In Vitro Fertilization: Future Treatment for Male Infertility

Abstract

Therapy of infertility in the male still remains problematic. Despite increased knowledge of normal physiology, our understanding of the pathophysiology of male reproductive failure is sparse, with the consequence that there are no treatment modes that are known to have a high success rate. There is a multiplicity of therapies, many of them described in this book, but none have dramatically changed our approach to the treatment of the subfertile male. It is because of this background that scientists are constantly in search of new techniques, new understanding, and new approaches to the therapy of male infertility. In vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET), as tools in the treatment of human reproductive problems, offer another approach in dealing with problems of oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. In vitro fertilization has already been used successfully in cases of human bilateral tubal disease (Steptoe and Edwards 1978; Lopata et al. 1980 b). Whether it can serve as a technique for treating certain cases of male infertility is at present a matter of conjecture and speculation.