Salvarci A, et al. - Among non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) cases, researchers identified patients in whom spermatozoa could not be identified despite therapy, but they had intermittent ejaculatory spermatozoon in their follow-up.

• In the retrospective screening, researchers identified NOA at a rate of 15.35% among infertile men (n = 1,976/12,871), while non-obstructive intermittent azoospermia (NO-IA) at a rate of 6.8% among NO-IA (n = 135/1,976) and 1.1% among all infertile men (n = 135/12,871).

• In n = 55/135 patients among NO-IA, researchers detected spermatozoon in the form of cryptospermia or extreme oligospermia in 58.13 (13.6–92.3) weeks on average.

• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection results in achievement of pregnancy and live birth at a rate of 43.6% (n = 24/55) and 29% (n = 16/55), respectively.

• There appeared a subgroup NO-IA showing no genetic pathological diagnosis, with lower follicle-stimulating hormone, lutenizing hormone and clinical varicocele rates when compared with those of NOA and higher testicular volumes and pathological scores.

• Researchers identified a major activity in total testosterone, lutenizing hormone, testicular volumes and the logistic regression of pathological scores.