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Current Sexual Health Reports
Published in: Current Sexual Health Reports 4/2019

01-12-2019 | Fertility | Male Sexual Dysfunction and Disorders (A Pastuszak and N Thirumavalavan, Section Editors)

Recent Advances and Future Opportunities to Diagnose Male Infertility

Author: Samantha L. P. Schilit

Published in: Current Sexual Health Reports | Issue 4/2019

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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.
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Metadata
Title
Recent Advances and Future Opportunities to Diagnose Male Infertility
Author
Samantha L. P. Schilit
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Sexual Health Reports / Issue 4/2019
Print ISSN: 1548-3584
Electronic ISSN: 1548-3592
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-019-00225-8

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