Infertility is the inability of a couple to procreate or bear children after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. The rate of infertility has been on the rise of late which is brought about by a wide range of physical and emotional factors.
Men are often overlooked when it comes to the issues of infertility, and men are often not expressive about the impact of infertility unlike women. Men contribute to the causes of infertility as much as women.
Men infertility is the inability of a man to fertilize a woman’s egg due to problems specially related to the man’s sperm, seminal fluid, or the reproductive organs.
Listed below are some of the causes of men infertility
1. Physical / Emotional Stress: Stress was first employed in a biological context by the endocrinologist “Han Selye” in the 1930s. Sign of stress may be cognitive, emotional, physical, or behavioral. Stress may interfere with the hormone and reduce sperm count. Stress is like a runaway train that gathers momentum with time which can make men infertile by its effect on the hormones and reproductive organs. Sperm counts mobility, and structure are altered under stress.
Emotional stress always causes problems of impotence and difficulties with ejaculation
2. Exposure to Heavy Metals: Chronic exposure to heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, or cadmium may affect sperm production and most often cause a reduced production in otherwise healthy men. Studies has shown that trace amounts of these metals in semen seem to inhibit the function of enzymes contained in the acrosome (the membrane that covers the head of the sperm).
3. Varicocele: A varicocele is a varicose vein in the cord that connects to the testicles. A varicose vein is one that is abnormally enlarged and twisted. Varicoceles are found in 15% to 20% of all men and 20% to 40% of infertile men. Varicoceles can raise testicular temperature, which may have effects on sperm production, sperm movement, and sperm shape.
4. Testicular Cancer: Testicular cancer is cancer that starts in the testicles, the male reproductive glands in the scrotum. The exact cause of testicular cancer is unknown. There is no link between vasectomy and testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in en between the ages of 15 and 35. It can occur in older men, and rarely in younger boys.
Factors that may increase a man’s risk for testicular cancer include
a. Abnormal testicle development
b. History of testicular cancer
c. Klinefelter’s Syndrome (genetic disease affecting 1 in 850 males. It occurs when a male inherits an extra X, or female, sex chromosome that interferes with the development of male characteristics. “Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009”.
There are two main type of testicular cancer
i. Seminomas: This is the a slow-growing form of testicular cancer usually found in men in their 30s and 40s. The cancer is usually just in the testes, but it can spread to the lymph nodes. Seminomas are very sensitive to radiation therapy.
ii. Nonseminoma: This is a more common type of testicular cancer tends to grow more quickly than seminomas. Nonseminoma tumors are often made up of more than one type of cell, and are identified according to these different cell types.
b. Embryonal Carinoma
5. Low sperm Count: Low sperm count is the leading cause of infertility in men. Men with low sperm count find it difficult to impregnate their wives. A sperm count of less than 20 million/ml is considered low sperm. Sperm count varies widely over time, and temporary low sperm count are common.
There are many biological and environmental factors that can lead to low_f2d15d5b_ sperm count
As mentioned above, Emotional Stress can cause sperm count by interfering with the hormone. Physical or mental stress can temporarily reduced sperm count.
6. Smoking/Drinking: when you smoke, your blood circulation decreases. when blood circulation decrease, sperm count also decrease. Smoking impairs sperm count, sperm motility, reduces sperm lifespan, and may cause generic changes that affect the offspring. Chronic Smoking and Drinking causes both separate and interactive neurobiological and functional injuries to the brain.
7. Structural Chromosome Abnormalities: This occur when there is a change in the structure or part of a chromosome. The total number of chromosomes is usually normal (46 total per cell). Structural chromosome abnormalities occur when part of a chromosome is missing, a part of a chromosome is extra, or a part of chromosome has switched places with another part.And this leads to having too much or too little generic material, which is cause of some defects.
8. Retrrograde Ejaculation: This occurs when semen which would normally be ejaculated via urethra is redirected to the urinary bladder. When the bladder sphincter does not function properly, retrograde ejaculation may occur. Retrograde ejaculation is sometimes called a “Dry Orgasm”.
A malfunctioning bladder sphincter leading to retrograde ejaculation may be a result of the autonomic nervous system or the operation of complication of transurethral resection of the prostrate,
a procedure in which prostrate tissue is removed, slice by slice through a resectoscope passed along the urethra.
This could also be caused by a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer if nerve pathways to the bladder sphicter are damaged with the resulting retrograde ejaculation being either temporary or permanent.
9. Abnormal Sperm Morphology: This is when the sperm morphology ( the size and shape) of sperm which supposed to have an oval head with a long tail found to be having a large or misshapen head or a crooked or double tail. These defects may affect the ability of the sperm to reach and penetrate an egg.
If a semen analysis shows abnormal sperm morphology or other irregularities, a wait-and-see approach is generally tried first. In some cases, sperm problem are due to a permanent condition, such as a testicle abnormality present at birth, and can’t be treated.
10. Sexually transmitted Diseases: Some sexually transmitted diseases can have serious effects on the reproductive systems, especially if the are left untreated. Many sexually transmitted diseases cause only minor symptoms, many infected men do not get the necessary treatment. As a result many of men suffer the effects of sexually transmitted diseases induced infertility. The majority of men affected with Sexually Transmitted Diseases exhibit symptoms soon after infection.
Gonorrhea and Chlamydia are the 2 most common causes of sexually transmitted diseases related infertility. Such infection can cause scarring and block sperm passage.
Also Epididymitis causes inflammation in one of the vessels which transports semen from the testicles. Epididymitis can result in the complete blockage of these vessels, causing male infertility.