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Male infertility
Male infertility refers to a sexually mature male's inability to impregnate a fertile female. Male infertility can wholly or partially account for 40% of infertility among couples who are trying to have children. It affects approximately 7% of all men. Male infertility is commonly due to deficiencies in the semen. Semen quality is used as a surrogate measure of male fecundity. More recently,[as of?] advanced sperm analyses that examine intracellular sperm components are being developed.
Sperm motility increases from puberty through one's mid-thirties. Research shows that, from the age of 36 onwards, sperm motility decreases from 40% Grade A & B to 31% in one's 50s. The effects of aging on semen quality is summarized below based on a study of 1,219 subjects:
90% of seminiferous tubules in men in their 20s and 30s contain spermatids, whereas men in their 40s and 50s have spermatids in 50% of their seminiferous tubules, and only 10% of seminiferous tubules from men aged over 80 contain spermatids. In a random international sample of 11,548 men confirmed to be biological fathers by DNA paternity testing, the oldest father was found to be 66 years old at the birth of his child. The ratio of DNA-confirmed versus DNA-rejected paternity tests around that age is in agreement with the notion of general male infertility above age 65–66.
Factors relating to male infertility include:
Antisperm antibodies (ASA) have been considered as the cause of infertility in around 10–30% of infertile couples. ASA production are directed against surface antigens on sperm, which can interfere with sperm motility and transport through the female reproductive tract, inhibiting capacitation and acrosome reaction, impaired fertilization, influence on the implantation process, and impaired growth and development of the embryo. Risk factors for the formation of antisperm antibodies in men include the breakdown of the blood‑testis barrier, trauma and surgery, orchitis, varicocele, infections, prostatitis, testicular cancer, failure of immunosuppression and unprotected receptive anal or oral sex with men.
Chromosomal anomalies and genetic mutations account for nearly 10–15% of all male infertility cases.
Mature human sperm contains almost no mitochondrial DNA at all. An increased amount of mitochondrial DNA in the sperm cells has shown to have a negative impact on fertility.
One of the most commonly known causes of infertility is Klinefelter syndrome, which affects one in 500–1000 newborn males. Klinefelter syndrome is a chromosomal defect that occurs during gamete formation due to a non-disjunction error during cell division. This results in males having smaller testes, reducing the amount of testosterone and sperm production. Males with this syndrome carry an extra X chromosome (XXY), meaning they have 47 chromosomes compared to the normal 46 in each cell. This extra chromosome directly affects sexual development before birth and during puberty. A variation of Klinefelter syndrome is when some cells in an individual have the extra X chromosome but others do not, referred to as mosaic Klinefelter syndrome. The reduction of testosterone in the male body normally results in an overall decrease in the production of viable sperm for these individuals, thereby making it hard for them to father children without fertility treatment.
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Male infertility AI simulator
(@Male infertility_simulator)
Male infertility
Male infertility refers to a sexually mature male's inability to impregnate a fertile female. Male infertility can wholly or partially account for 40% of infertility among couples who are trying to have children. It affects approximately 7% of all men. Male infertility is commonly due to deficiencies in the semen. Semen quality is used as a surrogate measure of male fecundity. More recently,[as of?] advanced sperm analyses that examine intracellular sperm components are being developed.
Sperm motility increases from puberty through one's mid-thirties. Research shows that, from the age of 36 onwards, sperm motility decreases from 40% Grade A & B to 31% in one's 50s. The effects of aging on semen quality is summarized below based on a study of 1,219 subjects:
90% of seminiferous tubules in men in their 20s and 30s contain spermatids, whereas men in their 40s and 50s have spermatids in 50% of their seminiferous tubules, and only 10% of seminiferous tubules from men aged over 80 contain spermatids. In a random international sample of 11,548 men confirmed to be biological fathers by DNA paternity testing, the oldest father was found to be 66 years old at the birth of his child. The ratio of DNA-confirmed versus DNA-rejected paternity tests around that age is in agreement with the notion of general male infertility above age 65–66.
Factors relating to male infertility include:
Antisperm antibodies (ASA) have been considered as the cause of infertility in around 10–30% of infertile couples. ASA production are directed against surface antigens on sperm, which can interfere with sperm motility and transport through the female reproductive tract, inhibiting capacitation and acrosome reaction, impaired fertilization, influence on the implantation process, and impaired growth and development of the embryo. Risk factors for the formation of antisperm antibodies in men include the breakdown of the blood‑testis barrier, trauma and surgery, orchitis, varicocele, infections, prostatitis, testicular cancer, failure of immunosuppression and unprotected receptive anal or oral sex with men.
Chromosomal anomalies and genetic mutations account for nearly 10–15% of all male infertility cases.
Mature human sperm contains almost no mitochondrial DNA at all. An increased amount of mitochondrial DNA in the sperm cells has shown to have a negative impact on fertility.
One of the most commonly known causes of infertility is Klinefelter syndrome, which affects one in 500–1000 newborn males. Klinefelter syndrome is a chromosomal defect that occurs during gamete formation due to a non-disjunction error during cell division. This results in males having smaller testes, reducing the amount of testosterone and sperm production. Males with this syndrome carry an extra X chromosome (XXY), meaning they have 47 chromosomes compared to the normal 46 in each cell. This extra chromosome directly affects sexual development before birth and during puberty. A variation of Klinefelter syndrome is when some cells in an individual have the extra X chromosome but others do not, referred to as mosaic Klinefelter syndrome. The reduction of testosterone in the male body normally results in an overall decrease in the production of viable sperm for these individuals, thereby making it hard for them to father children without fertility treatment.