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Background and Aims The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is known to affect multiple organs by binding to angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 receptors and might therefore affect male fertility. This review aims to collect all original articles on the effects of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection on male fertility, including the duration of time after infection required for these effects to begin to manifest and recommend how clinicians should approach cases with a recent illness. Methods This review was developed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses guidelines. The search string was applied to four online databases—namely Pubmed, Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane COVID‐19 Register—and screened using the online tool Covidence.org . Articles were eligible for inclusion if they were cohort studies involving a healthy male population diagnosed with COVID‐19, each of whom had semen samples collected before and after the infection or two different semen samples collected after the diagnosis. Results Nine cohort studies were eventually included. Five articles had pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 data while four had two sets of post‐COVID‐19 data. The three largest studies found a statistically significant decrease in all semen parameters when waiting less than 3 months from diagnosis before sample collection, and no significant differences in results when the ejaculate was analyzed more than 3 months after recovery. One study compared the COVID‐19 patients with a control group and found a significant decrease in semen parameters in the COVID‐19 group. Conclusion Spermatogenesis seems to be affected by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, but the impact tends to reverse within 3–4 months. It is still unclear why male fertility is affected by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, and it might be the result of several different components. Clinicians should consider recent SARS‐CoV‐2 infection as a possible reason for the low semen quality of patients' semen samples, and might therefore need to collect new samples after 4 months before further treatment.

Here we have summarized what is currently known about menstruating animal species with special emphasis on non-primate species: length of their menstrual cycle, ovulation, implantation, placentation, decidualization, and endometrial characteristics. Having an overview of all the possible animal models that can be used to study menstruation and the menstrual cycle could be useful to select the one that better matches the needs of the individual research projects. The most promising species to study menstruation seems to be the spiny mouse Acomys cahirinus. It is a rodent that could be easily held in the existing laboratory facilities for rats and mice but with the great advantage of having spontaneous menstruation and several human-like menstrual cycle characteristics. Among the species of menstruating bats, the black mastiff bat Molossus ater and wild fulvous fruit bat Rousettus leschenaultii are the ones presenting the most human-like characteristics. The elephant shrew seems to be the less suitable species among the ones analyzed. The induced mouse model of menstruation is also presented as an adaptable alternative to study menstruation.

The purpose of this study is to describe a low-cost and simply made instrument capable of measuring the total CO content of microliter volumes of biological fluids utilizing a commercially available CO sensor based on a NDIR detector. The described instrument is based on transformation of dissolved HCO to CO by acidification and subsequent measurement of the produced CO. The instrument has a linear response in the range 0.025-10 μmol HCO, which enables measurements in fresh urine and plasma samples down to 5 μl. The values from plasma were compared to measurements made on 65 μl whole blood in an automatic blood gas analyzer and found not to differ significantly. Compared to currently commercially available instruments applying the same principles to measure total CO, this study provides a simple and robust alternative which even can be used on smaller sample volumes.

Pregnancy loss has multifactorial causes, and the maternal risk factors are the most investigated. Therefore, this review investigates the current literature regarding the effect of paternal health on pregnancy loss. This review is conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. The electronic databases PubMed and Medline were the primary sources of information. The online tool covid ence.org was used for the screening process. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used for assessment of risk of bias across the non-RCT (Randomized Controlled Trials) included studies. Six cohort studies and one randomised clinical trial were included for assessment in this review. Especially three large retrospective studies reported that circulatory paternal health issue, increasing metabolic syndrome diagnoses and paternal age was significantly associated with a higher risk of pregnancy loss. Lower pregnancy loss was also found in couples with diabetes in the man compared to couples without diabetes. One study suggests a connection between varicocelectomy and improved sperm DNA fragmentation and lower abortion rate. This review confirms that paternal age, somatic health and particularly health regarding cardiovascular and metabolic disease are associated positively with risks of pregnancy loss. However, further research may lead to evidence, which are more conclusive.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments in women with underlying chronic diseases have become increasingly frequent. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the literature examining the chance of having a live born child after ART in women with chronic diseases, compared to other women receiving ART. We focused on some of the most prevalent chronic diseases in women during their reproductive years, ie ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and diabetes mellitus. Secondly, we studied the chance of successful implantation. The literature search was performed in the database Pubmed.gov. including all studies published before October 2020. Title and abstracts of 58 papers were reviewed, 37 papers were excluded and other 8 studies were excluded after full-text evaluation. Only 13 papers were eligible for review. Results indicate that women with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes mellitus type 2 might have problems with low implantation rate or early embryo development during ART. On the contrary, the few studies on women with hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus type 1, and epilepsy suggest an equivalent chance of a live birth compared to other women undergoing ART. A possible explanation behind these differences could reside in the disease-specific dysregulation of the innate or adaptive immune system. To our knowledge, this is the first review on ART in women with chronic diseases, and it has disclosed that the evidence in this area is indeed sparse. We encourage others to examine live birth after ART in women with chronic diseases.

This was a nationwide cohort study based on Danish health registers focusing on assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments in women using donor or partner sperm from 2007 to 2017. Women using donor sperm were subdivided into groups based on relationship status: women with male partners, single women, or women with female partners. The live birth adjusted odds ratios (aORs) after the IUI treatments in women using donor sperm compared with women using partner sperm were 1.48 (95% CI: 1.38–1.59) in women with male partners using donor sperm, 1.20 (95% CI: 1.13–1.28) in single women, and 1.46 (95% CI: 1.32–1.62) in women with female partners. The live birth aORs after IVF treatments in women using donor sperm compared with women using partner sperm were 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02–1.32) in women with male partners using donor sperm, 0.88 (95% CI: 0.80–0.96) in single women, and 1.20 (95% CI: 1.00–1.44), in women with female partners. The use of donor sperm was associated with a higher chance of a live birth after the IUI treatments, but there was no difference after the IVF treatments. Our study invites healthcare professionals to increase their attention toward the different needs and fertility issues of all women attending fertility clinics.

Study question Are there any differences in the chance of a live birth using donor or partner semen in the different groups of women attending fertility clinics? Summary answer The chance of a live birth improves using donor semen for Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) treatments. No difference is observed for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments. What is known already Few studies regarding the efficacy of ART treatments using donor semen are available and most of them focus only on IUI treatments. Moreover, they usually do not take into account the different groups of women utilizing them or possible differences with the use of male partner semen. Study design, size, duration Danish nationwide cohort study based on health registers including all ART treatments from 2007 to 2017. The number of treatments in women using donor semen was 31540 for IUI and 7770 for IVF. For women using partner semen the number of treatments was 80949 for IUI and 74425 for IVF. ART treatments in women using donor semen were further subdivided into three groups based on women's relationship status: different-sex couples single women, and same-sex couples. Participants/materials, setting, methods Live birth chance per ART treatment cycle, IUI or IVF, using donor or partner semen has been assessed. In a subanalysis, the difference in a live birth was also evaluated comparing women using partner semen and women using donor semen stratified according to the partner with whom they attend the fertility clinics. The crude and confounders adjusted odds ratio (OR and aOR) were obtained by multilevel logistic regression. Main results and the role of chance A live birth was obtained in 13.9% of IUI treatments in women using donor semen compared to 12.3% in women using partner semen with an aOR of 1.33 (95% CI: 1.27-1.40). More in detail, for different groups of women using donor semen the aOR of live birth after IUI treatments was: aOR 1.48 (95% CI: 1.38-1.59) in women with male partners using donor semen, aOR 1.20 (95% CI: 1.13-1.28) in single women and aOR 1.46 (95% CI: 1.32-1.62) in women with female partners using donor semen. For what concern IVF treatments, 20.7% of treatments in women using donor semen and 25.7% of treatments in women using partner semen resulted in a live birth. The aOR was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.92-1.06). Moreover, for the different groups of women using donor semen compared to women using partner semen, the aOR of live birth after IVF treatments was: aOR 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02-1.32) in women with male partners using donor semen, aOR 0.88 (95% CI: 0.80-0.96) in single women, and aOR 1.20 (95% CI: 1.00-1.44), in women with female partners using donor semen. Limitations, reasons for caution Being an observational study, it is not possible to exclude the presence of unknown confounders or residual confounding which might affect the results. Wider implications of the findings This is one of the few studies assessing the ART success chances using donor or partner semen with attention to the now diverse population groups receiving ART treatments. We hope our results would be useful to healthcare professionals to better advise and help all women and couples attending fertility clinics Trial registration number not applicable