26.10.2019 | Male Sexual Dysfunction and Disorders (A Pastuszak and N Thirumavalavan, Section Editors) | Ausgabe 4/2019
Recent Advances and Future Opportunities to Diagnose Male Infertility
- Zeitschrift:
- Current Sexual Health Reports > Ausgabe 4/2019
Wichtige Hinweise
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Male Sexual Dysfunction and Disorders
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Abstract
Purpose of Review
Infertility affects 10–15% of couples, making it one of the most frequent health disorders for individuals of reproductive age. The state of childlessness and efforts to restore fertility cause substantial emotional, social, and financial stress on couples. Male factors contribute to about half of all infertility cases, and yet are understudied relative to female factors. The result is that the majority of men with infertility lack specific causal diagnoses, which serves as a missed opportunity to inform therapies for these couples.
Recent Findings
In this review, we describe current standards for diagnosing male infertility and the various interventions offered to men in response to differential diagnoses. We then discuss recent advances in the field of genetics to identify novel etiologies for formerly unexplained infertility.
Summary
With a specific genetic diagnosis, male factors can be addressed with appropriate reproductive counseling and with potential access to assisted reproductive technologies to improve chances of a healthy pregnancy.
