1.Controversy and Consensus on the Management of Elevated Sperm DNA Fragmentation in Male Infertility: A Global Survey, Current Guidelines, and Expert Recommendations
Ala’a FARKOUH ; Ashok AGARWAL ; Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid HAMODA ; Parviz KAVOUSSI ; Ramadan SALEH ; Armand ZINI ; Mohamed ARAFA ; Ahmed M. HARRAZ ; Murat GUL ; Vilvapathy Senguttuvan KARTHIKEYAN ; Damayanthi DURAIRAJANAYAGAM ; Amarnath RAMBHATLA ; Florence BOITRELLE ; Eric CHUNG ; Ponco BIROWO ; Tuncay TOPRAK ; Ramy Abou GHAYDA ; Rossella CANNARELLA ; Nguyen Ho Vinh PHUOC ; Fotios DIMITRIADIS ; Giorgio I. RUSSO ; Ioannis SOKOLAKIS ; Taymour MOSTAFA ; Konstantinos MAKAROUNIS ; Imad ZIOUZIOU ; Shinnosuke KURODA ; Marion BENDAYAN ; Raneen Sawaid KAIYAL ; Andrian JAPARI ; Mara SIMOPOULOU ; Lucia ROCCO ; Nicolas GARRIDO ; Nazim GHERABI ; Kadir BOCU ; Oguzhan KAHRAMAN ; Tan V. LE ; Christine WYNS ; Kelton TREMELLEN ; Selcuk SARIKAYA ; Sheena LEWIS ; Donald P. EVENSON ; Edmund KO ; Aldo E. CALOGERO ; Fahmi BAHAR ; Marlon MARTINEZ ; Andrea CRAFA ; Quang NGUYEN ; Rafael F. AMBAR ; Giovanni COLPI ; Mustafa Emre BAKIRCIOGLU
The World Journal of Men's Health 2023;41(4):809-847
Purpose:
Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) has been associated with male infertility and poor outcomes of assisted reproductive technology (ART). The purpose of this study was to investigate global practices related to the management of elevated SDF in infertile men, summarize the relevant professional society recommendations, and provide expert recommendations for managing this condition.
Materials and Methods:
An online global survey on clinical practices related to SDF was disseminated to reproductive clinicians, according to the CHERRIES checklist criteria. Management protocols for various conditions associated with SDF were captured and compared to the relevant recommendations in professional society guidelines and the appropriate available evidence. Expert recommendations and consensus on the management of infertile men with elevated SDF were then formulated and adapted using the Delphi method.
Results:
A total of 436 experts from 55 different countries submitted responses. As an initial approach, 79.1% of reproductive experts recommend lifestyle modifications for infertile men with elevated SDF, and 76.9% prescribe empiric antioxidants. Regarding antioxidant duration, 39.3% recommend 4–6 months and 38.1% recommend 3 months. For men with unexplained or idiopathic infertility, and couples experiencing recurrent miscarriages associated with elevated SDF, most respondents refer to ART 6 months after failure of conservative and empiric medical management. Infertile men with clinical varicocele, normal conventional semen parameters, and elevated SDF are offered varicocele repair immediately after diagnosis by 31.4%, and after failure of antioxidants and conservative measures by 40.9%. Sperm selection techniques and testicular sperm extraction are also management options for couples undergoing ART. For most questions, heterogenous practices were demonstrated.
Conclusions
This paper presents the results of a large global survey on the management of infertile men with elevated SDF and reveals a lack of consensus among clinicians. Furthermore, it demonstrates the scarcity of professional society guidelines in this regard and attempts to highlight the relevant evidence. Expert recommendations are proposed to help guide clinicians.
2.Artificial Intelligence in Andrology: From Semen Analysis to Image Diagnostics
Ramy Abou GHAYDA ; Rossella CANNARELLA ; Aldo E. CALOGERO ; Rupin SHAH ; Amarnath RAMBHATLA ; Wael ZOHDY ; Parviz KAVOUSSI ; Tomer AVIDOR-REISS ; Florence BOITRELLE ; Taymour MOSTAFA ; Ramadan SALEH ; Tuncay TOPRAK ; Ponco BIROWO ; Gianmaria SALVIO ; Gokhan CALIK ; Shinnosuke KURODA ; Raneen Sawaid KAIYAL ; Imad ZIOUZIOU ; Andrea CRAFA ; Nguyen Ho Vinh PHUOC ; Giorgio I. RUSSO ; Damayanthi DURAIRAJANAYAGAM ; Manaf AL-HASHIMI ; Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid HAMODA ; Germar-Michael PINGGERA ; Ricky ADRIANSJAH ; Israel Maldonado ROSAS ; Mohamed ARAFA ; Eric CHUNG ; Widi ATMOKO ; Lucia ROCCO ; Haocheng LIN ; Eric HUYGHE ; Priyank KOTHARI ; Jesus Fernando Solorzano VAZQUEZ ; Fotios DIMITRIADIS ; Nicolas GARRIDO ; Sheryl HOMA ; Marco FALCONE ; Marjan SABBAGHIAN ; Hussein KANDIL ; Edmund KO ; Marlon MARTINEZ ; Quang NGUYEN ; Ahmed M. HARRAZ ; Ege Can SEREFOGLU ; Vilvapathy Senguttuvan KARTHIKEYAN ; Dung Mai Ba TIEN ; Sunil JINDAL ; Sava MICIC ; Marina BELLAVIA ; Hamed ALALI ; Nazim GHERABI ; Sheena LEWIS ; Hyun Jun PARK ; Mara SIMOPOULOU ; Hassan SALLAM ; Liliana RAMIREZ ; Giovanni COLPI ; Ashok AGARWAL ;
The World Journal of Men's Health 2024;42(1):39-61
Artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has gained a lot of momentum in the last decades and has been applied to various fields of medicine. Advances in computer science, medical informatics, robotics, and the need for personalized medicine have facilitated the role of AI in modern healthcare. Similarly, as in other fields, AI applications, such as machine learning, artificial neural networks, and deep learning, have shown great potential in andrology and reproductive medicine. AI-based tools are poised to become valuable assets with abilities to support and aid in diagnosing and treating male infertility, and in improving the accuracy of patient care. These automated, AI-based predictions may offer consistency and efficiency in terms of time and cost in infertility research and clinical management. In andrology and reproductive medicine, AI has been used for objective sperm, oocyte, and embryo selection, prediction of surgical outcomes, cost-effective assessment, development of robotic surgery, and clinical decision-making systems. In the future, better integration and implementation of AI into medicine will undoubtedly lead to pioneering evidence-based breakthroughs and the reshaping of andrology and reproductive medicine.