...

BACKGROUND In the recent years, the use of laboratory blood factors such as FSH and inhibin-B for the assessment of spermatogenesis in different studies has increased; of course, the conflicting results have also been achieved. OBJECTIVE To investigate if the measurement of inhibin-B can help surgeon to reduce unnecessary diagnostic testicular biopsies in males with azoospermia. MATERIALS A...

BACKGROUND Suppression of spermatogenesis to azoospermia is required for effective hormonal male contraception, but the degree of suppression varies between ethnic groups. We here report the first study of hormonal suppression of spermatogenesis in two African centres using a regimen of oral progestogen with depot testosterone. METHODS A total of 31 healthy men (21 black) were recruited in Cape...

Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after 1 year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. About 15% of couples are affected. Male factors account for about 50% of couples with infertility.1 Approximately 10 to 15% of infertile men suffer from azoospermia—complete absence of sperms in the ejaculate. Among these azoospermic patients, approximately 40% have complete obstruction i...