They were moonstruck. Acting like no one else existed, they were silly, giddy and sat so close together that they stole the same air. The phenylethylamine,(love hormone) levels were so thick that you could cut it. Ah, love! A Quest for Love She was in her late 30s and it was her first marriage. He was...Continue reading
Tag: sperm
Does Man Make the Sperm or Sperm Make the Man?
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This ancient paradox filled the minds of the great philosophers Aristotle, Plutarch, Macrobius and Anaximander who all considered it a “great and weighty” problem. Not sure what else was going on back then, but even 2000 years later, it has not been satisfactorily solved. Which came first? An ancient...Continue reading
Epigenetics and Infertility: The Link Between Nature and Nurture
You know who Charles Darwin is, right? One seriously influential figure in human history, Darwin’s famous natural selection theory is an easily digestible way to explain evolution. Makes sense: giraffes with longer necks can reach higher into trees to eat and survive. Advantage passed on to long-necked offspring. And so on, until poof! You have the modern giraffe. Wearing...Continue reading
How Is a Vasectomy Reversal Like a Sunday Drive?
Are you an informed decision maker? You probably are if you are an accident-free car driver. Because good driving involves high speed processing of enormous amounts of data, together with quick and virtually reflexive decision-making. Muddy the process with alcohol or exhaustion and what happens? KaPow! (Batman lingo). Blocked and Baffled I was very moved...Continue reading
Man and Fertility: As Simple as it Gets
Cooking is complicated, right? It doesn’t have to be. Sure, there are thousands of recipes, hundreds of foods, and dozens of condiments. But you can cook a really good meal in less than an hour just by buying fresh, using common pantry ingredients and forgetting about “wowing” the palate. And in the words of Chef...Continue reading
How are Testicles Like Bottles of Wine?
Some wines cellar well and some don’t. Which ones do you keep and which do you drink? There aren’t hard and fast rules here. Just know that 99% of wines should be drunk immediately as only 1% of wines age well. One of the oldest wines every drunk was from a 1200-year old winery in Wurzburger, Germany: it was 421...Continue reading
The Sperm Count Tempest in a Teapot
Like monsoon season, this storm surfaces every several years, and has for decades. And it does so with seemingly undiminished intensity. Human sperm counts are falling, and we are headed for extinction. Analysis Paralysis The latest published report came in the form of a meta-regression analysis, the latest, uber version of the ordinary meta-analysis, filled to the brim with...Continue reading
Techniques to Enhance Men’s Fertility Treatments
Andrology is a branch of medicine that is concerned with diseases that are specific to males, in particular, the reproductive organs. Andrology focuses on androgen use and abuse, prostate diseases such as prostate cancer, sexual dysfunctions, and testicular disorders such as testicular cancer. Below are some of the ways andrology nurses track their patients’ fertility...Continue reading
To Be (or Not to Be) a Dad: Ask the Doctor
Everything you ever wanted to ask your doctor—from conception to contraception. Although Father’s Day is in June, men are becoming fathers all year long. In fact, almost half of American men are fathers. Two-thirds of men first become dads in their 20s, although plenty of men father children sooner or later—into their 40s, 50s and...Continue reading
Playing Poker with Varicoceles
He was a sweet sixteen when he came to see me with his parents, both doctors. Before he said a single word, his Father blurted out: “Our son has a clinical varicocele and we’ve read all about them. We’re wondering whether or not he should have it fixed.” Fair enough. It’s what I do for a living. I...Continue reading