Hormonal Treatment of Male Infertility: Promises and Pitfalls

Approximately 50% of infertility issues are attributable to male factors. A number of different factors may result in similar reductions of sperm count or motility and affect sperm morphology. Not only is the etiology of male infertility difficult to understand, but it is equally challenging to treat male infertility because of its etiological heterogeneity. Because of complex and incomplete knowledge of the underlying causes, most infertile men are described as idiopathically oligozoospermic and/or asthenozoospermic. Different hormonal treatments have been attempted, aiming to improve mainly endogenous follicle-stimulating hormone and/or androgen levels and subsequent spermatogenesis. Various studies have tried to treat infertility through natural pregnancies or increased sperm retrieval for in vitro fertilization techniques, or by treating spermatozoa in vitro to improve its fertilizing potential. The present review focuses on all of the aspects of male infertility treatment by hormone supplementation.