The case of the month is an actual patient of The Turek Clinic. It’s unbelievable how your genes, those tiny little chunks of DNA that make you who you are, can be sources of both delight and despair in life. Azoospermic Angst My lovely patient was trying to conceive for several years. Upon evaluation, he was found to be...Continue reading
Category: Fertility
The Anatomy of the Ejaculate
Here’s a million dollar question: From whence does the ejaculate come? The word “semen” is actually Latin, derived from “cemani” meaning “juice.” Great, Doc, but where does the juice actually come from? A Complex Sauce Fluids from several different body organs mix and mingle before being expelled as ejaculate. The much-maligned prostate, a reliable cause of urination issues with age,...Continue reading
Confused About T? You Should Be!
Is it right for me? Is it good for me? It is life’s elixir or a dram of Shakespearean poison? Welcome to the trouble with testosterone that we’re having at the moment. The T Buzz Let’s start with how you might come to know T. Take a look at the most popular “tool” used to screen...Continue reading
A Sperm Making Thing-a-ma-bob
You can patent a widget, or even a doohickey. Dr Seuss probably could have patented the yuzz-a-ma-tuzz, the diffendoofer, the wumbus and the wocket from his children’s books. But can you really patent an artificial human testicle? We did. Very recently, in fact. The issue notice has duly arrived, just in time for Father’s Day! Yessiree, just 6 sweaty years after we submitted the...Continue reading
Is Male Infertility a “Deadly” Disease?
Can being infertile kill you? Granted, it’s a disease, but is it really a “deadly” one? You might get that impression from recent press headlines: “Sperm Problems Tied to Death in the Near Future” “Low Sperm Means Shorter Lifespan” “Male Infertility as Sign of Premature Death” Not so fast, cowboy! Let’s look at things a little closer.Continue reading
Know Before You Go: Sperm FNA Mapping
You know that the food is good when guests ask for more. That’s why I am absolutely delighted at the invitation from my urological colleagues to lecture about sperm FNA mapping at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Male Reproduction (SSMR) in Orlando, Florida this week.
Sperm from Skin? Almost!
Can skin be turned into sperm? The answer is “yes” in mice and “almost” in man. Yup, we are one small step closer to the holy grail of making sperm from stem cells. And this time, it looks like it might happen using stem cells that are widely available for men. What’s the Buzz? You know that I am obsessed with helping men...Continue reading
The Reproductive Riff on Paternal Age
Thought you might like to know about this. While preparing for my speech to the American Urological Association next month on the risks of being an older dad, I came across this pretty compelling research relating a father’s age to autism in children. Autism Speaks Name the fastest growing serious developmental disorder in the U.S. Correct, it’s...Continue reading
Masturbation: Part 2 – What Not to Do
Masturbation technique is a highly individualistic topic. Most men figured out how to give themselves an orgasm during puberty. Early on, men tend to fixate on one technique to reach climax and that becomes their technique. It’s what they do. It’s comfortable, it’s reassuring, it’s dependable, and it always works. A guy’s personal technique, discovered...Continue reading
Masturbation: Part 1 – Let’s Talk About It
Few things are enjoyed so much, reviled so much, lied about so much, performed so much, or ignored so much, as masturbation. The topic rarely fails to spark an emotional and visceral response; laughter, disgust, titillation, arousal, awkward silence, denial, even fear. It’s no wonder that people never really talk about it. For centuries society...Continue reading