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Chapter 21 - Medical Treatment of Male Infertility

from Section 4 - Treatment of Male Infertility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2023

Larry I. Lipshultz
Affiliation:
Baylor College of Medicine, Texas
Stuart S. Howards
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Craig S. Niederberger
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Dolores J. Lamb
Affiliation:
Weill Cornell Medical College, New York
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Summary

Medical treatment of male infertility can be divided into two categories – targeted therapy to a known cause of infertility and empirical treatment. The most common reason to use targeted therapy is to treat hypoandrogenism. Primary hypoandrogenism (steroidogenic dysfunction) is defined as a low serum testosterone level with compensatory elevated luteinizing hormone (LH) level. Secondary hypoandrogenism (pituitary dysfunction) can be categorized further into congenital forms, such as idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypoandrogenism, or acquired forms and is characterized by low serum testosterone level associated with a low LH level relative to serum testosterone level. Other medical indications for targeted therapy are infections, inflammation, antisperm antibodies, and retrograde ejaculation, all of which are discussed elsewhere in this book. Empirical treatment is defined as treatment that relies on experience or observation alone, without due regard for system and theory, and it is routinely used in the treatment of males with idiopathic infertility or with an uncorrectable cause of their infertility.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

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