Infertility causes

Gonadotropinreleasing hormone (GnRH) Used rarely in pulses to treat infertility caused by hypothalamic dysfunction... 

GnRH can stimulate pituitary function and is used to treat infertility caused by hypothalamic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in both sexes. A portable battery-powered programmable pump and intravenous tubing allows pulsatile GnRH therapy every 90 minutes. 

For male infertility caused by hypothalamic GnRH deficiency, gonadorelin treatment is begun only... 

Oligospermia, with reduced motility and a high frequency of abnormal forms, and male infertility are well documented in patients taking sulfasalazine. Oral and rectal treatments have the same effects, which reverse on withdrawal. Male infertility caused by sulfasalazine can be reversed by switching to mesalazine. 

Tang BY, Adams NR. Oestrogen receptors and metabolic activity in the genital tract after ovariectomy of ewes with permanent infertility caused by exposure to phytoestrogens. J Endocrinol 1981 89(3) 365-370. 

Like LH, hCG stimulates the production of testosterone by the testes therefore, it is used in treating male hypogonadism and prepubertal cryptorchidism in young males (age, 4-9 years), in whom it stimulates testicular descent. In treating infertility caused by pituitary dysfunction, hCG, in combination with menotropins (as discussed previously) or clomiphene, can induce ovulation and pregnancy in anovulatory females. This hCG, which is of natural origin, is purified from the urine of pregnant women. 

The testicular production of free radicals and the function of the antioxidative defence system have a role in infertility caused by defective sperm func-... 

Products containing infertility causative ageuts iuclude adhesives, paints, siU-cones, solvents, and the fumes from welding rods that emitted during welding [3]. House dust containing organophosphate flame retardants has been shown to alter hormone levels and decrease sperm quality in men [4]. 

PH-20, a guinea pig sperm protein of 64 kD, is present on both the plasma membrane and inner acrosomal membrane of sperm. It is essential for adhesion of sperm to the zona peUucida, the initial step in the fertilization process. Active immunization with PH-20 causes infertility in both male and female guinea pigs for a period ranging from 6 to 15 months (120). 

Effect only seen in juvenile Effects reported from North Sea in the vicinity of shipping lanes Causes infertility and population decline in England, some without development of penis, but some recovery following 1987 ban on TBT use on small vessels... 

Tributyltin compounds used as antifouling agents on boats have had serious toxic effects upon many mollusks, including populations of oysters and dog whelks. Females of the latter species developed a condition known as imposex, which rendered them infertile and caused local extinction of the population in shallow coastal waters. Imposex provides the basis for a valuable biomarker assay. 

Setchell, K.D.R., Gossehn, S.J., and Welsh, M.B. et al. (1987). Dietary estrogens—a probable cause of infertility and liver-disease in captive cheetahs. Gastroenterology 93, 225-233. 

In some animals, consumption of a phytoestrogen-rich diet can cause temporary infertility and reproductive system disorders (Irvine, 1999). In humans, lower testosterone levels and a decline in human semen quality over the past century have been luiked to increased exposure to environmental endocrine disrupters (EDCs) (Sharpe and Skakkebaek, 1993). Furthermore, cases of sexual impotence have been reported in males exposed to synthetic estrogens in the pharmaceutical industry (Mattison et al., 1990). If this might be the case, the fetal-prepubertal period and Sertoli cell development would be of critical importance (Sharpe and Skakkebaek, 1993). However, an adverse effect of phytoestrogens on male fertility has yet to be proven. Recent work (Mitchell et al., 2001) addressing this point led to the conclusion that up to 40 mg/day of isoflavones over a two-month period had no effects on gonadotrophin and... 

Data on safety have been obtained from in vitro as well as in vivo animal and human studies (see also Section 10.4). About 50 years ago, Australian farmers observed an infertility syndrome in sheep associated with the consumption of clover species (Bennets et al., 1946). The clover compounds shown to cause the infertility (genistein, daidzein, equol, biochanin A, formononetin) were members of the isoflavone family (Bradbury and White, 1951 Shutt and Braden, 1968), raising the question of whether soy might cause infertility in humans (see also Section 10.4.9). A variety of reports further supported adverse effects of isoflavones on animal reproductive systems (Santell et al., 1997 Flynn et al., 2000a,b). 

High dosages of alkylating agents can cause prolonged azoospermia in greater than 90% of men, whereas platinum drugs can cause it in up to 50% of men. Cyropreservation of semen before treatment starts should be discussed with males at risk for treatment-induced infertility.52... 

In rats, nickel carbonyl is reported to cause dominant lethal mutations (WHO 1991), but this needs verification. Nickel sulfate, when given subcutaneously at 2.4 mg Ni/kg B W daily for 120 days causes infertility testicular tissues are adversely affected after the first injection (USEPA 1980). Nickel salts given intraperitoneally to rats at 6 mg Ni/kg BW daily for 14 days did not produce significant chromosomal changes in bone marrow or spermatogonial cells (Mathur et al. 1978). 

Approximately 15% of women with gonorrhea develop pelvic inflammatory disease. Left untreated, pelvic inflammatory disease can be an indirect cause of infertility and ectopic pregnancies. 

Uterine leiomyomas are the most frequent benign disease of the female reproductive apparatus. At least 20-25% of women of fertile age and 50% of women studied in postmortem have uterine leiomyomas (Stewart 2001 Palomba et al. 2005a). In between 20 and 50% of cases, the uterine leiomyomas cause a clinically relevant symptomatology (such as menorrhagia, infertility, recurrent abortion, pelvic pain, and so on) and treatment is required (Stewart 2001 Palomba et al. 2006a). Thus, this disease is one of the main causes of health expense in the field of gynecology (Stewart 2001 Palomba et al. 2006a). In fact,... 

Uterine leiomyomas, or fibroids, are the most common type of solid tumors in adult women, clinically apparent in at least 25% of those of reproductive age [24-26]. Abnormal menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and infertility are the most commonly experienced symptoms in these women. Uterine fibroids are the leading cause of hysterectomies performed in the United States, accounting for over 200,000 of these procedures each year. Other invasive surgical interventions for the treatment of uterine fibroids include myomectomy and uterine artery embolization. Leiomyomas are estrogen-responsive tumors that can be treated... 

No studies were located regarding reproductive effects in humans after dermal exposure to mirex. The available data in humans indicate that chlordecone causes male reproductive effects. Occupational exposure to chlordecone for up to 1.5 years caused oligospermia and decreased sperm motility in male workers. However, there were no reported infertility in these male subjects despite loss of sperm motility in some workers (refer to Section 2.2.1.5 for further details). 

Aw C. 1987. Workplace exposures causing male infertility. Occup Health (Lond) 39(10) 326-328. 

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