BUJUMBURA December 14th (ABP) – On the occasion of the medical biology conference, 2nd edition, organized by the association of medical biotechnologies, on Friday, December 9, 2022, under the theme: “Laboratory contributions to sexual and reproductive health”, Dr. Eddy Noël Ngabire who is in the process of specializing in gynecology, made the presentation on male infertility.
According to Dr Ngabire, male infertility is the inability for a man to become pregnant after at least 12 months of unprotected and normal sexual intercourse in frequency and quality, within a couple regularly living together, except for the proven infertility of his partner. He also clarified that sterility is the permanent and irreversible inability to conceive. He also added that for 15% of newly married couples, the male factor involved in infertility is 20% and the cause of infertility is unknown in half of the cases.
Regarding the risk factors for male infertility, Dr. Ngabire cited in particular poorly treated urogenital infections during childhood, testicular trauma and congenital malformation. He also cited surgical factors including orchidectomy, orchidopexy, inguinal hernia repair, pelvic trauma and iatrogenic factors including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, current treatments (cimetidine, nitrofurantoin) and family history, consanguinity and others. For other causes, he cited environmental and occupational exposure including heavy metals (lead and C disulfide), obesity, excessive tobacco and alcohol consumption, tight clothing and hot baths, using multiple drugs that can alter spermatogenesis.
For the prevention of male infertility, he indicated that the causes mentioned above must be avoided by avoiding environmental and occupational exposure, combating obesity by adopting an appropriate and balanced diet, avoiding tobacco consumption, limiting alcohol consumption, avoiding tight clothing and hot baths (Sauna at a very high temperature).
To diagnose male infertility, Dr. Ngabire said that one can do the paraclinical examination including the spermogram (quantitative and qualitative analysis of spermatozoa) and spermocytogram (cytological and morphological analysis of spermatozoa under the microscope).
Treatments can be lifestyle, and medical means including hormone therapy and testosterone androgen therapy and others.