Successful Treatment of Anabolic Steroid-induced Azoospermia with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Human Menopausal Gonadotropin

Objective: To document for the first time the successful treatment using human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and human menopausal gonadotropins (hMG) of anabolic steroid-induced azoospermia that was persistent despite 1 year of cessation from steroid use.

Design: Clinical case report.

Settings: Tertiary referral center for infertility.

Patient(s): A married couple with primary subfertility secondary to azoospermia and male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. The husband was a bodybuilder who admitted to have used the anabolic steroids testosterone cypionate, methandrostenolone, oxandrolone, testosterone propionate, oxymetholone, nandrolone decanoate, and methenolone enanthate.

Intervention(s): Twice-weekly injections of 10,000 IU of hCG (Profasi; Serono) and daily injections of 75 IU of hMG (Humegon; Organon) for 3 months.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Semen analyses, pregnancy.

Result(s): Semen analyses returned to normal after 3 months of treatment. The couple conceived spontaneously 7 months later.

Conclusion(s): Steroid-induced azoospermia that is persistent after cessation of steroid use can be treated successfully with hCG and hMG.