A Chinese medicinal formula, Huzhangdanshenyin , derived by researchers in Xiamen, China has been proved more effective than corticosteroids in targetting male immune infertility - but without the side effects of steroids.
What is male immune infertility? Sperm are relatively protected from the immune system by a natural protective mechanism called the blood-testes barrier. Tight connections between the cells lining the male reproductive tract keep immune cells from gaining entry to the sperm within. If an injury breaches this barrier, then the immune system has access to sperm and antibodies are formed.
Antisperm antibodies have been reported in approximately 10% of infertile men, compared to less than 1% of fertile men. The prevalence of antibodies jumps dramatically in men who have had surgery on their reproductive tract: nearly 70% of men who have undergone a vasectomy reversal will have antibodies present on their sperm. Women have a much lower chance for developing antibodies to sperm: less than 5% of infertile women can be shown to have antisperm antibodies, and it is unclear who is at risk for their formation.
Who is at risk for antisperm antibodies?
Anything that disrupts the normal blood-testes barrier can result in the formation of antisperm antibodies. This may include any of the following conditions:
Vasectomy reversal
Varicocele (dilation of the veins surrounding the spermatic cord)
Testicular torsion (twisting of the testicle)
Congenital absence of the vas deferens
Testicular biopsy
Cryptorchidism (failure of testicular descent)
Testicular cancer
Infection (orchitis, prostatitis)
Inguinal hernia repair prior to puberty
The study done at the Department of Andrology, Xiamen TCM Hospital Affiliated to Fujian TCM College selected 90 men with immune infertility and randomly divided them into two groups: 60 in the treatment group, treated by Huzhangdanshenyin, and the other 30 in the control, treated by prednisone, both for 3 months.
