Clinical Aspects of Male Infertility and Azoospermia
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Reproductive Medicine & Andrology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2026 | Viewed by 463
Editor
Interests: male infertility; diagnosis of male infertility; varicocele; sperm function and quality; human spermatogenesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Male infertility affects a substantial proportion of couples worldwide, and the male factor contributes to roughly half of infertility cases. Azoospermia represents a particularly challenging clinical presentation because it includes diverse and sometimes reversible etiologies, ranging from hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and ejaculatory duct obstruction to primary testicular failure. Contemporary clinical practice increasingly relies on integrated phenotyping that combines endocrine assessment, genetic testing, imaging, and refined semen and sperm function evaluation to support accurate diagnosis, counseling, and individualized management.
At the same time, important gaps remain. These include variability in diagnostic workups, limited tools to predict sperm retrieval and reproductive outcomes in non obstructive azoospermia, inconsistent reporting of clinically meaningful endpoints such as pregnancy and live birth, and uneven adoption of transparent standards for study design and outcome reporting. Addressing these gaps is essential to align research with patient priorities and to support evidence-based decision making in clinical practice.
This Special Issue of the Journal of Clinical Medicine, entitled Clinical Insights into Male Infertility and Azoospermia, aims to provide an up to date and clinically actionable forum that spans evaluation and treatment across the full spectrum of male infertility. We welcome manuscripts that bridge guideline informed care with emerging clinical tools, including advances in genetic diagnostics and counseling, biomarker development, surgical and laboratory strategies for sperm retrieval and cryopreservation, and data driven approaches to risk stratification.
We particularly encourage well designed original clinical studies, pragmatic trials, and high-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses that address real world decision points such as diagnostic algorithms, patient counseling, selection for medical therapy, selection for sperm retrieval procedures, and reporting of outcomes in a standardized manner. We look forward to contributions that will help clinicians and researchers refine care for men with infertility and azoospermia.
Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Sofikitis
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- azoospermia
- non obstructive azoospermia
- obstructive azoospermia
- microdissection testicular sperm extraction
- varicocele
- hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
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