Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed
Infertility is a devastating experience for both partners as they try to conceive. Historically, when a couple could not conceive, the woman has carried the stigma of infertility; however, men and women are just as likely to contribute to the couple’s infertility. With the development of assisted re...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Cells |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/4/990 |
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| author | Katerina A. Turner Amarnath Rambhatla Samantha Schon Ashok Agarwal Stephen A. Krawetz James M. Dupree Tomer Avidor-Reiss |
| author_facet | Katerina A. Turner Amarnath Rambhatla Samantha Schon Ashok Agarwal Stephen A. Krawetz James M. Dupree Tomer Avidor-Reiss |
| author_sort | Katerina A. Turner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Infertility is a devastating experience for both partners as they try to conceive. Historically, when a couple could not conceive, the woman has carried the stigma of infertility; however, men and women are just as likely to contribute to the couple’s infertility. With the development of assisted reproductive technology (ART), the treatment burden for male and unexplained infertility has fallen mainly on women. Equalizing this burden requires reviving research on male infertility to both improve treatment options and enable natural conception. Despite many scientific efforts, infertility in men due to sperm dysfunction is mainly diagnosed by a semen analysis. The semen analysis is limited as it only examines general sperm properties such as concentration, motility, and morphology. A diagnosis of male infertility rarely includes an assessment of internal sperm components such as DNA, which is well documented to have an impact on infertility, or other components such as RNA and centrioles, which are beginning to be adopted. Assessment of these components is not typically included in current diagnostic testing because available treatments are limited. Recent research has expanded our understanding of sperm biology and suggests that these components may also contribute to the failure to achieve pregnancy. Understanding the sperm’s internal components, and how they contribute to male infertility, would provide avenues for new therapies that are based on treating men directly for male infertility, which may enable less invasive treatments and even natural conception. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:26:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd1eee5487cc43cc9dc9af63138a3b75 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:26:41Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd1eee5487cc43cc9dc9af63138a3b752023-11-19T21:47:29ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092020-04-019499010.3390/cells9040990Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is NeededKaterina A. Turner0Amarnath Rambhatla1Samantha Schon2Ashok Agarwal3Stephen A. Krawetz4James M. Dupree5Tomer Avidor-Reiss6Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USADepartment of Urology, Vattikuti Urology Institute, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI 48202, USADivision of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, L4000 UH-South, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAAmerican Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USADepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Urology and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48019, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USAInfertility is a devastating experience for both partners as they try to conceive. Historically, when a couple could not conceive, the woman has carried the stigma of infertility; however, men and women are just as likely to contribute to the couple’s infertility. With the development of assisted reproductive technology (ART), the treatment burden for male and unexplained infertility has fallen mainly on women. Equalizing this burden requires reviving research on male infertility to both improve treatment options and enable natural conception. Despite many scientific efforts, infertility in men due to sperm dysfunction is mainly diagnosed by a semen analysis. The semen analysis is limited as it only examines general sperm properties such as concentration, motility, and morphology. A diagnosis of male infertility rarely includes an assessment of internal sperm components such as DNA, which is well documented to have an impact on infertility, or other components such as RNA and centrioles, which are beginning to be adopted. Assessment of these components is not typically included in current diagnostic testing because available treatments are limited. Recent research has expanded our understanding of sperm biology and suggests that these components may also contribute to the failure to achieve pregnancy. Understanding the sperm’s internal components, and how they contribute to male infertility, would provide avenues for new therapies that are based on treating men directly for male infertility, which may enable less invasive treatments and even natural conception.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/4/990male fertilityspermsemen analysiscentriole: RNAoxidative stressDNA fragmentation |
| spellingShingle | Katerina A. Turner Amarnath Rambhatla Samantha Schon Ashok Agarwal Stephen A. Krawetz James M. Dupree Tomer Avidor-Reiss Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed Cells male fertility sperm semen analysis centriole: RNA oxidative stress DNA fragmentation |
| title | Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed |
| title_full | Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed |
| title_fullStr | Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed |
| title_full_unstemmed | Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed |
| title_short | Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed |
| title_sort | male infertility is a women s health issue research and clinical evaluation of male infertility is needed |
| topic | male fertility sperm semen analysis centriole: RNA oxidative stress DNA fragmentation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/4/990 |
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