Caroline Helwick

New Orleans-When retrieving sperm from men with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) and associated varicocele, go for the testis on the right side. That's the bottom line advice of University of California, San Francisco investigators who evaluated whether side matters in retrieving sperm for ICSI.

New Orleans-Men with high body mass index values have lower serum inhibin B levels, according to a report from Reproductive Biology Associates, Atlanta. The study's authors point out that additional research is needed to determine whether increased BMI affects men's fertility.

New Orleans-Having severe teratospermia does not affect pregnancy outcomes when using in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection, according to a large retrospective review presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting by investigators from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York.

New Orleans-While improvements in sperm motility are seen when sperm are incubated in media for extended periods, no guidelines have been established yet for the optimal duration of incubation and culture type. Investigators from the University of Michigan have addressed this issue and have made determinations that may help guide intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

New Orleans-Men who are interested in fatherhood had better eat their fruits and vegetables and add soy to their diet. These dietary recommendations were recently shown to boost sperm quality in an observational study from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.

New Orleans-Transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate appears to have an immediate impact on the semen parameters of reproductive-age men, according to findings from a small study from Beth Israel Medical Center, New York. However, these effects were transient in all but one patient.

Chicago-Resistance to drugs commonly used against uncomplicated urinary tract infections continues to grow, according to the results of a large North American study presented at the 43rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobials and Chemotherapy.