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Hemochromatosis and male infertility
S Oehninger1, I Pike, N Slotnick
1The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk 23507, USA. sergio@jones1.evms.edu
Background:
The clinical association of hemochromatosis and infertility is rare. Hemochromatosis may affect fertility through a variety of mechanisms.
Case:
A 44-year-old man and his 36-year-old wife presented with primary infertility of 7 years' duration. The husband was diagnosed as having idiopathic hemochromatosis, abnormal glucose tolerance, and hypogonadism accompanied by impotence, retrograde ejaculation, and azoospermia. Treatment consisted of phlebotomies followed by gonadotropins, which corrected retrograde ejaculation and improved semen characteristics. Concomitant pelvic factors in the woman were corrected endoscopically. After failure of pregnancy with ovulation stimulation and intrauterine inseminations, a singleton pregnancy was achieved by in vitro fertilization, augmented with intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Conclusion:
This case underscores the need to consider advanced reproductive technologies after the failure of specific, first-line therapeutic options in infertile couples.