New Traditional Chinese Medicine Supplement Reduces Pain Faster than Conventional Pain Pills Alone: A Phase I/II Prospective, Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial.

Background: The opioid crisis demands novel solutions for postoperative pain control. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has used herbs for the treatment of pain for thousands of years. We studied whether a synergistic multimodal TCM supplement could reduce the need for conventional pain pills for low risk surgical procedures.

Roles of Spermatogonial Stem Cells in Spermatogenesis and Fertility Restoration.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are a group of adult stem cells in the testis that serve as the foundation of continuous spermatogenesis and male fertility. SSCs are capable of self-renewal to maintain the stability of the stem cell pool and differentiation to produce mature spermatozoa. Dysfunction of SSCs leads to male infertility.

Testosterone levels among non-obstructive azoospermic patients 2 years after failed bilateral microdissection testicular sperm extraction: a nested case-cohort study.

Purpose: To define the risk of hypogonadism following microdissection testicular sperm extraction in cases of non-obstructive azoospermia. While sperm retrieval by open testicular sperm extraction can be associated with an increased risk of hypogonadism, there is limited data addressing which procedures and which patients harbor the greatest risk.

Methods: We report on a community-acquired, nested, case-cohort of non-obstructive azoospermic patients referred to one clinic after failed bilateral microdissection testicular sperm extraction.

Narrative review of the history of microsurgery in urological practice.

The clinical need for magnified visualization during surgery spurred the evolution of microscope and microsuture technology. Innovative surgeons across various surgical specialties recognized the importance of utilizing and advancing these technologies. Operative microscopy allows human dexterity to perform beyond direct visual limitations.

COVID-19 and human reproduction: A pandemic that packs a serious punch.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a worldwide health emergency that has impacted 188 countries at last count. The rapid community transmission and relatively high mortality rates with COVID-19 in modern times are relatively unique features of this flu pandemic and have resulted in an unparalleled global health crisis. SARS-CoV-2, being a respiratory virus, mainly affects the lungs, but is capable of infecting other vital organs, such as brain, heart and kidney.

A study of pregnancy rates in "cleared" male factor couples.

Background: Among couples with male factor infertility, the natural pregnancy rates associated with classic male factor treatments are well described. In couples with unexplained infertility, the proportion due to occult male factor is unclear. We hypothesized that many men diagnosed with unexplained infertility are actually fertile.

Successful Targeted Testicular Sperm Extraction Using Microsurgical Technique (microTESE) Following Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) Mapping in a Non-Obstructive Azoospermia (NOA) Patient: A Case Report.

Background: Management for male infertility can be difficult for some cases. Surgical intervention has long been thought as the last resort to help married couples to conceive. The current guideline recommends testicular sperm extraction with micro-surgery technique (microTESE) in severe cases of male infertility.

The evolution of testicular sperm extraction and preservation techniques.

Along with the advent of intracytoplasmic sperm injection in 1992, sperm retrieval procedures now allow the possibility of conception from male sterility. In cases of sterility due to blockages in the reproductive tract, sperm retrieval procedures are relatively straightforward and reliable. In nonobstructive azoospermia or testis failure, sperm often can be difficult to retrieve.

Sperm fine-needle aspiration (FNA) mapping after failed microdissection testicular sperm extraction (TESE): location and patterns of found sperm.

We sought to evaluate the ability of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) mapping to find sperm and to guide sperm retrieval after failed microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) in nonobstructive azoospermic men. In this study of consecutive male infertility cases, interventions included testicular FNA mapping and subsequent sperm retrieval. Outcomes included the frequency and location of found sperm on FNA maps after failed micro-TESE and the salvage sperm retrieval success.

Guidance and Self-Sorting of Active Swimmers: 3D Periodic Arrays Increase Persistence Length of Human Sperm Selecting for the Fittest.

Male infertility is a reproductive disease, and existing clinical solutions for this condition often involve long and cumbersome sperm sorting methods, including preprocessing and centrifugation-based steps. These methods also fall short when sorting for sperm free of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, and epigenetic aberrations. Although several microfluidic platforms exist, they suffer from structural complexities, i.

Reproductive genetics and the aging male.

Purpose: To examine current evidence of the known effects of advanced paternal age on sperm genetic and epigenetic changes and associated birth defects and diseases in offspring.

Methods: Review of published PubMed literature.

Results: Advanced paternal age (> 40 years) is associated with accumulated damage to sperm DNA and mitotic and meiotic quality control mechanisms (mismatch repair) during spermatogenesis.

Isolation of human testicular cells and co-culture with embryonic stem cells.

Our overall goal is to create a three-dimensional human cell-based testicular model for toxicological and spermatogenesis studies. Methods to purify the major somatic testicular cells, namely Leydig cells (LCs), peritubular myoid cells (PCs) and Sertoli cells (SCs), from rats, mice and guinea pigs have been reported. In humans, the isolation of populations enriched for primary LCs, PCs or SCs also have described.

Rescue of PFOS-induced human Sertoli cell injury by overexpressing a p-FAK-Y407E phosphomimetic mutant.

Unlabelled: PFOS induces Sertoli cell injury using testicular cells isolated from rodent testes, but it remains unknown if PFOS has similar effects in humans. Herein, we maintained human Sertoli cells in a mitotically active state in vitro, thus enabling transfection experiments that altered gene expression to explore the molecular mechanism(s) underlying toxicant-induced cell injury. Human Sertoli cells obtained from men at ages 15, 23, 36 and 40 were cultured in vitro.

Is human fecundity changing? A discussion of research and data gaps precluding us from having an answer.

Fecundity, the biologic capacity to reproduce, is essential for the health of individuals and is, therefore, fundamental for understanding human health at the population level. Given the absence of a population (bio)marker, fecundity is assessed indirectly by various individual-based (e.g.

DDX3Y gene rescue of a Y chromosome AZFa deletion restores germ cell formation and transcriptional programs.

Deletions of the AZFa region (AZoospermia Factor-a) region of the human Y chromosome cause irreversible spermatogenic failure that presents clinically in men as Sertoli-cell only (SCO) pathology of the testis. Deletions of the AZFa region typically encompass two genes: DDX3Y and USP9Y. However, human genetic evidence indicates that SCO is most tightly linked to deletion of DDX3Y and that deletions/mutations of USP9Y can be transmitted from one generation to the next.

Fate of iPSCs derived from azoospermic and fertile men following xenotransplantation to murine seminiferous tubules.

Historically, spontaneous deletions and insertions have provided means to probe germline developmental genetics in Drosophila, mouse and other species. Here, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines were derived from infertile men with deletions that encompass three Y chromosome azoospermia factor (AZF) regions and are associated with production of few or no sperm but normal somatic development. AZF-deleted iPSC lines were compromised in germ cell development in vitro.

Environmental toxicants perturb human Sertoli cell adhesive function via changes in F-actin organization mediated by actin regulatory proteins.

Study Question: Can human Sertoli cells cultured in vitro and that have formed an epithelium be used as a model to monitor toxicant-induced junction disruption and to better understand the mechanism(s) by which toxicants disrupt cell adhesion at the Sertoli cell blood-testis barrier (BTB)?

Summary Answer: Our findings illustrate that human Sertoli cells cultured in vitro serve as a reliable system to monitor the impact of environmental toxicants on the BTB function.

What Is Known Already: Suspicions of a declining trend in semen quality and a concomitant increase in exposures to environmental toxicants over the past decades reveal the need of an in vitro system that efficiently and reliably monitors the impact of toxicants on male reproductive function. Furthermore, studies in rodents have confirmed that environmental toxicants impede Sertoli cell BTB function in vitro and in vivo.

Sperm retrieval techniques.

Since the advent of intracytoplasmic sperm injection in 1992, sperm retrieval procedures have been routinely employed to treat male infertility owing to azoospermia. With obstructive azoospermia, sperm is potentially harvestable from the vas deferens, epididymis, and testicle using percutaneous and open sperm retrieval procedures that are relatively straightforward and reliable. In nonobstructive azoospermia, sperm is generally found only in the testicles and can often be difficult to retrieve.

Avoiding toxins including spermatotoxic medications.

Global rates of infertility are significant, especially in many developing countries. In developed countries, infertility affects up to 15% of the reproductive-age population, with male factors involved in 50% of cases. During medical evaluation, a review of current and past medications and social habits is essential, as they may adversely affect fertility.

Incorporating social media into practice: a blueprint for reproductive health providers.

Industries are quick to adopt online applications that consumers are using to attract attention to products or services. The adoption of social media among medical professionals, although slow, is an inexorable reality particularly in reproductive health, where patients typically use online resources to pursue their health concerns. On the basis of the literature and personal experience with social media in infertility care, we provide guidance for reproductive health practitioners on how to use social media effectively.

Use of human chorionic gonadotropin in a male Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) to induce rut and achieve a pregnancy in a nulliparous female.

Walrus in US zoos have a very low reproductive rate of 11 births in 80 years, and little is known about Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) reproductive biology. To address this, we initiated a program in which detailed biological data were recorded on captive walrus. As part of a 7-year study, 1 male and 1 female 16-year-old captive Pacific walrus were carefully monitored with weekly serum hormone analysis, daily glans penis smears for spermatozoa, and abdominal ultrasound for pregnancy.