The use of fluorescent in situ hybridization in male infertility.

Male factors are implicated in up to 50% of couples being evaluated and treated for infertility with advanced assisted reproductive technologies. Genetic abnormalities, including sperm chromosome aneuploidy as well as structural aberrations, are one of the major causes of infertility. The use of chromosome-specific DNA probes labeled with fluorochromes, particularly the combination with multiple probes, has been used to indirectly study the sperm chromosome by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH).

Early versus late maturation arrest: reproductive outcomes of testicular failure.

Purpose: There is a paucity of data characterizing infertile men with maturation arrest. We hypothesized that men with early stage maturation arrest could be clinically distinguished from men with late maturation arrest and would have worse reproductive outcomes.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients with nonobstructive azoospermia and cryptozoospermia who underwent testis mapping and sperm extraction from 2002 to 2009 and for whom histopathological findings were available.

Aberrations in pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) found in infertile men with Y-chromosome microdeletions.

Context: The pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) of the Y-chromosome undergo meiotic recombination with the X-chromosome. PAR mutations are associated with infertility and mental and stature disorders.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether men with Y-chromosome microdeletions have structural defects in PARs.

The impact of proximal stone burden on the management of encrusted and retained ureteral stents.

Purpose: Managing the encrusted and retained ureteral stent is a potentially complex challenge. To improve surgical planning, we hypothesized that proximal stone burden is the most important factor associated with complicated removal, and that computerized tomography more accurately estimates stone burden than plain film x-ray of the kidneys, ureters and bladder.

Materials And Methods: Records were reviewed of patients undergoing surgical removal of an encrusted and retained ureteral stent or nephrostomy at Ben Taub General Hospital from 2007 to 2009.

Varicocele repair in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia: a meta-analysis.

Purpose: Multiple small case series have reported sperm in the ejaculate and spontaneous pregnancies in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia after varicocele repair. We hypothesized that men with favorable testicular histopathology on testis biopsy such as maturation arrest or hypospermatogenesis would have a higher probability of success than those with more ablative pathology, eg Sertoli-cell-only.

Materials And Methods: A review of the literature on varicocele repair in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia was performed and 11 publications from the previous 20 years were evaluated.

Comprehensive 5-year study of cytogenetic aberrations in 668 infertile men.

Purpose: The causes of male infertility are heterogeneous but more than 50% of cases have a genetic basis. Specific genetic defects have been identified in less than 20% of infertile males and, thus, most causes remain to be elucidated. The most common cytogenetic defects associated with nonobstructive azoospermia are numerical and structural chromosome abnormalities, including Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) and Y chromosome microdeletions.