Medical treatment of male infertility

Abstract

Although male factors contribute to approximately half of all cases of infertility, no specific cause can be found to explain the majority of abnormalities found in semen parameters. Specific and effective medical treatment is restricted to rare endocrine disorders. As a consequence, various empirical medical treatments are often used to treat idiopathic male infertility, with limited success. This review focuses on the rationale and current evidence on the efficacy of medical treatment of male infertility. Unless new studies provide high quality evidence in favour of medical treatment, assisted reproductive technologies will remain the mainstay of treatment of male infertility.

Keywords:

• Male fertility
• male reproductive system

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.