FSH treatment of the infertile male

This article reports for the first time the effects of both FSHB - 211G>T and FSHR 2039A>G genes polymorphisms. FSHB- 211G>T is a known risk factor for oligozoospermia, instead the role of the FSHR 2039A>G polymorphism in men is not yet known. The study showed that patients carriers of both polymorphisms have a slight FSH increase due to a reduced receptor sensitivity, although the data did not reach the statistical significance. Moreover, these patients showed a lower testicular volume compared to patients showing each single. These findings suggest that men with oligozoospermia or azoospermia with both these two polymorphisms may benefit from treatment with FSH. The administration of uFSH HP or rhFSH in patients with oligozoospermia with normal serum FSH levels improves conventional and nonconventional sperm parameters, but the effectiveness of this treatment becomes evident when FSH is given for >4 months. Furthermore, in a subset of patients defined responders, the administration of FSH may determine an increase of the number of spermatogonia. Therefore, FSH may be considered one of the possible therapeutic approaches for patients with idiopathic infertility. © Copyright 2014, CIC Edizioni Internazionali, Roma.