Male Puberty Issues / Question
Published: December 8, 2003
Dear TeenHealthFX,
What causes infertility in a male? What are the causes and symptoms of it?
Signed: Causes Of Male Infertility
Dear Causes Of Male Infertility,
This is a really good question. There are actually a lot of things that can cause male infertility, and interestingly, a definable cause is only found in 60-70% of situations.
There are 4 main conditions that can lead to male infertility, and then many more subgroups that fall under the major headings. First of all, hormonal or "endocrine" problems can cause infertility, though they only account for about 1% of all infertility disorders. Usually hormonal situations involve problems in producing the hormones that stimulate sperm production by the testes. These hormones (called follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH, and lutenizing hormone, or LH) are produced by something called the pituitary gland, which sits at the base of your brain. These two hormones are responsible for stimulating the testes to produce sperm and the male hormone testosterone.
Another thing that can cause male infertility is problems with sperm production. There are conditions in which the testes do not have the proper starting cells necessary to make sperm, or they have these cells but they are unable to complete their development to sperm. Some men also just make less sperm than the average male, and if very few sperm are produced, there is a high likelihood that there will not be enough that successfully travel through the ducts and into the ejaculated fluid to fertilize a woman's egg. Some causes of disrupted sperm production include undescended testes (this is commonly diagnosed during childhood), genetic abnormalities, infection, heat, antibodies (the substances that normally attack foreign bodies like germs- they can sometimes start attacking normal body substances), varicocele (a swollen vein in the scrotal region) or certain drugs.
In addition, sperm must travel from the testes through the epididymis and vas deferens to the ejaculate and any type of blockage or obstruction in this pathway can keep sperm from getting to where it needs to go. This can be caused by an absence of the vas deferens (this is a problem that a man would be born with), infection, enlargement of the prostate gland, or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In some cases, sperm can be removed from the testes if it is being produced there and used in in-vitro fertilization of a female.
Finally, problems with erection or ejaculation can lead to male infertility. These problems may be caused by damage to nerves necessary for erection and ejaculation, the inability to obtain or maintain an erection, premature or lack of ejaculation, prostate surgery, surgery to nerves in the pelvis, and certain medications, especially ones used to treat depression or high blood pressure.
Because there is a high prevalence of infertility in both males and females that goes undiagnosed or cannot be diagnosed, it is kind of difficult to define male infertility. In general, male infertility occurs when the man's partner does not conceive after one year of attempting to become pregnant and she is found to be fertile herself. There aren not really any "symptoms" of male infertility in generally, but other signs and symptoms could be present, depending on the underlying cause of the man's infertility.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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