Efficacy of follicle-stimulating hormone as a treatment of severe idiopathic oligospermia: A retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: About 15% of couples are infertile, with the male factor being responsible for about 50% of these cases of infertility. Idiopathic oligospermia (IO) is a dilemma that faces every andrologist and yet is one of the most common causes of male infertility. Although studies have shed some light on multiple treatment modalities and their effectiveness, one of the most fascinating ones is follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). METHODOLOGY: This is a single tertiary center retrospective study; all patients with severe IO (sperm count of <5 million/ml) from January 2016 till January 2018 were included in the study. We divided our retrospective population into 2 groups, Group 1 who received FSH 75 IU (Menogon(®)) twice a week and Group 2 who received FSH 150 IU (Menogon(®)) twice a week. Semen parameters were recorded pretreatment and posttreatment. RESULTS: Number of the patients included in the study was 32. Group 1 included 16 patients who received FSH 75 IU. Group 2 included 16 patients who received FSH 150 IU. After 4 months of treatment, the mean sperm count in Group 1 increased to 4.745 million/ml (pretreatment was 1.235 million/ml), while in Group 2, it was 1.516 million/ml (pretreatment was 0.578 million/ml). The mean total motility in Group 1 was 20.3%, while Group 2 mean total motility was 27.5%. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our study elicited that a dose of FSH as low as 75 IU can improve sperm count significantly in patients with severe IO.