Role of the Toxic Metal Cadmium in the Mechanism Producing Infertility With a Varicocele
Completed
Conditions studied: Varicocele, Male Infertility, Hypospermatogenesis, Non-Obstructive Azoospermia
In brief
Varicose veins in the scrotum (varicocele) are responsible for \>20% of male infertility in the US. Varicocele are associated with decreased sperm number and markedly reduced sperm fertilizing ability. Surgical repair or removal of varicocele restores fertility in only 1/3 of cases. The goal of this study is to identify markers that predict the outcome of variocele correction. This would offer considerable health cost savings. Based on preliminary findings, we will obtain testis biopsies and semen specimens from infertile men with varicocele and prospectively examining the levels of cadmium, a toxic metal, and expression of genes required for normal sperm function. The semen and biopsies will be obtained during clinically dictated procedures. Cadmium and gene expression will be compared with response to varicocele repair (i.e., increased sperm production; pregnancy).
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00044369
- Run by
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
- People needed
- 400
- Starts
- 2000-05-01
- Expected to finish
- 2005-04-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2006-09-04
Who can join
Age: 21 and older, up to 55. Sex: male. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
Where it is running
- University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden — Camden, New Jersey, United States
- North Shore University Hospital — Manhasset, New York, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.