New hope for infertile couples
Study finds that many men diagnosed with unexplained infertility are actually fertile
LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent research led by The Turek Clinic dramatically changes the medical view of male infertility. Typically, specialists who find no reason for male infertility label it as "unexplained." However, according to the senior study author Dr. Paul Turek, "We know now that in many such cases, there actually isn't a medical infertility issue with the male partner. The problem lies elsewhere."
A Study of Pregnancy Rates in "Cleared" Male Factor Couples, published in Translational Andrology and Urology, found that many men with unexplained infertility are actually fertile. Approximately 15% of couples who attempt to conceive will not succeed within one year; among those, more than half will be diagnosed with male infertility. This population is substantial, with 9.4% of U.S. men aged 25-44 years reporting use of infertility services annually, including expensive assisted reproductive technologies including intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive.
In their study, 54 men diagnosed as infertile (mean duration 1.5 years) were evaluated for infertility and followed for at least one year. In all cases, the male evaluation showed normal semen analyses and the men were "cleared" from further medical care. They were told that they were, in fact, "fertile" and to keep trying to conceive. Lifestyle advice was offered, including timed intercourse instruction, antioxidant supplementation and healthy weight maintenance. No medical treatments, including hormonal or surgical, were offered.
Pregnancy rates in all couples were evaluated one year later through a telephone survey. An impressive 65% conceived naturally (average time 9 months) after the evaluation. Another 3% of couples conceived with IUI and 13% conceived with IVF.
The study concluded that natural conception rates among men with unexplained infertility are substantial and suggest that many of these men were truly fertile. "We can't offer pregnancy outcomes this good with any of our classic male infertility treatments or even with IVF," Dr. Turek noted. "It appears that Mother Nature knows best how to get couples pregnant in cases of unexplained infertility," he added.
Dr. Paul Turek is the founder of The Turek Clinic, leading male fertility and sexual health clinics for men worldwide. He is former Endowed Chair Professor at the University of California San Francisco and inventor of sperm mapping for the treatment of severe male infertility. As a master microsurgeon, he popularized the No-Scalpel Vasectomy and has among the highest published vasectomy reversal success rates. He received a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant and is an advisor to the NIH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, visit TheTurekClinic.com.
SOURCE The Turek Clinic
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