MALE INFERTILITY

Infertility is defined as without the ability of a sexually active mate to reach a pregnancy despite regular and unprotected sexual intercourse for more than 12 months (Singh & Agarwal, 2011). Of all couples trying to have children, 17% -25% will be diagnosed as infertile, where about 50% of these cases are attributed to male infertility (Venkatesh et al., 2011). Of 25% of couples who do not get pregnant within a year, 15% of them seek medical treatment for infertility and less than 5% of them are left without children. Approximately 50% of the cases the basic etiology of infertility lies only with males (Poongothai et al., 2009). In addition, in approximately 60-75% of cases, no cause is found in males and is called idiopathic (unknown) factor. Male infertility may be the result of genetic damage, oxidative stress, tumors, BMI, urogenital tract infections, temperature increase, varicocele, hormonal disorders, smoking, drug-related toxicity (WHO, 2000). In men in whom the cause of infertility is idiopathic, there are no previous stories related to fertility problems and findings are normal in physical and hormonal examinations. Diagnostic processing of idiopathic cases involves the analysis of ejaculate which usually reveals the reduction of sperm count (oligospermia), decreased sperm motility (asthenospermia) or the presence of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa (teratospermia). If these anomalies occur together, the entirety of all these abnormalities is described as oligoasthenoteratospermia (OAT). The presence of genetic abnormalities in both chromosomal and gene levels is a major concern for couples choosing assisted reproduction techniques (ART), which offer the ultimate hope for these couples to have their descendants (WHO, 2010).