Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30243299›Full record

ArticleReproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E2018

Spermatogenesis improved by suppressing the high level of endogenous gonadotropins in idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia: a case control pilot study.

Xuechun Hu, Zheng Ding, Zhiwei Hong, Zhichuan Zou, Yuming Feng, Ruilou Zhu, Jinzhao Ma, Xie Ge, Chaojun Li, Bing Yao

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02544191 (GnRHa Combined With hCG and hMG for Treatment of Patients With Non-obstructive Azoospermia), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02544191 phase2unknown statusnot on this map

GnRHa Combined With hCG and hMG for Treatment of Patients With Non-obstructive Azoospermia: A Single-center Prospective Study in China

TypeinterventionalSponsorJinling Hospital, ChinaRan2015 to 2017Enrolled30ConditionsAzoospermiaArmsGnRHa/ hCG/ hMG
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Medical treatment prior to micro-TESE.Asian journal of andrology · 2025
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Hormonal treatment for men with Non-obstructive Azoospermia: too many rationales, too little data.International braz j urol : official journal of the Brazilian Society of Urology
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Gonadotropin Stimulation Before Sperm Retrieval in Non-Obstructive Azoospermia: Myth, Magic, or Medicine?International braz j urol : official journal of the Brazilian Society of Urology
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Xuechun HuCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China.
Zheng DingNanjing Jiangning Hospital, the Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210000, China.
Zhiwei HongCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China.
Zhichuan ZouCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China.
Yuming FengCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China.
Ruilou ZhuMOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center and the Medical School of Nanjing University, National Resource Center for Mutant Mice, Nanjing, 210061, China.
Jinzhao MaCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China.
Xie GeCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China.
Chaojun LiMOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center and the Medical School of Nanjing University, National Resource Center for Mutant Mice, Nanjing, 210061, China. licj@nju.edu.cn.
Bing YaoCenter of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, the Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China. 2424572228@qq.com.
Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command · CNNanjing University · CNFujian Provincial Hospital · CNModel Animal Research Center · CNNanjing Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundElevated plasma gonadotropins were associated with desensitization of Sertoli and Leydig cells in the male testis. Testis spermatogenesis ability would be improved via inhibiting high endogenous gonadotropin in patients with severe oligozoospermia. Whether it would be beneficial for non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients was still unclear.

methodsGoserelin, a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHα) was used to suppress endogenous gonadotropin levels (gonadotropin reset) in the NOA patients, improving the sensitization of the Sertoli and Leydig cells. Then human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were injected to stimulate them to ameliorate the ability of testicular spermatogenesis. The main outcome measure was the existence of spermatozoa in the semen or by testicular sperm extraction (TESE). Elevation of inhibin B and/or ameliorative expression pattern of ZO-1 was the secondary objective.

resultsA total of 35 NOA men who failed to retrieve sperm via TESE were enrolled. Among these, 10 patients without treatment were selected as control group and secondary TESE was performed 6 months later. Of the 25 treated men, inhibin B was elevated in 11 patients in the first 4 weeks (Response group), while only 5 patients had constant increase in the following 20 weeks (Response group 2). Of the 5 men, 2 men acquired sperm (Response group 2B), while 3 failed (Response group 2A). Immunofluorescence of mouse vasa homologue (MVH) and ZO-1 showed that both positive MVH signals and ZO-1 expression were significantly increased in the Response group 2, but only Response group 2B showed ameliorative ZO-1 distribution.

conclusionsGonadotropin reset, a new therapeutic protocol with GnRHα, was able to improve the ability of testicular spermatogenesis in the NOA patients through restoring the sensitivity of Sertoli and Leydig cells, which were reflected by elevated inhibin B and ameliorative ZO-1 expression and distribution.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02544191 .

Indexed as

AdultAzoospermiaCase-Control StudiesChorionic GonadotropinGonadotropin-Releasing HormoneGoserelinHumansInhibinsMaleMenotropinsMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsSpermatogenesisZonula Occludens-1 ProteinChorionic GonadotropinGonadotropin-Releasing HormoneGoserelininhibin BInhibinsMenotropinsTJP1 protein, humanZonula Occludens-1 ProteinGnRHαGonadotropin resetNOA

Identifiers

PMID30243299
PMCPMC6150963
OpenAlexW2891138358

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.