Recently, men have increasingly been diagnosed with astenozoospermia. This is a pathology in which the seminal fluid is too low a level of mobile spermatozoa, or they are completely absent. As a result, a partner of such a man has almost no chance to become pregnant.
Earlier, the blame for the inability to conceive lay primarily on the female half, but observations and studies in recent years show that men are gradually pushing the weaker sex, increasingly suffering from impaired fertility, even to infertility. This phenomenon is explained by the deterioration of the quantitative and qualitative composition of the sperm, the cause of which often becomes sexually transmitted diseases.
What is the disease and its degree
Normally, 1 ml of sperm accounts for about 20 million spermatozoa, with more than half of them having normal motor activity. Astenozoospermia is characterized by a state of ejaculate, which is inherent in a decrease in sperm motility, and the content of active spermatozoa also falls. Such a violation today is considered quite common among men of childbearing age.
Warning! At any degree of severity of asthenozoospermia, conception is possible, but the more sedentary spermatozoa, the probability of becoming pregnant is less.
Specialists subdivide pathology into several degrees:
- Degree I is a weakly expressed form of deviation, in which the total percentage of mobile spermatozoa is about half the total number;
- Degree II - moderate asthenozoospermia, characterized by 30-40% of active spermatozoa;
- Degree III is a pronounced pathology, which is characterized by less than a third of mobile spermatozoa from their total number.
This pathology causes male infertility in more than a third of cases, so it requires the identification of provoking factors and compulsory treatment.
Why spermatozoa become inactive
Sperm motility may occur against a background of many factors:
- Agglutination of spermatozoa - when suturing of spermatozoa occurs, a similar condition occurs against the background of infections caused by pathogens like chlamydia, mycoplasma and ureaplasma, which parasitize in the testicle cavity;
- Sulfate acidification;
- Increased viscosity of seminal fluid;
- Change in morphological structure of spermatozoa( mitochondria or flagella changes) due to genetic disorders;
- Pathological change in the composition of the ejaculate;
- Presence in a seminal fluid of microflora of pathogenic origin( bacteria, viruses, etc.);
- Negative influence of bad habits, salts of heavy metals, poor environmental conditions.
Often asthenozoospermia is a consequence of a whole set of factors, rather than one single cause. Sometimes such a pathology develops after high-temperature exposure to the body, electromagnetic or radiation exposure. Often, the cause of sperm inactivity are inflammatory processes or infections in the organs of the reproductive system like prostatitis, orchitis, epididymitis, etc. After such diseases are cured, the quality and motility of the spermatozoa will return to normal.
Often asthenozoospermia precedes:
- Frequent depressive or stressful conditions;
- Various testicular injuries;
- Overheating or subcooling;
- Pathological changes in the structure or activity of the prostate gland, its inflammation;
- Congenital genetic mutations;
- Prolonged sexual abstinence;
- Incorrect intake of some medicines.
Pregnancy for asthenozoospermia
The probability of fertilization with a similar disease depends largely on the degree of development of pathology. If a small number of full-fledged, mature, active and mobile "scabs" is present in the seminal fluid, chances of fertilization of the egg are, although they are not large.
Important! Problems with the motor activity of spermatozoa often occur due to an incorrect lifestyle: alcohol abuse, nicotine addiction, drug use, etc.
The possibility of becoming pregnant increases with the reduction in the number of too slow spermatozoa that characterize asthenozoospermia. In general, sperm inactivity is not related to irreversible and unrecoverable ailments, which can prevent a man from becoming a father and put an end to a married life. After all, this disease does not guarantee 100% infertility, it only reduces the likelihood of fertilization.
The weakly expressed form of pathology is easily eliminated by taking stimulants of spermatogenesis in combination with vitamin preparations. If the degree of expression of spermatozoic infertility is higher, then it is eliminated with the help of complex therapy.
Diagnostic methods
The treatment technique is largely determined by the causes that asthenozoospermia was provoked. It happens that at a mild stage it is enough to change some way of life, to exclude alcohol, to refuse cigarettes. There are cases when the mobility of spermatozoa increased as a result of changes in labor conditions, that is, patients changed "harmful" activities related to chemicals or heavy metals to safer sectors. Of course, such actions are not always enough to eliminate pathology. More often a man still needs an andrologist intervention.
Warning! Therapeutic measures will be successful only if the etiological factors provoking asthenozoospermia are reliably detected.
Since the lack of mobility of spermatozoa is practically not manifested by any symptomatology, it is possible to detect and finally confirm it when carrying out the spermogram. Also, the andrologist may recommend additional diagnostic procedures such as prostatic juice research, genetic analysis, examination of the patency of the spermatic ducts, and tests for the detection of inflammatory-infectious processes. Such diagnostic procedures help in confirming the diagnosis and allow us to identify the root cause of low mobility.
In cases where asthenozoospermia is of genetic origin and is caused by morphological mutations and sperm defects, any treatment tactic is powerless. Become a father, a man will only wash with the help of artificial insemination of the spouse. The remaining cases are completely amenable to elimination.
Tactics of treatment
First, the patient is recommended to correct his lifestyle: eliminate addictions, move more. Often, these changes help to fix the problem, but if this is not enough, the andrologist prescribes a drug from the group of spermatogenesis stimulants, as well as additional medications and procedures. Complex therapy is selected individually, because the causes of the disease are different.
Warning! If the cause of sperm inactivity is varicocele, then surgical treatment may be necessary.
Often the tactics of treatment, with concomitant STIs, involves antibiotic therapy, vitamin therapy, the use of immunomodulating agents, etc. Often the complex of treatment measures besides taking vitamins and hormonal drugs includes physiotherapy and massage procedures of the prostate. In addition, there are products that have a beneficial effect on sperm activity. Therefore, to reduce the severity of pathology, and sometimes completely eliminate it will help to observe certain principles of nutrition.
It is recommended to provide daily intake of selenium and zinc, L-carotene and vitamin E. Selenium is rich in brewer's yeast and eggs, a lot of zinc is present in the composition of nuts and seeds, seafood, liver and red meat. Vitamin E is rich only in plants, because in animal organisms this powerful antioxidant is not synthesized. The greatest amount of vitamin is present in seeds and nuts, vegetable oil.
In general, the disease is completely curable, the main thing is to accurately identify its causes.
