Desiderio Avila

Impact of Paternal Exposure to Gonadotoxins on Embryo and Offspring and the Male Evaluation

There are several routes of exposure to gonadotoxins for the male. Exposures originate from lifestyle choices, medications, and treatment for malignancies, as well as occupational and chemical hazards. Regardless of the route, the impact of paternal exposure to gonadotoxins on subsequent fertility is significant as it not only affects the individual, but may also affect future offspring. Given the increasing popularity of in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and the vast numbers of procedures performed each year throughout the world, continued research on the safety of IVF/ICSI and IVF itself is crucial. Patients can only truly give informed consent when they are properly educated as to all the associated risks.

Etiology and Risk Factors of Erectile Dysfunction

A wide variety of risk factors contribute to erectile dysfunction (ED). Many of these risk factors are treatable yet go unrecognized. Further, many of the treatments of these risk factors have also been implicated in causing the disease. Thus, the treatment of ED may be a complicated issue for the general practitioner. The majority of this chapter focuses on the correlation between cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction. A major benefit of screening for ED is that it may lead to early diagnosis of subclinical cardiovascular disease, alerting the clinician to potential treatment intervention in these patients.