Payesh (Dec 2022)
Does COVID-19 negatively affect male fertility?
Abstract
Dear Editor, There is minimal data on the effects of COVID-19 on male fertility, so it has become an important topic for investigation. The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) can damage the testicles as well as the male reproductive system through various mechanisms and cause infertility in men. In a study ‘in situ hybridization’ did not detect the viral genome in testicular tissue samples. This suggests that the testicular damage was probably due to the inflammatory and immune response and not due to direct damage by the virus. Therefore, there is a possibility of testicular damage and subsequent infertility following a COVID-19 infection. Testicular damage can be caused either by direct viral invasion by binding the SARS-COV2 virus to ACE2 receptors or by an immune and inflammatory response. Follow-up studies of the reproductive function of recovered male patients are needed to investigate this possibility.
