Variation of intratesticular blood flow in response to urinary-FSH treatment in severe oligoteratoasthenozoospermic males.

Variations in blood flow physiologically occur in the gonads and affect their function. In women, blood flow velocity in ovarian and uterine arteries reaches its peak at midcycle and basically correlates with mean levels of FSH, LH, and P serum concentrations. In purified FSH-stimulated cycles, induction of multiple follicular development is accompanied by a decrease in blood flow resistance in both uterine and intraovarian arteries. In men, a strong relationship between blood flow and testicular tubular function has been demonstrated (1), but very little is known about the interplay between hormone levels and intratesticular blood flow. We investigated whether administration of exogenous gonadotropins to normogonadotropic males affected by severe idiopathic oligoteratoasthenozoospermia (OAT) may induce variations in blood flow supply to the testes. We therefore evaluated variation in intratesticular vascular resistance and number of intratesticular vessels before and after 6 months treatment with extractive urinary FSH (u-FSH).