Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Integrative Medicine ; Male

Exact etiological factors of male infertility is called idiopathic male infertility. Some breakthroughs have been made in the treatment of the problem since the development of ICSI in 1992. However, traditional treatment should also be taken into account for individual male infertility. Medication as a traditional treatment is still one of the important therapeutic methods. The basic understanding of male infertility, the characteristics of its drug therapy, clinically used common drugs, the therapeutic efficacy and effect evaluation are reviewed in this article.
Humans ; Infertility, Male ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Male

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are somatic stem cells capable of self-renewing and multipotent differentiation. They are also referred to as " seed cells" in tissue engineering. Recent years have witnessed great advances in the studies of the differentiative potential and paracrine function of MSCs, as well as in their clinical applications in several fields. As for their application in male infertility, researches are still in the stage of animal experiments. However, with deeper insights into their huge potential, novel and effective MSC-based therapies for male infertility will come into being in the near future.
Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Tissue Engineering

Animal Rights ; Animals ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male

The clinical effects of acupuncture on idiopathic male infertility in sperm parameter and on therapeutic results in assisted reproductive technology were investigated. 22 patients failed in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with idiopathic male infertility were treated with acupuncture twice weekly for 8 weeks, followed by ICSI treatment again. The sperm concentration, motility, morphology, fertilization rates and embryo quality were observed. Quick sperm motility after acupuncture (18.3% +/- 9.6%) was significantly improved as compared with that before treatment (11.0% +/- 7.5%, P < 0.01). The normal sperm ratio was increased after acupuncture (21.1% +/- 10.4% vs 16.2% +/- 8.2%, P < 0.05). The fertilization rates after acupuncture (66.2%) were obviously higher than that before treatment (40.2%, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in sperm concentration and general sperm motility between before and after acupuncture. The embryo quality after acupuncture was improved, but the difference between them was not significant (P > 0.05). Acupuncture can improve sperm quality and fertilization rates in assisted reproductive technology.
*Acupuncture Therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Infertility, Male/*therapy ; Semen ; *Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; *Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa/physiology

The fertility potential of infertile men can be enhanced to a great extent by the application of assisted reproduction techniques such as intrauterine insemination or in-vitro fertilization with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection, but how to obtain semen from men with ejaculatory dysfunction remains a problem. The development and refinement of penile vibratory stimulation (PVS) and electroejaculation (EEJ) have significantly brightened the prospects for the treatment of ejaculatory dysfunction. Because vibratory stimulation is non-invasive and easy to perform, and needs no anaesthesia, it is preferred by most of the patients to EEJ, and recommended to be the first choice of treatment for ejaculatory dysfunction. Approximately 80% of all ejaculatory dysfunction men with an intact ejaculatory reflex arc (above T10 ) can obtain antegrade ejaculation by PVS. Any condition which affects the ejaculatory mechanism of the central and/or peripheral nervous system including surgical nerve injury may be treated successfully by EEJ. The purpose of this review is to present the current understanding of PVS and EEJ procedures and their clinical use in men with ejaculatory dysfunction.
Ejaculation ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male ; Vibration ; therapeutic use

Carnitine, an important compound in the beta-oxidative process of mitochondrial fatty acid, plays a significant role in the cardiovascular, nervous, and reproductive system. Recently, carnitine has been used as a therapeutic in the treatment of male infertility, erectile dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, etc. Accordingly, the objective of this review is to summarize the progress in researches on carnitine as a clinical therapy in andrology.
Carnitine ; therapeutic use ; Erectile Dysfunction ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; drug therapy ; Male

OBJECTIVETo systematically evaluate acupuncture as a treatment for male infertility.

METHODSWe searched Chi na Biology Medical Database (CBM), Wan Fang Medical Information System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Information Resource System (VIP), and PubMed for published literature on acupuncture as a treatment for male infertility on May 1 2014. Based on the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA), we evaluated the quality of the reports, conducted meta-analysis on the identified studies via RevMan5.2, and assessed the quality of the evidence in the literature by Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE).

RESULTSA total of 12 studies involving 2,177 patients were included, the quality of which was evaluated as mediocre. With regard to the cure rate, acupuncture was comparable to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) (P > 0.05) but better than Western medicine (RR = 4.00, 95% CI 1.63 to 9.82, P < 0.01) while acupuncture + TCM was better than either TCM (RR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.60, P < 0.01) or Western medicine used alone (RR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.51 to 4.93, P < 0.01), and acupuncture + Western medicine was better than Western medicine alone (RR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.02, P = 0.01). The combined use of acupuncture, ear pressure, TCM, and Western medicine showed a higher cure rate than the combination of TCM and Western medicine (RR = 3.45, 95% CI 2.90 to 4.11, P < 0.01). In therapeutic effectiveness, acupuncture was comparable to TCM (P > 0.05) but superior to Western medicine (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.71, P < 0.01), acupuncture + TCM was superior to either TCM (RR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.23, P < 0.01) or Western medicine alone (RR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.67, P < 0.01), and acupuncture + Western medicine was superior to Western medicine alone (RR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.49, P = 0.01). In improving sperm concentration, acupuncture was as effective as TCM (P > 0.05) and sham acupuncture (P > 0.05) but outdid Western medicine (RR = 27.00, 95% CI 24.27 to 29.73, P < 0.01) and acupuncture + TCM outdid either TCM (RR = 14.65, 95% CI 7.58 to 21.72, P < 0.01) or Western medicine alone (RR = 1.04, 95% CI--1.43 to 3.51, P > 0.05). In improving grade a sperm, acupuncture exhibited a similar effect to TCM (P > 0.05) and sham acupuncture (P > 0.05), and acupuncture + TCM was more effective than TCM alone (RR = 7.78, 95% CI 3.51 to 12.23, P < 0.01) but equally effective as Western medicine (P > 0.05). In elevating the level of grade a + b sperm, acupuncture + TCM excelled either TCM (RR = 11.00, 95%, CI 3.17 to 18.82, P < 0.01) or Western medicine alone (RR = 12.22, 95% CI 6.87 to 17.57, P < 0. 01), while acupuncture produced a comparable effect with sham acupuncture (P > 0.05). As for the quality of the included studies, only 3 conclusions of the 23 meta-analyses were assessed to be of average quality, while the others of poor or extremely poor quality. Therefore, the recommendation grade of the conclusions was low.

CONCLUSIONFor the treatment of male infertility, acupuncture is reported to be equally effective as TMC and more effective than Western medicine, and its effectiveness is enhanced when applied in combination with either TCM or Western medicine. Acupuncture is distinctively efficacious in improving sperm quality. Nevertheless, the overall quality of the included studies is low.

Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; complications ; therapy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Prostatitis ; complications ; therapy

Humans ; Infertility, Male ; complications ; therapy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Varicocele ; complications ; therapy