What is Male Infertility?

Male infertility is the medical issue in a man that lowers the chances of a female partner getting pregnant.

What are the aucses of Male Infertility?

Male Infertility can be caused by multiple factors. Some of them are:

• Exposure to excess heat, either due to the certain occupations or habits
• Toxicants like pesticides, heavy metals
• Drugs including prescription medicines, steroids, marijuana, or alcohol
• Excess stress
• Genetics
• Excessive bicycling
• Varicocele
• Dietary deficiencies
• Male genital tract disorders
• Surgery
• Smoking
• Obesity

How is Male Infertility diagnosed?

• The doctor will enquire about a person’s medical history, conduct a physical examination, and perform a semen analysis. This procedure will evaluate the shape, the number, and the movement of the sperm.
• A blood test may be required to check hormone levels that affect sperm production.
• A urine test might be advised to check for retrograde ejaculation.
• In certain cases, the doctor will recommend an ultrasound, an MRI, or a testicular biopsy, to obtain a detailed diagnosis.

What are the symptoms of Male Infertility?

In most cases, infertility does not have obvious signs or symptoms. There are usually no difficulties with sexual activities and the semen looks normal. Medical examinations are required to diagnose and evaluate the cause of infertility.

What are the risk factors for Male Infertility?

Some of the common risk factors for Male Infertility are:

• Age
• Alcoholism
• Drugs
• Stress
• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Klinefelter’s syndrome
• Kallmann’s syndrome
• Cystic fibrosis
• Kartagener’s syndrome
• Pesticides and heavy metals
• Hormone issues
• Chemotherapy or radiation treatments
• Frequent steroid use

How can Male Infertility be treated?

Treatment of Male Infertility depends on the cause of infertility. There are three types of treatments:

Surgical:

• Varicocele treatments
• Transurethral Resection of the Ejaculatory Duct (TURED)
• Microsurgical vasovasostomy
• Azoospermia treatments
• Vasoepididymostomy

Non-surgical treatments are used to treat infertility in the following problems:

• Anejaculation
• Genital tract infection
• Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
• Hyperprolactinemia
• Kallmann's syndrome
• Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
• Immunologic infertility
• Retrograde ejaculation
• Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

Assistive methods for treatment of unknown causes: Some of the other methods to treat infertility are:

• Assisted reproductive techniques
• Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (PESA)
• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
• Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
• Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
• Sperm retrieval for ART
• Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (MESA)
• Testicular Fine Needle Aspiration (TFNA)
• Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE)