Can spermatozoa be retrieved in non‐obstructive azoospermic patients with high FSH level?: A retrospective cohort study

We aimed in this retrospective study to evaluate non‐surgical preoperative parameters and testicular histopathology in determining the sperm retrieval rate (SRR) in non‐obstructive azoospermic (NOA) patients. We evaluated the data of 1,395 consecutive patients who underwent 1st time micro‐dissection testicular sperm extraction (micro‐TESE) that was done by fifteen different senior andrologists and a consequent undefined number of biologists assisting them in the operative rooms from January 2010 to May 2013 in a specialised IVF centre. Our study did not demonstrate any statistical significance between the mean age, the mean duration of infertility and finally, the mean of FSH levels of the patients with positive and negative micro‐TESE outcomes (p‐value 0.391, 0.543, 0.767 respectively). Moreover, our study did not demonstrate any association between different types of hormonal therapy prior to micro‐TESE and patients with positive micro‐TESE outcome (p‐value 0.219). Interestingly, our study showed positive associations between the testicular histopathology SCO (sertoli cell only syndrome) and high FSH and sperm retrieval rate (p < 0.001, 0.02 respectively). Logistic regression analysis revealed high statistical significance between sperm retrieval rate and high FSH level and testicular histopathology (OR 1.6, 0.21, 95% CI lower 1.2, 0.008 and upper 2.1, 0.06 and finally p 0.003, <0.001 respectively). This study reveals that preoperative testicular biopsy is unnecessary to predict the sperm retrieval rate in NOA patients.     

Open epididymal spermatozoa aspiration for obstructive azoospermia

In men suffering from obstructive azoospermia (OA), surgical sperm retrieval (SR) can be performed for use with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Several techniques of surgical SR exist, with various results. In our facility, we have developed the open epididymal spermatozoa aspiration (OESA) procedure. The aim of this study was to report on the sperm retrieval rate (SRR), reproductive outcome and neonatal outcome of OESA followed by ICSI. In addition, we have investigated possible predictors of successful SR and clinical pregnancy. A total of 231 men who were treated with OESA were included in this retrospective analysis, together with their female partners. We found an overall SRR of 76.6%. Serum FSH was a significant negative predictor of successful SR (odds ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.78–0.98; p = 0.021). Overall cumulative pregnancy rate was 50.8%. Higher age (odds ratio 0.90; p < 0.001) and frozen vs. fresh embryo transfer (odds ratio 0.56; p = 0.004) were negatively associated with clinical pregnancy in multivariable analysis. Reproductive and neonatal outcomes did not differ according to obstruction cause. We conclude that OESA is a reliable and safe method for surgical SR in men suffering from OA.     

Clinical aspects of infertile 47,XYY patients: a retrospective study

47,XYY syndrome is a sex chromosomal anomaly in men, which may be associated with infertility and has an incidence of 0.1% of male births. The clinical and paraclinical characteristics of men suffering from this anomaly have not been fully described. In this retrospective study, we present 37 cases of 47,XYY infertile men with sperm counts varying from normal to azoospermia, referred to the Genetics Laboratory at the Royan Institute, Iran. Thirteen individuals were mosaic and 24 non-mosaics. Non-mosaic patients were classified as azoospermic (nine cases) and normospermic/oligozoospermic men (15 cases). Two of the non-mosaic and three mosaic patients had secondary infertility. In addition, 13 of them underwent IUI, IVF or ICSI, and in seven cases, there was a biochemical pregnancy. The remaining 14 patients did not have ART. The 47,XYY syndrome is relatively unusual and can be missed clinically because of the lack of symptoms and of diverse phenotypes. Diagnosis of this aneuploidy can provide valuable data for counselling and early management of the patients who undergo fertility evaluation.     

男性不育症患者部分附睾来源的miRNA表达水平研究

目的研究精浆miR-888,miR-890和miR-891a在特发性少精症和特发性无精症患者精浆中的水平变化与疾病的关系。方法纳入诊断为特发性少精症和特发性无精症的患者各20例,同时纳入20例健康生育男性作为对照组,采用Real-time PCR方法检测精浆中miR-888,miR-890和miR-891a的相对含量,分析各组间指标表达水平的差异,采用ROC曲线分析三项指标在特发性少精症和特发性无精症中的诊断价值。结果特发性少精症的精浆miR-890表达水平较正常生育组高,miR-888水平两组间差异也具有统计学意义。特发性无精症组的miR-888和miR-890的精浆表达水平均较正常生育组高。特发性无精症组的精浆miR-891a水平显著高于少精症组。miR-890能够较好区分特发性少精症组及正常对照组,三项指标均能很好区分特发性无精症组和正常对照组。结论精浆中miR-888,miR-890和miR-891a的表达水平对于男性不育症研究和诊断具有一定的价值。     

男性不育的遗传学评估

无精子症或严重少精子症男性(5×10 6/ml)在接受治疗之前应通过遗传学检测确定其不育的真正原因。正确区分梗阻性无精子症(obstructive azoospermia,OA)与非梗阻性无精子症(non-obstructive azoospermia,NOA)至关重要,因为相比于NOA(睾丸体积小、质地柔软、FSH水平升高),OA(正常的睾丸功能、睾丸体积以及FSH水平)的遗传学检测有所不同。在NOA患者人群中,病史回顾、体格检查和实验室检测对于遗传学检测方法的选择是必须的,尤其针对原发性睾丸衰竭或先天性低促性腺激素型性腺功能低下症的NOA患者。遗传学检测包括由于先天性输精管缺如所致OA的囊性纤维化跨膜传导调节因子的检测,和针对严重少精子症或NOA患者的染色体核型分析、Y染色体微缺失等其他特殊检测方法。这些遗传学检测能够帮助判定哪些患者适合药物和/或手术治疗。最新的遗传学分析技术将有助于男性不育的诊断和掌控。     

机器人辅助输精管吻合术治疗梗阻性无精子症初步经验分析

目的:探讨机器人辅助下输精管-输精管吻合术(RAVV)及机器人辅助下输精管-附睾管吻合术(RAVE)的可行性及手术技巧。方法:2013年5月和7月我院收治2例梗阻性无精子症患者,1例为输精管结扎患者,行RAVV术;1例为双侧附睾梗阻患者,行RAVE术。结果:2例手术均顺利完成,术后共随访9个月,2例患者均于术后6个月时在精液中发现精子,精子浓度分别为2.0×106/ml、66.0×106/ml。结论:RAVV及RAVE具有吻合确切、视野清楚等优点,可以选择作为治疗梗阻性无精子症的手术方式。     

探讨血清卵泡刺激素预测非梗阻性无精子症患者精子发生的切点值

目的：利用受试者工作特征曲线（receiver operator characteristic curve ROC曲线）探讨血清卵泡刺激素（FSH）的切点值,以预测非梗阻性无精子症患者睾丸的精子发生。方法选取104例非梗阻性无精子症患者测定其血清FSH（IU/L）值,行经皮睾丸取精子术（TESA）并根据睾丸活检报告分为有精子组（1组）和无精子组（2组）。结果 FSH≤7有52例（50%）,找到精子51例,其概率为98.08%（51/52）;7＜FSH≤14有20例（19.23%）,找到精子17例,其概率为85%（17/20）;14＜FSH≤21有13例（12.50%）,找到精子3例,其概率为23.08%（3/13）;FSH＞21有19例（18.27%）,找到精子6例,其概率为31.58%（6/19）。利用ROC曲线优选的血清FSH切点值是13.78IU/L,该点其敏感性为85.2%,特异性为88.3%,血清FSH水平的ROC曲线下面积为0.895,表明其诊断准确性较高。结论非梗阻性无精子症患者血清FSH水平对预测睾丸精子发生有重要意义。