Experimental Methods to Preserve Male Fertility and Treat Male Infertility

摘要

Infertility is a prevalent condition that has insidious impacts on the infertile individuals, their families and society that extend far beyond the inability to have a biological child. Lifestyle changes, fertility treatments and assisted reproductive technologies are available to help many infertile couples achieve their reproductive goals. All of these technologies require that the infertile individual is able to produce at least a small number of functional gametes (eggs or sperm). It is not possible for a person who does not produce gametes to have a biological child. This review focuses on the infertile man and describes several stem cell-based methods and gene therapy approaches that are in the research pipeline and may lead to new fertility treatment options for azoospermic men.