Chapter 6b
Diagnosis and Treatment for Male Infertility -- More Confusion!
from the book How to Have a Baby:
Overcoming Infertility
by Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, MD and Dr. Anjali Malpani, MD.
table of contents
· previous
page · next page
Duct blockage
If the passage (reproductive tract) between the penis and testes is blocked
there will be no sperm in the semen - azoospermia. Blockages can be caused by
infection (gonorrhea, chlamydia, filarisias, or TB); or by surgery done to
repair hernias or hydroceles.
A long and complicated 2 to 3 hour micro surgery called a vasoepididymal
anastomosis (VEA) can be attempted . This is highly specialised surgery which is
best done by an experienced microsurgeon, since the tubes involved are so fine
and delicate.
This is technically difficult and intricate surgery because it needs to be
done under high magnification . The surgeon tries to bypass the block, so that
the sperm can reach the penis .
Surgical results can be poor for the following reasons:
- Technical difficulty, because of the minute size of the tubes; Often
patency cannot be restored, and the sperm count remains zero. The anatomic
patency rate is about 50 % for most patients (which means that sperm can be
found in the semen after surgery).
- These sperm are often poor in quality and are successful in giving rise to
a pregnancy in only about 25% of patients, as the sperm that make their may
out may not be mature or motile since they have not spent enough time in the
epididymis, which functions to mature the sperms in the body.
- Secondary damage to the epididymis and duct system may have occurred
because they have been subjected to high pressure for a long time, causing
multiple leaks and blocks, making surgery less successful
- Damage to the functional lining of the epididymis, either as a result of
the infection which caused the block or as a result of the high pressure, so
that it no longer works effectively and sperms cannot mature here properly.
The best chance of success is with the first surgical attempt - repeat
surgery has a dismal success rate and is rarely worthwhile.
Congenital absence of the vas (the sperm-carrying tube)
For patients without a vas deferens (a problem they are born with, but which
is diagnosed only much later on) , the conventional treatment in the past
consisted of creating a pouch surgically, into which the epididymis was made to
open. This was called a spermatocele and sperms were aspirated from this and
used for artificial insemination. However, pregnancy rates were very poor. The
technique of PESA with ICSI ( as described in the chapter on Microinjection) has
revolutionised our approach to these men, and allows many of them to father a
pregnancy.
Vasectomy
Men often have this operation to render them sterile once they have completed
their family. This is safe, easy surgery which involves cutting the vas deferens
(the sperm carrying tube) and sewing it shut , so that sperm passage is blocked
. These sperms are absorbed into the body so that although ejaculation is
normal, there are no sperms in the semen.
If the man changes his mind after a vasectomy, and wants to father another
child, microsurgery can rejoin the cut ends so that the sperm can once more pass
through into the semen. This reversal surgery is called vasovasostomy or VVA (vasovasal
anastomosis) . It is expensive and only a few doctors are adequately trained to
perform the operation - and even then success is not guaranteed. The best
results are when the reversal process is performed within 5 years after the
vasectomy, before antibodies are developed to the sperm . Good surgeons have
reported pregnancy rates of as high as 80% using meticulous microsurgical
technique.
Immunity problems with sperm
If varicoceles are controversial, immune sperm problems are even more so.
However, while the controversy surrounding varicoceles is now quite old, the
immune problem is a relatively newer area, which means we have even more
questions about this, and even fewer answers !
In one of Nature's quirks , men can develop antibodies to their own sperm; or
the wife can develop these against the husband's sperm . What happens is that
the body's defense mechanisms destroys its own sperm ; or the wife's hostile
cervical mucus does so, as though the sperm were enemy bacteria or virus. This
can happen after problems of inflammation, injury to the testes, surgery,
infection, or blockage.
Problems start with making a diagnosis. Antisperm antibodies are suspected
when the sperms clump to one another (agglutinate) on a sperm test. A poor
postcoital test, which shows all immotile sperms in the mucus is also a tip-off,
because one of the reasons for this is cervical mucus hostility because of
antibodies.
There are many tests available to detect sperm antibodies. Blood tests for
antipserm antibodies can be done for both the wife and husband using ELISA
methods. This is an easy test to do but interpreting it is hard - what does a
postive test mean? Could it be responsible for infertility? Most doctors don' t
think so, because they argue that the presence of these antibodies in the blood
is of little clinical importance - but the debate goes on ! These older tests
are now considered to be obsolete. The newer antibody tests which are more
reliable, are done on the sperm itself, using immunobead testing, and these can
tell the doctor whether the antibodies are on the sperm head or tail. However,
interpreting the significance of a positive result remains a vexed issue!
Treatment is equally confusing - and included testosterone injections in the
past in order to suppress sperm production - the rationale being that if there
are no sperm there will be no further formation of the battling antibodies !
Corticosteroids have also been used successfully to stop a person from making
antibodies, but these drugs can have significant side effects , as a result of
which they are not considered standard therapy today.
Today, washing the sperm in the lab to clean away the seminal fluid which
contains the antibodies , along with timed intrauterine insemination ( IUI) , is
the first-line treatment. For more difficult patients, where the antibodies are
tightly bound to the sperm head, IVF and even ICSI may be needed.
Hormone imbalance
Unlike the woman, hormone imbalances in the man are not a common cause of
fertility problems . These problems can stem from organs as far apart as the
brain or the testicles, and can show up in blood tests. They can arise because
of:
- Head injury
- A tumour in the pituitary gland at the base of your brain
- A tumor in the adrenal gland, above the kidneys.
- Malfunctioning of the pituitary gland
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Conditions present from birth, such as and Klinefelter's syndrome (47, XXY
syndrome)
- A thyroid problem
One problem is that of hyperprolactinaemia (a high prolactin level). This is
usually caused by a pituitary malfunction or tumour; and can be detected by a
blood test. Patients with hyperprolactinemia often also have decreased libido
and may be impotent. Treatment with bromocryptine to suppress the high prolactin
levels is highly successful in achieving pregnancy.
Another problem is that of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (poor function of
the testes because of inadequate stimulation of the testes by the gonadotropic
hormones, FSH and LH produced by the pituitary). Most hypogonadotropic patients
are hypogonadal - that is, they have low levels of the male hormone,
testosterone. This means they have poorly developed secondary sexual characters
; an effeminate appearance; scanty hair; decreased libido , and small flabby
testes. This can be confirmed by blood tests which show low levels of FSH and LH.
This can be treated by replacement therapy with the gonadotropin hormones - HCG
and HMG. These are expensive injections and a fairly long course of treatment is
needed for them to work but they are effective in enhancing sperm production in
these men.
Substance abuse
As Shakespeare said "Alcohol increases the desire but takes away the
performance." Not only are alcoholics unable to perform, but their liver
function also deteriorates , resulting in excessive levels of the female
hormone, estrogen , which has a severe sperm suppressing effect.
Drugs of abuse can also create malformed sperm with poor motility ; they also
alter hormonal balance and testicular function ; and cause impotence and
erection problems.
Tobacco is a potent toxin. It attacks the tail of the sperm so that it is
unable to swim to its goal. The testicular artery can go into spasm because it
is choked with nicotine. Prolactin levels in smokers tend to be higher so sexual
desire disappears in smoke.
by Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, MD and Dr. Anjali Malpani, MD.
previous
page · next page
Copyright 2001-2017 Internet
Health Resources
About Us
|