Azoospermia

Causes for testicular failure include congenital issues such as in certain genetic conditions (e.g. Klinefelter syndrome), some cases of cryptorchidism or Sertoli cell-only syndrome as well as acquired conditions by infection (orchitis), surgery (trauma, cancer), radiation, or other causes.

The first clinical features may appear in early childhood, or more frequently, during puberty, such as lack of secondary sexual characteristics and aspermatogenesis.

Other obstructions can be congenital (example agenesis of the vas deferens as seen in certain cases of cystic fibrosis) or acquired, such as ejaculatory duct obstruction for instance by infection.

The main cause of infertility in men with CF is congenital absence of the vas deferens (which normally connects the testes to the ejaculatory ducts of the penis), but potentially also by other mechanisms such as causing no sperm, abnormally shaped sperm, and few sperm with poor motility.

Causes for testicular failure include congenital issues such as in certain genetic conditions (e.g. Klinefelter syndrome), some cases of cryptorchidism or Sertoli cell-only syndrome as well as acquired conditions by infection (orchitis), surgery (trauma, cancer), radiation, or other causes.

Sertoli cell-only syndrome is like other non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), cases are managed by sperm retrieval through testicular sperm extraction (TESE), micro-surgical testicular sperm extraction (mTESE), or testicular biopsy.

Ejaculatory disorders include retrograde ejaculation and anejaculation; in these conditions sperm are produced but not expelled.

An unusually low sperm count, not the same as low semen volume, is known as oligospermia, and the absence of any sperm from the semen is termed azoospermia.

The most common reason is a vasectomy done to induce contraceptive sterility.

After a vasectomy, contraceptive precautions must be continued until azoospermia is confirmed.

For example, a review in 2013 came to the result that oligospermia and azoospermia are significantly associated with being overweight (odds ratio 1.1), obese (odds ratio 1.3) and morbidly obese (odds ratio 2.0), but the cause of this is unknown.

Being overweight also increases the risk of oligospermia and azoospermia in men.

A common single nucleotide polymorphism in BRCA2 is associated with idiopathic male infertility with azoospermia.

Men with this condition can exhibit azoospermia (no sperm production), oligospermia (small number of sperm production), or they will produce abnormally shaped sperm.

Homozygous knockout mice [BRD7] are infertile and have higher levels of apoptosis and DNA damage in their germline cells.

Affected individuals displayed more severe forms of infertility such as azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia.

Other obstructions can be congenital (example agenesis of the vas deferens as seen in certain cases of cystic fibrosis) or acquired, such as ejaculatory duct obstruction for instance by infection.

If both ejaculatory ducts are completely obstructed, affected men will demonstrate male infertility due to aspermia/azoospermia.

In addition, 13% of men with azoospermia have a defective spermatogenesis that is linked to defects of the Y chromosome.

AZF1 (azoospermia factor 1)

It is established on the basis of two semen analysis evaluations done at separate occasions (when the seminal specimen after centrifugation shows no sperm under the microscope) and requires a further work-up.

A vasectomy is considered successful if the sample is azoospermic (zero sperm of any kind found).

Azoospermic men with testicular failure are advised to undergo karyotype and Y-micro-deletion testing.

Men with reduced sperm production (in up to 20% of men with reduced sperm count, some form of YCM has been detected ) varies from oligozoospermia, significant lack of sperm, or azoospermia, complete lack of sperm.

A section of the long arm of the Y chromosome has been termed Azoospermia Factor (AZF) at Yq11 and subdivided into AZFa, AZFb, AZFc and possibly more subsections.

It may cause azoospermia (not having any measurable level of sperm in semen).

Congenital absence of the vas deferens may be detectable on physical examination and can be confirmed by a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS).

Their semen does not contain sperm, a condition known as azoospermia.

Serum inhibin-B weakly indicates presence of sperm cells in the testes, raising chances for successfully achieving pregnancy through testicular sperm extraction (TESE), although the association is not very substantial, having a sensitivity of 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56–0.74) and a specificity of 0.83 (CI: 0.64–0.93) for prediction the presence of sperm in the testes in non-obstructive azoospermia.

The testicular sperm extraction process is recommended to men who cannot produce sperm by ejaculation due to azoospermia, such as that caused by primary testicular failure, congenital absence of the vas deferens or non-reconstructed vasectomy.

Serum inhibin-B weakly indicates presence of sperm cells in the testes, raising chances for successfully achieving pregnancy through testicular sperm extraction (TESE), although the association is not very substantial, having a sensitivity of 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56–0.74) and a specificity of 0.83 (CI: 0.64–0.93) for prediction the presence of sperm in the testes in non-obstructive azoospermia.

In men with azoospermia, a positive test for inhibin B slightly raises the chances for successfully achieving pregnancy through testicular sperm extraction (TESE), although the association is not very substantial, having a sensitivity of 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56–0.74) and a specificity of 0.83 (CI: 0.64–0.93) for prediction the presence of sperm in the testes in non-obstructive azoospermia.

Azoospermia is the medical condition of a man whose semen contains no sperm.

Azoospermia is the medical condition of a man whose semen contains no sperm.

Azoospermia is the medical condition of a man whose semen contains no sperm.

Many conditions listed may also cause various degrees of oligospermia rather than azoospermia.

Typically, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels are low (hypogonadotropic) commensurate with inadequate stimulation of the testes to produce sperm.

Examples include hypopituitarism (for various causes), hyperprolactinemia, and exogenous FSH suppression by testosterone.

Examples include hypopituitarism (for various causes), hyperprolactinemia, and exogenous FSH suppression by testosterone.

Examples include hypopituitarism (for various causes), hyperprolactinemia, and exogenous FSH suppression by testosterone.

Chemotherapy may suppress spermatogenesis.